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Whenever you take vacations in European cities with professional tour guides, history will probably be the topic your guide is going to chat about the most. However something you will hear a great deal of is their historical architecture. Unfortunately, a great deal of it was destroyed by warfare, especially in the bombings during World War II. A lot of the city centers were literally wiped out, and with a few exceptions (Paris which is one), so you will see these architectural wonders alongside a block of sixty year old buildings that had been obviously thrown up in a rush. But when you do see one of these architectural marvels, your trip guide might say it is "early Gothic" or "Baroque", as if you ought to know what that is. So here we are going to attempt to offer an extremely quick summary of some of the architecture types you may notice, and what eras they were from. 1. Romanesque (500-1200 AD). You will notice this type of architecture in France, and with a less significant amount in Germany in addition to other places. Meaning “descended from Roman”, it reflects simplicity in contrast to the following wave of Gothic. This was a period of great castle-building, but the style will be seen more frequently in the church buildings of the period. 2. Gothic Architecture (1100-1450 AD). Initiated in France and originally called the French Style, the style had been possible as new methods of construction allowed them to build pointed arches, ribbed vaulting supported with columns, flying buttresses, stained glass windows and really elaborate sculptures. As styles changed and the French Style fell from favor, it became to be derisively referred to as "Gothic" after the Germanic (Goth) barbarians, which certainly wasn't true. 3. Renaissance Architecture (1400-1600 AD). Renaissance in French equates to born anew, and as opposed to the unbalanced Gothic, this was a send back towards the symmetrical and proportioned structures that are Classical Greece and Rome. Look for classical arches and columns, with domes in addition to niches that will contain sculptures. 4. Baroque (1600-1830). In Italian barocco equates to "bizarre", and this style will be marked with being excessive. Europe during this point was becoming much more affluent, and it shows in this architecture, highlighted with massive domes, huge spiraled columns, marble of multiple colors, and enormous murals. There are going to be variations of this in Italy, France, Great Britain and Spain. 5. Rococo (1650-1790). This came on as a variant of the Baroque Era, with a number of exceptions. Adopted as a softer version of Baroque, it will have more pale colors and more soft curves. You'll perhaps more likely notice this in central and eastern Europe in places like Germany, Austria and Russia, just to name a few. 6. Georgian Architecture (1720-1800). Originating in Great Britain along with Ireland, this will be characterized by its square, balanced form influenced by Greek Classical architecture. This style will be found in great, elegant homes at a time as more wealth was being accumulated among the upper classes. In America, this design was to become the rage within the American colonies. 7. Victorian Architecture (1840-1900). Witnessed in the British Isles and it isn't surprising that the dominant architecture of this era would come from one of the centers of world trade, and also of enormous wealth. Due to the Industrial Revolution, they were able to make use of new materials and technologies to create an eclectic mixture of architectures that are still prominent in Great Britain and America. This is clearly only a quick overview of an incredibly broad, but interesting subject. There is a lot more to learn about this subject, but hopefully you may have a little to associate with when your tour guide points up the architectural type of a structure they point out. When you travel around Europe visiting these remarkable sites, there is one mode of travel that you should look to use to link to these great cities: train travel. Visit our website http://bestvacationeurope.com. Jim O'Connell is a writer who has traveled Europe extensively.
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European architecture, Gothic architecture, European history,
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