Dragestil ("Dragon Style") is a style of

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

that originated in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

and was widely used principally between 1880 and 1910. It is a variant of the more embracing

National Romantic style The National Romantic style was a Nordic architectural style that was part of the National Romantic movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is often considered to be a form of Art Nouveau. The National Romantic style spread ...

and an expression of

Romantic nationalism Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

History

The foremost sources of inspiration for the Dragestil style were the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

art and architecture of Scandinavia. It had roots in the preservation of

stave churches A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine pos ...

and the recent excavation of historic relics such as the Tune,

Gokstad The Gokstad Mound (Norwegian: Gokstadhaugen) is a large burial mound at Gokstad Farm in Sandefjord (formerly Sandar municipality) in Vestfold County, Norway. It is also known as the King's Mound (''Kongshaugen'') and is where the 9th century Go ...

and Oseberg ships. It often featured Norse motifs, such as

serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

s and

dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

, hence its popular appellation. Important proponents in the modern era included Norwegian architects Holm Hansen Munthe and Balthazar Lange.''Arkitekter:Balthazar Conrad Lange (1854–1937)''
/ref> In Germany, the in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...

and the Rominten Hunting Lodge were erected for Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Characteristic features

* Exposed timber walls, often tarred on the exterior with varnished interiors * Decoration in the form of dragon heads * Often steep roofs and big

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

Gallery

Image:Villabalderslund.jpg, Villa Balderslund in

Balestrand Balestrand is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center was the village of Balestrand. Other villages in t ...

(erected 1907) File:NOR-2016-Oslo-Frognerseteren restaurant.jpg, Frognerseteren restaurant (erected 1890–1891) File:Dalen Hotell IMG 4773.jpg, Dalen Hotel in Kviteseid File:Stationshuset boden.jpg, Boden Central Station File:Gravdal-Buksnes-Stabkirche-16-2019-gje cropped.jpg, Buksnes Church in

Vestvågøy Vestvågøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Leknes. Some of the villages in the municipality include Ballstad, Borg, ...

, Norway

References

Other sources

* Tschudi-Madsen, Stephan (1981) ''Veien hjem, Norsk arkitektur 1870–1914'' (Oslo: Norges kunsthistorie) * Tschudi-Madsen, Stephan (1993) ''Dragestilen'' (Oslo: Honnør til en hånet stil) * Tschudi-Madsen, Stephan (1993) ''Vandringer på en utstilling og i en jaktvilla'' (Oslo: Honnør til en hånet stil)

External links

Dragestil på St. Hanshaugen
{{Revivals Revival architectural styles Architecture in Norway Art Nouveau architecture