Reflection of German history in architecture is a hallmark of this country. Literally every stage of its historical development was accompanied by the emergence of new architectural trends and ideas. That is why modern tourists visit local sights with such interest, which are ready to reveal to a knowledgeable person a lot of interesting things about the country and its people. The Gothic style in German architecture is the most significant and distinctive. It began to develop much later than in France, but it merged so much with the cultural traditions of the country that for many years it was considered its creation. Today we will tell you the most interesting facts about the architecture of Germany, highlighting the German Gothic, famous throughout the world for its magnificent temples.
A few words about the cultural heritage of the country
Architecture of Germanyformed and developed under the influence of geographical and historical features. The fact is that most of the country's territories were for a long time under the rule of specific princes, who were at war with each other.
This contributed to the development of various trends in the architecture of Germany. Each city was built in its own style, which was impossible to repeat in another locality. All this allows us to talk about the national architecture of Germany, the style of which was developed over many years by masters who were trained in France and Italy.
It is sad that during the Second World War the country lost most of its historical monuments. They had to be restored as soon as possible, so some sights never returned to their original appearance. Modern architecture in Germany is close to the modern style, it was he who was taken as the basis for the construction of cities in the second half of the twentieth century. Until now, most new buildings belong to this style.
Gothic: a brief description
Gothic began to take shape in a separate and distinct style around the beginning of the twelfth century. During this period of the late Middle Ages, people had already accumulated considerable experience and knowledge, allowing them to take a fresh look at the construction of buildings. Most architects confidently used the experience of ancient mathematicians, and their knowledge of geometry made it possible to model space in a different way. This gradually led to the fact that the Romanesque style, which reigned throughout Europe, began to give way to something new, based oncompletely different concepts.
It is interesting that the term "Gothic" itself appeared much later. It appeared as a contemptuous designation of the line between the great culture and heritage of Ancient Rome and the new trend that the barbarians brought to Europe. Most of them had the nickname "Goths", so the same eloquent name was assigned to the new style.
Gothic architecture: general description
Gothic implies the construction of buildings that seem to carry unstoppable ideas and soar to the heavens, testifying to the greatness of man. Such buildings required very competent drawings and an abundance of building materials. The tree was replaced by stone, which made it possible to embody all the ideas of architects and was resistant to fires that were frequent at that time in European cities.
Interestingly, Gothic architecture itself was the impetus for numerous inventions. After all, during the construction it was necessary to raise the overall stone blocks to a great height, which required processing with various iron tools. In parallel, builders had to create new mixtures based on lime and sand, capable of firmly holding stones together.
The invention of the frame system is considered a great achievement of the Gothic masters. It made it possible to calculate the support points of massive structures in such a way as to reduce the number of columns, raise windows and let in as much light as possible into the buildings. This approach was a real boon for the cathedrals, which were able toconnect rooms together to make rooms more luxurious and impressive.
Naturally, in every European country the new style acquired its own features. Gothic architecture showed itself most clearly in Germany. All the main characteristics of the style were transformed into something new, which became the hallmark of the country. Surprisingly, even the Germans themselves believed for many years that Gothic was born in their country and only then spread throughout Europe. Looking at the magnificent cathedrals built by German masters, it may seem that they were not far from the truth - Gothic has become a real reflection of the culture and traditions of Germany.
Gothic in Germany: architecture
It is worth noting that the new direction captured the minds of German masters much more slowly than it happened in England and France. In these countries, Gothic took shape already in the twelfth century, and in Germany the first buildings with elements taken from this style appeared only towards the end of the thirteenth.
France had a great influence on the architecture of Germany, it was from here that the masters came, inspired and delighted with Gothic ideas. Thanks to them, the first buildings with elements of a new style appeared. It is still difficult to attribute them to full-fledged buildings of Gothic architecture in Germany, but they have become a kind of transitional stage from the Romanesque style. Masterpieces such as St. Michael's Church, St. Bartholomew's Chapel and St. Kilian's Cathedral appeared during this period.
In the future, these monumental structures began to be attributed to the Romanesque-Gothic style, which finally lostrelevance towards the end of the thirteenth century.
Development and establishment of German Gothic architecture
By the beginning of the fourteenth century, the architecture of Germany in the Gothic style acquired its own bright personality, power and a lot of features borrowed from France. Over time, everything that was taken from other countries and cultures was transformed into a number of features, which we will discuss in another section of the article.
Contemporaries believe that the most striking building in the true Gothic style was the Church of Our Lady. It began to be built in Tire about the thirtieth year of the thirteenth century. Its distinguishing feature was the layout in the form of a regular cross. There were no similar facilities before either in Germany or in other European countries. The builders placed two chapels in the church symmetrically to the horizontal of the entire structure. This masterpiece was admired by architects from all over the world.
Magneburg Cathedral and the Church of St. Elizabeth can also be attributed to the heyday of the Gothic style.
Features of German architecture
German Gothic has acquired its own special features, which have become its hallmark. Among the most notable are the following:
- Strict geometry. Many historians note that the German architecture of this period is characterized by an incredible simplicity of lines. Cathedrals are often compared to monumental fortifications built to protect cities.
- No decorations on the western façade. The French are very carefully designed elements of jewelry,while the Germans avoided too many extras and preferred clean lines.
- Commitment to one or four towers. In all European countries, Gothic was characterized by the construction of two towers on cathedrals. The German masters went further - their buildings were crowned by one high tower or four, located symmetrically around the perimeter of the cathedral.
- Moving the entrance to the side facade. It is customary for Gothic buildings to plan the entrance on the central facade, but in Germany most buildings had a side entrance. This made it possible to fully enjoy the beauty of the building.
- Brick Gothic. This direction was invented by the inhabitants of Germany and became widespread in the northern part of the country.
We will tell you more about this.
Brick Gothic
The new style in architecture dictated certain conditions when choosing building materials. Those regions that had large deposits of stone and sand turned out to be in an advantageous position, but in Germany there were serious problems with them. Particularly poor in this regard were the northern regions, which introduced such a concept as "brick Gothic".
It is characterized by the construction of monumental brick buildings. This material could not allow the creation of such majestic structures that are a reflection of the Gothic style, but in all other respects they are fully consistent with the given trend.
An example of brick Gothic can be, for example,church of St. Nicholas. Interestingly, in regions where brick was used for construction, Gothic structures were replenished with town halls, workshop buildings and even residential buildings.
Cologne Cathedral
The construction of Cologne Cathedral belongs to the heyday of Gothic in Germany. Construction, begun in the middle of the thirteenth century, ended only six hundred years later. This building has become the main symbol of the country, combining true German and French Gothic. The author of the pompous project was Gerard von Riehl, who worked on it for more than two years. The architect decided to build a cathedral on the site of an ancient temple of the Roman era, using its foundation. By the time of his death, the talented master managed to see part of the cathedral, which stood unfinished until the middle of the nineteenth century.
The construction was completed by engineer Zwirner, who took the design of his predecessor as a basis, but replaced obsolete materials with new ones. As a result, a cathedral appeared before the inhabitants of the city, which has two magnificent towers more than one hundred and fifty meters high, and a base eighty-six meters wide.
Despite the fact that the Cologne Cathedral cannot be 100% attributed to Gothic architecture, it is still considered by historians to be the most striking embodiment of it in the history of Germany.
Fourteenth century Gothic
It can be said that by the middle of the fourteenth century, most of the monumental structures that amaze the imagination of contemporaries had already been built. In cities and small townscompletely different buildings in the Gothic style began to appear.
Based on two centuries of experience, craftsmen began to build public facilities and housing for we althy citizens. As a cultural heritage, the descendants inherited the town halls, city hall buildings and guild houses.
At the moment, many of them house museums, the expositions of which are of great interest to tourists from all over the world.
German Renaissance Architecture
By the beginning of the fifteenth century, the country approached in a state of territorial fragmentation. A huge number of principalities waged protracted wars, which seriously impeded the development of a new architectural style.
It is worth noting that it is characterized by the period from the fifteenth century to the seventeenth. At this time, clear and strict proportions were replaced by an abundance of decor with a kind of imitation of antiquity. The renaissance was accompanied by the development of new technologies that made it possible to use other materials.
Castle building is typical for this era, because in the conditions of armed conflicts it is quite difficult to start building something monumental.
Renaissance architecture gave the world castles in Dresden, the town hall in Leipzig, St. Michael's Church and many other buildings.
A few words in conclusion
We think that from our article it is clear how clearly the history of the country can be traced in the architecture of different periods. Many tourists claim that Germany can only be studied byits buildings, each of which is a valuable cultural monument.
