Germany- The Land of Castles - Research Paper Example

Merten (1999) describes the burg as being the “beginning of German palace architecture” (Merten, 1999, p. 16). This paper will explain the architecture of different burgs in schlosses in Germany, and these descriptions will be broken down by region. The Burgs and Schlosses of Germany An example of the burg is the Slav fortress of Schwerin, which was built in the tenth century on the lake of Schwerin and burned down in 1160, and rebuilt in the 1300s. This structure has the Gothic style of a a castle, with slender towers, golden cupola, high slate roofs, gables and dormer windows.

This is the region of Mecklenburg, as is Gustrow, which is an example of a schloss. The Italian influence can be seen on the Gustrow, which was built in the 1500s, with squared stones, towers and oriel windows which are united by stringcourse which run around the castle. Ludwigslust is also in Mecklenburg, and this was also an example of the burg, as it was built for Christian Ludwig II. This palace has a great Elbe sandstone facade, a towering central section, a steeply rising pavilion which contains the state rooms, and this pavilion provides a break in the building’s horizontal line. . One example of this is the Postdam Neues Palais.

Blandenburg-Prussia also has the Rheinsberg, which more closely resembles a castle, in that it has cupolas, and many wings. It has two corner pavilions and is described as being rococo style. Prussia also ahas the Potsdam Charlottenhof, which is also a burg, in that it was built for a king in the 1700s. This palace has grecian columns and resembles the Parthenon in Greece, as it has a pediment above the columns and the building is rectangular. Anhalt has the Worlitz, which was built in the 1700s as a burg.

This is described as being influenced by English architecture, with its clean lines and rectangular shape, and a dome rising above the main building. It resembles an English country house. Saxony has the Meissen Albrechtsburg, which more closely resembles Gothic architecture and, since it was built as a fortress in 929, would be considered to be a schloss. This building has high cathedral towers which come to a Gothic point. It also emphasizes vertical aspects, because the stories are uniform in height, there are large windows on every side and there are circular stair-towers.

Saxony also has the Moritzburg, which is also grand, but was built as a burg in the 1500s. This building has several round corner towers with bulbous cupolas which form a square, in which there was a house in the middle of this square. It also has high-stepped gables. This was built like a schloss, in that it looks like a fort, but the towers were not used for defensive purposes. Saxony also boasts the Dresden Zwinger. This was built in the 1600s as palace for a king, so this was an example of a burg.

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