The Cremer & Wolffenstein architecture firm was founded in Germany in 1882 by Richard Wolffenstein (1846–1919) and Wilhelm Cremer (1854–1919) and existed up to the death of its two founders. During the so-called Gründerzeit in Berlin, the years of rapid industrial expansion in Germany at the end of the 19th century, they were a prolific firm in the various aspects of architecture. As one of the largest firms in Berlin at the turn of the century, they designed residential, commercial, transportation, government, and religious buildings. They built a number of synagogues, won second place in the 1882 competition to design the Reichstag, and were also involved in planning the Hochbahn overhead railway installation between Kreuzberg and Nollendorfplatz.