Rundbogenstil
Encyclopedia
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, is a variety of Romanesque revival popular in the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
-speaking lands and the German diaspora.
The style was the deliberate, thoughtful creation of German architects' seeking a German national style of architecture, particularly Heinrich Hübsch
Heinrich Hübsch
Heinrich Hübsch was a German architect. After studies in Heidelberg and at Friedrich Weinbrenner's school of architecture in Karlsruhe he traveled extensively in Greece and Italy . In 1831 he was appointed Oberbaurat at Karlsruhe...
(1795–1863). It emerged in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as a response to and reaction against the neo-Gothic style that had come to the fore in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. By adopting the smooth facade of late antique and medieval church architecture, it aimed to extend and develop the noble simplicity and quiet grandeur of neo-classicism, while moving in a direction more suited to the rise of industrialism and the emergence of German nationalism.
Hallmarks of the style, in addition to the rounded arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es from which it takes its name, include "eyebrows" over the windows and inverted crenelation under the eaves.
Rundbogenstil was employed for a number of train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
s, including those in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
, and Völklingen
Völklingen
Völklingen is a town in the district of Saarbrücken, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated near the border with France, on the river Saar, approx. 10 km west of Saarbrücken....
. These were typically "first generation" stations (built between 1835 and 1870); some were razed to be replaced by larger buildings. Those in Tübingen and Völklingen are still extant, while the Bayerischer Bahnhof in Leipzig is partially preserved.
Rundbogenstil was also widely employed in synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
architecture. The first in this style was the Kassel Synagogue
Kassel Synagogue
The Kassel Synagogue was a synagogue built in Kassel, Hesse in 1839. It was the first Rundbogenstil synagogue....
designed by Heinrich Hübsch
Heinrich Hübsch
Heinrich Hübsch was a German architect. After studies in Heidelberg and at Friedrich Weinbrenner's school of architecture in Karlsruhe he traveled extensively in Greece and Italy . In 1831 he was appointed Oberbaurat at Karlsruhe...
with Albrecht Rosengarten
Albrecht Rosengarten
Albrecht Rosengarten , was among the first Jewish Germans to be permitted to train and practice as an architect.While still a student, he assisted Heinrich Hübsch with the design of the Kassel Synagogue of 1839.-References:...
, built in the latter's native city Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, Hesse-Kassel
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...
, in 1839. An early example in the United States is the Gates of Heaven Synagogue in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, built in 1863 and designed by August Kutzbock, an immigrant from Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, Germany. Kutzbock also (co)designed secular buildings employing Rundbogenstil, such as the Carrie Pierce House (1857) in Madison. It was restored in 2008 and adapted for use as a boutique hotel, known as the Mansion Hill Inn.