The Gründerzeit

The beginning of what is referred to as the Gründerzeit,
(usually meaning the period from 1870-1900, the German word “gründen” means: to establish, to found) was marked by two historic events.
The victory over the French in the war of 1870-71 was followed by the long dreamt of formation of a united German “Reich”.

The creation of a unified economic market and France’s forced payment of compensation in the amount five billion gold francs helped with the founding of huge numbers of new businesses, banks and shareholder-owned companies. Hence the name for this period: the “Gründerzeit”.
The German economy experienced an enormous boom, with rapid industrialisation taking place. Science and research flourished and modern technology became a growing part of daily life. Those who profited from this most were the Bourgeoisie, whose wealth grew to proportions never seen before.

Their great desire to establish an image and reputation for themselves was also reflected in their homes. In the age of the revival styles the art styles of earlier periods were reused and reinterpreted in furniture which were increasingly being produced on an industrial scale. In post-1870 Germany, the neo-renaissance in particular was adopted as the leading style, and was regarded as being a very German style.
It remained dominant until the Jugendstil took over around 1900, but revival styles remained popular to a degree until World War I, following wich the modern movement gained more and more influence.