Herbert Tiemer

Herbert Tiemer
Born
Herbert Gustav Tiemer

(1879-03-25)25 March 1879
Riga
Died24 October 1938(1938-10-24) (aged 59)
Berlin
OccupationsArchitect, inventor and entrepreneur
Memorial plaque on the building at 3 Vaļņu iela in Riga

Herbert Gustav Tiemer (Latvian: Herberts Tīmers; 25 March 1879 – 24 October 1938) was a Baltic German architect, inventor and entrepreneur. He operated his own architectural practice in Riga from 1909 to 1914. His documented work in the city comprises ten buildings, including four detached houses in Mežaparks. After moving to Germany, Tiemer was involved in several Berlin companies. He also devised the numerical language system Timerio and a construction toy made from reused packaging boxes.

Family

Tiemer's father was Heinrich Tiemer, a Riga merchant, city councillor and alderman; his mother was Johanna Luise, née Bierich. His brothers Paul Tiemer (born 1866) and Robert John Tiemer (1868–1916) were physicians.

Tiemer married Elisabeth "Else" Waldhauer (1885–1971), who was also born in Riga. She was a daughter of the Riga physician Werner Robert Waldhauer, a granddaughter of the ophthalmologist Carl Friedrich Werner Michael Waldhauer, and a cousin of the archaeologist Oskar Waldhauer. They had a son, Werner Tiemer (1909–1970), and two daughters, Gerda Else (1912–2002) and Irmela Wojna (1915–1994).

Education and work in Riga

Tiemer attended the Realschule in Riga and began studying mechanical engineering at the Riga Polytechnical Institute in 1898, where he was assigned matriculation number 5738. He was admitted to the student fraternity Fraternitas Baltica as member no. 329 in March 1899. From 1900 to 1907 he studied architecture at the institute. During its closure following the 1905 Revolution, he continued his studies at the Technical University of Karlsruhe, now the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

On 30 January 1907, Tiemer passed the state examination in the institute's architecture department. From 1909 to 1914 he ran his own architectural practice in Riga. Architectural historians classify his buildings primarily as examples of rationalist Art Nouveau and neoclassical tendencies in Riga's architecture.

Tiemer served in the Imperial Russian Army from 1914 to 1917. In January 1919 he fled to Germany and settled in Berlin.

Business activities in Berlin

On 15 October 1919, the merchant Eduard Lion, architect Herbert Tiemer and engineer Henryk Lion established the general partnership Lion & Tiemer in Berlin. The commercial-register notice continued to identify Tiemer as an architect and gave Charlottenburg as his place of residence. The partnership was dissolved and removed from the register in 1922.

In November 1922, Tiemer and the engineer Gottlieb von Lilienfeld became members of the board of the newly formed Offerten-Kontor Aktiengesellschaft. The company was intended to broker offers and requests relating to goods, instruction, businesses, land, buildings and addresses. By May 1924, Tiemer and Lilienfeld were no longer board members.

From 1 January 1927, Tiemer, described as a graduate engineer, was a partner in the Berum-Plan-Gesellschaft von Rautenfeld, von Zimmermann und Tiemer. The register notice also named the director Victor Berens von Rautenfeld and graduate engineer Wilhelm von Zimmermann, but did not state the purpose of the business.

Proposal for high-rise buildings above Berlin's Spree canals, jointly credited to Tiemer and F. Schüler, 1929

On 6 January 1929 the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung printed a proposal by Tiemer and F. Schüler for high-rise buildings above Berlin's Spree canals. The accompanying article argued that building over urban waterways could reconcile the competing needs of large cities for building land and traffic space, and described towers with boat landings, south-facing sun terraces, a swimming pool, a roof garden and cafés above the water.

Timerio and inventions

In 1921, Tiemer presented Timerio, a system intended for written communication between speakers of different languages. About 7,000 words were assigned numbers; according to a contemporary account, additional typographic signs expanded the system to approximately 12,000 concepts. The newspaper Vorwärts described the system as simply constructed, but observed that users would always need a printed key. In 1922, Timerio was registered by Lion & Tiemer as word mark no. 288720 for printed matter, playing cards, teaching materials and other goods.

Tiemer also registered several practical and design concepts. In 1921, a "merchandise package with advertising" was protected for Lion & Tiemer, and a trouser holder was protected for Herbert Tiemer. In May 1925, the firm Herbert Tiemer deposited seven designs for covering boxes, rolls and other packages with images resembling building materials.

Tiemer's Polish patent no. 6456 described a construction toy that used discarded match, cigarette and other packaging boxes as building blocks. Images of brick, stone, windows and doors were pasted onto the boxes to make them resemble building components; the specification also described columns, vaults and complete buildings made from the boxes. The application was filed on 14 August 1925, the patent was granted on 1 December 1926, and it was published on 10 January 1928.

Death

Tiemer died in Berlin on 24 October 1938. On 1 November 1938, the convention and alumni association of Fraternitas Baltica published a death notice in the Rigasche Rundschau.

Buildings in Riga

The following list combines the four detached houses in the catalogue of Krastiņš's 1997 book on Mežaparks with the six central-Riga buildings in the catalogue of his 1980 book on Art Nouveau. Dates and original uses follow the cited catalogue pages.

Image Year Present address Historical or former name Original use and client, where published Source
1909 23 Hamburgas iela Hamburger Straße 23 Detached house for E. Bernhards
61 Krišjāņa Valdemāra iela 1909 61 Krišjāņa Valdemāra iela Gorkija iela 61 in the 1980 catalogue Residential and commercial building
7 Gdaņskas iela 1910 7 Gdaņskas iela Danziger Straße 7 Detached house for H. Hedvigs
1910 9 Gdaņskas iela Danziger Straße 9 Detached house for F. Dībolds
1910 10 Ščecinas iela Stettiner Straße 10 Detached house for E. Žukovska
1911 21 Merķeļa iela — Residential and commercial building
13 Baznīcas iela 1911 13 Baznīcas iela Veidenbauma iela 13 in the 1980 catalogue Residential and commercial building
22 Hospitāļu iela 1911 22 Hospitāļu iela Hospitalstraße 22 Residential building
Courtyard at 3 Vaļņu iela
Courtyard		 1913 3 Vaļņu iela Wallstraße 3 Residential and commercial building; constructed 1912–1914
24 Kaļķu iela 1914 24 Kaļķu iela Ļeņina iela 24 in the 1980 catalogue; historically Kalkstraße 24 Apartments, shops, offices and a cinema; constructed 1913–1917 with Maksis Deibners (Max Deubner, 1884–1947)

Since 2006, the building at 3 Vaļņu iela has carried a memorial plaque to Tiemer designed by Jānis Strupulis.

Notes

  1. ↑ Older accounts, including earlier versions of the German-language article, give 6 March 1879. The printed album of Fraternitas Baltica and the Baltisches biografisches Lexikon digital both give 25 March 1879.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Tiemer, Herbert (1879–1938)". Baltisches biografisches Lexikon digital (in German). Baltische Historische Kommission. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 Album der Landsleute der Fraternitas Baltica 1865–1910 (in German). 1910. entry no. 329, p. 102. ISBN 978-9949-35-749-9. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) The entry records his date of birth, school, matriculation number 5738 and initial study of mechanical engineering.
  3. ↑ Krastiņš, Jānis (1997). Mežaparks. Rīgas ekoloģiski tīrākais dzīvojamais rajons (in Latvian). Riga: Zinātne. pp. 92–93, 196–198, 209.
  4. 1 2 Krastiņš, Jānis (1980). Jūgendstils Rīgas arhitektūrā (in Latvian). Riga: Zinātne. pp. 153, 166–169, 191, 196, 201, 211.
  5. 1 2 Brennsohn, Isidorus (1905). Die Aerzte Livlands von den ältesten Zeiten bis zur Gegenwart (in German). Mitau: Bruhns. pp. 396–397. Entries for Paul Tiemer and Robert John Tiemer identify them as brothers and Paul as a son of the merchant, city councillor and alderman Heinrich Tiemer.
  6. 1 2 "Tiemer, Robert John". Erik-Amburger-Datenbank (in German). Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies. Retrieved 29 August 2026. The record names his parents as Heinrich Tiemer and Luise, née Bierich, the same parents given for Herbert Tiemer by the BBLD.
  7. ↑ Brennsohn, Isidorus (1905). Die Aerzte Livlands von den ältesten Zeiten bis zur Gegenwart (in German). Mitau: Bruhns. pp. 415–416. The entries identify Werner Robert Waldhauer as Carl Waldhauer's son and record his medical practice in Riga and marriage to Gertrud von Holst.
  8. ↑ Zigmunde, Alīda; Kaminskis, Jānis; Tipāns, Igors; Kowalczyk, Kamil (December 2025). "International Partnership Between Riga Technical University and Karlsruhe Engineers Over Three Centuries (1862–2024)" (PDF). History of Engineering Sciences and Institutions of Higher Education. 9 (9): 21–42, esp. 32. doi:10.7250/HESIHE.2025.003.
  9. ↑ "Polytechnikum". Rigasche Rundschau (in German). No. 28. 3 February 1907. p. 9 – via National Library of Latvia.
  10. ↑ "Handelsregister Berlin, no. 52,950". Deutscher Reichsanzeiger und Preußischer Staatsanzeiger (in German). 2 February 1920. p. 35 – via Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
  11. ↑ "Handelsregister Berlin, no. 52,950". Deutscher Reichsanzeiger und Preußischer Staatsanzeiger (in German). 3 November 1922. p. 17 – via Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
  12. ↑ "Handelsregister Berlin, no. 26,725". Deutscher Reichsanzeiger und Preußischer Staatsanzeiger (in German). 17 November 1922. p. 17 – via Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
  13. ↑ "Handelsregister Berlin, no. 26,725". Deutscher Reichsanzeiger und Preußischer Staatsanzeiger (in German). 23 May 1924. p. 16 – via Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
  14. ↑ "Handelsregister Berlin, no. 71,260". Deutscher Reichsanzeiger und Preußischer Staatsanzeiger (in German). 1 April 1927. p. 23 – via Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
  15. ↑ "Platzhunger der Großstädte. Wie die Architekten neuen Raum in Berlin schaffen wollen" [Space hunger in the big cities: How architects intend to create new space in Berlin]. Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung (in German). Vol. 38, no. 1. 6 January 1929. p. 3. Hochhäuser über den Spreekanälen (Projekt von Dipl.-Ing. H. Tiemer und Dipl.-Ing. F. Schüler).
  16. ↑ "Timerio". Vorwärts (in German). 16 February 1921. p. 2 – via Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
  17. ↑ "Warenzeichen no. 288720, file L. 22749". Deutscher Reichsanzeiger und Preußischer Staatsanzeiger (in German). 15 August 1922. p. 36 – via Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
  18. ↑ "Schutzrecht no. 781844, file L. 47056". Deutscher Reichsanzeiger und Preußischer Staatsanzeiger (in German). 27 June 1921. p. 24 – via Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
  19. ↑ "Schutzrecht no. 786887, file T. 22992". Deutscher Reichsanzeiger und Preußischer Staatsanzeiger (in German). 22 August 1921. p. 15 – via Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
  20. ↑ "Musterregister no. 35,103". Deutscher Reichsanzeiger und Preußischer Staatsanzeiger (in German). 10 June 1925. p. 35 – via Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
  21. ↑ Tiemer, Herbert. "Sposób wyrobu zabawek w postaci klocków budowlanych" [Method of making toys in the form of building blocks]. Google Patents (in Polish). Polish patent PL6456B1. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "Death notice for Herbert Tiemer". Rigasche Rundschau (in German). No. 249. 1 November 1938. p. 11 – via National Library of Latvia.
  23. ↑ Krastiņš, Jānis (1997). Mežaparks. Rīgas ekoloģiski tīrākais dzīvojamais rajons (in Latvian). Riga: Zinātne. p. 198.
  24. 1 2 Krastiņš, Jānis (1980). Jūgendstils Rīgas arhitektūrā (in Latvian). Riga: Zinātne. p. 191.
  25. ↑ "Īres nams ar veikaliem, cultural monument no. 8068" (in Latvian). National Heritage Board of Latvia. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  26. ↑ Krastiņš, Jānis (1997). Mežaparks. Rīgas ekoloģiski tīrākais dzīvojamais rajons (in Latvian). Riga: Zinātne. p. 196. Design drawings appear on pp. 92–93.
  27. ↑ Krastiņš, Jānis (1997). Mežaparks. Rīgas ekoloģiski tīrākais dzīvojamais rajons (in Latvian). Riga: Zinātne. p. 197.
  28. ↑ Krastiņš, Jānis (1997). Mežaparks. Rīgas ekoloģiski tīrākais dzīvojamais rajons (in Latvian). Riga: Zinātne. p. 209.
  29. ↑ Krastiņš, Jānis (1980). Jūgendstils Rīgas arhitektūrā (in Latvian). Riga: Zinātne. p. 201.
  30. 1 2 Krastiņš, Jānis (1980). Jūgendstils Rīgas arhitektūrā (in Latvian). Riga: Zinātne. p. 211.
  31. ↑ "Īres nams ar veikalu, cultural monument no. 7948" (in Latvian). National Heritage Board of Latvia. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  32. 1 2 "Herberts Tīmers". Statues – Hither & Thither. Retrieved 29 August 2026. The 2006 plaque gives a construction period of 1912–1914.
  33. ↑ Krastiņš, Jānis (1980). Jūgendstils Rīgas arhitektūrā (in Latvian). Riga: Zinātne. p. 196. The catalogue gives 1914 as the start of construction.
  34. ↑ "Sabiedriska un dzīvojamā ēka, cultural monument no. 6585" (in Latvian). National Heritage Board of Latvia. Retrieved 29 August 2026. The record names Herberts Tīmers and Maksis Deibners as the architects.
  35. ↑ "Wohn- und Geschäftshaus mit Filmtheater, Kaļķu iela 24". Bildkatalog (in German). Herder Institute. Retrieved 29 August 2026. The record dates the building to 1913–1917 and names Herbert Tiemer and Max Deubner as architects, citing Krastiņš and Strautmanis (2004), p. 38.

Further reading