Background
Schwechten was born in Cologne, the son of a district court judge.
Schwechten was born in Cologne, the son of a district court judge.
He attended Gymnasium, taking his Abitur in 1860, and went on to work as an apprentice of master builder Julius Carl Raschdorff, who would later design the Berlin Cathedral. In 1861, Schwechten enrolled in the Bauakademie (Academy of Architecture) in Berlin, where he studied under Karl Bötticher and Friedrich Adler.
During a practical training period following the completion of his studies in December 1863, Schwechten worked first for several months with Friedrich August Stüler, until May 1864, and then with Martin Gropius, until June 1865. He began his career as chief architect of the Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company. His first major work was the Berlin Anhalter Bahnhof train station terminal.
Among his works were the designs of Tyszkiewicz Palace in Palanga (Polangen) and the Imperial Castle in Poznań (Posen).
One of the most notable of Schwechten"s designs was the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (completed in 1895), with its 113 m (371 ft) high tower and Neo-Romanesque style elements. In 1904 he was honored with the title of "Geheimer Baurat" (privy building officer), and in 1906 he was named a professor
He served as a lecturer at the Royal Polytechnic University in Charlottenburg. Schwechten died in Berlin and was buried in Schöneberg.
Schwechten became a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts in 1885, and served as its president from 1915 to 1918.