Brief description of the main architectural styles. Architectural styles of postmodernism

The structures are characterized by monumentality, luxurious decoration of buildings, a lot of decorations, a desire for strict symmetry, an interest in the utilitarian aspects of architecture, in creating primarily not temple complexes, but buildings for practical needs.

Characteristic features of the Roman architectural style, primarily round-headed arches, as well as barrel vaults, apses and acanthus leaf decorations.

Romanesque buildings are characterized by a combination of a clear architectural silhouette and laconic exterior decoration - the building always fit harmoniously into the surrounding nature, and therefore looked especially durable and solid. This was facilitated by massive walls with narrow window openings and stepped-recessed portals. Such walls had a defensive purpose.

Pantheon

Temple-Portoun

Gothic architecture (Gothic)

Gothic style originated in the northern part of France in the middle of the 12th century. Gothic architecture replaced the architecture of the Romanesque era. The term emphasized the radical difference between medieval architecture and the style of Ancient Rome. The godfather of the Gothic style is considered to be the influential and powerful abbot Suger, who in 1135-44. rebuilt the basilica of the Abbey of Saint-Denis in a new style. It is traditionally believed that the Gothic era in Europe began with this building. Suger wrote that the tall, light-filled temple is intended to symbolize the boundless light emanating from God. Soon after Saint Denis, a new style was used in the construction Notre Dame Cathedral(founded in 1163) and Lansky Cathedral (founded in 1165).

York Minster-England

Siena-Cathedral-Italy

Lansky Cathedral

Milan-Cathedral-Italy

Renaissance Architecture (Renaissance)

Particular importance in this direction is attached to the forms of ancient architecture: symmetry, proportion, geometry and the order of its component parts, as clearly evidenced by surviving examples roman architecture. The complex proportions of medieval buildings are replaced by an orderly arrangement of columns, pilasters and lintels; asymmetrical outlines are replaced by a semicircle of an arch, a hemisphere of a dome, niches, and aedicules. Architecture is becoming order-based again.

Space, as an architectural component, is organized in a manner different from medieval ideas. It was based on the logic of proportions; the shape and sequence of parts were subordinated to geometry, and not to intuition, which was a characteristic feature of medieval buildings.

Most often in the design of buildings there is Corinthian order with various modifications of the capital. The buildings have harmoniously spacious courtyards, surrounded on the lower and upper floors by covered galleries on arches, which are supported by columns or pilasters of antique shape. The facade is given horizontal dimension by means of graceful interfloor cornices and the main cornice, which forms a strong projection under the roof.

The façade is symmetrical about the vertical axis. Church facades are usually measured with pilasters, arches and an entablature, topped with a pediment. The arrangement of columns and windows conveys a desire for the center.

St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome

Santa Maria del Fiore

Doge's Palace-Italy

Santa Maria del Fiore

Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture is characterized by the presence of a large variety of stucco moldings. Are used complex architectural elements. An abundance of decorative bas-reliefs and gilding of architectural decor.
Baroque is highlighted by the muted pastel colors of the façade; red, pink, white, blue.

Frauenkirche-Dresden-Germany

Monastery-in-Melke-Austria

Rococo

The architectural (more precisely, decorative) Rococo style appeared in France during the regency of Philippe d'Orléans (1715 -1723) and reached its apogee under Louis XV, spread to other European countries and dominated it until the 1780s.

In the creations of this architecture, straight lines and flat surfaces almost disappear, or at least are disguised by figured decoration; none of the established orders is carried out in pure form; the columns are then lengthened, then shortened and twisted in a helical manner; cornices are placed above the cornices; high pilasters and huge caryatids support insignificant projections with a strongly protruding cornice; the roofs are surrounded along the edge by balustrades with bottle-shaped balusters and with pedestals placed at some distance from each other, on which vases or statues are placed; gables

Winter Palace-St. Petersburg

Versailles-Palace-Paris

Classicism

The main feature of classicism architecture was its appeal to forms ancient architecture as a standard of harmony, simplicity, rigor, logical clarity and monumentality. The architecture of classicism as a whole is characterized by regularity of layout and clarity of volumetric form. The basis of the architectural language of classicism was the order, in proportions and forms close to antiquity. Characteristic of classicism symmetrical-axial compositions, restraint of decorative decoration, regular city planning system.

Palace of Childhood and Youth Sevastopol

Hotel-Sevastopol-Sevastopol

Eclecticism

Eclecticism (eclecticism, historicism) in architecture is a direction in architecture that dominated in Europe and Russia in the 1830s - 1890s.

The forms and styles of a building in eclecticism are tied to its function. Thus, in Russian practice, the Russian style of K. A. Ton became the official style of temple construction, but was practically not used in private buildings. Eclecticism is “multi-style” in the sense that buildings of the same period are based on different style schools, depending on the purpose of the buildings (temples, public buildings, factories, private houses) and on the funds of the customer (rich decor coexists, filling all surfaces of the building, and economical “ red brick architecture).

Opera-Granier-France

Armory building, Moscow

Modern

Art Nouveau architecture (Art Nouveau architecture) - architectural style, which became widespread in Europe in the 1890s-1910s as part of the Art Nouveau art movement. Modern architecture is distinguished by its rejection of straight lines and angles in favor of more natural, “natural” lines, and the use of new technologies (metal, glass).

Like a number of other styles, modern architecture is also distinguished by the desire to create both aesthetically beautiful and functional buildings.

Modern architecture is diverse. This style absorbed elements of all previous styles. Buildings in the Art Nouveau style can resemble Moorish palaces, castles, and factory buildings. However, unlike the eclecticism that preceded modernism, its authors refused to directly copy the forms of the Renaissance and Baroque.

House-company-Singer-in-St. Petersburg

Casa-Mila-Gaudi-Barcelona

Modernism

Architectural modernism (French modernisme, from French moderne - newest, modern; "English modern" - modern, new) is a movement in the architecture of the twentieth century, a turning point in content, associated with a decisive renewal of forms and designs, a rejection of the styles of the past. Covers the period from the early 1900s to the 70s and 80s (in Europe), when new trends emerged in architecture.

The credo of architectural modernism is inherent in its very name - the creation of something new, something that would correspond to today. That is, there is a fundamental focus on the novelty of architecture, both the constructive and planning ideas incorporated in the project, and external forms. The figurative expression “prisms made of concrete and glass” well conveys the general character of modernist buildings. Modernism is characterized by the use of the most modern building materials and structures andlack of decorative tendencies, fundamental rejection of historical reminiscences in the appearance of buildings,

Guggenheim-Museum-New-York

Bauhaus-in-Dessau

Parliament House-Wellington-New-Zealand

Constructivism

Kharkovsky-Gosprom

House-of-government-in-Minsk

High tech

Deconstructivism

Deconstructivist projects are characterized by visual complexity, unexpected broken and deliberately destructive forms, as well as a pointedly aggressive invasion of the urban environment.

Deconstructivism emerged as an independent movement in the late 1980s. The theoretical background of the movement was Derrida’s reasoning about the possibility of architecture, which comes into conflict, “debunks” and abolishes itself.

Headquarters-department-of-health-basque-bilbao-spain

Cube-houses-Rotterdam-Netherlands

Imagine that you went on a trip to another country. You can’t do without a cultural program and tourist routes, otherwise there’s no point in going anywhere at all. You can, of course, lock yourself in a hotel for the duration of your vacation and have a great time, traditionally lying in bed.

If you prepare for your trip in advance and study the traditions of the country you are going to, then the foreign culture will become much clearer. How about learning how to distinguish between architectural styles and adding another checkmark to your self-education bucket list? In addition, you will be able to impress girls, and this will be much more effective than, for example, the ability to distinguish between types of beer with your eyes closed.

In general, architectural styles are a rather confusing and complex topic for a beginner, and if you don’t want to study boring literature, we offer you a simplified guide to world architecture (professional architects forgive us).

1. Classicism

Classicism is a stronghold of symmetry, severity and straightness. If you see something similar, and even with long round columns, this is classicism.

2. Empire style

Empire style is when classicism decided to become pathetic to the point of impossibility, and even strives to be higher.

3. Stalin's Empire style

Of course, the leader of all nations - Comrade Stalin - lacked pathos and solemnity in the usual Empire style, and in order to show the power of the USSR in all its glory, this style was cubed. This is how the Stalinist Empire style appeared - an architectural style that frightens with its colossal size.

4. Baroque

Baroque is when a building looks like a pie with whipped cream, often decorated with gold, stone sculptures and ornate stucco that clearly says its “fi!” classicism. This architectural style spread throughout Europe, including being adopted by Russian architects.

5. Rococo

If it seemed to you that the building was designed by a woman, and there are a lot of all sorts of frills and bows covered in gold, this is Rococo.

6. Ultra-Baroque

If you look at a building and, due to the abundance of stucco moldings and sculptures, you no longer understand what is happening around you, then you can be sure that it is ultra-baroque. The main thing is not to lose consciousness when contemplating such beauty.

7. Russian Baroque

Russian Baroque is no longer a cake, it’s a real cake, painted to resemble Khokhloma.

8. Pseudo-Russian style

Pseudo-Russian style is when you tried to “make it look like antiquity”, but you overdid it and decorated everything too richly.

9. Neo-Gothic

Neo-Gothic is when you are afraid to cut yourself on a building just by looking at it. Thin long spiers, window openings and fear of injections.

10. Gothic

If you look at a building and there is less danger of cutting yourself, and it has a round window in the center or a stained glass window with towers on the sides, it is Gothic. On the stucco of such buildings in the architectural style they often like to torture all sorts of sinners and other asocial individuals.

11. Art Deco

Art Deco is when, when you look at a building, old American songs performed by Frank Sinatra start playing in your head, and imaginary cars from the 60s start driving through the streets.

12. Modernism

Everything is simple here. Modernism in architectural style is a house from the future, but built with notes of nostalgia for the past.

13. Modern

In modern architecture you can study ancient history. There are a lot of small details and elaborate details, which together form a whole composition.

14. Constructivism

Constructivism in architectural style is when lovers of cylinders and other strict geometric shapes begin to build houses. They put up some kind of trapezoid or cylinder and cut windows in it.

15. Deconstructivism

If you look at a building and see that it has been completely broken, bent and wrinkled - this is deconstructivism. A real geometric hell for a perfectionist.

16. High-tech

High-tech architecture includes buildings with a lot of glass, concrete, everything is transparent, mirrored and glitters in the sun. Maximum geometricity, rigor and angularity.

17. Postmodernism

Postmodernism is when you look at a building, like Malevich’s “Black Square”, and don’t understand what the author wanted to say, how he was allowed to build it and why he wasn’t treated for drug addiction. However, such fancy forms also have their advantages.

Of course, professional architects may consider such a list of architectural styles blasphemous and generally be offended, but make allowances for those who are not so good at history and defining styles. After all, the car mechanic will also smile indulgently as he watches the architect try to determine which side to approach the crankshaft from.

What types and styles of architecture are there?

Architecture or architecture (Latin architectura from ancient Greek αρχι - senior, chief and other Greek τέκτων - builder, carpenter) is the art of designing and constructing buildings and structures (as well as their complexes). Architecture certainly creates a materially organized environment that people need for their lives and activities, in accordance with modern technical capabilities and aesthetic views of society.

Architectural works are often perceived as cultural or political symbols, like works of art. Historical civilizations are characterized by their architectural achievements. Architecture allows the vital functions of society to be performed, while at the same time directing life processes. However, architecture is created in accordance with the capabilities and needs of people.

As an art form, architecture enters the sphere of spiritual culture, aesthetically shapes the human environment, and expresses social ideas in artistic images.

The historical development of society determines the functions and types of structures (buildings with organized internal space, structures that form open spaces, ensembles), technical structural systems, and the artistic structure of architectural structures.

According to the method of forming images, architecture is classified as a non-representational (tectonic) art form that uses signs that do not allow recognition in the images of any real objects, phenomena, actions and are addressed directly to the associative mechanisms of perception.

According to the method of deploying images, architecture is classified as a spatial (plastic) form of art, the works of which:

They exist in space, without changing or developing in time;

Have a substantive character;

Performed by processing material material;

Perceived by the audience directly and visually.

Space-planning design (architecture in the narrow sense, architecture) is the main section of architecture associated with the design and construction of buildings and structures.

Empire (from the French empire - empire) is a style in architecture and art (mainly decorative) of the first three decades of the 19th century, completing the evolution of classicism. Focusing, like classicism, on examples of ancient art, the Empire style included in their circle the artistic heritage of archaic Greece and imperial Rome, drawing from it motives for the embodiment of majestic power and military strength: the monumental forms of massive porticoes (mainly the Doric and Tuscan orders), military emblems in architectural details and decoration (lictorial bundles, military armor, laurel wreaths, eagles, etc.). The Empire style also included individual ancient Egyptian architectural and plastic motifs (large undivided planes of walls and pylons, massive geometric volumes, Egyptian ornaments, stylized sphinxes, etc.).

In the Russian Empire, this style appeared under Alexander I. Inviting foreign architects to Russia was a frequent occurrence, since it was fashionable among titled persons, and at the beginning of the 19th century there was a passion for French culture in Russia. For the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral, Alexander I invited the aspiring French architect Henri Louis Auguste Ricard de Montferrand, who later became one of the founders of the “Russian Empire style”.

The Russian Empire style was divided into Moscow and St. Petersburg, and such a division was determined not so much by territorial characteristics as by the degree of separation from classicism - the Moscow one was closer to it. The most famous representative of the St. Petersburg style of the Empire style was the architect Karl Rossi; among other representatives of this style, it is customary to name the architects Andreyan Zakharov, Andrey Voronikhin, Osip Bove, Domenico Gilardi, Vasily Stasov, and the sculptors Ivan Martos, Feodosius Shchedrin. In Russia, the Empire style dominated architecture until 1830-1840.

The revival of the Empire style in degenerate forms occurred in Russia during the Soviet era, from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s. This style of the Empire style is also known as the “Stalin Empire style”.

Arch of Carrousel

Renaissance architecture

Renaissance architecture is the period of development of architecture in European countries from the beginning of the 15th to the beginning of the 17th century, in the general course of the Renaissance and the development of the foundations of the spiritual and material culture of Ancient Greece and Rome. This period is a turning point in the History of Architecture, especially in relation to the previous architectural style, Gothic. Gothic, unlike Renaissance architecture, sought inspiration in its own interpretation of Classical art.

Particular importance in this direction is attached to the forms of ancient architecture: symmetry, proportion, geometry and the order of its component parts, as clearly evidenced by surviving examples of Roman architecture. The complex proportions of medieval buildings are replaced by an orderly arrangement of columns, pilasters and lintels; asymmetrical outlines are replaced by a semicircle of an arch, a hemisphere of a dome, niches, and aedicules. Architecture is becoming order-based again.

The development of Renaissance Architecture led to innovations in the use of construction techniques and materials, and to the development of architectural vocabulary. It is important to note that the revival movement was characterized by a move away from the anonymity of artisans and the emergence of a personal style among architects. There are few known craftsmen who built works in the Romanesque style, as well as architects who built magnificent Gothic cathedrals. While the works of the Renaissance, even small buildings or just projects were carefully documented from their very appearance.

The first representative of this trend can be called Filippo Brunelleschi, who worked in Florence, a city, along with Venice, considered a monument of the Renaissance. Then it spread to other Italian cities, France, Germany, England, Russia and other countries.

Characteristics of Renaissance architecture[edit | edit source text]

Sant'Agostino, Rome, Giacomo Pietrasanta, 1483

Architects of the Renaissance borrowed the characteristic features of Roman classical architecture. However, the shape of buildings and their purpose, as well as the basic principles of urban planning, have changed since ancient times. The Romans never built buildings like the churches of the early period of the revived classical style or the mansions of successful merchants of the 15th century. In turn, at the time described, there was no need to build huge structures for sports competitions or public baths, which were built by the Romans. Classical norms were studied and recreated to serve modern purposes.

The plan of Renaissance buildings is determined by rectangular shapes, symmetry and proportion based on the module. In churches, the module is often the width of the nave span. The problem of the integral unity of structure and facade was first recognized by Brunelleschi, although he did not solve the problem in any of his works. This principle first appears in Alberti's building, the Basilica di Sant'Andrea in Mantua. The improvement of the design of a secular building in the Renaissance style began in the 16th century and reached its highest point in the work of Palladio.

The façade is symmetrical about the vertical axis. Church facades, as a rule, are measured with pilasters, arches and an entablature, topped with a pediment. The arrangement of columns and windows conveys a desire for the center. The first facade in the Renaissance style can be called the facade of the Cathedral of Pienza (1459-1462), attributed to the Florentine architect Bernardo Gambarelli (known as Rossellino), it is possible that Alberti was also involved in the creation of the temple.

Residential buildings often have a cornice, the arrangement of windows and related details is repeated on each floor, the main door is marked with some feature - a balcony or surrounded by rustication. One of the prototypes of such a facade organization was the Rucellai Palace in Florence (1446-1451) with three floor-by-floor rows of pilasters.

St. Peter's Basilica in Rome

Baroque (Italian barocco - “bizarre”, “strange”, “prone to excess”, port. perola barroca - “pearl of irregular shape” (literally “pearl with a defect”); there are other assumptions about the origin of this word) - characteristics European culture of the 17th-18th centuries, the center of which was Italy. The Baroque style appeared in the 16th-17th centuries in Italian cities: Rome, Mantua, Venice, Florence. The Baroque era is considered to be the beginning of the triumphant march of “Western civilization.” Baroque opposed classicism and rationalism.

In the 17th century Italy, the first link in the art of the Renaissance, lost its economic and political power. Foreigners - the Spaniards and the French - are beginning to rule the territory of Italy, they dictate the terms of politics, etc. Exhausted Italy has not lost the height of its cultural positions - it remains the cultural center of Europe. The center of the Catholic world is Rome, it is rich in spiritual forces.

Power in culture was manifested by adaptation to new conditions - the nobility and the church needed everyone to see their strength and wealth, but since there was no money to build a palazzo, the nobility turned to art to create the illusion of power and wealth. A style that can elevate becomes popular, and this is how Baroque emerged in Italy in the 16th century.

Baroque is characterized by contrast, tension, dynamic images, affectation, the desire for grandeur and splendor, for combining reality and illusion, for the fusion of arts (city and palace and park ensembles, opera, religious music, oratorio); at the same time - a tendency towards autonomy of individual genres (concerto grosso, sonata, suite in instrumental music). The ideological foundations of the style were formed as a result of the shock that the Reformation and the teachings of Copernicus became for the 16th century. The idea of ​​the world, established in antiquity, as a rational and constant unity, as well as the Renaissance idea of ​​man as the most intelligent being, changed. As Pascal put it, man began to recognize himself as “something in between everything and nothing,” “one who captures only the appearance of phenomena, but is unable to understand either their beginning or their end.”

Baroque architecture (L. Bernini, F. Borromini in Italy, B. F. Rastrelli in Russia, Jan Christoph Glaubitz in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) is characterized by spatial scope, unity, and fluidity of complex, usually curvilinear forms. Often there are large-scale colonnades, an abundance of sculpture on the facades and in the interiors, volutes, a large number of bracings, arched facades with bracing in the middle, rusticated columns and pilasters. Domes take on complex shapes, often multi-tiered, like those of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. Characteristic Baroque details - telamon (Atlas), caryatid, mascaron.

In Italian architecture, the most prominent representative of Baroque art was Carlo Maderna (1556-1629), who broke with Mannerism and created his own style. His main creation is the facade of the Roman church of Santa Susanna (1603). The main figure in the development of Baroque sculpture was Lorenzo Bernini, whose first masterpieces executed in the new style date back to approximately 1620. Bernini is also an architect. He is responsible for the design of the square of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the interiors, as well as other buildings. Significant contributions were made by Carlo Fontana, Carlo Rainaldi, Guarino Guarini, Baldassare Longhena, Luigi Vanvitelli, Pietro da Cortona. In Sicily, after a major earthquake in 1693, a new late Baroque style appeared - Sicilian Baroque. Light acts as a fundamentally important element of Baroque space, entering churches through the naves.

The quintessence of Baroque, an impressive fusion of painting, sculpture and architecture, is considered the Coranaro Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria (1645-1652).

The Baroque style became widespread in Spain, Germany, Belgium (then Flanders), the Netherlands, Russia, France, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Spanish Baroque, or locally Churrigueresco (in honor of the architect Churriguera), which also spread to Latin America. Its most popular monument is the Cathedral of St. James, which is also one of the most revered churches in Spain by believers. In Latin America, Baroque mixed with local architectural traditions, this is its most elaborate version, and it is called ultra-baroque.

In France, the Baroque style is expressed more modestly than in other countries. Previously, it was believed that the style did not develop here at all, and Baroque monuments were considered monuments of classicism. The term “Baroque classicism” is sometimes used in relation to the French and English versions of the Baroque. Now the Palace of Versailles along with the regular park, the Luxembourg Palace, the building of the French Academy in Paris and other works are considered to be French Baroque. They do have some classicist features. A characteristic feature of the Baroque style is the regular style in landscape gardening, an example of which is the Park of Versailles.

Later, at the beginning of the 18th century, the French developed their own style, a variety of Baroque - Rococo. It did not manifest itself in the external design of buildings, but only in the interiors, as well as in the design of books, clothing, furniture, and paintings. The style was widespread throughout Europe and Russia.

In Belgium, the outstanding Baroque monument is the Grand Place ensemble in Brussels. Rubens' house in Antwerp, built according to the artist's own design, has Baroque features.

In Russia, baroque appeared back in the 17th century (“Naryshkin baroque”, “Golitsyn baroque”). In the 18th century, during the reign of Peter I, the so-called “Petrine baroque” (more restrained) began to develop in St. Petersburg and its suburbs in the work of D. Trezzini, and reached its peak during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna in the work of S. I. Chevakinsky and B. Rastrelli.

In Germany, the outstanding Baroque monument is the New Palace in Sans Souci (authors: I. G. Bühring (German) Russian, H. L. Manter) and the Summer Palace there (G. W. von Knobelsdorff).

The largest and most famous Baroque ensembles in the world: Versailles (France), Peterhof (Russia), Aranjuez (Spain), Zwinger (Germany), Schönbrunn (Austria).

In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Sarmatian Baroque and Vilna Baroque styles became widespread, the largest representative being Jan Christoph Glaubitz. Among his famous projects are the rebuilt Church of the Ascension (Vilnius), St. Sophia Cathedral (Polotsk), etc.

Carlo Maderna Church of Saint Susanna, Rome

Classicism

Classicism (French classicisme, from Latin classicus - exemplary) is an artistic style and aesthetic direction in European art of the 17th-19th centuries.

Classicism is based on the ideas of rationalism, which were formed simultaneously with the same ideas in the philosophy of Descartes. A work of art, from the point of view of classicism, should be built on the basis of strict canons, thereby revealing the harmony and logic of the universe itself. Of interest to classicism is only the eternal, the unchangeable - in each phenomenon it strives to recognize only essential, typological features, discarding random individual characteristics. The aesthetics of classicism attaches great importance to the social and educational function of art. In many ways, classicism is based on ancient art (Aristotle, Horace).

Classicism establishes a strict hierarchy of genres, which are divided into high (ode, tragedy, epic) and low (comedy, satire, fable). Each genre has strictly defined characteristics, the mixing of which is not allowed.

How a certain direction was formed in France in the 17th century. French classicism affirmed the personality of man as the highest value of existence, freeing him from religious and church influence.

clarity and monumentality. The architecture of classicism as a whole is characterized by regularity of layout and clarity of volumetric form. The basis of the architectural language of classicism was the order, in proportions and forms close to antiquity. Classicism is characterized by symmetrical axial compositions, restraint of decorative decoration, and a regular system of city planning.

The architectural language of classicism was formulated at the end of the Renaissance by the great Venetian master Palladio and his follower Scamozzi. The Venetians absolutized the principles of ancient temple architecture to such an extent that they even applied them in the construction of such private mansions as Villa Capra. Inigo Jones brought Palladianism north to England, where local Palladian architects followed Palladian principles with varying degrees of fidelity until the mid-18th century.

By that time, satiety with the “whipped cream” of the late Baroque and Rococo began to accumulate among the intellectuals of continental Europe. Born of the Roman architects Bernini and Borromini, Baroque thinned out into Rococo, a predominantly chamber style with an emphasis on interior decoration and decorative arts. This aesthetics was of little use for solving large urban planning problems. Already under Louis XV (1715-74), urban planning ensembles were built in Paris in the “ancient Roman” style, such as Place de la Concorde (architect Jacques-Ange Gabriel) and the Church of Saint-Sulpice, and under Louis XVI (1774-92) a similar “noble Laconism" is already becoming the main architectural direction.

The most significant interiors in the classicist style were designed by the Scot Robert Adam, who returned to his homeland from Rome in 1758. He was greatly impressed by both the archaeological research of Italian scientists and the architectural fantasies of Piranesi. In Adam’s interpretation, classicism was a style hardly inferior to rococo in the sophistication of its interiors, which gained it popularity not only among democratically minded circles of society, but also among the aristocracy. Like his French colleagues, Adam preached a complete rejection of details devoid of constructive function.

The Frenchman Jacques-Germain Soufflot, during the construction of the Church of Sainte-Geneviève in Paris, demonstrated the ability of classicism to organize vast urban spaces. The massive grandeur of his designs foreshadowed the megalomania of the Napoleonic Empire style and late classicism. In Russia, Bazhenov moved in the same direction as Soufflot. The French Claude-Nicolas Ledoux and Etienne-Louis Boullé went even further towards developing a radical visionary style with an emphasis on abstract geometrization of forms. In revolutionary France, the ascetic civic pathos of their projects was of little demand; Ledoux's innovation was fully appreciated only by the modernists of the 20th century.

The architects of Napoleonic France drew inspiration from the majestic images of military glory left behind by imperial Rome, such as the triumphal arch of Septimius Severus and Trajan's Column. By order of Napoleon, these images were transferred to Paris in the form of the triumphal arch of Carrousel and the Vendôme Column. In relation to monuments of military greatness from the era of the Napoleonic wars, the term “imperial style” is used - Empire style. In Russia, Carl Rossi, Andrei Voronikhin and Andreyan Zakharov proved themselves to be outstanding masters of the Empire style. In Britain, the empire style corresponds to the so-called. “Regency style” (the largest representative is John Nash).

The aesthetics of classicism favored large-scale urban planning projects and led to the streamlining of urban development on the scale of entire cities. In Russia, almost all provincial and many district cities were replanned in accordance with the principles of classicist rationalism. Cities such as St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Warsaw, Dublin, Edinburgh and a number of others have turned into genuine open-air museums of classicism. A single architectural language, dating back to Palladio, dominated throughout the entire space from Minusinsk to Philadelphia. Ordinary development was carried out in accordance with albums of standard projects.

In the period following the Napoleonic Wars, classicism had to coexist with romantically colored eclecticism, in particular with the return of interest in the Middle Ages and the fashion for architectural neo-Gothic. In connection with Champollion's discoveries, Egyptian motifs are gaining popularity. Interest in ancient Roman architecture is replaced by reverence for everything ancient Greek (“neo-Greek”), which was especially clearly manifested in Germany and the USA. German architects Leo von Klenze and Karl Friedrich Schinkel built up, respectively, Munich and Berlin with grandiose museum and other public buildings in the spirit of the Parthenon. In France, the purity of classicism is diluted with free borrowings from the architectural repertoire of the Renaissance and Baroque

.

Bolshoi Theater in Warsaw.

Gothic is a period in the development of medieval art in Western, Central and partly Eastern Europe from the 12th to the 15th-16th centuries. Gothic replaced the Romanesque style, gradually displacing it. The term "Gothic" is most often applied to a well-known style of architecture that can be briefly described as "intimidatingly majestic." But Gothic covers almost all works of fine art of this period: sculpture, painting, book miniatures, stained glass, frescoes and many others.

Gothic style originated in the middle of the 12th century in northern France; in the 13th century it spread to the territory of modern Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Spain, and England. Gothic penetrated into Italy later, with great difficulty and strong transformation, which led to the emergence of “Italian Gothic”. At the end of the 14th century, Europe was swept by the so-called International Gothic. Gothic penetrated into the countries of Eastern Europe later and stayed there a little longer - until the 16th century.

The term "neo-Gothic" is applied to buildings and works of art that contain characteristic Gothic elements, but were created during the eclectic period (mid-19th century) and later.

The Gothic style mainly manifested itself in the architecture of temples, cathedrals, churches, and monasteries. It developed on the basis of Romanesque, or more precisely, Burgundian architecture. In contrast to the Romanesque style, with its round arches, massive walls and small windows, the Gothic style is characterized by pointed arches, narrow and tall towers and columns, a richly decorated facade with carved details (vimpergi, tympanums, archivolts) and multi-colored stained glass lancet windows . All style elements emphasize verticality.

The church of the Saint-Denis monastery, designed by Abbot Suger, is considered the first Gothic architectural structure. During its construction, many supports and internal walls were removed, and the church acquired a more graceful appearance compared to the Romanesque “fortresses of God.” In most cases, the Sainte-Chapelle chapel in Paris was taken as a model.

From Ile-de-France (France), the Gothic architectural style spread to Western, Central and Southern Europe - to Germany, England, etc. In Italy, it did not dominate for long and, as a “barbarian style,” quickly gave way to the Renaissance; and since it came here from Germany, it is still called “stile tedesco” - German style.

In Gothic architecture, there are 3 stages of development: early, mature (High Gothic) and late (flaming Gothic, variants of which were also the Manueline (in Portugal) and Isabelline (in Castile) styles.

With the advent of the Renaissance north and west of the Alps at the beginning of the 16th century, the Gothic style lost its importance.

Almost all the architecture of Gothic cathedrals is due to one main invention of that time - a new frame structure, which makes these cathedrals easily recognizable.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Rococo (French rococo, from French rocaille - crushed stone, decorative shell, shell, rocaille, less often rococo) is a style in art (mainly in interior design) that arose in France in the first half of the 18th century (during the regency of Philip Orleans) as a development of the Baroque style. The characteristic features of Rococo are sophistication, great decorative loading of interiors and compositions, graceful ornamental rhythm, great attention to mythology, and personal comfort. The style received its highest development in architecture in Bavaria.

The term “rococo” (or “rocaille”) came into use in the mid-19th century. Initially, “rocaille” is a way of decorating the interiors of grottoes, fountain bowls, etc. with various fossils that imitate natural formations, and a “rocaille maker” is a master who creates such decorations. What we now call “rococo” was once called “pictorial taste”, but in the 1750s. Criticism of everything “twisted” and “forced” intensified, and the term “spoiled taste” began to appear in literature. The Encyclopedists were especially successful in criticism, according to whom the “spoiled taste” lacked a rational principle.

Despite the popularity of the new “antique forms” that came into fashion in the late 1750s. (this direction was called “Greek taste”; objects of this style are often incorrectly mistaken for late Rococo), the so-called Rococo retained its position until the very end of the century.

The architectural (more precisely, decorative) Rococo style appeared in France during the Regency (1715-1723) and reached its apogee under Louis XV, spread to other European countries and dominated it until the 1780s.

Having rejected the cold pomp, the heavy and boring pomposity of the art of the times of Louis XIV and the Italian Baroque, Rococo architecture strives to be light, welcoming, playful at all costs; she does not care about the organic combination and distribution of parts of the structure, nor about the expediency of their forms, but disposes of them with complete arbitrariness, reaching the point of caprice, avoids strict symmetry, endlessly varies the divisions and ornamental details and does not skimp on squandering the latter. In the creations of this architecture, straight lines and flat surfaces almost disappear, or at least are disguised by figured decoration; none of the established orders is carried out in pure form; the columns are sometimes lengthened, sometimes shortened and twisted in a helical manner; their capitals are distorted by flirtatious changes and additions, cornices are placed above the cornices; high pilasters and huge caryatids support insignificant projections with a very protruding cornice; the roofs are surrounded along the edge by balustrades with bottle-shaped balusters and with pedestals placed at some distance from each other, on which vases or statues are placed; the pediments, representing broken convex and sunken lines, are also crowned with vases, pyramids, sculptural figures, trophies and other similar objects. Everywhere, in the frame of windows, doors, wall spaces inside the building, in lampshades, intricate stucco ornamentation is used, consisting of curls that vaguely resemble plant leaves, convex shields irregularly surrounded by the same curls, masks, flower garlands and festoons, shells, rough stones (rocaille), etc. Despite such a lack of rationality in the use of architectural elements, such capriciousness, sophistication and burdensome forms, the Rococo style left many monuments that to this day fascinate with their originality, luxury and cheerful beauty, vividly conveying us in the era of rouge and whitewash, flies and powdered wigs (hence the German names of the style: Perückenstil, Zopfstil).

Amalienburg near Munich

Roman style

The Romanesque style (from the Latin romanus - Roman) is an artistic style that dominated Western Europe (and also affected some countries of Eastern Europe) in the 11th-12th centuries (in some places - in the 13th century), one of the most important stages in the development of the medieval European art. He expressed himself most fully in architecture.

The main role in the Romanesque style was given to harsh fortress architecture: monastery complexes, churches, castles. The main buildings during this period were the temple-fortress and the castle-fortress, located on elevated places, dominating the area.

Romanesque buildings are characterized by a combination of a clear architectural silhouette and laconic exterior decoration - the building always fit harmoniously into the surrounding nature, and therefore looked especially durable and solid. This was facilitated by massive walls with narrow window openings and stepped-recessed portals. Such walls had a defensive purpose.

The main buildings during this period were the temple-fortress and the castle-fortress. The main element of the composition of a monastery or castle is the tower - the donjon. Around it were the rest of the buildings, made up of simple geometric shapes - cubes, prisms, cylinders.

Features of the architecture of the Romanesque cathedral:

The plan is based on an early Christian basilica, that is, a longitudinal organization of space

Enlargement of the choir or eastern altar of the temple

Increasing the height of the temple

Replacement of coffered (cassette) ceilings with stone vaults in the largest cathedrals. The vaults were of several types: box, cross, often cylindrical, flat on beams (typical of Italian Romanesque architecture).

Heavy vaults required powerful walls and columns

The main motif of the interior is semicircular arches

Rational simplicity of the design, made up of individual square cells - grasses.

Winchester Cathedral, England

Deconstructivism

Deconstructivism is a trend in modern architecture based on the application of the ideas of the French philosopher Jacques Derrida in construction practice. Another source of inspiration for deconstructivists is early Soviet constructivism of the 1920s. Deconstructivist projects are characterized by visual complexity, unexpected broken and deliberately destructive forms, as well as a pointedly aggressive invasion of the urban environment.

Deconstructivism emerged as an independent movement in the late 1980s. (works by Peter Eisenman and Daniel Libeskind). The theoretical background of the movement was Derrida’s reasoning about the possibility of architecture, which comes into conflict, “debunks” and abolishes itself. They received further development in the periodicals of Rem Koolhaas. The Vitra Fire Station by Zaha Hadid (1993) and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao by Frank Gehry (1997) are considered manifestos of deconstructionism.

Dancing House, Czech Republic

Hi-tech (English hi-tech, from high technology - high technology) is a style in architecture and design that originated in the depths of late modernism in the 1970s and found widespread use in the 1980s. The main theorists and practitioners of high-tech (for the most part practitioners, unlike the architects of deconstructivism and postmodernism) are mainly English - Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Nicholas Grimshaw, at some stage of their work James Stirling and the Italian Renzo Piano.

Early hi-tech

The Pompidou Center in Paris (1977), built by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, is considered to be one of the first important high-tech buildings to be completed. At first the project was met with hostility, but by the 1990s the controversy had subsided, and the Center became one of the recognized landmarks of Paris (like the Eiffel Tower once was).

In England, real high-tech buildings appeared later. The first London high-tech buildings were built only in the 1980s and 1990s (Lloyds building, 1986). To some extent, the slow implementation of modern projects in the spirit of high-tech in England was associated with the policy of Prince Charles, who then launched active activities within the framework of the architectural competition for the reconstruction of Paternoster Square (1988). Taking part in architectural debates, the prince spoke out in support of the new classicists and against high-tech architects, calling their buildings disfiguring the face of London. Charles Jenks calls on “kings to leave architecture to architects,” and even expresses the opinion that a new wave of monarchism is beginning with the dictatorship of the prince in architecture.

Modern high-tech

High-tech since the 1980s. expressed prestige (all high-tech buildings are very expensive), Charles Jencks calls them “banking cathedrals”, one can even say that modern high-tech forms the image of the largest commercial firms. In London, the architectural debate around high-tech has subsided, and its most prominent representatives are recognized and respected (Norman Foster was awarded the title of knight).

Since the 1990s. bio-tech and eco-tech are developing - styles, as opposed to high-tech, trying to connect with nature, not to argue with it, but to enter into dialogue (this is especially noticeable in the works of the architects of the homeland of high-tech - England and the Italian R. Piano) .

Main features

The use of high technologies in the design, construction and engineering of buildings and structures.

Use of straight lines and shapes.

Wide application of glass, plastic, metal.

The use of functional elements: elevators, stairs, ventilation systems and others, taken outside the building.

Decentred lighting, creating the effect of a spacious, well-lit room.

Widespread use of silver metallic color.

High pragmatism in space planning.

Frequent reference to elements of constructivism and cubism (as opposed to bio-tech).

As an exception, sacrificing functionality for the sake of design.

Fuji TV Headquarters (architect: Kenzo Tange)

Types of architecture

Architecture of volumetric structures.

The architecture of volumetric structures includes residential buildings, public buildings (schools, theaters, stadiums, shops and others) industrial buildings (factories, factories, power plants, etc.)

2. Landscape and park architecture.

This type of architecture is associated with the organization of garden and park space. These are squares, boulevards and parks with “small” architecture - gazebos, bridges, fountains, stairs.

Urban planning.

Urban planning activity is an activity in urban planning of the organization and development of territories and settlements, determining the types of urban planning use of territories, integrated design of urban and rural settlements, including the creative process of forming urban planning space, creating

Architectural style can be defined as a set of basic features and characteristics of architecture of a certain time and place, manifested in the features of its functional, constructive and artistic aspects (purpose of buildings, building materials and structures, techniques of architectural composition).

It is customary to distinguish architectural styles of global significance:

Prehistoric architecture

· Antique architecture. VIII century BC e. - V century n. e.

· Roman style. X - XII centuries

· Gothic. XII - XV centuries

· Revival. Beginning XV - beginning XVII century

· Baroque. Con. XVI century - end. XVIII century

· Rococo. Beginning XVIII - con. XVIII century

· Classicism, incl. Palladianism, Empire style, neo-Greek. Ser. XVIII - XIX centuries

· Eclecticism. 1830s - 1890s

· Modern. 1890s - 1910s

· Modernism. Beginning 1900s - 1980s

· Constructivism. 1920s - early 1930s

· Postmodernism. From ser. XX century

· High tech. From the end 1970s

· Deconstructivism. From the end 1980s

In fact, there are practically no pure styles in architecture; they all exist simultaneously, complementing and enriching each other. Styles do not mechanically replace one another, they do not become obsolete, do not appear out of nowhere and do not disappear without a trace. In any architectural style there is something of the previous and future style.

Antique (Greek) style- This is the architecture of ancient Rome and Greece. This style appeared on the lands of the Aegean Sea for so long that it was considered the progenitor and even in some way for such movements as Classicism, Neoclassicism, and Renaissance. Because the Romans were students of the Greeks, they immediately adopted the ancient style, supplementing it with their own elements (dome, arched order cell).

Roman style. X-XII centuries (in some countries XIII century)(with elements of Roman-ancient culture). Medieval Western European art of the time of complete dominance of feudal-religious ideology. The main role in the Romanesque style was given to harsh, fortress-like architecture: monastery complexes, churches, and castles were located on elevated places, dominating the area. Churches were decorated with paintings and reliefs, in conventional, expressive forms, expressing the frightening power of the deities. The Romanesque era is characterized by nobility and austere beauty.

The Gothic style mainly manifested itself in the architecture of temples, cathedrals, churches, and monasteries. In contrast to the Romanesque style, with its round arches, massive walls and small windows, the Gothic style is characterized by pointed arches, narrow and tall towers and columns, a richly decorated facade with carved details (vimpergi, tympanums, archivolts) and multi-colored stained glass lancet windows . All style elements emphasize verticality. In Gothic architecture, there are 3 stages of development: early, mature (high Gothic) and late (flaming Gothic).

Renaissance (Renaissance). (fr. Renaissance), a period in the cultural and ideological development of Western countries. and Central Europe (in Italy XIV-XVI centuries, in other countries the end of the XV-XVI centuries), transitional from medieval culture to the culture of modern times. In architecture, secular buildings began to play a leading role - public buildings, palaces, city houses. Using the order division of walls, arched galleries, colonnades, vaults, domes, architects (Brunelleschi, Alberti, Bramante, Palladio in Italy, Lescaut, Delorme in France) gave their buildings majesty, clarity, harmony and proportionality to man. Particular importance in this direction is attached to the forms of ancient architecture: symmetry, proportion, geometry and the order of its component parts, as clearly evidenced by surviving examples of Roman architecture. The complex proportions of medieval buildings are replaced by an orderly arrangement of columns, pilasters and lintels; asymmetrical outlines are replaced by a semicircle of an arch, a hemisphere of a dome, niches, and aedicules.

Baroque (Italian: barocco- “vicious”, “loose”, “prone to excess”, port. perola barroca - “pearl of irregular shape” (literally “pearl with a defect”); - characteristics of European culture of the 17th-18th centuries, the center of which was Italy. Baroque art is characterized by grandeur, pomp and dynamics, pathetic elation, intensity of feelings, a passion for spectacular spectacles, a combination of the illusory and the real, strong contrasts of scale and rhythm, materials and textures, light and shadow. Baroque palaces and churches, thanks to the luxurious, bizarre plasticity of the facades, the restless play of chiaroscuro, complex curvilinear plans and outlines, acquired picturesqueness and dynamism and seemed to blend into the surrounding space. The ceremonial interiors of Baroque buildings were decorated with multicolor sculpture, modeling, and carvings; mirrors and paintings illusorily expanded the space, and the painting of ceiling lamps created the illusion of open vaults. Baroque architecture (L. Bernini, F. Borromini in Italy, V.V. Rastrelli in Russia) is characterized by spatial scope, unity, and fluidity of complex, usually curvilinear forms.

Rococo (French Rococo, from rocaille- decorative motif in the form of a shell), a style direction in European art of the 1st half of the 18th century. Rococo, associated with the crisis of absolutism, is characterized by a departure from life into the world of fantasy, theatrical play, mythical and pastoral plots, and erotic situations. Rococo art is dominated by a graceful, whimsical ornamental rhythm. The characteristic features of Rococo are sophistication, great decorative loading of interiors and compositions, graceful ornamental rhythm, great attention to mythology, erotic situations, and personal comfort.

Classicism (French classicisme, from lat. classicus - exemplary) - architectural style and aesthetic direction in European art of the late 17th - early 19th centuries. The main feature of the architecture of classicism was the appeal to the forms of ancient architecture as a standard of harmony, simplicity, rigor, logical clarity and monumentality. The architecture of classicism as a whole is characterized by regularity of layout and clarity of volumetric form. The basis of the architectural language of classicism was the order, in proportions and forms close to antiquity. Classicism is characterized by symmetrical axial compositions, restraint of decorative decoration, and a regular system of city planning.

Empire (from the French empire- “empire”) - the style of late (high) classicism in architecture and applied art. Originated in France during the reign of Emperor Napoleon I; developed during the first three decades of the 19th century; was replaced by eclectic movements. The Empire style is a unique reflection of Roman classics combined with Egyptian motifs. Empire architecture is characterized by monumentality, geometric regularity of volumes and integrity (triumphal arches, columns, palaces). The Empire style, through numerous attributes and symbols, affirmed the idea of ​​imperial greatness.

Eclecticism (eclecticism) (from the Greek eklektikos– chooser), a mechanical combination of heterogeneous, often opposing principles, views, theories, artistic elements, etc.; in architecture and fine arts, a combination of heterogeneous stylistic elements or an arbitrary choice of stylistic design for buildings or artistic products that have a qualitatively different meaning and purpose.

Art Nouveau architecture- an architectural style that became widespread in Europe in the 1890s-1910s as part of the Art Nouveau art movement. Modern architecture is distinguished by its rejection of straight lines and angles in favor of more natural, “natural” lines, and the use of new technologies (metal, glass). Like a number of other styles, modern architecture is also distinguished by the desire to create both aesthetically beautiful and functional buildings. Much attention was paid not only to the appearance of the buildings, but also to the interior, which was carefully worked out. All structural elements: stairs, doors, pillars, balconies were artistically processed. Modern architecture has a number of characteristic features, for example, the rejection of mandatory symmetrical forms. New forms appear in it, such as “shop windows,” that is, wide ones designed to act as shop windows. During this period, the type of residential apartment building finally takes shape. Multi-storey construction is being developed.

Constructivism, a movement in contemporary art of the 1920s that put forward the task of designing the material environment surrounding humans. Constructivism sought to use new technology to create simple, logical, functionally justified forms, expedient structures (architectural projects of the brothers A.A., V.A. and L.A. Vesnin, M.Ya. Ginzburg, I.I. Leonidov).

Hi-tech (English). hi-tech, from high technology - high technology) is a style in architecture and design that originated in the depths of postmodern architecture in the 1970s and found widespread use in the 1980s. It is characterized by pragmatism, the idea of ​​the architect as an elite professional, the provision of services by architecture, complex simplicity, sculptural form, hyperbole, manufacturability, structure and design as an ornament, anti-historicity, monumentality.

Deconstructivism- a trend in modern architecture that took shape as an independent movement in the late 1980s in America and Europe and then spread in one form or another throughout the world.

The architectural style, which originated in medieval Europe, is characterized by semicircular arches, which differ from Gothic pointed arches. Because examples of Romanesque architecture can be found throughout the European continent, the style is often considered to be the first pan-European architectural style since the Roman Empire. In addition to semicircular arches, the direction is distinguished by massive forms, thick walls, strong supports, cross vaults and large towers. From the 6th to the 10th centuries, most churches and monasteries in Europe were built in this majestic style. We have selected for you 25 of the most breathtaking and impressive examples of the Romanesque style in architecture that you simply must see!

Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Gurk, Austria. 12th century

This basilica is considered one of the most important Romanesque buildings in the country. It has two towers, three apses, a crypt and galleries.

Notre Dame Cathedral, Tournai, Belgium. 17th century

Since 1936 it has been considered the main attraction and heritage of Wallonia. It is impossible not to note the heavy and serious nature of the building, the Romanesque nave and the cluster of five bell towers and semicircular arches.

Rotunda of St. Longina, Prague. 12th century

Founded as a parish church in a small village near Prague, it was almost destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century, but was later rebuilt.

Cathedral of Saint Trophime, Arles, France. 15th century

One of the most important examples of Romanesque architecture in France.

Saint-Savin-sur-Gartampe, France. Mid 11th century

The church, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, has a square tower and five radial chapels with a polygonal apse.

Bamberg Cathedral, Bamberg, Germany. 13th century

Founded in 1012 by Emperor Henry II, the church is famous for its four imposing towers. The cathedral was partially destroyed by fire in 1081, but rebuilt by 1111.

Cathedral in Clonfert, Ireland. 12th century

The doorway of this cathedral is considered the crown of the Romanesque style. It is decorated with animal heads, leaves and human heads.

San Liberatore in Maiella, Abruzzo, Italy. 11th century

The facade of this abbey is an example of the Lombard-Romanesque architectural style.

Modena Cathedral, Modena, Italy. 12th century

The cathedral is considered one of the most iconic Romanesque buildings in Europe and is a World Heritage Site.

Basilica of St. Servatius, Maastricht, Netherlands. 11th century

The building is considered an example of various architectural styles, but predominantly Romanesque.

Doors of the Cathedral in Gniezno, Poland. 12th century

The bronze doors are considered one of the most significant works of Romanesque art in Poland. They are decorated with bas-reliefs that show 18 scenes from the life of St. Wojciech.

Monastery of Peter and Paul, Kruszwica, Poland. 1120

This work of Romanesque art is built from sandstone and granite. It has a transept, presbytery and apse.

St. Andrew's Church, Krakow, Poland. 1079-1098

This church was created for defensive purposes. It is one of the few remaining examples of European fortified churches.

Lisbon Cathedral, Portugal. 1147

The oldest church in Lisbon, which is a mixture of different styles and is famous for its Romanesque iron gates.

Cathedral of St. Martin, Slovakia. 13th-15th century

The largest and most interesting Romanesque cathedral in Slovakia. Inside it are marble tombstones, and the walls are painted with scenes of the coronation of Charles Robert of Anjou.

Basilica of San Isidro, Leon, Spain. 10th century

Among the building's most notable features are the arches that cross the transept and the carved tympanum.

Lund Cathedral, Sweden. 1145

The Romanesque style here is expressed in the layout, crypt and arched galleries.

Grossmunster, Zurich, Switzerland. 1100-1120

Protestant church in Romanesque style. It has a large carved portal with medieval columns.

Durham Cathedral, England. 1093

The building is notable for its unusual nave roof vaults, transverse arches and massive columns.

Dunnottar Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. 15-16th century

The ruined medieval fortress consists of three main wings set around a quadrangle and an unusual, intricate oak ceiling.

Salamanca Cathedral, Spain. 1513-1733

Although the cathedral was rebuilt in the 17th century and became Gothic, it retains much of the Romanesque style.

Wonchock Abbey, Wonchock, Poland. 1179

The abbey is recognized as one of the most precious monuments of Romanesque architecture in Poland.

Cathedral in Porto, Portugal. 1737

This is one of the oldest cathedrals in the city. It is surrounded by two square towers supported by buttresses and topped by a dome.

Santa Maria Maggiore, Veneto, Italy. 11th century

The interior of this cathedral is decorated with amazing mosaics from the 9th century.

Cathedral of San Nicola di Trullas, Italy. 1113

The cathedral was built as a village school and later became a monastery with cross vaults and frescoes.

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