From 1948 to 1950 Ströch studied in Weimar at the Hochshule für Baukunst und Bildende Künsteunder under Hans Hoffmann-Lederer.

His first solo exhibition was held at the Galerie Springer in Berlin in 1952.

In the mid 1950s he began using Altenbourg as a pseudonym, the name taken from the village of Altenburg.

In the later part of the decade Ströch started sculpting, mainly in plaster, metal, and marble.

In 1970 the first retrospective of his works were shown at the Galerie Brusberg in Berlin.