(b Szombathely, 25 Feb 1884; d Budapest, 10 June 1944). Hungarian architect and teacher. He graduated from the Hungarian Palatine Joseph Technical University, Budapest, in 1905. After a study trip to Italy he taught at the University’s Department of Ancient Architecture, where he was appointed professor in 1923. Wälder’s work can be seen as contributing to a revival of Baroque architecture, which from 1920 coincided with official Hungarian cultural policy. His version of the neo-Baroque style was based more on ornamentation than on distribution of mass. Characteristic of his buildings are block symmetry, liaisons spanning several levels, rich sculptural ornamentation of the window- and doorframes and decorative wrought-iron railings. This ornamentation provides a harmonious counterpoint to the use of large volumes. Wälder was also highly skilful at adapting his buildings to the architectural environment. He received many commissions for public buildings and residential blocks during the 1920s. Outstanding among the former is the design (1927) for the Cistercian church, secondary school and monastery, Budapest. His design followed the model of south German churches, with a central projection and twin towers whose steeples rest on columns. A further two buildings with identical façades were to be linked to the church by a colonnade. However, only the secondary school was erected, in 1929, while the church was built (1939) to a much simpler design. Modernist architecture also interested Wälder, although to a lesser degree: his design contribution (1931) for Budapest’s first modern residential district, with detached and semi-detached family homes, is conspicuously conservative. He also later experimented with vitrified bricks, for example in the U-shaped complex (1937), Madách Square, Budapest, where the decoration and arrangement of the façade again have a historical feeling.

• Wälder, Gyula
  • Hungary, §II, 4(ii): Architecture, after 1914