GERMAN ARCHITECTURE. 1— V.
SOUTH GERMANY. — ( Continued.)
THE Palatinate possesses three edifices reared by its princes, the castles of Amberg, Neuburg and Heidelberg. The first
two offer nothing of especial moment. The last is too well known to make a detailed description of it necessary. We will merely recall the principal dates of its construction. During the sixteenth century, Frederick II (1544-1556) built a wing with arcades which marks the appearance of the Renaissance at Heidelberg. Otto Henry (1556-1559) erected a p>ortion of the castle which constitutes one of the finest fragments of the German Renaissance (Figure 24). In 1661, Frederick IV constructed the part which bears his name, as well as the adjoining terrace and pavilions. Frederick V afterward added the last wing of this immense palace, which was destroyed in 1689 and 1690 by the troops of Louis XIV, and to-day forms the noblest and most picturesque of ruins.
There is also a pretty house at Heidelberg of the second half of the sixteenth century, which has something in common with the architecture of the Otto Henry palace. It is known as the house “ Zum Ritter.”
The country skirting the Main and bearing the name of Franconia has been from early times an intellectual and artistic centre of Germany. Like Swabia, it has a large number of noteworthy edifices which can be divided into two categories, those built by the lay and cleric princes and those due to the initiative of the burghers of the free cities.
Beginning with the archiepiscopal city of Mayence, we find here one of the oldest of the Renaissance monuments of Germany, namely, the fountain erected in 1526 by the Archbishop Albert to commemorate the battle of Pavia (Figure 25). The gymnasium, a picturesque construction in which a gable and an oriel window constitute the only decorative factors—-a characteristic peculiarity of a great many German buildings — dates from the second half of the sixteenth century (Figure 26). The archiepiscopal palace is a stately structure of the first part of the seventeenth century.
The castle of Offenbach near Frankfort, built m 1572 by a count of Isenburg, is not without interest; we give a fragment of the southern fagade with its beautiful arches (Figure 27).
1 From the French of Lambert and Stahl, in Planat’s Encyclopedic de l’ Archilecture et de la Construction. Continued from No. 818, page 129.
We call attention also to the castle of Darmstadt, several parts of which date from the end of the sixteenth century, and especially to the imposing Schloss of Aschaffenburg, constructed early in the seventeenth century, as a residence for the archbishops of Mayence. Figure 28 shows one of the gables.
The old episcopal city of Wurzburg is the gem of the Church in Franconia. It is admirably situated in a country abounding in famous wines ; its monuments have a character of strength and magnificence which make it a Rome on a small scale. Dotted over with towers and domes, the city stretches along the Main, which is spanned here by a splendid bridge, adorned with sculptured groups in the style of Bernini. This connects Wurzburg with its fortress, an imposing mass of terraces rising above one another, in long horizontal lines. Near this frowning eminence is another of charming aspect. Seen from below, one would say that Venus was smiling here at Mars. The church crowning its summit is not exactly consecrated to Venus, but the artists of the eighteenth century sometimes
gave their most sacred works an equivocal mien : a succession of pretty terraces with shaded shrines and graceless statues conducts us imperceptibly, amid a thousand changes of scenery, to one of those sunny temples, such as the good priests of the last century loved to dedicate to the Virgin. Everything smiles on us here, the gables, the circular-windows and, particularly, the senseless balls tipping the turrets and cupola. Viewed from this point the citadel has a pleasing aspect. The Main flows between beautiful vineyards, and the chiming of the bells reminds us of a Roman evening on the terrace of San Pietro in Montorio.
It is difficult to believe that this inviting country, created for enjoyment, was the theatre of the bloody repressions exercised at the beginning of the sixteenth century, by Bishop Conrad von Thungen, against the liberal tendencies of the people in religion and politics. These struggles retarded artistic progress; the principal Renaissance monuments of Wurzburg belong to the end of the century. The walls of the court of
Fig. 24. Motive from Heidelberg Castle.
Fig. 25. Fountain at Mayence.
SOUTH GERMANY. — ( Continued.)
THE Palatinate possesses three edifices reared by its princes, the castles of Amberg, Neuburg and Heidelberg. The first
two offer nothing of especial moment. The last is too well known to make a detailed description of it necessary. We will merely recall the principal dates of its construction. During the sixteenth century, Frederick II (1544-1556) built a wing with arcades which marks the appearance of the Renaissance at Heidelberg. Otto Henry (1556-1559) erected a p>ortion of the castle which constitutes one of the finest fragments of the German Renaissance (Figure 24). In 1661, Frederick IV constructed the part which bears his name, as well as the adjoining terrace and pavilions. Frederick V afterward added the last wing of this immense palace, which was destroyed in 1689 and 1690 by the troops of Louis XIV, and to-day forms the noblest and most picturesque of ruins.
There is also a pretty house at Heidelberg of the second half of the sixteenth century, which has something in common with the architecture of the Otto Henry palace. It is known as the house “ Zum Ritter.”
The country skirting the Main and bearing the name of Franconia has been from early times an intellectual and artistic centre of Germany. Like Swabia, it has a large number of noteworthy edifices which can be divided into two categories, those built by the lay and cleric princes and those due to the initiative of the burghers of the free cities.
Beginning with the archiepiscopal city of Mayence, we find here one of the oldest of the Renaissance monuments of Germany, namely, the fountain erected in 1526 by the Archbishop Albert to commemorate the battle of Pavia (Figure 25). The gymnasium, a picturesque construction in which a gable and an oriel window constitute the only decorative factors—-a characteristic peculiarity of a great many German buildings — dates from the second half of the sixteenth century (Figure 26). The archiepiscopal palace is a stately structure of the first part of the seventeenth century.
The castle of Offenbach near Frankfort, built m 1572 by a count of Isenburg, is not without interest; we give a fragment of the southern fagade with its beautiful arches (Figure 27).
1 From the French of Lambert and Stahl, in Planat’s Encyclopedic de l’ Archilecture et de la Construction. Continued from No. 818, page 129.
We call attention also to the castle of Darmstadt, several parts of which date from the end of the sixteenth century, and especially to the imposing Schloss of Aschaffenburg, constructed early in the seventeenth century, as a residence for the archbishops of Mayence. Figure 28 shows one of the gables.
The old episcopal city of Wurzburg is the gem of the Church in Franconia. It is admirably situated in a country abounding in famous wines ; its monuments have a character of strength and magnificence which make it a Rome on a small scale. Dotted over with towers and domes, the city stretches along the Main, which is spanned here by a splendid bridge, adorned with sculptured groups in the style of Bernini. This connects Wurzburg with its fortress, an imposing mass of terraces rising above one another, in long horizontal lines. Near this frowning eminence is another of charming aspect. Seen from below, one would say that Venus was smiling here at Mars. The church crowning its summit is not exactly consecrated to Venus, but the artists of the eighteenth century sometimes
gave their most sacred works an equivocal mien : a succession of pretty terraces with shaded shrines and graceless statues conducts us imperceptibly, amid a thousand changes of scenery, to one of those sunny temples, such as the good priests of the last century loved to dedicate to the Virgin. Everything smiles on us here, the gables, the circular-windows and, particularly, the senseless balls tipping the turrets and cupola. Viewed from this point the citadel has a pleasing aspect. The Main flows between beautiful vineyards, and the chiming of the bells reminds us of a Roman evening on the terrace of San Pietro in Montorio.
It is difficult to believe that this inviting country, created for enjoyment, was the theatre of the bloody repressions exercised at the beginning of the sixteenth century, by Bishop Conrad von Thungen, against the liberal tendencies of the people in religion and politics. These struggles retarded artistic progress; the principal Renaissance monuments of Wurzburg belong to the end of the century. The walls of the court of
Fig. 24. Motive from Heidelberg Castle.
Fig. 25. Fountain at Mayence.