A prolific architect, Hegele produced a great number of designs, among them: churches, museums, private houses, bridges and monuments; but many remained on paper.

He subsequently enrolled in Vienna's Academy of Fine Arts (Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) where, between 1893 and 1896, he specialised in architecture under Victor Luntz and Karl von Hasenauer.

[1][3][2] Back in Vienna, the following year he practiced with several architectural firms,[1][3] among them Franz von Neumann, a prominent historicist, and the brothers Anton and Josef Drexler, who at the time were moving from historicism towards Secessionstil.

Among the jury members sat Otto Wagner,[4] one of the pioneers of Viennese Art Nouveau architecture, whose work had played a great influence on the young Hegele.

It stands out for its high secessionist obelisks; at the base of each, facing the street, is a couple of statues holding Vienna's coat of arms.

Each figure has a funerary symbol in its hand: a skull, meaning death, an hourglass, for time passing, a laurel wreath, symbolising immortality, and a palm branch, representing resurrection.

[6] The St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery Church (Friedhofskirche zum heiligen Karl Borromäus) is considered to be Max Hegele's masterpiece and it is probably the most renowned work by him.

Groundbreaking took place on 11 May 1908, with Vienna's Mayor Karl Lueger laying the first stone, and the building was ultimated in October 1910,[8] opening the following year.

[7] Hegele was probably influenced by the historical architecture of Vienna since he chose an elliptical plan, typical of the city's baroque churches, and the structure is reminiscent of the Karlskirche (also dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo).

Hegele designed the interiors as well, collaborating with several decorative artists: sculptors Georg Leisek and Hans Rathausky provided reliefs for the lobby, stained glass windows and mosaics were created by Leopold Forstner and artworks by Anton Kaan, Franz Klug, Karl Philipp and Adolf Pohl enrich the main altar; a Last Judgement was painted by Hans Zatzka in the lunette above it.

[9] The building was meant to replace the old baroque church of Pressbaum and Max Hegele and his assistant August Rehak were appointed to ideate it.

The layout is substantially traditional, with a longitudinal nave and a high steeple on the left of the facade, but Hegele's Secessionstil emerges in multiple aspects: the metallic geometric ornamentation that appears both inside and outside, the disposition of elements on the facade, the Art Nouveau furniture (wooden pews, confessionals and wrought iron chandeliers) and the way the tower adjoins its pointed roof, recalling Hegele's previous creations.

[1] The year 1908 was a crucial one for Hegele's career: now a member of the Central Association of Austrian Architects, he presided over the Wiener Bauhütte's Exhibition Committee of Architects, joined the Austrian Society for Christian Art and was appointed professor of structural engineering at the State Trade School of Vienna, his alma mater, a position he would keep for many years.

Murals with stylised angels and friezes of vegetal motifs embellish the interiors, while stained glass windows contribute to the lighting.

[1] Hegele's Fillgraderstiege is a staircase completed in 1905‒1907 in the Mariahilf district of Vienna, raccording the streets of Fillgradergasse and Theobaldgasse, on different levels.

[13] In 1908 Austrian industrialist Arthur Krupp hired Max Hegele and Baurat Hans Peschl as architects for two school buildings in Berndorf.

This stripped down appearance reflects a general trend of viennese architecture: in the 1910s many architects tended to move towards simpler designs with little ornament and occasionally austere stone facades (Otto Wagner himself went down this path).

[citation needed] During the First World War Hegele temporarily stopped his teaching activity as he was appointed director of works for the Imperial Military Academy, with the rank of lieutenant.

Ironworkers had to serve in arms factories to sustain the war effort and, even after the end of the conflict, a lack of coal (needed for the concrete production) further delayed the resumption of work.

Secessionstil was over and out of style in Red Vienna; given the lack of commissions in the capital, Hegele worked mainly in Lower Austria.

One of the major projects he realized in this period is St. Pölten's Regional Health Insurance building (in collaboration with Florian Prantl), designed in 1925‒1926 in an architectural style typical of interwar Austria: elementary geometrical shapes, rigid lines, very simple ornamentation and pointed arches.

[citation needed] In 1937 Hegele ceased his activity as professor at the Trade School and retired in Hadersdorf-Weidlingau where he lived with his wife until his death in 1945.

[1] Hegele is mainly remembered for his redevelopment of Vienna's Central Cemetery and a historical marker inside the St. Charles Borromeo Church acknowledges his work.

Moreover, Wagner may have significantly contributed to Hegele's breakthrough as he was a member of the jury that selected his project for Vienna's Central Cemetery.