German architecture

The architecture of Germany which, in its early history and development, takes in that of Austria and the former Czechoslovakia. Little evidence remains of Roman occupation. The earliest buildings of note date from the reign of Charlemagne (742-814); for example, the chapel in Aachen (805).

Romanesque The abbey church of St Riquier at Centual (799) provided a model from which the German Romanesque style developed, reaching its peak in the cathedrals of Mainz (1081) and Worms (about 1175), and in the many Romanesque churches (with distinctive trefoil-shaped east ends) that existed in Cologne until the city's devastation in World War II. See also Romanesque Architecture: Germany.

Gothic The German Gothic style was derived from northern French Gothic, but evolved its own distinctive character, incorporating elements of the hall churches of Westphalia and Bavaria, which had side aisles equal in height to the nave, as well as elements of the brick town halls of northeast Germany, such as the late-14th-century example at Torun (now in Poland). Examples range from St Elizabeth at Marburg (1237), a hall church with trefoil-shaped east end and northern French Gothic features, to the pure High Gothic east end of Cologne Cathedral (1248). See also Gothic architecture: Germany.

Renaissance The Renaissance was influential only spasmodically in Germany, its flow being interrupted by the Thirty Years' War (1618-48). However, the works of Elias Holl (1573-1646), especially his town hall in Augsburg 1615-20, are significant. See also Renaissance Architecture: Germany.

Baroque and rococo Around 1700 Italian baroque made itself felt in southern Germany, culminating in the works of Fischer von Erlach and Hildebrandt in Vienna and in the Zwinger pavilion in Dresden (1709) by Matthaeus Pöppelmann (1662-1736). In church building the brothers Cosmas (1686-1739) and Eqid (1692-1750) Asam created a masterpiece of German baroque in the tiny St John Nepomuk in Munich (1733-46). Balthasar Neumann outstepped his baroque predecessors, creating such rococo masterpieces as the palace at Würzburg (1720-44). See also baroque Architecture: Germany.

Neoclassicism In northern Germany neoclassicism developed in reaction to the excesses of the rococo style, manifesting itself first in the designs of Friedrich Gilly (1772-1800) and later in the work of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, active mostly in Berlin, and Leo von Klenze (1784-1864) in Munich. Klenze's Alte Pinakothek (1826-36) is one of the seminal works of museum building. Klenze also worked in styles other than the neoclassical and his architecture marks the beginning of an eclectic approach in German building that was to last until the end of the century. See also German Architecture: 19th century.

20th-century trends At the start of the 20th century many of the ideas at the heart of modern architecture found expression in Germany. The machine aesthetic of Peter Behrens gave rise to the Bauhaus school and the early works of Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe, later classed as hallmarks of the international style. Expressionism in architecture was also influenced by Behrens and developed by Erich Mendelsohn and Hans Pöelzig (1869-1936). Most of these architects were to flee Germany in the years immediately preceding World War II, leaving the way clear for the totalitarian neoclassicism of the Nazi architect Albert Speer.

In the years of reconstruction following the war many towns and cities were rebuilt in an orthodox modernist style, the historic centre of Dresden being one exception. Distinctive voices did emerge, however, among them that of the expressionist Hans Scharoun. The Berlin Philharmonic (1956-83) is his masterpiece.

Through the 1970s and 1980s the works of Oswald Mathias Ungers and Joseph Paul Kleihues have been notable for creating a form of lyrical rationalism. The German Architecture Museum, Frankfurt (1979-84), by Ungers is a good example.

See also German Architecture: 20th century.