Late-19th-century architectural revival movement
Neo-Byzantine architecture
(also referred to as
Byzantine Revival
) was a
revival movement
, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public
buildings
. It incorporates elements of the
Byzantine style
associated with
Eastern
and
Orthodox Christian
architecture dating from the 5th through 11th centuries, notably that of
Constantinople
(present-day
Istanbul
) and the
Exarchate of Ravenna
.
Neo-Byzantine architecture emerged in the 1840s in
Western Europe
and peaked in the last quarter of the 19th century with the
Sacre-Coeur Basilica
in Paris, and with monumental works in the
Russian Empire
, and later
Bulgaria
. The Neo-Byzantine school was active in
Yugoslavia
in the
interwar period
.
Russian Empire
[
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]
Sophia Cathedral
in
Pushkin
(1782?1788) was the earliest and isolated experiment with Byzantine treatment of otherwise
neoclassical
structures. In 1830s
Nicholas I of Russia
promoted the so-called
Russo-Byzantine
style of churches designed by
Konstantin Thon
. Nicholas I despised true Byzantine art; Thon's style in fact had little common with it. Notably, Thon routinely replaced the circular Byzantine arch with a
keel
-shaped
gable
, and the hemispherical Byzantine dome with an
onion dome
; layout and structural scheme of his churches clearly belonged to neoclassical standard.
True Byzantine art, popularized by
Grigory Gagarin
and
David Grimm
, was adopted by
Alexander II of Russia
as the de facto official style of the Orthodox Church. Byzantine architecture became a vehicle of Orthodox expansion on the frontiers of Empire (
Congress Poland
,
Crimea
, the
Caucasus
). However, few buildings were completed in the reign of Alexander II due to financial troubles.
Alexander III
changed state preference in favor of
Russian Revival
trend based on 16th-17th century
Moscow
and
Yaroslavl
tradition, yet Byzantine architecture remained a common choice, especially for large cathedrals. Neo-Byzantine cathedrals concentrated in the western provinces (Poland, Lithuania), the Army bases in Caucasus and
Central Asia
, the
Cossack hosts
and the industrial region in
Urals
around the city of
Perm
. Architects
David Grimm
and
Vasily Kosyakov
developed a unique national type of a single-dome Byzantine cathedral with four symmetrical
pendentive
apses that became de facto standard in 1880s-1890s.
The reign of
Nicholas II
was notable for the architect's turn from this standard back to
Hagia Sophia
legacy, peaking in the
Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt
and
Poti
cathedral. These designs employed
reinforced concrete
that allowed very fast construction schedule; their interiors contained clear references to contemporary
Art Nouveau
yet the exteriors were a clear homage to medieval Constantinople. Russian Neo-Byzantine tradition was terminated by the
Russian Revolution of 1917
but was continued by emigrant architects in
Yugoslavia
and
Harbin
.
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Exaltation of the Cross Cathedral at St. Nicholas Monastery,
Verkhoturye
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The Orthodox Church in
Białowie?a
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Southeastern Europe
[
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]
Bulgaria
[
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]
The Bulgarian Neo-Byzantine style from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century is often a combination of Byzantine,
typical Bulgarian
, Eastern Orthodox and
Secession
/
Art Nouveau
/
Modernisme
elements.
- Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia
(1882-1912);
- Dormition of the Mother of God Cathedral, Varna
(1882-1885);
- Faculty of Theology (
Sofia University
) (1908-1912)
- Regional History Museum Sofia, former
Sofia Central Public Mineral Baths
(1913) - the building was designed in the
Vienna Secession
style, but integrating typically Byzantine, Bulgarian and Eastern Orthodox ornamental elements;
- Sofia Theological Seminary
(1902-1914);
- Vrana Palace
- the building of the New Palace in "Vrana" is a two-storey massive building, executed in typical Bulgarian style with Secession elements, combined in an elegant Neo-Byzantine spirit.
- Church of St Paraskeva, Sofia
(1926-1930)
- St. Nedelya Cathedral Church
(10th century, 1933), Sofia
Greece
[
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]
Romania
[
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]
- Entrance of the Lauren?iu and Louise Steinebach House, Bucharest (most of its architectural elements, both exterior the interior, with little
Romanian Revival
influences)
- People's Salvation Cathedral
, Bucharest
- Holy Trinity Cathedral, Sibiu
- Coronation Cathedral, Alba Iulia
- Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Constan?a
- Domni?a B?la?a Church
, Bucharest
- Doctor Ion and Maria Url??eanu House, Bucharest
- Aleea Alexandru no. 40, Bucharest
- Strada Pictor Constantin Stahi no. 18, Bucharest
- Strada Austrului no. 9, Bucharest
- Bulevardul Dacia no. 42, Bucharest
- Doctor Dobrovici House, Bucharest
Serbia
[
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]
Serbia's modern sacral architecture got its main impetus from the dynastic burial church in Oplenac which was commissioned by the Karađorđevi? dynasty 1909.
[5]
With the arrival of Russian emigre artists after the
October Revolution
, Belgrade's main governmental edifices were planned by eminent Russian architects trained in Russia. It was King Alexander I who was the patron of the Neo-Byzantine movement.
[6]
Its main proponents were
Aleksandar Deroko
,
Momir Korunovi?
,
Branko Krsti?
,
Grigorije Samojlov
and
Nikolay Krasnov
. Their main contribution were the royal castles on Dedinje, the
Church of Saint Sava
and the
St. Mark's Church
in Belgrade. After the communist era ended,
Mihajlo Mitrovi?
and Neboj?a Popovi? were proponents of new tendencies in sacral architecture which used classic examples in the Byzantine tradition.
[7]
Turkey
[
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]
Istanbul Agia Triada in Taksim
Ayvalık Agios Georgios (Cınarlı mosque), Agios Ioannis (Saatli mosque), Taxiarchis in Moschonisi/Cunda
Austria
[
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]
Danish architect
Theophil Hansen
became a supporter of the style in the 1850s. His major works belonged to the
Neo-Grec
and
Neo-Renaissance
style, however, Hansen as a professor of Byzantine art in the
Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna
shaped a generation of architects that popularized Neo-Byzantine architecture in
Austro-Hungary
,
Serbia
and post-war
Yugoslavia
. Hansen's own Neo-Byzantine work includes the
Arsenal
in Vienna (1852?1856, with
Ludwig Forster
), the
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Vienna
(1856?1858) and the Christuskirche in
Matzleindorf
, Vienna (1858?1860).
Germany
[
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]
Earliest examples of emerging Byzantine-
Romanesque architecture
include the
Alexander Nevsky Memorial Church
, Potsdam, by Russian architect
Vasily Stasov
, and the
Abbey of Saint Boniface
, laid down by
Ludwig I of Bavaria
in 1835 and completed in 1840. The basilica followed the rules of 6th-century
Ravenna
architecture, although its
corinthian order
was a clear deviation from the historical Byzantine art. In 1876
Ludwig II of Bavaria
commissioned Neo-Byzantine interiors of the externally Romanesque
Neuschwanstein Castle
, complete with mosaic images of
Justinian I
and Greek saints.
Several Neo-Byzantine-style churches were constructed during the
Grunderzeit
, for instance, the
Sacred Heart Church
or the
Rosary Basilica
, both located in
Berlin
.
France
[
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]
One of the earliest examples in France is the enormous
Marseille Cathedral
, built between 1852 and 1893, and the basilica of
Notre-Dame de la Garde
, both located in Marseille.
Another example is the Russian orthodox
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
in Paris build 1859-1861.
[8]
The
Saint-Augustin
in Paris build between 1860 and 1871 is an example of
Eclectic
Romano-Byzantine architecture.
A prominent example of Byzantine Revival architecture in France is the
Basilica of Sacre-Coeur
in Paris, built between 1875 and 1914, based on the original plan of
Paul Abadie
. It features five elongated domes on the exterior and an interior with mosaics and other art inspired by
Byzantine art
.
[9]
Inspired by the former is another excellent example - the
Basilica of Sainte-Therese, Lisieux
completed in 1954.
Great Britain and Ireland
[
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]
Westminster Cathedral
(1895?1903), the Catholic cathedral in London, is the largest and most thorough British effort in the style, by
John Francis Bentley
(1839?1902), but there are a number of other churches and other buildings such as the
Christ Church, Brixton Road
, also in London, by
Arthur Beresford Pite
, 1897?1903, near
The Oval
cricket ground and
St Mary and St George Church
,
High Wycombe
(1935?1938). From about 1850 to 1880 in
Bristol
a related style known as
Bristol Byzantine
was popular for industrial buildings which combined elements of the
Byzantine style
with
Moorish architecture
.
Newman University Church
,
Dublin
(1885?86) is a notable Irish example.
United States
[
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]
In the United States and elsewhere, the Neo-Byzantine style is often seen in
vernacular
amalgamations with other
Medieval
revivalist styles such as
Romanesque
and
Gothic
, or even with the
Mission Revival
or
Spanish Colonial Revival
styles.
The
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
is a large Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located in Washington, D.C., United States of America.
The shrine is the largest Catholic church in North America, one of the largest churches in the world,
[10]
and the tallest habitable building in Washington, D.C.
[11]
[12]
[13]
Its construction of Byzantine Revival and
Romanesque Revival
architecture began on September 23, 1920, with renowned contractor John McShain and was completed on December 8, 2017, with the dedication and solemn blessing of the
Trinity Dome
mosaic on December 8, 2017, the
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
, by
Cardinal
Donald William Wuerl
.
[14]
Other notable
US
examples include many buildings on the campus of
Rice University
in
Texas
, and
Christ Church United Methodist
in Manhattan by
Ralph Adams Cram
;
Cathedral of Saint Paul (Minnesota)
,
Immaculate Conception Church
in
New Orleans
,
St. Francis de Sales Church
in
Philadelphia
,
Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
,
Temple Beth Israel
in Portland, Oregon, and
Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church
in Buffalo, New York.
Gallery
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See also
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References
[
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]
- ^
Croitoru-Tonciu, Monica (2022).
Alfred Popper - 1874-1946 - (re)descoperirea unui arhitect
(in Romanian). SIMETRIA. p. 72.
ISBN
978-973-1872-51-3
.
- ^
Mariana Celac, Octavian Carabela and Marius Marcu-Lapadat (2017).
Bucharest Architecture - an annotated guide
. Ordinul Arhitec?ilor din Romania. p. 90.
ISBN
978-973-0-23884-6
.
- ^
Croitoru-Tonciu, Monica (2022).
Alfred Popper - 1874-1946 - (re)descoperirea unui arhitect
(in Romanian). SIMETRIA. p. 94.
ISBN
978-973-1872-51-3
.
- ^
Ghigeanu, M?d?lin (2022).
Curentul Mediteraneean in arhitectura interbelic?
. Vremea. p. 530.
ISBN
978-606-081-135-0
.
- ^
Aleksandar Kadijevi?:
Byzantine architecture as inspiration for serbian new age architects
. Katalog der SANU anlasslich des Byzantinologischen Weltkongresses 2016 und der Begleitausstellung in der Galerie der Wissenschaften und Technik in der Serbischen Akademie der Wissenschaften und Kunste. Serbian Committee for Byzantine Studies, Belgrade 2016,
ISBN
978-86-7025-694-1
, S. 87.
- ^
Aleksandar Kadijevi?:
Byzantine architecture as inspiration for serbian new age architects
. Katalog der SANU anlasslich des Byzantinologischen Weltkongresses 2016 und der Begleitausstellung in der Galerie der Wissenschaften und Technik in der Serbischen Akademie der Wissenschaften und Kunste. Serbian Committee for Byzantine Studies, Belgrade 2016,
ISBN
978-86-7025-694-1
, S. 62.
- ^
Aleksandar Kadijevi? 2016:
Between Artistic Nostalgia and Civilisational Utopia: Byzantine Reminiscences in Serbian Architecture of the 20th Century
. Lidija Merenik, Vladimir Simi?, Igor Borozan (Hrsg.) 2016: IMAGINING THE PAST THE RECEPTION OF THE MIDDLE AGES IN SERBIAN ART FROM THE 18TH TO THE 21ST CENTURY. Ljubomir Maksimovi? & Jelena Trivan (Hrsg.) 2016: BYZANTINE HERITAGE AND SERBIAN ART I?III. The Serbian National Committee of Byzantine Studies, P.E. Slu?beni glasnik, Institute for Byzantine Studies, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Hier S. 177
(Academia:PDF)
- ^
Base Merimee
:
Cathedrale orthodoxe Saint-Alexandre-Nevsky
, Ministere francais de la Culture.
(in French)
- ^
*Dumoulin, Aline; Ardisson, Alexandra; Maingard, Jerome; Antonello, Murielle;
Eglises de Paris
(2010), Editions Massin, Issy-Les-Moulineaux,
ISBN
978-2-7072-0683-1
- ^
"20 Largest Churches in the World"
.
Wander
. Archived from
the original
on 2020-07-28
. Retrieved
2020-07-28
.
- ^
"Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception"
.
National Shrine
. Archived from
the original
on February 3, 2009.
- ^
"The National Shrine"
.
SkyscraperPage.com
. Archived from
the original
on October 5, 2008
. Retrieved
July 23,
2011
.
- ^
The
Washington Monument
is a taller structure, (though it stands at a lower elevation) but is not a habitable building.
- ^
Samber, Sharon (December 9, 2017).
"After a century, the largest Catholic church in North America is finally complete"
.
USA Today
. Retrieved
December 10,
2017
.
External links
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Germany, Austria-Hungary
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Portugal
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Poland
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Romania
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Russian Empire and USSR
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Serbia
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Spain
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United States
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