“Gerda Stryi-Leitgeb was a prominent 20th-century painter who worked in Wiesbaden for decades and helped shape the city’s artistic and cultural life. Stryi-Leitgeb was actively involved not only as an artist but also as a teacher and in community organizations. By designating this as an honorary grave, we are honoring the life’s work of this remarkable individual,” explains Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende.

Gerda Johanna Stryi-Leitgeb (née Stryi) was born on May 20, 1904, in Katowice. After graduating from high school, she began her studies at the State Academy of Fine Arts and Applied Arts in Breslau in 1921; in 1922, she was awarded the Academy Prize for her outstanding work. During this time, she was already a member of several artists’ associations, through which her works were disseminated and she gained access to major exhibitions. After completing her studies, she traveled through Europe with her husband, Erich Leitgeb, and continued to develop her artistic style, which was inspired, among other things, by the architectural facades of southern Italy. Although Stryi-Leitgeb joined the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts in 1934, her works were not admitted to any exhibitions. Some of her works were even classified as so-called “degenerate” art. After the end of World War II, she was forced to leave Breslau as part of the expulsion of Germans from the eastern territories and, after living in various places, moved to Wiesbaden in 1948. In 1950, her husband won the city’s competition to design the lobby at the Theaterkolonnaden. He was unable to complete this work, however, as he died unexpectedly. Stryi-Leitgeb took over the commission and created the eleven sopraports using the fresco technique. That same year, she co-founded the Wiesbaden artists’ association “Künstlergruppe 50.” In the years that followed, she won additional public competitions and created, among other works, a large mural in Rotenburg an der Fulda. In addition, between 1953 and 1955, she worked as an art teacher at the Municipal Realgymnasium for Girls on Boseplatz (now the Elly-Heuss-Schule). Afterward, she worked exclusively as a freelance artist, exhibited her work, and undertook study trips to Southern Europe. From 1972 to 1980, she also served as a volunteer on the board of the Nassauischer Kunstverein. Stryi-Leitgeb passed away on November 9, 1992, in Wiesbaden.

Honorary graves in the state capital of Wiesbaden are awarded to individuals who, during their lifetime, either rendered outstanding service to the state capital of Wiesbaden itself or whose outstanding achievements in the fields of local politics, the arts, culture, science, economics, or social welfare are being recognized.