Architecture in Germany - the magnificent baroque, a little delayed with us

Germany's start in the Baroque

The Baroque architecture era is actually dated to a period of around 1575 to 1770, only in Germany, the Germans once again had better things to do.

"Better" meant war far too often in Germany, according to here. In this case, the Thirty Years' War , an endless sequence of battles about the dominance in the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation and also a religious war.

The young Protestant faith movement wanted freedom of faith that Catholic rulers did not want to allow them-the arguments for the right path to heavenly salvation were led with weapons and, with the gravest sacrifices, the 30-year war is only one of many wars in the conflict of interpretation between Catholics and Protestants.

Also in relation to the massacres surrounding the supremacy on the European continent, the Thirty Years' War was not the only argument associated with warlike acts. At the same time, the Eighty Years' War (Spain-Niederland, 1568-1648), the French-Spanish War (1635-1659), the Torstensons War (Sweden and Denmark-Norway, 1643-1645) and the sea war on Lake Constance (Habsburg against the Württemberg, 1632–1648) supported.

Since rulers acted in all these wars, which sought a little more power on European land space, and the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was quite in the middle of this country, most of these wars were held in the area of ​​the Holy Roman Empire.

The battles of the Thirty Years' War anyway, and in all other wars the battles liked to touch the edges of the empire because interests of the emperor were also touched-which could quickly happen, the emperor was also the king of Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia and Archduke of Austria.

This decades of war, especially in German country, not only cost life in slaughtered soldiers: these soldiers looted and devastated ("devastating" comes from "Army") in their ways to the battles as well as entire areas of the land and robbed the resident population of their livelihood.

In addition, famine and epidemics ... of the approximately 15 to 17 million inhabitants who lived in Germany around 1600 were only 10 million around 1650, some territories affected by the war needed more than a century to recover from the consequences of the endless war.

A cruel and senseless wasteland that is common for the time (and especially for Germany) that the German cultural and architectural history did not throw back for the first time- even though we Germans were quite in the way because we were already starting from a backward position:

When the Romans were already producing magnificent stone buildings, Baiern and Franconia, Frisians and Saxons, Swabia and Thuringian still lived in tents, wooden huts or pile dwellings, only when the Romans themselves also had something better to do ", their empire on the wall f watches , the German tribes from Roman legacies developed the first constant architecture, Romanesque .

The actual stars in art and architecture were the countries that were largely able to keep the warlike actions away from their areas of control: France was always able to keep the wars on the edge of its lands, so the Gothic architecture develop into sophisticated heights inside France, Italy appeared in the list of big battles just three or four times, here Romanesque architecture was able to convert rather directly in rich renaissance building .

From France and Italy came the impulses from which German builders developed Gothic architecture and Renaissance building. In Italy, the first forms of baroque architectural style came up in Italy at the end of the 16th century. Based on Italy, this style initially spread in the Catholic countries of Europe before it was recorded in the Protestant areas in a modified form.

Magnificent architecture, of all, but not for everyone

So after the end of the Thirty Years' War, the Germans had only given up thoughts and resources from around 1650 to pay attention to the latest currents in architecture. Regarding the dominating baroque style, they are more likely to re -enact the French example than Italy.

Because at that time German rule was in the hands of Emperor Ferdinand III. , who, as evil tongues, claimed by Habsburg inbreeding, had a weak position of power that wanted to be strengthened.

This included splendid folding (Ferdinand III. The first wedding was celebrated for 14 months, even though they were in the middle of the war), the eager sponsor of the arts also liked to take up cultural influences from art -loving Italy, he grinded the Italian opera in the self -written compositions and wrote numerous poems in Italian.

In the area of ​​representative art and culture, however, he preferred to orientate himself to the absolutist model of France, whether in the court ceremony or in architecture.

The architecture of the Baroque was also the architecture of an absolutist state opinion in the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, and the architecture was there to emphasize the rulers' power.

This is shown in many details: The entire room composition is aimed at the ruler and to emphasize its position of power - magnificent stairwells know only one goal on earth, the person of the ruler, the murals and the ceiling paintings glorify his shape, sculptures on the plastically formed walls with their motifs give scenes from the life of the princely or royal building.

Ferdinand III. It wasn't the only mighty one who "used" the baroque architecture for his purposes: With her help, every government prince wanted to emphasize his wealth and power, similar to how many large bank or insurance company in a ceremonial building in a German city center.

Also similar to today: The power -of -the -art decision -makers endeavored to exceed each other in split, the financing of the pomp was left to many working people. Whether it was the Dresden Zwinger at the time, which was only built in almost two decades of construction (1709 to 1728) in order to be able to celebrate court festivals like at the courtyard of the sun king. Or whether it is the three -year expansion of a bishopric for 31 million.

At least in terms of use, we are usually better off today. While the festivities in the Dresden kennel were only accessible to a few chosen ones in the company at the time, bishop's building with involuntary financiers, the German citizens, has caused so much resentment. Even the church financial administration, which is otherwise not exactly for transparency in the direction of transparency towards church people, no longer dares to even consider future use as a bishop's residence.

The future of the bombastic building conglomerate is discussed controversially: refugee home and soup kitchen, park café and contact point for homeless, memorial and day care center and opening of the garden as a tourist attraction-all in conversation, the main thing, "the money gesture is gone afterwards" , as a member of the cathedral chapter expressed very aptly. The Catholic lay initiative "We are Church" noted on the entire topic that bishops "are not an absolutist prince, but the servants of the people in the dioceses" (if the reference to the baroque was not yet clear to them).

However, there are other splendid buildings today in which companies demonstrate their unbridled economic power, and which are financed by global exploitation of legal workers, combined with uncritical consumption in sales markets.

A good example is the new headquarters of a leading company in the IT entertainment industry, 260,000 square meters, demolition of existing buildings, design of the new building by Star Architect Norman Foster , construction time at least three years (before the start of construction).

The style of the baroque

The baroque initially only described a "baroque" construction, after the Portuguese "Barroco" , a description of irregularly shaped pearls. Only an expression for "uneven" and also slightly pejorative for "strange" buildings in French space, the "pearl" came to the fore with the upswing of the new architecture.

However, the names only came much later anyway, only in the 18th century the "baroque" art and the noun "Baroque" in the 19th century, in the 17th century they simply built it.

The baroque is really irregular by complementing the regular art of the Renaissance, which is regularly divided into rest and unity in the lines. The forms of the Renaissance have been adopted, but vigorously exaggerated, new varied elements should express movement, influences from a wide variety of artificial genuses, architecture, sculpture and painting, were taken up without observing the previously cleaned borders.

The baroque did not replace the Renaissance through opposites, like the Renaissance the late Gothic. Instead, the Baroque slowly developed its characteristics out of the Renaissance, in such a variety that baroque age, which is comprehensive in almost two hundred years, can hardly be found a style feature that can be found in every art or building.

In architecture, baroque art its most diverse expression, concave and convex forms, swinging domes and rhythmic column groups, gable and window crowns richly decorated with ornaments increase their effects and have an impact on the viewer as well as in powerful movement.

The uniform order of the Renaissance is dissolved. The complex individual forms are arranged into a total work of art. They use lighting effects and include sculpture, plastic and painting in the design options within the architecture.

Baroque buildings in Germany

The magnificent lock served for a whole series of rulers Louis XIV., Versailles, as a model. These buildings were often exaggerated by geometrically designed gardens and city complexes. Examples are Mannheim Castle, with a converted area of ​​six hectares one of the largest castles in Europe, and closed Karlsruhe with its extensive castle garden in French Baroque style.

The Würzburg residence provides a synthesis of the European Baroque. Architects and artists from all over Europe participated in their construction. The residence includes an impressive interaction of architecture, plastic and painting in Kaisersaal and staircase.

Examples of baroque ruler culture , from north to south across Germany:

• New Palais in Potsdam (1763-1769)
• Charlottenburg Castle in Berlin (1695 - 1699)
• Berlin city palace (1699-approx. 1706 baroque expansion)
• Zeughaus Berlin (1694 - 1729)
• Dresdner Zwinger and Kronentor (1709-1728)
• Eisenacher Stadschoss (1703-1756)
• Augustusburg Castle in Brühl (1725-1768, interiors already in the Rococo style)
• Residenzschloss Arolsen (1710-1728)
• Würzburg residence (1719-1744)
• Weißenstein Castle near Pommersfelden (1711-1718)
• Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg (1704-1733)

The church also liked the baroque architecture. The Roman-Catholic Church, which was in the conflict with the Protestants, wanted to captivate or regain their believers, whose eyes were to be banned by the view of splendor and splendor. The Catholic areas represent the vast majority of church baroque art.

The most famous examples of the baroque sacral building are the following buildings (due to the expansion of existing buildings, there are regularly construction stories than exact construction times):

• Dresden Frauenkirche
• Fuldaer Cathedral
• Pilgrimage church Vierzehnheiligen in Upper Franconia
• Pilgrimage church Steinhausen near Bad Schussenried
• St. Johann-Nepomuk Church (Asamkirche) in Munich
• Theater Church St. Kajetan, Munich
• Ottobeuren monastery
• Weltenburg monastery
• Ettal monastery
• Banz monastery
• Pilgrimage church Birnau
• Wieskirche in Steingaden

However, the "baroque attitude to life" not only touches with splendid decoration, but also with a feeling for the transience and regret about the sophisticated escape of the time in this vehemence.

Perhaps the reason why the baroque builds us today awe from the pure artistry of the execution. Many people of our time also have to struggle with the quick escape of the time.

In any case, it is always a long after-effect experience when you take the time to visit the Baroque wonder in your area or at the holiday destination. Incidentally, the baroque can often be experienced in combination with pleasant sporting activities in a nice summer weather, there are several baroque hiking trails .

One of them z. B. in North Rhine-Westphalia, it leads through the Altenfeld meadows on the edge of the Rothaar Mountains Nature Park (Altenfeld is located between Winterberg and Schmallenberg).

A less strenuous baroque walk leads you through the old town of Aachen, and in Baden-Württemberg you can even hike a Baroque Stone Age route of 21 km in the Upper Swabian area of ​​the Feder Sea area, on which you can visit two special highlights of the baroque and the kite:

The pilgrimage church in Steinhausen near Bad Schussenried , a unique baroque church and known as the most beautiful village church in the world, and the Paleolithic storage area at the Schussenquelle , where around 13,000 years ago, Stone Age hunters were stored and rewind from the warehouse of the ice age tundra.

Of course, you don't necessarily have to open up the baroque on foot, the last recommended hiking route is z. B. in the middle of the "Upper Swabian Baroque Road" , which opens up hundreds of kilometers and in four routes over a hundred different baroque sights of a structured inspection.

You can get more information on the topic page of Upper Swabia Tourism: Oberschwäbische Barockstraße .