(round-arch style) is a 19th-century historic revival style of architecture popular in the German-speaking lands and the

German diaspora The German diaspora (, ) consists of German people and their descendants who live outside of Germany. The term is used in particular to refer to the aspects of migration of German speakers from Central Europe to different countries around the ...

. It combines elements of

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

, Romanesque, and

Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

with particular stylistic motifs. It forms a German branch of

Romanesque Revival architecture Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

sometimes used in other countries.

History and description

The style was the deliberate creation of German architects seeking a German national style of architecture, particularly Heinrich Hübsch (1795–1863). It emerged in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

as a response to and reaction against the neo-Gothic style that had come to the fore in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. By adopting the smooth facade of late antique and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

church architecture, it aimed to extend and develop the noble simplicity and quiet grandeur of

neo-classicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

, while moving in a direction more suited to the rise of industrialism and the emergence of German nationalism. Hallmarks of the style, in addition to the rounded

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es from which it takes its name, include "eyebrows" over the windows and inverted crenelation under the

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 sty ...

. was employed for a number of railway stations, including those in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

, and

Völklingen Völklingen (; , Moselle Franconian: ''Välglinge'') is a town in the district of Saarbrücken, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 10 km west of Saarbrücken, and directly borders France. The town is known for ...

. These were typically "first-generation" stations (built between 1835 and 1870); some were razed to be replaced by larger buildings. Those in Berlin, Tübingen,

Königs Wusterhausen Königs Wusterhausen (; , ) is a town in the Dahme-Spreewald district of the state of Brandenburg in Germany a few kilometers outside Berlin. Geography Geographical location Königs Wusterhausen – locally known as "KW" () or "KWh" ()– lie ...

Crimmitschau Crimmitschau () is a town in the district of Zwickau (district), Zwickau in Saxony, Germany. Geography Crimmitschau lies on the river Pleiße in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains. Neighboring municipalities Adjacent communities includ ...

, and Hersfeld are still extant, while the Bavarian station in Leipzig is partially preserved. was widely adopted in Central European

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

design of the late nineteenth century. The first in this style was the Kassel Synagogue designed by Albrecht Rosengarten, a member of the Jewish congregation in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

Electorate of Hesse The Electorate of Hesse (), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was the title used for the former Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel after an 1803 reform where the Holy Roman Emperor elevated its ruler to the rank of Elector, thus giving him ...

, and completed in 1839. An early example in the United States is the Gates of Heaven Synagogue in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, built in 1863 and designed by August Kutzbock, an immigrant from

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, Germany. Kutzbock also (co)designed secular buildings employing , such as the Carrie Pierce House (1857) and the Van Slyke/Keenan House (1858) in Madison. architecture was influential in England, with Alfred Waterhouse's buildings for what is now called the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

(originally the British Museum Natural History Collection) in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

showing a direct and self-conscious emulation of the style.

German synagogues

File:Synagoge-Kassel-1.jpg, Kassel (1839; destroyed in the ''

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

'' 1938) File:Friedrichstadt alte synagoge.jpg, Friedrichstadt (1845) File:Landappbw 157924 1820 Hechinger Synagoge Hechingen.jpg, Hechingen (1850–52; facade 1881) File:Synagoge Deidesheim.JPG, Deidesheim (1854) File:Mannheim Synagoge.jpg, Mannheim (1855; destroyed in the ''

'' 1938) File:Kohlhoefen-Synagoge Hamburg.jpg, Hamburg (1859; demolished 1934) File:Synagogue d'Ihringen Outside.jpg, Ihringen (1860; destroyed in the ''

'' 1938) File:SynagogeKrakowAmSee.JPG, Krakow am See (1866) File:MeisenheimSynagogeFront2.jpg, Meisenheim (1866) File:Syna Freiburg.jpg, Freiburg (1870; destroyed in the ''

'' 1938) File:Karlsruhe Synagoge Durm 001.jpg, Karlsruhe (1875; destroyed in the ''

'' 1938) File:Heidelberg- 1878 Synagogue -1895.jpg, Heidelberg (1878; destroyed in the ''

'' 1938) File:Berlin Synagoge Lindenstrasse BusB.jpg, Berlin Lindenstrasse (1890–91; damaged in the ''

'' 1938, destroyed 1945) File:Steinsfurt-synagoge08.jpg, Steinsfurt (1893) File:Berlin_Synagoge_Rykestrasse_Eingang.JPG, Berlin Rykestrasse (1904)

German train stations

File:Portikus Bay-bhf leipzig.jpg, Leipzig (Bavarian station) (1842) File:Alter Bahnhof Kriegstraße.JPG,

(1843) File:Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Eingangsbereich-49290.jpg, Berlin (Hamburg station) (1846–47) File:Minden Bahnhof.jpg,

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

(1847) File:Meyers Universum Band 19 13.jpg,

(1849) File:TübingenHbf.JPG,

(1861–62) File:Koenigswusterhausen bahnhof.JPG,

(1866) File:Crimmitschau Bahnhof.jpg,

(1873) File:Hersfeld bahnof vorplatz.jpg, Hersfeld (1883)

architecture in New York City

File:Morse Bldg jeh.JPG,

Morse Building The Morse Building, also known as the Nassau–Beekman Building and 140 Nassau Street, is a residential building in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, at the northeast corner of Nassau and Beekman Streets. The Morse Building ...

on Nassau Street,

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

(1878–80) File:19 (25) Pct 153 E67 jeh.jpg, 19th Precinct, 153 East 67th Street, Manhattan File:South Congregational Church Brooklyn from north.jpg, South Congregational Church, Carroll Gardens,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

(1857) File:Paul Robeson Theater 40 Greene Avenue.jpg, Paul Robeson Theater, formerly the Fourth Universalist Church, Fort Greene, Brooklyn (1833–34) File:French Evangelical Church 126 West 16th St.jpg, French Evangelical Church, formerly the Catholic Apostolic Church, 126 West 16th Street, Manhattan (c.1865) File:Entrance walk 20180910 140234.jpg, First Reformed Church, rebuilt 1859,

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It has a popular large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis, St Albans, and Cambria Heights to the ea ...

architecture in Hungary

File:Vigadó Concert Hall, Budapest.jpg, Vigadó Concert Hall,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

File:Csokonai Theatre, Debrecen.jpg, Csokonai Theatre,

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

-influenced architecture in England

File:Natural History Museum London Jan 2006.jpg,

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum (Lo ...

(1864–80) File:St John Methodist,Hindley.jpg, St John's Methodist Church, Hindley, Greater Manchester (1868) File:St Catherine's Church, Hoarwithy - geograph.org.uk - 959102.jpg,

St Catherine's Church, Hoarwithy The Church of St Catherine is a Church of England parish church at Hoarwithy in the English county of Herefordshire. Alan Brooks and Nikolaus Pevsner, in the revised 2012 ''Herefordshire'' volume of the Pevsner Buildings of England series, ...

(1878–79)

in Belgium

The Rundbogenstil was also widely employed in Belgium, for public buildings as well as for churches. A keen promotor of Neoclassicism and the Rundbogenstil in Belgium was architect Lodewijk Roelandt (1786–1864), who lived in the city of

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

. Among his achievements in Rundbogenstil are St Anne's Church ( Sint-Annakerk (Gent)), the riding school Arena Van Vletingen, both in Ghent, and the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-van-Bijstand-der-Christenenkerk (Sint-Niklaas) at

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; , ) is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sin ...

References

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Architectural styles German architectural styles