Renaissance architecture in Eastern Europe
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Renaissance architecture was that style of architecture which evolved firstly in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
and then Rome and other parts of Italy as the result of
Renaissance humanism Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...
and a revived interest in Classical architecture. It was part of the general movement known as the
Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
, which spread outwards from Italy and effected many aspects of scholarship and the arts. When the Renaissance spirit was exported into Eastern Europe, it had to compromise with local traditions and climates. The
Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...
differs from place to place throughout the region with many local characteristics making themselves apparent.


Renaissance architecture in the Kingdom of Poland

Polish Renaissance The Renaissance in Poland ( pl, Renesans, Odrodzenie; literally: the Rebirth) lasted from the late 15th to the late 16th century and is widely considered to have been the Golden Age of Polish culture. Ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty, the Crown ...
architecture is divided into three periods: The First period (1500–1550), is the so-called "Italian". Most of Renaissance buildings built at this time were by Italian architects, mainly from
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
including
Francesco Fiorentino Francesco the "Florentine" was an Italian renaissance architect and sculptor from Florence, Italy. His date of birth is unknown. He died 16 October 1516 in Kraków, Poland. Life This Italian architect was the earliest representative of the ren ...
and
Bartolomeo Berrecci Bartolomeo Berrecci (1480 Pontassieve, Italy - 1537 Kraków, Poland) was an Italian Renaissance architect who spent most of his career in Poland. Studies and career in Poland He learned architecture in Florence, first through apprenticeship w ...
. In the Second period (1550–1600), Renaissance architecture became more common, with the beginnings of Mannerist and under the influence of the Netherlands, particularly in
Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
. Buildings include the New
Cloth Hall A cloth hall or linen hall (german: Gewandhaus; pl, Sukiennice; french: Halle aux draps; nl, Lakenhal) is a historic building located in the centre of the main marketplace of a European town. Cloth halls were built from medieval times into the 18 ...
in
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
and city halls in
Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarnów ...
, Sandomierz, Chełm (demolished) and most poorly in
Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
. Zamość is a unique example of a Renaissance town in Central Europe. In the Third period (1600–1650), the rising power of
Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
and Counter Reformation gave impetus to the development of Mannerist architecture and Baroque.


Renaissance architecture in the Kingdom of Hungary

After Italy, Hungary was the first European country where the Renaissance appeared. The Renaissance style came directly from Italy during the Quattrocento to Hungary first in the Central European region, thanks to the development of early Hungarian-Italian relationships—not only in dynastic connections, but also in cultural, humanistic and commercial relations—growing in strength from the 14th century. The relationship between Hungarian and Italian Gothic styles was a second reason—exaggerated breakthrough of walls is avoided, preferring clean and light structures. Large-scale building schemes provided ample and long term work for the artists, for example, the building of the Friss (New) Castle in Buda, the castles of Visegrád, Tata and Várpalota. In Sigismund's court there were patrons such as Pipo Spano, a descendant of the Scolari family of Florence, who invited Manetto Ammanatini and Masolino da Pannicale to Hungary. The new Italian trend combined with existing national traditions to create a particular local Renaissance art. Acceptance of Renaissance art was furthered by the continuous arrival of humanist thought in the country. Many young Hungarians studying at Italian universities came closer to the Florentine humanist center, so a direct connection with Florence evolved. The growing number of Italian traders moving to Hungary, specially to
Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
, helped this process. The style appeared following the marriage of King
Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...
and Beatrix of Naples in 1476. Matthias was 15 when he was elected King of Hungary. He was educated in Italian, and his fascination with the achievements of the Italian Renaissance led to the promotion of Mediterranean cultural influences in Hungary. Many Italian artists, craftsmen and
masons Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutt ...
arrived at
Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
with the new queen. One of whom, Aristotile Fioravanti, travelled from Hungary to Moscow where he built the Cathedral of the Dormition. The most important work of Hungarian Renaissance ecclesiastical architecture is the Bakócz Chapel in
Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Danu ...
. It was the first centrally conceived chapel outside of Italy. In 1823 the medieval church was rebuilt and the chapel, to incorporate it into the new Neo-Classical Esztergom Cathedral, was moved stone by stone to a different position. Buda Castle was enlarged and modernized in Renaissance style. King Matthias also built a sumptuous summer palace in Visegrád and an Italianate hunting lodge in Budanyék. These monuments were largely destroyed in the Ottoman wars but the remains of the Visegrád Palace were partially reconstructed around 2000 and 69 years ago . The Ottoman conquest of Hungary in 1526 put an abrupt end to the short-lived Hungarian Renaissance. The royal court ceased to exist but Hungarian landowner families in the
Royal Hungary Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
built a lot of provincial Renaissance castles in the 16–17th centuries. The most important of them was the
Rákóczi The House of Rákóczi (older spelling Rákóczy) was a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 13th century and 18th century. Their name is also spelled ''Rákoci'' (in Slovakia), ''Rakoczi'' and ''Rakoczy'' in some forei ...
Castle in
Sárospatak Sárospatak (german: Potok am Bodroch; la, Potamopolis; sk, Šarišský Potok or ; ) is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, northern Hungary. It lies northeast from Miskolc, in the Bodrog river valley. The town, often called simply ''Pat ...
. Many significant Renaissance castles were built in
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
, that time an independent principality. The palace of Gabriel Bethlen in Gyulafehérvár (now Alba Iulia, Romania) was designed by Italian architects. The Transylvanian Renaissance lasted well until the first half of the 18th century because of the aesthetical conservatism of the country. The vernacular architecture of Transylvania preserved Renaissance details especially long.


Renaissance architecture in the Crown of Bohemia

The Renaissance style first appeared in 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 B ...
in the 1490s. Bohemia together with its incorporated lands, especially Moravia, thus ranked among the areas of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
with the earliest known examples of the Renaissance architecture. As well as in other Central European countries the Gothic style kept its position especially in the church architecture. The traditional
Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...
was considered timeless and therefore able to express the sacredness. The Renaissance architecture coexisted with the Gothic style in Bohemia and Moravia until the late 16th century. During the reign of Holy Roman Emperor and Bohemian King Rudolph II, the city of Prague became one of the most important European centers of the late Renaissance art (so-called
Mannerism Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...
). Nevertheless, not many architecturally significant buildings have been preserved from that time.


Renaissance architecture in Russia

Prince Ivan III introduced Renaissance architecture to
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
by inviting a number of architects from
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 re ...
, who brought new construction techniques and some Renaissance style elements with them, while in general following the traditional designs of the
Russian architecture The architecture of Russia refers to the architecture of modern Russia as well as the architecture of both the original Kievan Rus’ state, the Russian principalities, and Imperial Russia. Due to the geographical size of modern and imperial ...
. In 1475 the Bolognese architect
Aristotele Fioravanti Ridolfo "Aristotele" Fioravanti (c. 1415 or 1420 in Bologna – c. 1486 in Tsardom of Russia) was an Italian Renaissance architect and engineer, active in Muscovy from 1475, where he designed the Dormition Cathedral, Moscow during 1475–1479. His ...
came to rebuild the Cathedral of the Dormition in the
Moscow Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...
, damaged in an earthquake. Fioravanti was given the 12th-century Vladimir Cathedral as a model, and produced a design combining traditional Russian style with a Renaissance sense of spaciousness, proportion and symmetry. In 1485 Ivan III commissioned the building of a royal Terem Palace within the Kremlin, with Aloisio da Milano being the architect of the first three floors. Aloisio da Milano, as well as the other Italian architects, also greatly contributed to the construction of the
Moscow Kremlin Wall The Moscow Kremlin Wall is a defensive wall that surrounds the Moscow Kremlin, recognisable by the characteristic notches and its Kremlin towers. The original walls were likely a simple wooden fence with guard towers built in 1156. The Kremlin w ...
s and
towers A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifica ...
. The small banqueting hall of the
Russian Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
s, called the
Palace of Facets The Palace of the Facets (russian: Грановитая Палата, ''Granovitaya Palata'') is a building in the Moscow Kremlin, Russia, which contains what used to be the main banquet reception hall of the Muscovite Tsars. It is the oldest pr ...
because of its facetted upper story, is the work of two Italians,
Marco Ruffo Marco Ruffo as known as Marco Fryazin (Марк Фрязин, Марко Фрязин and Марко Руффо in Russian) was an Italian architect active in Moscow in the 15th century. The Fryazin title originates from the old Russian word ''ф ...
and
Pietro Solario Pietro Antonio Solari (Latin: Petrus Antonius Solarius)Z. Davidov. Stars on the towers. (Звезды на башнях) Moscow, 1963 (c. 1445 – May 1493), also known as Pyotr Fryazin, was an Italian architect and sculptor. He was born in Car ...
, and shows a more Italian style. In 1505, an Italian known in Russia as
Aleviz Novyi Aloisio the New, known in Russian as ''Aleviz Novyi'' or ''Aleviz Fryazin'', was an Italian Renaissance architect invited by Ivan III to work in Moscow.Dariusz Kolodziejczyk, ''The Crimean Khanate and Poland-Lithuania: International Diplomacy on th ...
or Aleviz Fryazin arrived in Moscow. He may have been the Venetian sculptor, Alevisio Lamberti da Montagne. He built twelve churches for Ivan III, including the Cathedral of the Archangel, a building remarkable for the successful blending of Russian tradition, Orthodox requirements and Renaissance style. It is believed that the Cathedral of the Metropolitan Peter in Vysokopetrovsky Monastery, another work of Aleviz Novyi, later served as an inspiration for the so-called ''octagon-on-tetragon'' architectural form in the
Moscow Baroque Naryshkin Baroque, also referred to as Moscow Baroque or Muscovite Baroque, is a particular style of Baroque architecture and decoration that was fashionable in Moscow from the late 17th century into the early 18th century. In the late 17th century ...
of the late 17th century. Between the early 16th and the late 17th centuries, however, an original tradition of stone tented roof architecture had been developed in Russia. It was quite unique and different from the contemporary Renaissance architecture elsewhere in Europe, though some researches call that style 'Russian Gothic' and compare it with the European
Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...
of the earlier period. The Italians, with their advanced technology, may have influenced the appearance of the stone tented roof in Russia (the wooden tents were known in Russia and Europe long before). According to one hypothesis, an Italian architect called
Petrok Maly Petrok Maly, also known as Petrok Maly Fryazin (russian: Петрок Малый Фрязин, lit. Peter Junior) (? - ), was an Italian architect, who arrived in Moscow together with the envoys of Pope Clement VII in 1528. He was likely born Pie ...
may have been an author of the Ascension Church in
Kolomenskoye Kolomenskoye (russian: Коло́менское) is a former royal estate situated several kilometers to the southeast of the city center of Moscow, Russia, on the ancient road leading to the town of Kolomna (hence the name). The 390 hectare ...
, one of the earliest and most prominent tented roof churches.


Renaissance architecture in Lithuania


Gallery of Renaissance buildings

File:Platz in Dubrovnik.jpg, Croatia File:Kamienica "Pod Św. Krzysztofem i Św. Mikołajem " ul. Rynek 12 e83.jpg, Poland File:KaplicaBoimow-Lwow.jpg, Ukraine


See also

*
Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...


References


Further reading

*Miskimin, Harry A. (1977). ''The Economy of Later Renaissance Europe 1460–1600''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *Johnson, Lonnie, (1996). ''Central Europe : Enemies, Neighbors, Friends: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends''. New York: Oxford University Press *Labno, Jeannie (2011). ''Commemorating the Polish Renaissance Child: Funeral Monuments and Their European Context''. Farnham: MPG Books Group. *Kaufmann, T. D. (1995). ''Court, cloister, and city the art and culture of Central Europe, 1450–1800''. Chicago (Ill.): University of Chicago Press. *Anderson, J. (2009). ''Crossing cultures: conflict, migration and convergence : the proceedings of the 32nd International Congress of the History of Art''. Carlton, Vic: Miegunyah Press. *Jokilehto, Jukka (2011). World heritage: observations on decisions related to cultural heritage. ''Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development''. 1, 61–74. *Freedman, J. S. (1999). ''Philosophy and the arts in Central Europe, 1500–1700: teaching and texts at schools and universities''. Aldershot: Ashgate. *Bowe, P., & Sapieha, N. (1991). ''Gardens in Central Europe''. K Antique Collectors' Club. *Kaufmann, T. D. (1988). ''Art and architecture in Central Europe, 1550–1620: an annotated bibliography''. Boston, Mass: G.K. Hall. *Lee, A., Péporté, P., & Schnitker, H. (2010). ''Renaissance? perceptions of continuity and discontinuity in Europe, c.1300-c.1550''. Leiden: Brill. *(2008). ''Bohemia & Central Europe 1200–1550: the permanent exhibition of the collection of Old Masters of the National Gallery in Prague at the Convent of St Agnes of Bohemia''. Prague: National Gallery.
PAVEL KALINA – European Diplomacy, Family Strategies, and the Origins of Renaissance Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renaissance Architecture In Eastern Europe Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture by country