Sondergotik (; ''Special Gothic'') is the style of Late

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

prevalent in

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, Swabia,

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and

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between 1350 and 1550. The term was invented by art historian Kurt Gerstenberg in his 1913 work ''Deutsche Sondergotik'', in which he argued that the Late Gothic had a special expression in Germany (especially the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and the

) marked by the use of the hall church or ''Hallenkirche''. At the same time the style forms part of the International Gothic style in its origins. The style was contemporaneous with several unique local styles of Gothic: the Flamboyant in France and Belgium, the Isabelline in Spain, the Manueline in Portugal and the

Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

in England. Like these, the Sondergotik showed an attention to detail both within and without. In many Sondergotik buildings, fluidity and a wood-like quality were stressed in carving and decoration, particularly on vaults. The rib patterns of Sondergotik vaults are elaborate and often curved (in plan), sometimes using broken and flying ribs (features extremely rare in other regions). Outside, the buildings tended towards mass buttressing. Among the most famous Sondergotik constructions is Saint Barbara Church in Kutná Hora (modern

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), built by the Parlers, a family of masons. File:Kutn%C3%A1_Hora-Cathedral_St_Barbara-interior5.jpg, Curved, broken ribs at Kutná Hora. File:Prag_Vladislav-Saal.jpg, Curved, broken ribs in Vladislav Hall,

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. File:AnnabergSachsen6.jpg, Reticulated vault of St. Annenkirche,

Annaberg-Buchholz Annaberg-Buchholz () is a town in Saxony, in eastern Germany. Lying in the Ore Mountains, it is the capital of the district of Erzgebirgskreis. Geography The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the ''Pöhlberg'' ( above sea le ...

Sources

The Grove Dictionary of Art: ''Sondergotik''.
*Cole, Emily, ed. (2002). ''The Grammar of Architecture''. Bullfinch Press. {{Archhistory Gothic architecture in Austria Gothic architecture in Germany Gothic architecture