Martin Elsaesser (28 May 1884 – 5 August 1957) was a German architect and professor of architecture. He is especially well known for the many churches he built.
From 1911 to 1913, he served as an assistant to Professor Paul Bonatz, at Stuttgart Technical University.[1] In 1913, he became professor for medieval architecture at the same institution (until 1920).[1]
From 1920 to 1925, he was managing director of the School of Arts and Crafts at Cologne (later known as the Kölner Werkschulen). In 1925, Ernst May, then government building surveyor in Frankfurt am Main, made him chief of the city's municipal building department which was responsible for the New Frankfurt project. Elsaesser kept that post until 1932. His largest construction during his time at Frankfurt was the Grossmarkthalle.
During the reign of National Socialism, Elsaesser did not receive any commissions. Nonetheless, he did not opt for emigration; instead he spent the war years in internal exile, pursuing architectural study tours and utopian designs.
After the war, he was professor of design at Munich Technical University from 1947 to 1956.
