Gothic architecture of Germany: history and features

The reflection of the history of Germany in architecture is the 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 with such interest are visiting the local sights, which are ready to open to a knowledgeable person a lot of interesting things about the country and its people. Gothic style in the architecture of Germany is the most significant and original. It began to develop much later than in France, but so merged with the cultural traditions of the country, which for many years was considered to be its product. Today we will tell you the most interesting facts about the architecture of Germany, especially highlighting the German Gothic, famous throughout the world for its magnificent temples.

A few words about the country's cultural heritage

The architecture of Germany developed and developed under the influence of geographical and historical features. The fact is that most of the country's territories for a long time was under the authority of the specific princes, who were at war with each other.

This contributed to the development of various directions in the architecture of Germany. Each city was built in its own style, which was impossible to replicate in another village. All this allows us to talk about the national architecture of Germany, the style of which was developed by long-time masters, 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 in the shortest time, so some of the sights did not return to their former appearance. Modern architecture of Germany is close to the Art Nouveau style, it was he who took as a basis for the construction of cities in the second half of the twentieth century. Until now, most new buildings belong to this style.

Gothic: brief description

Gothic began to take shape in a separate and specific style around the beginning of the twelfth century. During this period of the late Middle Ages, people already accumulated considerable experience and knowledge, allowing a new look at the erection of buildings. Most architects confidently used the experience of ancient mathematicians, and their knowledge of geometry made it possible to otherwise model space. This gradually led to the fact that the Romanesque style that prevailed throughout Europe, began to give way to something new, based on completely different concepts.

It is interesting that the term "Gothic" itself appeared much later. He appeared as a contemptuous designation of the line between the great culture and the heritage of Ancient Rome and the new trend that barbarians brought to Europe. Most of them had the nickname "Goths", so for the new style, the same eloquent title was fixed.

Gothic architecture: a general description

Gothic means the construction of buildings that seem to carry uncontrollable ideas and soar to heaven, testifying to the greatness of man. For such buildings, very competent drawings and an abundance of building materials were required. The tree was replaced by a stone, which allowed to implement all the ideas of architects and was resistant to frequent at that time in European cities fires.

It is interesting that in itself Gothic architecture has become the impetus for numerous inventions. After all, during the construction it was necessary to raise to a greater height the overall stone blocks, which required the processing of various iron tools. In parallel, the builders had to create new mixtures based on lime and sand, capable of firmly bonding stones together.

A great achievement of Gothic masters is the invention of the frame system. It allowed to calculate the support points of massive structures in such a way as to reduce the number of columns, raise windows and let in buildings as much light as possible. This approach was a real godsend for the cathedrals, which were able to unite the halls among themselves in order to make the premises more luxurious and impressive.

Naturally, in every European country the new style acquired its own characteristics. Gothic architecture in Germany showed itself most clearly. All the main characteristics of the style were transformed into something new, which became the visiting card of the country. Surprisingly, even the Germans themselves for many years believed that Gothic was born in their country and only then spread throughout Europe. Looking at the magnificent cathedrals erected by the German masters, it may seem that they were not far from the truth - gothic became a true 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 did 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.

Great influence on the architecture of Germany was rendered by France, it was from here came the masters, inspired and admired by Gothic ideas. Thanks to them, the first constructions with elements of a new style appeared. They are still difficult to attribute to full-fledged buildings of the Gothic architecture of Germany, but they have become a kind of transition from the Romanesque style. In this period there were such masterpieces as St. Michael's Church, St. Bartholomew's Chapel and St. Kilian's Cathedral.

Later, these monumental structures began to be attributed to the Romance-Gothic style, which finally lost its relevance towards the end of the thirteenth century.

The development and development of German Gothic architecture

By the beginning of the fourteenth century, the architecture of Germany in the Gothic style acquired its vivid personality, power and a host of features borrowed from France. Over time, everything that was taken from other countries and cultures, has transformed into a number of features, which we will talk about in another section of the article.

Contemporaries believe that the most vivid structure in the true Gothic style was the Church of Our Lady. It began to be built in Tire approximately in the thirtieth year of the thirteenth century. Its distinctive feature was the layout in the form of a correct cross. Previously, there were no such structures in Germany or in other European countries. The builders arranged two chapels in the church symmetrically to the horizontal of the whole building. This masterpiece was admired by architects from all over the world.

The Magdeburg Cathedral and the Church of St. Elizabeth can also be referred to the period of the Gothic heyday.

Features of architecture in Germany

German gothic got its own special features, which became her business card. Among the most notable are the following:

• Strict geometricity. Many historians note that the German architecture of this period is characterized by an incredible simplicity of lines. Often the cathedrals are compared with the monumental fortresses created to protect cities.
• Lack of jewelry on the western facade. The French very carefully developed the elements of jewelry, while the Germans avoided unnecessary additional elements and preferred clean lines.
• Adherence to one or four towers. In all countries of Europe for Gothic was characteristic of the erection of the cathedrals of two towers. German masters went further - their constructions were crowned by one high tower or four, located symmetrically around the perimeter of the cathedral.
• Transfer of the entrance to the side facade. For Gothic structures it is usual to plan an entrance on the central facade, but in Germany most of the buildings had a side entrance. This allowed to enjoy the beauty of the building to the full.
• Brick gothic. This direction was invented by the inhabitants of Germany and spread in the northern part of the country.

This we will tell you in more detail.

Brick Gothic

A new style in architecture dictated certain conditions when choosing building materials. In the advantageous position were those regions that had large deposits of stone and sand, but in Germany they had serious problems. Particularly poor in this regard were the northern regions, which introduced the concept of "brick gothic".

It is characterized by the construction of monumental buildings made of bricks. This material could not allow creating such majestic structures, which are a reflection of the Gothic style, but for all other parameters they fully correspond to the given trend.

An example of a brick Gothic can serve, for example, the church of St. Nicholas. It is interesting that in the regions where brick was used for construction, Gothic structures were expanded with town halls, shop buildings and even apartment buildings.

Cologne Cathedral

To the period of the heyday of Gothic in Germany is the erection of the Cologne Cathedral. Construction, begun in the middle of the thirteenth century, ended only six hundred years later. This building became the main symbol of the country, combining truly German and French Gothic. The author of the pompous project was Gerard von Rile, who worked on it for more than two years. The architect decided to build a cathedral on the site of the ancient temple of the Roman era, using its foundation. By the time of his death, the talented master had managed to see part of the cathedral, which stood unfinished until the middle of the nineteenth century.

Completed construction engineer Zvierner, who took as a basis the project of his predecessor, but replaced obsolete materials with new ones. As a result, before the inhabitants of the city appeared a cathedral, which has two luxurious towers more than one hundred and fifty meters high, and a base width of eighty-six meters.

Despite the fact that the Cologne Cathedral can not be wholly attributed to the Gothic architecture, it is still considered by historians to be its most vivid embodiment in the history of Germany.

Gothic fourteenth century

We can say that by the middle of the fourteenth century, most of the monumental structures that amazed the imagination of contemporaries had already been built. In cities and small settlements began to appear quite different buildings in the Gothic style.

Drawing on a two-century experience, the masters began to erect public facilities and dwellings for wealthy citizens. As a cultural heritage descendants got town halls, city hall buildings and guild houses.

At the moment, many of them are museums, expositions of which are of great interest to tourists from all over the world.

Architecture of the Renaissance of Germany

By the beginning of the fifteenth century, the country had come in a state of territorial fragmentation. A huge number of principalities waged protracted wars, which seriously hindered the development of a new architectural style.

It is worth noting that for him the period from the fifteenth century to the seventeenth is typical. At this time, clear and strict proportions were replaced by an abundance of decor with a certain imitation of antiquity. The revival was accompanied by the development of new technologies, enabling the use of other materials.

For this era is characterized by castle construction, because in the context of armed conflicts it is quite difficult to start building something monumental.

The architecture of the Renaissance gave the world castles in Dresden, the town hall in Leipzig, the church of St. Michael 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 is traced in the architecture of different periods. Many tourists claim that Germany can be studied only by its structures, each of which is a most valuable cultural monument.