Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Aram, Eugene" to "Arcueil" / Volume 2, Slice 4

by Various

Fig. 48.—Plan of Cathedral at Cologne.

In domestic architecture nothing remains of the palace at Aix-la-Chapelle, but at Lorsch near Mannheim is the entrance gateway of the convent which was dedicated by Charlemagne in 774. It is in two storeys, in the lower one three semicircular arches flanked by columns with extremely classic capitals. The upper storey is decorated with what might have been described as a blind arcade, except that instead of arches are triangular spaces similar to some windows found in Saxon architecture; the whole gateway being crowned with a classic cornice. The palaces at Goslar (1050) and Dankwarderode in Brunswick (1150-1170) still preserve their great halls, and in the palace built (1130-1150) by the emperor Frederick I. at Gelnhausen there remain portions extremely fine and vigorous in style, and showing a strong Byzantine influence. The largest and most important castle is that of the Wartburg at Eisenach, which is in complete preservation.

To sum up, the German Complete Gothic is essentially national in its complete character. It has many and obvious defects. From the first there is conspicuous in it that love of lines, and that desire to play with geometrical figures, which in time degenerated into work more full of conceit and triviality than that of any school of medieval artists. These conceits are worked out most elaborately in the traceries of windows and panelling. The finest early examples are in the cathedral at Minden; a little later, perhaps, the best series is in the cloister of Constance cathedral; and of the latest description the examples are innumerable. But it is worth observing that they rarely at any time have any ogee lines. They are severely geometrical and regular in their form, and quite unlike our own late Middle Pointed, or the French Flamboyant. In sculpture the Germans did not shine. They, like the English, did not introduce it with profusion, though they were very prone to the representations of effigies of the deceased as monuments.

In one or two respects, however, Germany is still possessed of a wealth of medieval examples, such as is hardly to be paralleled in Europe. The vast collection of brick buildings, for instance, is unequalled. If a line be drawn due east and west, and passing through Berlin, the whole of the plain lying to the north, and extending from Russia to Holland, is destitute of stone, and the medieval architects, who always availed themselves of the material which was most natural in the district, built all over this vast extent of country almost entirely in brick. The examples of their works in this humble material are not at all confined to ecclesiastical works; houses, castles, town-halls, town walls and gateways, are so plentiful and so invariably picturesque and striking in their character, that it is impossible to pass a harsh verdict on the architects who left behind them such extraordinary examples of their skill and fertility of resource.

This development is largely due to the fact that all these countries in north-east Germany were connected and very much influenced by the confederation of the Hanse towns, and hence the similarity in the design of all their buildings. Although some of the earliest buildings date from the 12th century, the chief development took place in the 14th and 15th centuries, and in the 16th century formed the basis of the transitional works of the Renaissance. The principal Hanse towns are Hamburg, Lübeck and Danzig. The chief buildings in Hamburg were destroyed by the fire in 1842, and it is in Lübeck that the most important churches are to be found. The church of St Mary (Marienkirche), 1304, is the most striking on account of its dimensions, 346 ft. in length, the nave being 123 ft. high, with two western towers 407 ft. high. Great scale is given to the building in consequence of the small material (brick) used, and some of the windows in this or other churches are nearly 100 ft. in height, with lofty mullions, all in moulded brick. The Dom or cathedral of Lübeck, though slightly larger, is not so good in design, but has a remarkable north porch in richly moulded brick, with marble shafts and carved capitals. In the church of St Catherine the choir is raised above a lofty vaulted crypt, similar to examples in some of the Italian churches. The Marienkirche at Danzig (1345-1503), built by a grand master of the Teutonic knights, to whom the chief development of the architecture of north-east Germany is largely due, is one of those examples already mentioned as Hallenkircken. The nave, aisles, side chapels, transept and aisles, and choir with square east end, are all of the same height; as the church is 280 ft. long and 125 ft. wide, with a transept 200 ft. long, the effect is that of one stupendous hall, but as the light is only obtained through the windows of the side chapels, the interior, though impressive, is somewhat gloomy. The same is found in the choir of the Franciscan church at Salzburg, where five slender piers, 70 ft. in height and 4 ft. in diameter, carry the vault over an area 160 ft. long by 66 ft. wide. Right up in the north of Germany, in Pomerania, are many fine examples in brick and sometimes of great size, such as those at Stralsund, Stettin, Stargard, Pasewalk, and in the island of Rugen. The Marienkirche at Stralsund, owing to its massive construction and picturesque grouping, is an interesting example. Its western transept or narthex with tower in centre is a common type of the churches in Pomerania, and though very inferior in design is a version of those which in England are seen in Ely and Peterborough cathedrals.

In the entrance gateways to the towns and in domestic architecture north Germany is very rich; the palace of the grand master of the Teutonic Order at Marienburg is a vast and imposing structure in brick (1276-1335), in which the chapter house of the grand master, with its fan-vaulted roof, resting on a single pillar of granite in the centre, and the entrance porch of the church richly carved in brick, are among the finest examples executed in that material.

(R. P. S.)

Romanesque and Gothic in Belgium and Holland

Fig. 49.—Plan of Cathedral at Tournai.

Of early Romanesque work neither Belgium nor Holland retains any examples; for with the exception of the small building at Nijmwegen built by Charlemagne, there are no churches prior to the 11th century, and at first the influence in Belgium would seem to have come from Lombardy, through the Rhine Provinces. As all her large churches are built in the centres of her most important towns, it is probable that the older examples were pulled down to make way for others more in accordance with the increasing wealth and population. In the 13th century they came under the influence of the great Gothic movement in France, and two or three of their cathedrals compare favourably with the French cathedrals. The finest example of earlier date is that of the cathedral of Tournai (fig. 49), the nave of which was built in the second half of the 11th century, to which a transept with north and south apses and aisles round them was added about the middle of the 12th century. These latter features are contemporaneous with similar examples at Cologne, and the idea of the plan may have been taken from them; externally, however, they differ so widely that the design may be looked upon as an original conception, though the nave arcades, triforium storey, and clerestory resemble the contemporaneous work in Normandy. The original choir was pulled down in the 14th century, and a magnificent chevet of the French type erected in its place. The grouping of the towers which flank the transept, with the central lantern, the apses, and lofty choir, is extremely fine (fig. 50). The sculptures on the west front, dating from the 12th to the 16th century, protected by a portico of the late 15th century, are of remarkable interest and in good preservation. They are in three tiers, the two lowest consisting of bas-reliefs, the upper tier with life-size figures in niches, resting on corbels. The Romanesque tower of the church of St Jacques in the same town, with angle turrets, is a picturesque and well-designed structure.