5. Evangelic Church

5. Evangelic Church

nám. ČSA

The Evangelical Community of Šumperk began the construction of its new church in 1869. The design was made by k.k. engineer Wenzel Knapek and implemented by Josef Bayer. Unfortunately, the residents of Šumperk were not able to enjoy the new sanctuary for long. In 1906, the church’s small tower became unstable, and it had to be removed quickly. The architect Georg Berger offered help by way of his older, not yet implemented competition design for the reformed church in Aussersihl, Zürich, from the year 1899. It was used as a base for the tall entrance tower in the pseudo-Gothic style, which has complemented the front part of the church since 1908.

The Viennese architect Georg Berger won the town’s bourgeoisie over with his design and was then entrusted with many important buildings within the town’s limits. His designs, inspired by German architecture and the “Heimatstil”, were perfectly in keeping with the taste of the townspeople. Owning a Berger villa became trendy for the citizens of Šumperk. Even though he found his second wife in Šumperk and was very popular among locals, he never owned his own house here. Whenever he was supervising the implementation of his designs, he stayed in a boarding house, which he had designed himself.