Architecture of Germany

The High Culture of Europe has has profoundly influenced the architecture of Germany. A wide variety of architectural styles developed in Germany, right from the time of Charlemagne to the period after World War II.

The period since 800 AD is the Carolingian period in German architecture, typified by mosaics, colorful miniatures of Carolingian art and bright illuminations.

The Carolingian style is most impressively showcased by the huge ceilings, doors and walls of the chapels and churches in Germany. You can see the influences of the flamboyant, ornate Carolingian style in the design of the Church of St Michael, the palace at Aachen and in the works of the Mainz goldsmiths.

Later, the Gothic style had a very important influence in the architecture of Germany and some of the best of Germany’s sculptors and architects have used the Gothic style in the churches and cathedrals of Cologne and Munich.

Along with the Gothic style, another style that developed at the same time was the Romaneseque style, evident in the frescoes of Salzburg Cathedral. Important precursors to the Romanesque architectural style include the Carolingian and Ottonian styles.

The Baroque style in the seventeenth century is seen in the miniature statues of Meissen and Germany made a great contribution to the Gothic movement in architecture that spread all over Europe.

From Nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century is the period of German Expressionism and Realism. The architectural style called Realism is greatly evident in German architecture and sculpture

In the early modern period, Germany again became an important leading force in European architecture.Walter Gropius established the famous school of German architecture called Bauhaus movement.

Staatliches Bauhaus was the famous art and architecture school in Germany that tried to, in the words of Gropius, “go into buildings, endow them with fairy tales…without regard for technical difficulty.” This school of German architecture tried to create a link between art and industry. The Bauhaus movement in architecture spread for a brief period to the United States and became a leading influence in Modernist architectural design, including in furniture design.