Born in Deutsch-Prausnitz in Bohemia, was an Austrian architect and senior civil servant in the Vienna Municipal Building Department. After completing his master builder’s examination in Vienna in 1896, he studied at the Technical University of Vienna under Karl König and Karl Mayreder and attended Max Ferstel’s building school as an extraordinary student. He subsequently entered the Vienna City Building Authority as a technically trained civil servant.

Within the municipal administration, he worked across several departments and contributed to major construction projects of the City of Vienna, particularly high-rise buildings connected to hydroelectric infrastructure. In 1926, he was appointed head of the Department of Architecture, Garden Design, and Monument Preservation, overseeing the planning of municipal housing, public baths, kindergartens, and fire stations. He also represented the City of Vienna at architectural exhibitions in Leipzig and Gothenburg and served as a jury member for the competition to build the new Reichsbrücke.

The circumstances surrounding his forced retirement remain unclear. Despite official confirmation of satisfactory service, he was placed into retirement between 1939 and 1940 by order of National Socialist authorities. He died five years later at the age of 66 after a prolonged illness. In 1948, his widow formally requested posthumous rehabilitation, stating that neither he nor his family had been members of the Nazi Party or its affiliated organizations.

Reference:
Biography: Inge Scheidl, Josef Bitter, [Online] Architektenlexikon 1770–1945, Architekturzentrum Wien, Retrieved January 19, 2026.
https://www.architektenlexikon.at/de/49.htm