Architecture of Germany - Classicism

Classicism

Classicism arrived in Germany in the second half of the 18th century. It drew inspiration from the classical architecture of antiquity, and was a reaction against the Baroque style, in both architecture and landscape design.

The English Grounds of Wörlitz is one of the first and largest English parks in Germany. It was created in the late 18th century under the regency of Duke Leopold III of Anhalt-Dessau (1740–1817), after returning from a Grand Tour to Italy, the Netherlands, England, France and Switzerland which he had taken together with his architect friend Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff. Unlike the formal Baroque gardens, it celebrated the naturalistic manner of the English landscape garden, and symbolised the promised freedom of the Enlightenment era.

The Brandenburg Gate, commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and completed by Carl Gotthard Langhans in 1791, is arguably one of the most famous monuments of classicism in Germany. The Brandenburg Gate was restored from 2000 to 2002 by the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin (Berlin Monument Conservation Foundation). It is now considered one of Europe's most famous landmarks.

The most important architect of this style in Germany was undoubtedly Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Schinkel's style, in his most productive period, is defined by its appeal to Greek rather than Imperial Roman architecture, avoiding the style that was linked to the recent French occupiers. His most famous buildings are found in and around Berlin. These include Neue Wache (1816–1818), the Schauspielhaus (1819–1821) at the Gendarmenmarkt, which replaced the earlier theater that was destroyed by fire in 1817, and the Altes Museum (old museum, see photo) on Museum Island (1823–1830).

Leo von Klenze (1784–1864) was a court architect of Bavarian King Ludwig I, another prominent representative of the Greek revival style. Ludwig's passion for Hellenism inspired the architectural style of von Klenze, who built many neoclassical buildings in Munich, including the Ruhmeshalle and Monopteros temple. On Königsplatz he designed probably the best known modern Hellenistic architectural ensemble. Near Regensburg he built the Walhalla temple, named after Valhalla, the home of the gods in Norse mythology.

Another important building of the period is Wilhelm Castle in Kassel (begun 1786).