Renaissance
Renaissance architecture belongs to the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different parts of Europe, when there was a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and culture. The earliest example of Renaissance architecture in Germany is the Fugger chapel in St. Anne's Church, Augsburg. At that time, Germany was fragmented into numerous principalities, the citizens generally had few rights and armed conflict, especially the religious conflicts of the Protestant Reformation, ensured that large tracts of land remained virtually undeveloped.
Some princes, however, promoted modern art, for example in Torgau and Aschaffenburg, and Landshut, where the renaissance era originated. Examples include the decorated inner courtyard of Trausnitz Castle and the ducal Landshut Residence in the inner city, built by Italian Renaissance master craftsmen.
St. Michael in Munich (begun around 1581) is an important Renaissance building. There is also Heidelberg Castle with its typical Renaissance façades. Augsburg City Hall is also a significant renaissance, but it was late, built from 1614 to 1620, by the Augsburg architect Elias Holl.
In the area of the Weser there are numerous castles and manor houses in the style of the Weser Renaissance. There are also the cities of Lemgo and Hamelin. Wolfenbüttel Castle of Guelph and the evangelical church Beatae Maria Virginis are also special examples of the Renaissance style.
In Thuringia and Saxony, many churches and palaces in the Renaissance style were built, for example, William Castle with castle in Schmalkalden, the church of Rudolstadt, the Castle of Gotha, a town hall in Leipzig, the interior of the presbytery, the Freiberg Cathedral, the Castle in Dresden or the Schönhof in Gorlitz. In northern Germany there is Güstrower Castle and the rich interior of Stralsund's Nikolai Church.
Read more about this topic: German Architecture
Famous quotes containing the word renaissance:
“People nowadays like to be together not in the old-fashioned way of, say, mingling on the piazza of an Italian Renaissance city, but, instead, huddled together in traffic jams, bus queues, on escalators and so on. It’s a new kind of togetherness which may seem totally alien, but it’s the togetherness of modern technology.”
—J.G. (James Graham)