Gründerzeit architecture defines the urban fabric of Berlin, Vienna, Prague, and other Central European cities — the dense residential blocks built during the industrial boom of 1871–1914. These five-to-six-storey apartment buildings with ornate stucco facades, internal courtyards, and commercial ground floors created the walkable urban neighbourhoods that remain the most desirable addresses in many European cities.
The style combines Historicist decoration (pilasters, cornices, balconies with wrought-iron railings) with a standardised structural system of load-bearing brick walls and timber floors. Gründerzeit blocks are Berlin's architectural DNA — the backdrop against which every subsequent style is read.
