SG #143: Architecture in Germany

by Annik Rubens | August 23, 2017 | History, Culture, Art and Culture, SG Podcast Episode

Architecture

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Let’s take a journey through time and explore German architecture. In ancient times, the Romans were in Germany—and, of course, they brought their architectural style with them. They built bridges, amphitheaters, and the Porta Nigra, a famous city gate in Trier. The Germanic tribes themselves lived in huts, so their architecture was rather modest.

During the Romanesque period, some 1,000 years ago, churches and monasteries were built at a rapid pace—Lübeck Cathedral and Speyer Cathedral, for example. Castles were also constructed during this time, such as Nuremberg Castle.

The Gothic style spread from France to Germany and also brought us many churches—Cologne Cathedral is a typical example. In the Gothic period, towers were built as high as possible, often in pairs, and the facades were richly decorated and pierced with windows. The structural load-bearing was shifted from the interior to the exterior as much as possible—so that there were few or no beams or supporting pillars inside. This made the interiors appear spacious and weightless. Of course, people didn’t live in Gothic churches—for them, there were primarily half-timbered houses, which are houses with a sturdy wooden frame filled with masonry.

The Italian Renaissance reached Germany in the 16th century, but never really took hold there. However, the Landshut City Residence was built by Italian master craftsmen, and St. Michael’s Church in Munich was also constructed in the Renaissance style.

The Baroque period began in Germany around 1650. It was inspired by the Sun King at Versailles. The Dresden Zwinger, the Frauenkirche, and the Würzburg Residence were built during this time. The Baroque era featured magnificent staircases; ceilings and walls were richly painted and decorated, and paintings and sculptures were integrated into the buildings—today, one would likely call this style ornate. The gardens of this period were laid out in strict geometric patterns.

After all that opulence, the builders probably felt the need for clean lines—they turned to antiquity for inspiration, allowing the gardens to grow wild and become more natural, and the buildings needed one thing above all else: columns. Here in Munich, there are several buildings from this period, such as the buildings on Königsplatz. Wilhelmshöhe Palace in Kassel is also an example of Classicism.

Starting in 1810, the Historicist style emerged; as the name suggests, it also looked to the past, reviving elements from antiquity, the Renaissance, the Gothic period, and the Baroque era. Berlin Cathedral and the Semper Opera House in Dresden are examples of this period.

My favorite architectural period was very brief: Art Nouveau. This architectural style emerged around the turn of the 19th to the 20th century and was inspired by a magazine called *Die Jugend* that was published in Munich. I have lived in two Art Nouveau buildings, both over 100 years old. You see these buildings very often in Munich.

And then modernism arrived—industrial buildings and the Bauhaus, which I’ve already told you about. Cost-effective construction methods were developed, and residential buildings were designed with functionality in mind. Lines became cleaner; there were no more frills or ornamentation.

But then the Nazis came along and threw the architecture of the time into disarray. They wanted to return to neoclassicism and built monumental, oversized concrete blocks that, unfortunately, still stand today. For example, the Zeppelin Grandstand in Nuremberg or the Haus der Kunst in Munich.

World War II destroyed many buildings—the cities were bombed, and they had to be rebuilt with limited funds and resources. As a result, many German cities today unfortunately have very ugly buildings that were constructed in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

And what about contemporary architecture? I’d say that in Germany, it’s characterized by lots of glass and clean lines. And some architects strive to build sustainably—they design buildings that use natural, locally sourced materials and, whenever possible, generate their own electricity or hot water using solar or photovoltaic panels.

Episode transcript (PDF): https://slowgerman.com/folgen/sg143kurz.pdf

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