German Gothic Architecture

• Germany is flanked by large empires and is passed through by the Rhine River, making its developments in architecture fairly modern
• Production of Materials:

  • North / North-Eastern = Brick
  • Central / South = Stone
  • Hanover / North-West = Timber
• Bishops and Trade Guilds were the most influential patrons at the time
• Freemasons are credited with Gothic influence and propagation
• The Great Interregnum is the period where no one king was universally acknowledged by the people
• The Hapsburgs came into power in 1273
• The Hanseatic League was a coalition of northern german towns that had a considerable influence on the arts
• Germany's Gothic Architecture is directly borrowed from France — although quite reluctantly as they had a lot of monumental Romanesque churches
• German Gothic Architecture did not exist before the 13th Century
• A "Hall Church" is a signature characteristic of the German Gothic style— it is when the height of the nave and the aisles match, creating a lack of triforium and clerestory windows
• Elbe, in Northern Germany is known for its special characteristic of using brick in the Gothic style
• Peter Parler is a craftsman, sculptor, and architect famed for his creation of the "Parler Style"
• Benedict Reid is the Baumeister / Magister Operis (Master Builder) known for his work on the Vladislav Hall in Prague Castle and St. Barbara's Church
• Cologne Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, at 8400 sqm (468 x 275 ft)— it has spires that are 157 m tall and bears a resemblance to the Amiens Cathedral
• Ulm Cathedral is the creation of a collection of architects. It is a Lutheran Hall Church— as well as the tallest church in the world at 161.53 m tall, with 768 steps to the top of its tower
• St. Stephen in Vienna is an Austrian Hall church— it's roof is decorated with 230k glazed bricks making up a chevron pattern. It was the venue of the funerals of Mozart and Pauper
• St. Vitus Cathedral within the Prague Castle holds the tombs of the Bohemian Kings and Roman Emperors. It has a roof with diamond patterns, and a 124 x 60 m plan— it houses the relic of St. Vitus, his arm
• Frauenkirche "Church of Our Lady" is a small Hall Church with two aisles— known for being made out of brick
• Frauenkirche at Ingolstadt has its towers out of alignment, and a nave flanked by expressionistic chapels with extraordinary vaulting
• The Cathedral of Regensburg is the largest church in Bavaria, with a triangular porch and an architect directly from France — it is built with cream-colored limestone and a softer green sandstone
• Old House, Hartz is a piece of domestic architecture marked by lofty roofs which had more storeys than the walls — they had dormer windows to use as a drying ground for their large monthly washes
• Freiburg Minster has a 118 meter high tower and is the only tower in Germany to be completed in the middle ages — it has 16 bells, with the oldest being the "Hosanna"