<A>
cloisters of Maulbronn: *
originally built in the Romanesque ("Hirsau" of Swabia) style characterized by uniform pillars & rectangular frames around the Romanesque arches; late 12th century an anonymous architect (from Paris erected) introduced the first Gothic architecture in Germany in the narthex, the southern portion of its cloister, and the monks' refectory. In the late 13th century a Late Gothic style was used
see image below
<B>
cloisters of St. Gallen: *
Although an old institution the surviving building dates to the 18th century; the church & neighbouring abbey library was designed by Peter Thumb & decorated by S German artists. The abbey cathedral was completed in 1766 & enjoys an airy feeling as it is very light inside. Frescoes & paintings adorn the interior & ceiling; it is covered in highly ornate stucco work; sculptures on found on almost every surface; its colour scheme is turquoise and beige. The baptismal font reflects the frescoed ceiling.
see image below
<C>
basilicas (of Syria): *
the basilica Qalb Lawza dates back to the 460s AD & is an example of the first known Syrian model of the broad-aisled basilica: instead of dividing the nave from the side aisles using columns, the builders employed transverse arches resting on piers, allowing for a freer integration of the 3 spaces; the east end terminates in an apse with a hemispherical stone vault. It is entered on its west via a monumental porch with a single large stone portal decorated with carving. The south also has entrances leading directly onto the south side aisle. Windows illuminated the side aisles and a higher level of clerestory windows illuminated the nave, which rose to a height greater than the side aisles. It reflects a Syrian style of architecture (an offshoot from the Byzantine); it is similar in architectural style & craftsmanship to the large pre-Islamic Syrian churches in Turmanin, Androna, Ruweha (de:Ruweiha), and Karatin, probably built by the same workshops.
see images below (left reconstruction, right ruins)
<D>
temples (Republican Rome): *
ancient Roman temple to god Saturn, at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, west end of the Roman Forum. The original dedication traditionally dated to 497 BC, during the early Republic, making it the second oldest Republican temple, though the alter is thought to have been much older; completely reconstructed in 42 BC.
below reconstruction Temple of Saturn
<E>
“The character of the Faustian cathedral is that of the forest. The mighty elevation of the nave above the flanking aisles, in contrast to the flat roof of the basilica; the transformation of the columns, which with base and capital had been set as self-contained individuals in space, into pillars and clustered-pillars that grow up out of the earth and spread on high into an infinite subdivision and interlacing of lines and branches…”
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<F>
Northern plains: *
on the map below the circle marks the northern plains, home of the Germanic tribes
<G>
"The endless, lonely, twilight wood became … the secret wistfulness in all Western building-forms, … in late Gothic as in closing Baroque - the controlled abstract line-language resolved itself immediately into naturalistic branches, shoots, twigs and leaves."
<H>
“Cypresses and pines, with their corporeal and Euclidean effect, could never have become symbols of unending space. But the oaks, beeches and lindens with the fitful light-flecks playing in their shadow-filled volume are felt as bodiless, boundless, spiritual.
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<I>
World-Ash Yggdrasil: *
North Portal door with carved doorjambs & panels, from Urnes Stave Church (Norway) a 12th-century stave church at Ornes; these panels were taken from the previous 11th century church & incorporated into the new structure; they depict interlaced animals, this is one of the last examples of Viking animal ornamentation. Urnes is one of the oldest stave churches in Norway. Although this artefact is not depicting a tree it illustrates the free unbound linear movement reflected in the Yggdrasil myth and the branches of ash trees.
