GERMAN RENAISSANCE.

My niche is not so cramped but thence

One sees the pulpit o' the epistle side,
And somewhat of the choir, those silent seats,
And up into the aëry dome, where live

The angels, and a sunbeam's sure to lurk;

And I shall fill my slab of basalt there,

And 'neath my tabernacle take my rest.”—BROWNING.

1. INFLUENCES.

i. Geographical. Refer to pages 176 and 273.

ii. Geological.-The absence of stone, in the great alluvial plains of North Germany, influenced largely the architecture. of the period; moulded and cut brickwork is used in every variety, the general scale of the detail is small, and surface patterns are formed in raised work. (See remarks on German Romanesque (page 176) and German Gothic (page 273).)

iii. Climate. See under Romanesque (page 176) and Gothic (page 273.)

iv. Religion.-Martin Luther (1517-1546) attacks the practical abuses of certain doctrines of the Church, and brings about a revolution in the religious life of Germany (see below). Luther's translation of the Bible into High Dutch causes the latter to become the received tongue of Germans. In architecture little of great interest is produced. Old churches, with all their fittings, continued to be used, but the prominence given to preaching brought in galleries and congregational planning.

v. Social and Political. The country consisted of a number of small kingdoms or principalities, each with its own capital and government. This prevented any national effort as in France, which was, under one united head. In the latter part of the sixteenth century, Heidelberg was the centre of "Humanism," and the chief reformed seat of learning in Germany. The Thirty Years' War, ended by the Peace of Westphalia in A.D. 1648, should be noted.

F.A.

BB

In the eighteenth century the literary works of Winckelmann, Goethe and others aroused interest in Greek architecture.

vi. Historical.-Charles V. succeeded to all the possessions of the Houses of Castile, Aragon, Burgundy, and the Low Countries, and this marks the period of the German Renaissance. In 1516 he obtained the two Sicilies, and in 1519 he was elected to the Empire, on the death of Maximilian, becoming the most powerful emperor since Charlemagne.

In 1517 Luther nailed up his theses at Wittenberg, marking the commencement of the Reformation, which was aided largely by the revival of learning. In 1520 he defied the Pope, by publicly burning the bull of excommunication put forth against him by Pope Leo X. The Diet of Spires, 1529, passed a decree against all ecclesiastical changes, against which Luther and the princes who followed him protested, hence the name "Protestant." This leads in 1530 to the Confession of Augsburg and the confederation of Protestant princes and cities, for mutual defence, called the Imalcaldic League. The war between the Emperor Charles V. and the Catholics against the Protestant princes extended from 1546-1555, when the Peace of Augsburg was concluded. This put religion on terms of equality in each German state. The Thirty Years' War commenced in 1618, and was carried on in Germany between the Catholic and Protestant princes. Other princes, such as Christian IV. of Denmark and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, joined in these wars on the Protestant side, under the Elector Palatine Frederick, who had married a daughter of James I. of England. Hence many Englishmen and Scotchmen served in these wars. France joined in the war for her own aggrandizement, under Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin. The Peace of Westphalia, 1648, provided for religious equality in each state. The war had, however, utterly ruined Germany, and caused France to become the leading nation in Europe.

2. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER.

Refer to Renaissance Architecture in Europe (page 306).

The Renaissance style in Germany is chiefly remarkable for picturesqueness and variety of grouping, and quaintness and grotesqueness of ornament, due in a large measure to the traditions of the preceding style.

Renaissance architecture was introduced from France, about the middle of the sixteenth century, while the Henri IV. style was in vogue, which may account for a good deal of the grotesqueness and crudity the style possesses in Germany.

German Renaissance differs from French in lack of refinement, and in a general heaviness and whimsicality of treatment, while it resembles in some respects our own Elizabethan. It forms, in fact, a connecting link between Elizabethan architecture and French Renaissance of the time of Henri IV.

Examples are mostly found in towns, whereas in France they are principally found in the country.

The later period, which commenced at the beginning of the nineteenth century, has been called the "Revival," and consisted in the adoption of classic forms in toto, without reference to their applicability, or appropriateness in any way. This movement was chiefly confined to Munich, Berlin, and Dresden.

3. EXAMPLES.

SECULAR ARCHITECTURE.

The Heinrichsbau (1556), forming the internal courtyard (No. 188) of the Castle of Heidelberg, and the Freidrichsbau (A.D. 1601), are the most famous examples in the style, and have elaborately-carved string courses, with an order and its entablature to each storey, and classical details surrounding the windows. Symbolical statuary is prominently introduced (No. 192 A, B, C), and the design suffers from over-ornamentation.

The Cloth Hall at Brunswick is a well-known example; the three-quarter columns, with pedestals and entablatures, marking each floor, are a characteristic feature; also the immense gable in four storeys, each being provided with an order of vase-shaped pilasters, as in Elizabethan work. The scrolls by which the stages of the gable are contracted are also to be noticed.

Nuremberg and Hildesheim are also rich in domestic examples of the period.

The Rathaus (Town Hall) at Cologne has a fine two-storeyed porch (No. 189), erected in 1571, in a purer style. It consists of semicircular arcading, with detached Corinthian columns, and a stone vaulted roof. It will be noticed that the arches on the first floor are pointed, and pointed vaulting is also adopted.

The Town Hall at Lemgo, with mullioned windows and shaped gables (No. 190 A), and the Town Hall at Solothurn (No. 190 B), with pilasters and entablature to each storey, are characteristic.

The Pellerhaus, Nuremberg (No. 191), is an example of rich domestic architecture, and shows also the richly-treated stepped gables, so characteristic of the period.