Johann Luger House

The Johann-Luger-Haus, also known as the Steinhauser-Haus, is a registered building on Marktplatz 9 in Dornbirn, Austria.The house’s distinctive style sets it apart from the surrounding building ensemble, and it shows a fusion of Art Nouveau and national romanticism. As a result, it has become one of the city’s market square’s most photographed structures.The building, like numerous other structures in Dornbirn’s core, was designed by the renowned architect Hanns Kornberger and renovated between 1901 and 1902.

The Johann Luger House, which is located on Dornbirn’s market square, was originally built as the barn of the pre-existing Feurstein House. The latter is exactly aligned with St. Martin’s parish church and is architecturally attached to the Johann Luger House to this day.Following that, in the 17th century, the aforementioned barn underwent a change and was turned into the “Sonne” inn, constructed in the classic Rhine Valley house style.The portrayal of the sun on the current structure’s gable above the balcony serves as a painful reminder of its intended role.

Johann Luger, a businessman, commissioned the esteemed architect Hanns Kornberger to transform it into a distinguished commercial building suitable for the bourgeois clientele in the early twentieth century, specifically from 1901 to 1902. Confections- und Modewarenhaus Johann Luger was the name of the establishment.Kornberger utilized pre-World War I German bourgeois architecture and blended it with local elements.The finished construction bore no similarity to the original Rheintalhaus structure.The bay window with its curving gable stands out, especially when matched with the balcony below and the corner tower with its curved and thin helmet roof.

On February 22, 1987, fire entirely damaged the inside of the Johann Luger House.Although the majority of the building’s architecturally notable facade was saved, the inferno destroyed the inside.The Johann Luger House was renovated one year after its initial construction by architect Robert Felber, who used a post-modern aesthetic to build contemporary office accommodations within the structure. As a result of these changes, the only part of the building that retains its original historical appearance is its facade.The bottom level of the house is currently used as a café, notably Café Steinhauser, which is why the structure is sometimes referred to as the Steinhauser House. Meanwhile, the top levels house offices for a variety of businesses, including a legal company.