Rundbogenstil

Rundbogenstil. German for round-arched style, it was essentially eclectic, drawing on Byzantine, Early Christian, Italian Romanesque (especially North-Italian buildings in and around Como), and Florentine (e.g. the round-arched palazzi) Renaissance precedents. As the name suggests, it developed in C19 Germany, notably in Bavaria, where its chief practitioners were von Klenze (Königsbau (King's Building) and Allerheiligenhofkirche (Court Church of All Saints), Munich (1826–37)) and von Gärtner (Court and State Library (1827–43), Ludwigskirche (1829–44), and other Munich buildings), and in Prussia, where Schinkel and Persius created some distinguished buildings in the style (e.g. Friedenskirche (Church of Peace), Potsdam (completed 1850)). The style, promoted by Hübsch, had considerable success in England, where it was emulated under the aegis of Professor Ludwig Grüner (1801–82) and Prince Albert. It should not be confused with Neo-Norman or Romanesque Revival, although the Rundbogenstil embraced some Romanesque themes. It should also be emphasized that it was emphatically not an historical revival, but was derived from abstract notions of utility and rational approaches to design.

Bibliography

Nerdinger (ed.) (1987);
Schinkel (1989);
Jane Turner (1996)