Brick Gothic Architecture
Brick Gothic — in German Backsteingotik — is the principal architectural language of the Teutonic Order, and one of the most distinctive regional styles in European architecture. The style was developed, in the course of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, in the northern German plain, in the cities and bishoprics of the lower Rhine, Westphalia, and the southern Baltic coast, and was, in the early fourteenth century, the principal building tradition of the principal commercial cities of the Hanseatic League. The style was adopted by the Teutonic Order in the course of the Order’s expansion into the Baltic, and was, by the early fourteenth century, the principal building tradition of the Order’s Prussian and Livonian branches. The result was a regional architectural tradition of extraordinary scope and coherence.
The Origins of Brick Gothic
The origins of brick Gothic are to be found in the building tradition of the northern German plain, where fired brick had been used as a building material since the late Roman period. The use of brick was a response to the relative scarcity of building stone in the region, and the technique of brick construction was gradually developed into a sophisticated regional building tradition.
The fusion of brick construction with the structural and decorative forms of the contemporary French Gothic was, a regional development of the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. The earliest surviving examples of the brick Gothic style are to be found in the Cistercian monasteries of the lower Rhine, Westphalia, and the southern Baltic coast — Eberbach, Marienmünster, Doberan, Eldena — built in a regional variant of the Cistercian building tradition that combined French Gothic forms with northern German building materials. The Cistercian building tradition was the principal source of the brick Gothic style.
The principal building programme of the brick Gothic style was, in the course of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the great commercial cities of the Hanseatic League. The cities of Lübeck, Hamburg, Bremen, Rostock, Stralsund, and others were the principal centres of the brick Gothic building tradition, and the surviving town halls, churches, and merchant houses of these cities are among the most impressive examples of the style. The Order’s architects were in close contact with the principal workshops of these cities.
Brick Production and Brick Construction
The technique of brick production was, in the course of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, gradually refined, and the Order’s brickworks became one of the most productive brick-making industries in Europe. The Order’s brickworks were established at convenient points along the principal rivers of the Prussian and Livonian territories, where the clay deposits were suitable and water transportation was convenient. The principal brickworks of the Prussian branch were at Marienburg, Elbing, Christburg, and Königsberg; those of the Livonian branch were at Riga, Tallinn, and Cēsis.
The technique of brick production was gradually refined. The most important developments were the standardisation of brick size, typically 28 to 32 centimetres long, 14 to 16 wide, and 8 to 10 thick; the development of a consistent brick bond, typically Flemish or English; and the development of a consistent brick mortar, typically a lime mortar mixed with crushed brick or sand.
The principal elements of the brick construction vocabulary were the load-bearing brick wall, typically built in two or more wythes with a rubble core; the brick vault, typically a ribbed cross vault or ribbed barrel vault; the brick pier, typically a rectangular or octagonal cluster of shafts; the brick arch, typically a pointed arch of two or more orders; and the brick tracery, typically a pattern of moulded bricks set into a pointed arch window.
The Structural Systems
The structural systems of the brick Gothic style were, in the mature form of the early fourteenth century, a distinctive regional variant of the German Gothic. The most impressive surviving example is the great hall of the Middle Castle of Marienburg, one of the largest medieval brick interiors in Europe. The great hall is roofed with a series of brick ribbed cross vaults, supported on a regular grid of brick piers, and the walls are built of fine red brick, bonded in a regular pattern. The most impressive surviving example of vaulting is the chapel of the High Castle of Marienburg, one of the largest medieval brick vaults in Europe, originally painted with monumental wall paintings of which substantial fragments survive.
The Ornamental Vocabulary
The ornamental vocabulary of the brick Gothic style was, in the mature form of the early fourteenth century, a distinctive regional variant of the German Gothic, and one of the most sophisticated ornamental vocabularies in northern Europe. The principal elements were the glazed brick diaper, a pattern of glazed bricks set into a plain brick wall, typically in a geometric or figurative pattern; the blind arcading, a series of pointed arches set into a plain wall; the figure sculpture, a programme of figural representations of saints, princes, and grotesques; and the monumental wall painting, a programme of painted decorations executed in fresco or secco.
The glazed brick diaper is the most distinctive element of the brick Gothic ornamental vocabulary, and is one of the most distinctive elements of the German Gothic in general. The Order’s architects used glazed brick, typically in a deep green or brown glaze, to create patterns of extraordinary complexity and sophistication, and the surviving examples — in the chapel of the High Castle of Marienburg, in the great hall of the Middle Castle of Marienburg, in the chapter house of the High Castle, and in a number of the principal churches — are among the most impressive surviving examples of the medieval European ornamental tradition.
Sources
- Binding, Günther. Architektonische Formenlehre. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1980.
- Boockmann, Hartmut. Der Deutsche Orden: Zwölf Kapitel aus seiner Geschichte. Munich: Beck, 1981.
- Rohde, Hans. Macht und Pracht der Marienburg. Königstein: Langewiesche, 1952.
Related Reading
The wider context of the brick Gothic style is examined in the parent article on the architecture of the Teutonic Order, and the Order’s defensive use of brick is examined in the article on defensive walls and moats. The most impressive surviving example of the brick Gothic style in the Order’s buildings is the great complex of Marienburg, and the architectural type of which brick Gothic is the principal expression is the convent castle. The wider context of the Order’s architectural patronage is examined in the parent chapter on the castles and built legacy of the Teutonic Order, and the modern heritage of the brick Gothic style is treated in the chapter on the heritage of the castles today.