Gothic castles of Europe. Gothic architecture

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Gothic architectural style originated in the middle of the 12th century in Northern France. The efforts of Abbot Suteria contributed to this. This style reached its greatest prosperity in the first half of the 13th century, spreading to the territory of modern Spain and the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany, as well as Great Britain.

You can meet the Gothic in the architecture of Italy. However, this style leaked into this country a little later, having undergone a powerful transformation. By the end of the 14th century international gothic swept the whole of Europe. In countries located in the east of this continent, this style appeared much later and lasted until the 16th century. Gothic gave the world not only peculiar forms. This style has created a completely new understanding of volumetric composition and organization of space.

Stages of Gothic development

There is a certain periodization in the development of this amazing architectural style. So, gothic is distinguished:

- early (12th c.);

- heyday of style (13th c.);

- flaming (14th-15th c.);- international.

A little later inarchitectural solutions of buildings began to use only elements of this unusual style. The term "Neo-Gothic" is used for such structures.

Architectural features

The Gothic style is characterized by the verticality of the composition, the complex framework of the support system, the ribbed vault, and the lancet arch. These design features made it possible to build structures with large vaults (due to the presence of stiffeners) and with walls of smaller thickness (due to the repayment of loads on them by a system of buttresses). The architects reduced the massiveness of the buildings under construction as much as possible. This was made possible by the introduction of frameworks. As a result, the walls ceased to serve as load-bearing elements.

Distinguishing Features

The styles of architectural structures that exist at a certain historical stage undergo certain changes over time. So the Romanesque style gradually began to transform into Gothic.

What are its main features? There are seven hallmarks of the Gothic style:

1. Fashionable and predominant colors are blue, red and yellow.

2. Arrow lines forming an arch of two intersecting arcs.

3. Rectangular shape of the building in terms of lancet arches turning into pillars.

4. Fan vault, built on supports. Instead, sometimes there is a coffered ceiling. The halls in such buildings are long and narrow. Or wide, with supports installed in the center. The ceilings in these rooms are necessarily high.

5. Lancet, frame, openwork, stone, elongated arches, andalso the underlined skeleton of the entire frame.

6. Multicolored stained glass windows. Their shape can be round or elongated upwards.7. Paneled oak doors and ribbed arched doorways.

An integral feature of this art is also the presence of sculptures. Mythical creatures and gloomy figures most often decorated the walls of monasteries, temples and cathedrals.

Many medieval castles in Europe are built in the Gothic style. This is a real example of the synthesis of many arts, such as:

- architecture;

- sculpture;

- monumental painting;- arts and crafts.

Gothic-style cathedrals lined the central city squares, dominating the surrounding two or three-story houses. This arrangement is especially typical for Eastern Europe and Italy.

The first building of the Gothic style

The church of Saint-Denis was built according to the project of Abbot Suger. It was the first building built in the Gothic style. During the construction of this cathedral, a large number of internal partitions and supports were removed. As a result, the building took on a graceful appearance that cannot be compared with Romanesque fortresses.

The Gothic cathedral, erected by the royal adviser and abbot of the monastery, Suger, carried a certain semantic load. He gave grandeur to the monastery, which was the ancient tomb of the French kings. According to contemporaries, the temple erected by Suger becamecontinuous and amazing light that saturates the interior with beauty. Louis IX, who was ruling at that time, ordered that the tombstones of sixteen French monarchs be refurbished. All this was to strengthen the royal prestige.

St. Stephen's Cathedral

Many Gothic castles are national symbols of the countries in which they were built. This also applies to the Catholic Cathedral of St. Stephen, located in Vienna. It is considered the national symbol of Austria.

This majestic building, built over almost two centuries, was built in the heart of the Austrian capital. Like many Gothic castles of the Middle Ages, it stands on the square. To this day, divine services are held every day in this cathedral.

For the first time, this Catholic church is mentioned in manuscripts dating back to 1137. In the 12th century St. Stephen's Cathedral had a pronounced imprint of the Romanesque style. However, in the 14-16 centuries. the building was radically rebuilt and became completely Gothic. Already in the 17th century. the interior of the cathedral has changed somewhat. It was inspired by the popular Baroque style.

St. Stephen's Cathedral has two towers. One of them, unfinished, is the Northern one. Its height is 68 m. The second tower is South. It rises 136 m above the ground and has an observation deck with a stunning view of not only Vienna, but also its environs. The largest bell in the country is located on the North Tower. Its weight is 21 tons, and its diameter is three meters. The bell only ringsgreat holidays, no more than 11 times a year.

Chartres Cathedral

Gothic castles leave a deep impression in the soul of every person. Their height and beauty of numerous towers and pointed arches stretching to the sky are striking. In addition, castles in the Gothic style are extremely extended. So, Chartres Cathedral, located in France, has a length of 130 m. From each new vantage point chosen, the castle looks different. And it's all thanks to the amazing facade design.

Unlike Romanesque churches, which have simple and clear visible forms, when viewed from Chartres Cathedral, one gets the impression of a lack of walls. Galleries, arches, towers, huge windows, numerous platforms with arcades are an endless play of openwork forms. Like all Gothic castles, Chartres Cathedral is literally inhabited by a mass of various sculptures. There are about ten thousand statues in the temple alone. These figures are not only in portals and galleries. They can be seen on cornices and roofs, on spiral staircases and drainpipes, on consoles and under the vaults of chapels. In other words, gothic castles represent an unexplored and wonderful world for visitors.

Notre Dame Cathedral

The Gothic style of medieval castles was also used in the huge temple, the construction of which began in 1163. The foundation stone of Notre Dame Cathedral was laid by Louis VII and Pope Alexander III. Construction continued for over a century. At the same time, it went gradually from the eastern part of the structure to the western. According to the original plan, the cathedralwas supposed to accommodate the entire population of Paris, which at the beginning of construction was 10,000 inhabitants. However, after the construction of the temple, the city grew many times over, which did not allow the plan to be realized.

The interior of the temple is a real kingdom of stone slender pillars of the frame, which are interconnected by lancet arches. The interior is a real realm of vertical lines, directed upwards, towards the sky itself. Colored glass, inserted into the stained-glass windows, scatter the sunlight that pours on the numerous statues of warriors and bishops, children and women, men and kings. There are no walls in this temple at all. Instead, a frame was built, consisting of pillars connected by arches. This design is filled with lancet windows, which are similar to huge paintings of dozens of figures. The light of the sun makes the multi-colored stained-glass windows look like huge gems. There is a certain mystical connotation to this, which sets a person in a pious religious mood.

Cologne Cathedral

The construction of this grandiose Gothic-style building began in 1248. The cathedral is distinguished by light towers of the western facade with gabled roofs, as well as an elegant solution of all structural details and an unusual height of the middle nave.

This temple is the most recognizable and most famous on our planet. Look at the amazing monument of Gothic architecture, which in its height is in third place among all the cathedrals in the world,aspire all tourists visiting Germany.

Doge's Palazzo

This cathedral is a vivid example of Venetian Gothic, which adopted not the design features, but the decorativeness of this amazing style. The facade of the temple is very unusual in its composition. A series of white marble columns encircle the lower tier of the castle. The monumental building visually presses these columns into the ground. The second floor is formed by a solid open loggia. It connects with keeled arches and numerous thin columns. This tier is distinguished by grace and lightness. Further on rises the third floor, the pink wall of which has sparsely spaced windows. This part of the façade is decorated with a white geometric ornament. The whole palace pleases the eye with the sonority of its decorative solution. It combines the splendor of Byzantium with secular cheerfulness.