![Fürstenhaus Leipzig](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/F%C3%BCrstenhaus_Leipzig.jpg)
The Saxon Renaissance (in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
: ''Sächsische Renaissance'') is a regional type of architecture from the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
particularly in the area of the
Electorate of Saxony on the middle
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...
. Influences that formed the style came primarily from
Bohemia,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. There were Italian artist families involved by wandering around and roaming the Saxon cultural area in search of commissions. Thus ensured a mixture of styles as well as the own Saxon style development.
History
The most important forerunner of the Renaissance in Saxony was the Electoral Saxon master builder ''Arnold von Westfalen'' (ca. 1425-1481), who created the
Albrechtsburg
The Albrechtsburg is a Late Gothic and early Renaissance castle erected from 1471 till about 1495. It is located in the town centre of Meissen in the German state of Saxony. It is situated on a hill above the river Elbe, adjacent to the Mei ...
Castle in Meissen in the transition from late
Gothic to Renaissance. Transitional forms of building décor can also be found at Hartenfels Castle in
Torgau
Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen.
Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces first ...
,
Wurzen
Wurzen () is a town in the Leipzig district, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Mulde, here crossed by two bridges, 25 km east of Leipzig, by rail N.E. of Leipzig on the main line via Riesa to Dresden. It has a cathedral datin ...
Castle, Hinterglauchau Castle in
Glauchau
Glauchau (; hsb, Hłuchow) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the ...
and Heynitz Castle.
Decisive for the spread of the new architectural style, which originated in Italy and spread throughout Germany at the same time, was the Saxon ruling family of the
Wettins, who had their own large buildings commissioned and, under
Elector Maurice, also called Italian artists to Saxony. Well-known artists and builders who worked in Saxony were:
Giovanni Maria Nosseni from
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
, Hans von Dehn-Rothfelser, Benedetto Tola (* 1525 in
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...
/Italy; † 1572), Gabriel de Tola, Caspar Vogt von Wierandt, Hans Irmisch,
Rochus zu Lynar, Carlo di Cesare del Palagio. Franz Maidburg erected the main altar of the
town church of Annaberg in 1519 and initiated the Renaissance in Saxony. The Saxon master builders used the Renaissance style from about 1530 and exported it to northern Germany (
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...
,
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...
).
![Saxony after the Capitulation of Wittenberg (1547) - DE](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Saxony_after_the_Capitulation_of_Wittenberg_%281547%29_-_DE.png)
After the Wettin possessions were divided into an Ernestine and an
Albertine line in 1485, Torgau developed next to
Wittenberg
Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...
into the preferred residence of the Ernestine electors. The Torgau Castle Hartenfels with its famous
Wendelstein, which was significantly rebuilt by the middle of the 16th century, is one of the most important buildings of the early Renaissance in Germany. After the
Wittenberg capitulation and the transition of Torgau to the Albertines, Elector Maurice initially continued the work on the castle. The permanent relocation of the residence to Dresden until the end of the 16th century largely saved Hartenfels Castle from later stylistic transformations, such as those experienced by the
Dresden Residence Castle, which was considerably enlarged from 1548 until 1556. The facades of the Dresden Palace were richly decorated with sgraffiti and Maurice's brother and successor,
Elector Augustus, who reigned from 1553 until 1586, completed the construction, which became a major work of the Saxon Renaissance. Later, however, the interior was rebuilt in
baroque style after a fire and the outer facades were reworked in the neo-Renaissance style in the 19th century.
The territory of Saxony did not yet include the margravates of
Upper and
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia (; ; ; szl, Dolnŏ Łużyca; ; ) is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the sou ...
, which belonged to the
Lands of the Bohemian crown
The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of ...
and only fell to Saxony in 1635. Saxony also reached further north into the
Fläming. At the beginning of the early Renaissance, the Wettin lands were fragmented. The
Lutheran Reformation emanated from the Saxon Electorate, which was under Ernestine rule and had its centers of power in Wittenberg and Torgau, while the Reformation was not introduced until 1539 in the Albertine dominions adjoining to the south (mainly the
Margravate of Meissen
The Margravate of Meissen (german: Markgrafschaft Meißen) was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, created out of the vast '' Marca Geronis'' ( Sax ...
). After the end of the
Schmalkaldic War
The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...
in 1547, the Upper Saxon Meissen area formed a politically consolidated area.
The artistic and structural development was particularly encouraged by Elector Augustus, who ruled from 1553 until his death in 1586. His great interest in questions of
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...
and
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
is documented. His library contained many architectural pamphlets and model books of building elements. His main work is the enormous
Augustusburg, built between 1568 and 1572. Nowhere else in Europe was an ideal geometric plan implemented so uniformly. The design of the original model could go back to August himself. He also completed the extensive conversion of the Dresden Residential Palace (1553-1556), which his brother Maurice had started. He let build Jägerhof (Dresden) and converted numerous older castles into hunting lodges, including Nossen, Grillenburg, Schwarzenberg and the new Gommern Castle. He had Annaburg Castle and Lichtenburg Castle built for his wife, and Dippoldiswalde and
Freudenstein as official castles. His successor
Christian I
Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within ...
(1586–1591) continued his father's building activities. Above all, Nosseni's work caused the architectural style to spread in Saxony.
The style rubbed off on private building activity in urban centers. Wealthy citizens began to copy the resulting magnificent buildings in Dresden and Meissen and erected houses with
arched portals , facades with square
oriels above the ground floor, often attached in pairs. Further domestic stylistic elements of the Renaissance can be found on the ornaments of the front doors and the window frames. The wooden ceilings are magnificently designed. The way in which most of the town houses of this time were designed can be traced back to the influence of Dresden. In addition to the buildings,
altars
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism ...
and
grave slabs have also become the subject of the changed design in Saxony. In cities such as
Meissen,
Pirna
Pirna (; hsb, Pěrno; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as ...
,
Freiberg
Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district.
Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage c ...
,
Görlitz,
Zwickau
Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ...
, Torgau and Wittenberg there are still today numerous Renaissance town houses.
From 1656,
Wolf Caspar von Klengel
Wolf Caspar Klengel, from 1664 von Klengel (8 June 1630 – 10 January 1691), was a German architect in Saxony,
Klengel was born in Dresden, the second son of Caspar Klengel. He built in Dresden the first opera house, the Opernhaus am Taschenberg ...
(1630–1691) became chief master builder (Oberlandbaumeister) in Saxony; under him the late Renaissance forms were transforming themselves bit by bit into the new Baroque style. As a “prelude”, Johann Georg Starcke built the Dresden Palais in the Great Garden for
John George II from 1678, based on models from the French and Italian early Baroque. John George's grandson
Augustus II the Strong
Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as K ...
, who was impressed by his grandfather's opulent court festivals, pushed the new architectural style forward with unprecedented energy from 1694 and thereby created the Dresden Baroque, which shaped an entire century and radiated far beyond national borders. The Renaissance gables of the Ortenburg Castle in
Bautzen
Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budi ...
, which were not erected until 1698 according to plans by Martin Pötzsch, show how long the building traditions trained in the Renaissance continued to have an effect ; gables in a similar, even baroque-looking transitional style were already attached to Althörnitz Castle around 1660.
Spatial differentiation
In addition to the Saxon expression of the Renaissance styles, there are in the different parts of Germany some other distribution areas with specific expressions of this style.
["The (..) fragmentation of the country (..) led to special territorial developments in architecture. A distinction is made between the Dutch-influenced Renaissance that arose in northern Germany and the architectural forms of the Weser area, and the central German Renaissance architecture from that of southern Germany. What they all had in common was an imaginative richness of form. The Italian models were seldom copied schematically, but new national building forms were found in connection with the rich late Gothic building traditions." Translation of a passage of this German book: Herbert Kürth / Aribert Kutschmar, Baustilfibel , Volk + Wissen, Berlin 1978, p. 137] These are:
* North German Renaissance region
*
Renaissance in the Weser area
*
Westphalian Renaissance region
*
Rhenish Renaissance region
* Renaissance on the
Main
Main may refer to:
Geography
* Main River (disambiguation)
**Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany
* Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province
*"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries
...
* Renaissance in the
Neckar region
* Renaissance region in the
foothills of the Alps
In other countries, there are also different regional charateristics.
Architectural characteristics
Characteristic are the typical triangular gables on the
wall dormers and tower structures (in the early period also round gables), plus a dominance of the colors white and gray as well as consistently plastered buildings without natural stone décor. Buildings from the time of the Saxon Renaissance can be found today in almost all areas that belonged to the House of Wettin at the time of the Renaissance, i.e. today in several
states of Germany as
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
,
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
,
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...
(southern part) and Brandenburg (Lower Lusatia) as well as in adjacent foreign areas such as Poland and Bohemia.
On the other hand, master builders of the Weser Renaissance carried out the conversion of the old monastery into Leitzkau Castle near
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...
, whose facades and gables have natural stone décor and fan tips.
Works
The most striking and preserved large buildings of this time were above all castles and town halls, which can still be found in large numbers in their original state.
Selection of buildings of the Saxon Renaissance with the typical features:
File:Schlosshof-SO-Fassade.jpg, Dresden Castle
Dresden Castle or Royal Palace (german: Dresdner Residenzschloss or ) is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden, Germany. For almost 400 years, it was the residence of the electors (1547–1806) and kings (1806–1918) of Saxony from the Alberti ...
, Saxony
File:Schloss Hartenfels Torgau Innenhof.jpg, Hartenfels Castle in Torgau (Saxony)
File:Torgau Rathaus.jpg, Torgau Town Hall, Saxony
File:Altes Rathaus Leipzig 2013.jpg, Old Town Hall (Leipzig)
Leipzig's Old Town Hall – which dominates the east side of the marketplace in Leipzig's district Mitte - is considered one of Germany's most important secular Renaissance buildings. At the rear is the Naschmarkt (Sweet market). The mayor and th ...
, Saxony
File:Schloss Augustusburg Südseite.jpg, Augustusburg Hunting Lodge
The hunting lodge of Augustusburg (german: Jagdschloss Augustusburg) was built from 1568 to 1572 above the town of the same name on a hill called the ''Schellenberg'' () on the northern edge of the Ore Mountains of Germany. The castle, which i ...
, Saxony
File:PirnaRathaus.jpg, Town Hall in Pirna, Saxony
File:Dessau,Johannbau,Stadtschloss.jpg, Dessau Palace
The Dessau Palace (german: link=no, Residenzschloss Dessau or Stadtschloss Dessau) in Dessau in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt was a princely palace which mostly served as the main residence of the princes of Anhalt-Dessau and later the ...
, Saxony-Anhalt
File:Bernburg (Saale), a detail of the Bernburg castle, image 3.jpg, Bernburg Castle, Saxony-Anhalt
File:Hallesches Dom.JPG, Halle Cathedral
Halle Cathedral (german: Dom zu Halle, link=no) is the oldest surviving church in the old part of the city Halle, Saale. Beside it resided the Archbishop of Magdeburg, who ruled the city for a long period. Albert of Brandenburg remodelled t ...
in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
File:Lutherstadt Wittenberg 09-2016 photo03.jpg, Town Hall in Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt
File:Augusteum - Lutherhaus Wittenberg.jpg, Lutherhaus
The Lutherhaus is a writer's house museum in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany. Originally built in 1504 as part of the University of Wittenberg, the building was the home of Martin Luther for most of his adult life and a significant location in t ...
in Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt
File:Rathaus Saalfeld.JPG, Townhall in Saalfeld
Saalfeld (german: Saalfeld/Saale) is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin.
Geography ...
, Thuringia
File:Doberlug-Kirchhain May2015 img4 Schloss Doberlug.jpg, Castle in Doberlug-Kirchhain
Doberlug-Kirchhain ( dsb, Dobrjoług-Góstkow) is a German town in the district of Elbe-Elster, Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg.
History
937. The town of Kirchhain was built by Margrave Gero. A document written in 1005 mentions the town Doberlug (''Do ...
, Brandenburg
File:Dornburg an der Saale Dornburger Schlösser Renaissanceschloss Foto 2008 Wolfgang Pehlemann Wiesbaden IMG 0106.jpg, One of the Dornburg Castles at the river Saale
The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale ...
in Thuringia
File:Burg Ranis, Thüringen, 170311, ako.jpg, Castle in Ranis, Thuringia
File:Altes Schloß Zabeltitz.JPG, Zabeltitz
Zabeltitz is a former municipality in the district of Meißen, in Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Großenhain.
It lies north of Meissen and Dresden and east of Leipzig. It is west of autobahn 101. It is served by a ...
Castle, Saxony
File:Dresden_Jägerhof.JPG, Jägerhof Dresden, Saxony
File:Schloss Lichtenburg01.jpg, Lichtenburg Castle in Prettin
Prettin () is a town and a former municipality in Wittenberg district in Saxony-Anhalt.
Geography and transportation
The town lies about 30 km southeast of Wittenberg and about 12 km north-northwest of Torgau in the lowland on the Elbe' ...
, Saxony-Anhalt
File:Schloss-Pretzsch.jpg, Pretzsch Castle, Saxony-Anhalt
File:Annaburg Hinterschloss2.jpg, Annaburg Castle, Saxony-Anhalt
File:Bad Schmiedeberg town hall.jpg, Town hall of Bad Schmiedeberg
Bad Schmiedeberg is a small town in the Wittenberg district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It lies within the Düben Heath Nature Park.
History
The town was first mentioned in 1206 as ''Smedeberg''. In 1350, it was granted town rights.
Geograph ...
, Saxony-Anhalt
File:Schloss Hinterglauchau.JPG, Hinterglauchau Castle, Saxony
File:Zwickau Schloss Osterstein 2009-09-08.jpg, Osterstein Castle (Zwickau)
Osterstein Castle (german: Schloss Osterstein, lit. 'Eastern Rock') is the former castle of the town of Zwickau, Germany, in Saxony (''Bundesland Sachsen''). Now it houses the nursing home.
History
First mentioned in 1292 as "Castrum Czwickaw", ...
, Saxony
File:20160622110DR Heynitz Schloß.jpg, Heynitz Castle, Saxony
File:Schönfeld1.jpg, Schönfeld Castle (Dresden), Saxony
Source
* http://archiv.nationalatlas.de/wp-content/art_pdf/Band6_148-149_archiv.pdf
References
{{Authority control
.
Electorate of Saxony