The National Romantic style was a Nordic

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

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 Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

. The National Romantic style spread across

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

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 ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

, and

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, as well as

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, where it also appeared as

Russian Revival architecture The Russian Revival style (historiographical names are: ''Russian style'', russian: русский стиль, ''Pseudo-Russian style'', russian: псевдорусский стиль, ''Neo-Russian style'', russian: нео-русский стил ...

. Unlike some nostalgic

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

architecture in some countries, Romantic architecture often expressed progressive social and political ideals, through reformed domestic architecture.Barbara Miller Lane, ''National Romanticism and Modern Architecture in Germany and the Scandinavian Countries'' (New York: Cambridge University Press), 2000:10. Nordic designers turned to early

medieval architecture Medieval architecture is architecture common in the Middle Ages, and includes religious, civil, and military buildings. Styles include pre-Romanesque, Romanesque, and Gothic. While most of the surviving medieval architecture is to be seen in ...

and even prehistoric precedents to construct a style appropriate to the perceived character of people. The style can be seen as a reaction to

industrialism Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econom ...

and an expression of the same "Dream of the North"

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 ...

that gave impetus to renewed interest in the study of the

history of Scandinavia The history of Scandinavia is the history of the geographical region of Scandinavia and its peoples. The region is located in Northern Europe, and consists of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Finland and Iceland are at times, especially in English ...

, along with the rediscovery of the eddas and

saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to th ...

s of

Nordic mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

Examples

* Bergen Station ''(Bergen stasjon)'' (1913, Norway) *

Copenhagen City Hall Copenhagen City Hall ( da, Københavns Rådhus) is the headquarters of the Copenhagen City Council as well as the Lord mayor of the Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. The building is situated on City Hall Square in central Copenhagen. Architec ...

''(Københavns Rådhus)'' (1905, Denmark) * '' (Königlich-Sächsisches Landgericht)'' (1902, Germany) *

Finnish National Theatre The Finnish National Theatre ( fi, Suomen Kansallisteatteri), established in 1872, is a theatre located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. The Finnish National Theatre is the oldest Finnish ...

''(Suomen Kansallisteatteri)'' (1902, Finland) *

Frogner Church Frogner Church ( no, Frogner kirke) is a parish church in the Frogner borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. The congregation is part of the Oslo arch-deanery within the Diocese of Oslo in the Church of Norway. History Frogner Church was designed by ...

''(Frogner kirke)'' (1907, Norway) * Holdre Manor ''(Holdre mõis)'' (1910, Estonia) *

National Museum of Finland The National Museum of Finland ( fi, Kansallismuseo, sv, Nationalmuseum) presents Finnish history from the Stone Age to the present day, through objects and cultural history. The Finnish National Romantic style building is located in central He ...

''(Suomen Kansallismuseo)'' (1905, Finland) *

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology ( Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was ...

''(Norges tekniske høgskole)'' (1910, Norway) *

Pohjola Insurance building The Pohjola Insurance building is the former headquarters of the Pohjola Insurance Company at Aleksanterinkatu 44 and Mikonkatu 3 in central Helsinki. Primarily designed by Gesellius, Lindgren & Saarinen and constructed in 1899–1901, it is ...

(1901, Finland) * Polytechnic Students' Union or Sampo Building (1903, Finland) * Röhss Museum ''(Röhsska konstslöjdsmuseet)'' (1916, Sweden) *

Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall ( sv, Stockholms stadshus, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands ...

''(Stockholms stadshus)'' (1923, Sweden) *

Stockholm Court House The Stockholm Court House ( sv, Stockholms rådhus) is situated on Kungsholmen in Central Stockholm, Sweden. The building is connected to the Stockholm Police House through an underground pedestrian walkway. The Stockholm City Court was situat ...

''(Stockholms Rådhus)'' (1915, Sweden) *

Taagepera Castle Taagepera Castle (German name: Wagenküll) is a mansion in Taagepera village, Helme Parish, Valga County, Estonia. It was registered as a national cultural monument on 27 September 1999. History The first recorded mention of the mansion dates ...

''(Taagepera mõis)'' (1912, Estonia) *

Tarvaspää The Gallen-Kallela Museum, located in Tarvaspää, Espoo, Finland, and built between 1911 and 1913 was a home and studio for Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela Akseli Gallen-Kallela (26 April 1865 – 7 March 1931) was a Finnish painter ...

, (1913, Finland) the house and studio built for himself by Finnish painter

Akseli Gallen-Kallela Akseli Gallen-Kallela (26 April 1865 – 7 March 1931) was a Finnish painter who is best known for his illustrations of the '' Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic. His work is considered a very important aspect of the Finnish national iden ...

Tolstoy House The Tolstoy House is a well-known apartment building in St. Petersburg, located at 15-17 Rubinstein Street and 54 Fontanka Embankment. The building was constructed in 1910–1912 under the aegis of Major-General Count , nephew of the 1812 war he ...

''(Толстовский дом)'' (1912, Russia) * Church of the Epiphany ''(Uppenbarelsekyrkan)'' (1913, Sweden) * Vålerenga Church ''(Vålerenga kirke)'' (1902, Norway) * Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus Church ''()'' (1932, Barcelona)

Sweden

File:Stadshuset mot nordost 2012.jpg,

Finland

File:Finnish National Theatre.jpg, The

File:FinnishNationalTheatreDetail.jpg, Detail of Finnish National Theatre facade File:Helsinki Kansallismuseo 2006.jpg, The

File:Nylands Nations hus.jpg,

Nylands Nation Nylands Nation (NN) is one of the 15 Nations at Finnish universities, student nations at the University of Helsinki, Finland's oldest, Swedish-speaking Finns, Swedish-speaking and established in 1643 at The Royal Academy of Turku. In 1828, the Aca ...

, Student Nation of Helsinki University File:Municipal house.20051010 PM.hollola of finland.ojp.jpg, Hollola Municipal House File:Pohjola-talo.jpg, Alexanterinkatu Facade of

, 1901. File:Kallio church, Helsinki 2004-06.jpg,

Kallio Church sv, Berghälls kyrka , native_name_lang = Kallion kirkko , image = Kallio_church,_Helsinki_2004-06.jpg , caption = Kallio Church. , coordinates = , location = Kallio, Helsinki , country ...

, Helsinki File:Hvittorp.jpg, Hvittorp (near Kirkkonummi). Built by Saarinen, Gesellius, and Lindgren for Robert Westerlund File:Nilsiä Church.jpg,

Nilsiä Nilsiä is a former small town and a municipality of Finland. It joined the city of Kuopio at the beginning of year 2013. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The town has a population of (31 December 2012) and covers an area of of whic ...

Church,

Northern Savonia North Savo (or Northern Savonia; fi, Pohjois-Savo; sv, Norra Savolax) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the r ...

File:Ainola.JPG,

Ainola __NOTOC__ (literal English translation: "Aino's Place") is a museum in Järvenpää, Finland, that originally was the home of the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, his wife Aino (née Järnefelt), and their six daughters. Situated on the shores o ...

, Sibelius' home.

Estonia

File:Holdre mõisa peahoone.jpg, Holdre Manor File:Revel theatre.JPG,

Reval German Theatre The Reval German Theater (German: ''Revaler Deutsches Theater'') was the second theater building and the first professional theater in the city of Tallinn (then Reval) in Estonia, founded in 1795 and closed in 1939. It was named (German) ''Revaler ...

File:Taagepera loss.jpg,

File:Tartu asv2022-04 img28 StPaul Church.jpg,

St Paul's Church, Tartu St Paul's Church ( et, Tartu Pauluse kirik) is a 20th-century church of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church located in Tartu, Estonia. St Paul's congregation The St Paul's congregation was formed as a separate congregation from St Mary's Ch ...

Denmark

File:Copenhagen City Hall.jpg,

File:Hack Kampmanns Plads (Aarhus Toldkammer).jpg,

Aarhus Custom House The Aarhus Custom House (''Toldkammeret'') is located on the harbour front in Aarhus, Denmark. Completed in 1898, it is said to be Hack Kampmann's finest work. Kampmann also designed other buildings in the city including Marselisborg Palace and Aar ...

File:Aarhus Teater.jpg,

Aarhus Theatre The Aarhus Theatre (Danish: ''Aarhus Teater'') in Aarhus, is the largest provincial theatre in Denmark. The present theatre house was constructed in the late 19th century, as a replacement for the old theatre, nicknamed "''Svedekassen''" (The Swe ...

File:Copenhagen (37189955794).jpg,

Copenhagen Central Station Copenhagen Central Station ( da, Københavns Hovedbanegård , abbreviated ''København H'') is the main railway station in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the largest railway station in Denmark. With more than 100,000 travellers every day, it is the ...

File:Det Kongelige Bibliotek.jpg,

The Royal Library ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

File:Sankt Andreas Kirke København SO.jpg, St. Andrew's Church

Russia

File:Невский пр. 7-9, дом Вавельберга.jpg,

Wawelberg Bank The Wawelbergs were a Polish family whose banking house was active in both Congress Poland and the Russian Empire. Hyppolite Wawelberg The Russian branch was founded by Hyppolite Wawelberg (1843–1901). The first Wawelberg Bank had its orig ...

File:Fontanka Embamkment 159.jpg, Kapustin house File:Putilova's house - 2013.jpg, Putilova house (The Owl House) File:Bolshaya Konushennaya Street 05.jpg, Melzer Revenue house File:Griboedov Canal Embankment 158.jpg, Traynin hoyse File:060. Санкт-Петербург. Некрасова ул., 60.JPG, Basseynaya Community of Apartment Owners buildings File:Kamennoostrovsky Avenue SPB 06.jpg, Bernstein house File:Владимирский 19 03.JPG, Basser house File:Malaia and Bolshaia Posadskaia.jpg, Zazersky house File:Ligovsky63.jpg, Markozov house File:Kronpr23n.JPG, Barsova house File:Лиговский 91 01.jpg, Sagalov house File:Фонт54 (1).JPG,

File:Dom schmidta 1.jpg, Schmidt house File:St. Peterburg. Zagorodny Prospect, 64.JPG, House of the Latvian Church File:72 Марата.JPG, Bazhanov house File:Follenweider's private residence.jpg, Vollenweider house File:Дом Щербова - 2011.06.08.jpg, Shcherbov Estate Museum File:Lidval House 1.jpg, File:Lurdska matka bosca cathedral.jpg, Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes

References

State archives: Swedish National Romantic architecture

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Romantic Style 01 Architectural styles Scandinavian architecture Architecture in Denmark Architecture in Finland Architecture in Norway Architecture in Sweden Art Nouveau architecture Architectural history 19th-century architectural styles 20th-century architectural styles