Kasel, Gustav

After training as a master bricklayer, Gustav Kasel studied architecture at Darmstadt Technical University and in Frankfurt under Ernst May. From 1912 he worked as an independent architect in Trier, from 1919 in partnership with Johann Prior. With his flourishing office, he carried out numerous commissions for commercial and residential buildings in the modernist style in Trier, Wittlich and the surrounding area, but also designed plans for the redesign of historic squares in Trier. An important commission for Kasel, who was also involved in the SPD, was the restoration and reconstruction of Karl Marx’s birthplace in Brückenstraße in Trier, which was completed in 1931. After persistent boycotts and smear campaigns, Kasel and his family decided to emigrate to Palestine at the end of 1933, where he first worked for the Jewish Agency and later as an architect for the city administration of Jerusalem. In 1950, Kasel visited Trier again with his family and handed over materials on Karl Marx’s birthplace, which are kept in the Trier City Archives.

We would like to thank Franz-Josef Schmit, Wittlich, for the extensive information and materials on Gustav Kasel.