The Gothic style in architecture originated in Europe in the mature and late Middle Ages (12-15 centuries). Gothic style replaced Romanesque architecture and in turn gave way to Renaissance architecture.
The term "Gothic", "Gothic architecture" comes from the word "Goths" - barbarian tribes from the north. The term arose later (in modern times) as a contemptuous designation for everything introduced into European art by the barbarian Goths and emphasized the radical difference between medieval architecture and the ancient art of Ancient Rome.
During this medieval era, the role of the Church in the life of society reached its maximum influence. The church was involved not only in religious affairs, but actively intervened in politics, economics, education, and art. In those days, the development of science was entirely concentrated within the Church. Therefore, the Gothic style initially originated in church construction, and only later moved to secular architecture.
In the Middle Ages, the cathedral was the central place of any city. Many parishioners regularly visited it, they studied there, beggars lived here, and even theatrical performances were staged. Sources often mention that the government also met in church premises. Initially, the Gothic style for the cathedral had the goal of significantly expanding the space and making it lighter.
The new demands of life, on the one hand, and the development of science and technology, on the other hand, became the prerequisites for the emergence of a technically complex Gothic style. The decisive factor was the discovery of a new way of distributing loads: the weight and pressure of masonry can be concentrated at certain points, and if they are supported in these places, other elements of the building no longer need to be load-bearing. This is how the Gothic frame arose:
The difference from previous styles was that the vault was no longer supported by the solid thick walls of the building, the massive cylindrical vault was replaced by an openwork ribbed cross vault, the pressure of this vault is transmitted by ribs and arches to the pillars (columns). The lateral thrust that arises in this way is perceived by flying buttresses and buttresses placed outside the building.
Such a constructive scheme was discovered earlier - in the previous era of the Romanesque style. But the more monumental Gothic style brought its own new features, which are reflected in this diagram:
These design solutions made it possible not only to save building materials, but also to make the interior of the temple more spacious, eliminating the columns that cluttered and darkened it. Gothic temples were conceived in such a way that they were able to accommodate the inhabitants of the entire city at the same time. The space between the columns was filled with thin walls covered with carvings, or colored stained glass windows in pointed arched openings. Increasing the glazing area improved the illumination of the nave.
All this also made it possible to radically increase the height of buildings in comparison with the previous one. Romanesque style .
Structural and artistic elements of the Gothic style:
● buttress - a vertical structure, which is either a protruding part of the wall, a vertical rib, or a free-standing support connected to the wall with a flying buttress. Designed to strengthen the load-bearing wall by taking on the horizontal thrust force from the arches. The outer surface of the buttress can be vertical, stepped or continuously inclined, increasing in cross-section towards the base;
● flying buttress - an external stone semi-arch that transfers the horizontal thrust force from the vaults to a support pillar (buttress) located outside the main volume of the building;
● pinnacle - a decorative spear-shaped turret, often crowned with a pointed phial. Pinnacles were placed mainly at the top of buttresses, also on the ledges of buttresses and towers, on ridges and pillars of walls. The design function of the pinnacle is to load the flying buttress support to prevent it from shifting. For this purpose, pinnacles were often weighted with lead;
●
ribs
(French nervure - vein, streak) - a protruding rib of a frame cross vault.
The presence of ribs in combination with a system of buttresses and flying buttresses makes it possible to lighten the vault, reduce its vertical pressure and lateral expansion, and expand the window openings. The rib vault is also called a fan vault. The system of ribs forms a frame that facilitates the laying of the vault.
Gothic vaults of Sainte-Chapelle - reliquary chapels on the territory of the former Royal Palace on the Ile de la Cité in Paris:
Vaults of the Gothic cathedral:
● masverk - Gothic decorative frame ornament, all elements of which are constructed using compasses. Consists of stylized trefoils or quatrefoils, circles and their fragments. Performed in deep relief on wooden or stone structures.
● Vimperg - (German Vimperg) - a high pointed decorative pediment that completes the portals and window openings of Gothic buildings. The field of the vimperg was decorated with openwork or relief carvings; the edges of the wimperg were framed with stone plastic parts and crowned with a cruciferous flower (fleuron).
● Triforium- low decorative gallery in medieval cathedralsWestern Europe, located in the thickness of the wall above the arches separating the side naves from the middle.
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France is the birthplace of Gothic architecture. The godfather of the Gothic style is considered to be the influential and powerful Abbot Suger, who in 1135-44. rebuilt the basilica of the Abbey of Saint-Denis in a new style. Suger wrote that the tall, light-filled temple is intended to symbolize the boundless light emanating from God. Soon after Saint-Denis, the new style was used in the construction of Notre Dame Cathedral (founded in 1163) and Lansky Cathedral (founded in 1165).
Basilica of the Abbey of Saint Denis in Paris:
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris:
In each European country, Gothic had its own characteristics, but in general three periods of development of this style can be distinguished, characteristic of all:
R Anna Gothic. Main distinguishing features:
● Tall lancet windows without masking (France), with masking and without crypt (Germany)
● Facades of 2 towers with round windows (rosas). Rosas and Notre Dame's façadeParis becomes a model for numerous cathedrals
● Masverk, round Gothic window and wimpers of the highest sophistication
● Important glass paintings
● Wall division 4-zone
● Round columns with 4 thin service columns
● Rich ornamentation of capitals
● Exceptionally pointed arches
Z rel oh gothic. Main distinguishing features:
● Instead of walls, stained glass windows with paintings are installed. After replacing pitched roofsIt is possible to provide the side naves with hipped and hip roofs with rear windows and triforia (Cologne). round upper windows
● Wall division 3-zone
● Thin dividing walls
● A striving upward that requires double (Chartres 36 m, Beauvais 48 m) and triple flying buttresses
● Composite columns (beam-shaped)
● Semicircular arches
● 4-part vault
● The roofs of the towers are openwork
P late I'm gothic. Main distinguishing features:
● Low upper window openings or reducing the size of windows, as well as round windows along with lancet windows with rich openwork ornaments
● Higher arcades
● More decoratively rich (Isabella style from 1475, P Lateresco style - a combination of Eastern and Moorish influences)
● Openwork ornament in the form of a fish bladder (Cathedral of Amiens 1366-1373)
● The middle nave is higher than the side ones and there are fewer dividing elements between the naves. In Germany there is no transverse nave at all
● The columns acquire a more simplified profile. round posts are installed far from each other
● There is no capital on the service columns or there are on separate columns
● Large arches - keeled (already Renaissance)
● arch-simple.ru
Elements of the Gothic cathedral define its image. Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) (1248-1437, 1842-1880)
The main Gothic element that defines the majestic image of cathedrals is the frame system of the building's load-bearing structure, which provided a new way of distributing the load.
Any building experiences the following types of loads: its own weight, as well as additional weight, for example, from snow. Loads are transmitted to the foundation through supporting structures
The frame system arose on the basis of the cross vault of the Romanesque period: architects of that period sometimes laid stone “ribs” protruding outward between the formwork of the cross vaults. At that time, such ribs had decorative value. Gothic architects introduced an innovative idea that set the general trend for the style: the ribs that served to decorate Romanesque buildings turned into ribs that formed the basis of the frame system. The massive Romanesque vault was replaced by a ribbed vault of diagonally intersecting ribs. The space between the ribs was filled with light masonry made of stone or brick.
Vault ribs in the Church of San Francisco in Assisi.
Church of San Francesco in Assisi - Basilica of St. Francis at the Monastery of Santo Convento (La Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi) - temple of the Franciscan Order in the city of Assisi. Italy. Architect Brother Elijah Bombardone. 1228-1253.
The rib vault made it possible to cover spaces of irregular shape, and, in addition, the shrinkage of the soil, which was characteristic of Romanesque buildings, was not a problem for Gothic buildings. Thanks to the rib vault, the lateral thrust and vertical load were reduced. The vault no longer rested on the walls of the buildings; it became light and openwork due to the redistribution of loads. The thickness of the walls no longer affected the load-bearing capacity of the building. As a result, from a thick-walled massive structure, thanks to new Gothic elements, the buildings turned into thin-walled ones. The pressure from the vault was transferred to the pillars and columns, redistributing the lateral thrust from the walls to the architectural Gothic elements: flying buttresses and buttresses.
A flying buttress is an arch built of stone. Flying buttresses were intended to transfer pressure from the vaults to the supporting pillars - buttresses. In the early period of the Gothic style, the flying buttress was designed to accept only lateral loads, then they began to build it in such a way that it also accepted part of the vertical loads. Arches were originally built under the roofs of buildings, but since such a design interfered with the lighting of the interior of temples, they began to be built outside the building. There are two-span, two-tier versions of such arches, as well as combined structures. A buttress, an element of Gothic architecture, is a pillar that should give the wall greater stability and counteract the thrust force of the vaults. The buttresses were several meters away from the walls and were connected to the building by flying buttresses - spanning arches.
Flying buttresses of the Strasbourg Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame - Cathedral of the Virgin Mary. Not completed. Construction began in 1015, the North Tower (1439) was built according to the design of the Cologne architect Johann Hultz. The South Tower was not completed).
Architectural Gothic elements include:- Pinnacle- an architectural element that was installed to prevent shear forces. A pinnacle is a pointed turret that was installed on the top of a buttress in the place where the flying buttress adjoins it. - Arch. In Gothic, they abandoned the semicircular arch and replaced them with pointed ones.
Architectural Gothic elements.
Gothic columns in York Minster (York Minster - St. Peter's Cathedral in York. England. The cathedral was founded in the 13th century, construction lasted 250 years. Restoration work after the fire of 1984 was completed in 1988)
Sometimes a lawn is installed inside the cathedral for a number of events.
Gothic is an artistic style that dominated European architecture in the 13th – 15th centuries. The word comes from Italian. gotico is unusual, barbaric (Goten barbarians; this style has nothing to do with the Goths) and was first used as an expletive. During the Renaissance, the art of the Middle Ages was considered “barbaric.” For the first time, the concept in the modern sense was used by Giorgio Vasari in order to separate the Renaissance from the Middle Ages. Gothic art was cultic in purpose and religious in theme. Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris ()
Gothic art originated in France in the 40s. XII century in the Ile de France region. The abbot of the Saint-Denis monastery, Abbot Suger, is considered the creator of Gothic. During the reconstruction of the main temple of the abbey, a new type of architecture was developed. Saint-Denis Cathedral, 1137 – 1140 Saint-Denis Abbey is a Benedictine abbey, the main monastery of medieval France. From the 13th century - tomb of fr. Kings. An early example of Gothic.
Rib vault, stained glass windows and apse. The building is 36 meters long, 17 meters wide and 42.5 meters high. Saint-Chapelle, Paris,
Stained glass window of Notre Dame Cathedral in Chartres. ()
Gates of Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims. () “Royal Doors” of Notre Dame Cathedral in Chartres. (1145 – 1155)
Gothic architecture of the 15th century. in France it was called “Flaming Gothic”. There is an abundance of decorations, even more vertically elongated forms and additional triangular protrusions above pointed arches reminiscent of flames. Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims, 1211 – 1420.
In most European countries you can find Gothic buildings. In each country they have their own characteristic features. Westminster Abbey, King's College Cambridge Chapel,
Majestic and mysterious, the Gothic style became a vivid symbol of European architecture of the Middle Ages. It combines the severity of stone, the lightness of glass and the brightness of stained glass colors.
Pointed towers directed upward, weightless semi-arches, strict vertical columns and even window openings pointed upward - all this demonstrates humanity’s desire for the heavenly, sublime, and beyond.
Gothic style in architecture - Chartres Cathedral (France)
Main features of Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture can be easily recognized by the following features:
- pointed stone arches and semi-arches (flying buttresses);
- narrow towers directed upward;
- wrought iron spiers on the roof;
- elongated stained glass windows with pointed tops;
- “rose” in the center of the facade;
- a large number of decorative elements (archivolts, impergi, tympanums);
- all parts of the structure tend upward, emphasizing the vertical.
History of style
Historians attribute the development and prosperity of the Gothic architectural movement to the Middle Ages (XII-XVI centuries). The north of France is considered the birthplace of the style, from where it gradually spread throughout Europe.
Gothic came to replace it, gradually displacing it.
First, the new direction demonstrates itself in the architecture of buildings (monasteries, temples and churches) that have a cult or religious affiliation. Over time, the Gothic style extended to civil buildings (palaces, houses, administrative buildings).
Gothic in modern construction
Currently, against the backdrop of the trend towards creating comfortable conditions for country living, the requirements for the architectural design of buildings are constantly becoming more complex.
One of the popular trends in this area has become the Gothic style, which gives many interesting ideas. But it is worth noting that it is not suitable for everyone. 
Gothic style cottage- This is an exclusive item, made to order by an individual owner. Moreover, you need to be prepared for the fact that such a building will always be the center of attention.
Materials for construction in the Gothic style
To build a modern house in the Gothic style, it is not at all necessary to build a life-size medieval castle. It is enough just to adhere to the canons that give the desired stylistic direction.
The main material for building houses in the Gothic style is natural stone. However, if necessary, it can be replaced with more affordable materials (bricks, blocks). And decorative plaster and panels imitating stone will help give the facade the appropriate look.
The first thing that attracts attention in Gothic-type buildings is the complex, high, multi-pitched roof, directed towards the sky. It is harmoniously complemented by attic and dormer windows, as well as spire-shaped and dome structures resembling turrets (pinnacles). 
Given the significant angle of inclination, tiles (metal or bitumen) are most often used as roofing material.
To visually increase the height and enhance the vertical orientation, an important part of the external decor are pointed forged elements.
Facade
The main characteristics of the Gothic style façade are:
Gothic colors
The key color of the Gothic style is traditionally considered to be purple, personifying the unity of the earthly (blood red) and heavenly (blue). Nowadays, in soft, restrained colors, it is used mainly for roofing.
Solid, discreet shades of light gray, clay brown, and camouflage green are suitable for facades.
The main colors of stained glass in the Gothic style are red, blue and yellow.
Expressive contrasts are created by using white or black colors.
Decorative elements
The Gothic architectural style is characterized by the use of numerous decorative elements. These can be bas-reliefs, small sculptures, pilasters, balustrades (fences), stylized forged decorations.
Moreover, heavy and massive plaster parts, characteristic of medieval castles, are now being successfully replaced by lighter analogues made of façade polystyrene foam or polystyrene foam with an appropriate coating.
Gothic style houses - photos
Gothic architecture - video
Advanced construction technologies make the construction of buildings in the Gothic style more affordable thanks to a wide selection of facing materials and the possibility of replacing natural stone with more affordable analogues.
Modern buildings in the Gothic style are distinguished by their originality and abundance of light, which deprives them medieval gloom and ensures a comfortable stay.
The most famous architectural structures in the Gothic style
France:
Chartres Cathedral, XII-XIV centuries.
Reims Cathedral, 1211-1330.
Cathedral of Amiens, 1218-1268.
Notre Dame Cathedral, 1163-14th century.
Cathedral of Bourges, 1194
Germany:
Cologne Cathedral, 1248-19th century.
Münster Cathedral in Ulm, 1377-1543.
England:
Canterbury Cathedral XII-XIV centuries.
Westminster Abbey Cathedral XII-XIV centuries, London.
Salisbury Cathedral 1220-1266
Cathedral of Exter 1050
Lincoln Cathedral, 16th century.
Cathedral in Gloucester XI-XIV centuries.
Czech Republic:
Cathedral of St. Vitus 1344-1929
Italy:
Palazzo Doge of the 14th century.
Milan Cathedral 1386-19th century.
Ca Doro in Venice, 15th century.
Spain:
Cathedral of Girona 1325-1607
Cathedral in Palma on the island of Mallorca 1426-1451.
Norway:
Cathedral in Trondheim 1180-1320.
Denmark:
Cathedral of St. Canute in Odense XIII-XV centuries.
Sweden:
Church in Vadstena 1369-1430
Cologne Cathedral. Germany.
The Gothic style, sometimes called the artistic style, is the final stage in the development of medieval art in the countries of Central, Western and partly Eastern Europe. The term "Gothic" was introduced during the Renaissance as a derogatory designation for all architectural art of the Middle Ages, which was considered truly "barbaric".
Cathedral of Las Lajas. Colombia.
The Gothic style is characterized by the features of a symbolic-allegorical type of thinking and conventions of artistic language. The dominance of architecture and traditional types of buildings was inherited by Gothic from the Romanesque style. The cathedral occupied a special place in Gothic art, being the highest example of architectural synthesis with painting and sculptural trends. The space of such a cathedral was incommensurate with man - the verticals of its vaults and towers, the subordination of sculptures to the dynamism of architectural rhythms and the multi-colored radiance of stained glass windows had a captivating effect on believers.
The development of Gothic art also reflected key changes in the construction of medieval society - the beginning of the formation of centralized powers, the growth and strengthening of megacities, the advancement of the forces of the nobility, as well as court and knightly circles. Civil architecture and urban planning receive intensive development here. The architectural ensembles of cities included secular and religious buildings, bridges, fortifications and wells. Often the main square of the city was built with houses with arcades, where the lower floors were occupied by retail and warehouse premises. And it was from the square that all the main streets with narrow facades of two or three-story houses, decorated with high pediments, diverged. The cities were surrounded by powerful walls with travel towers. Feudal and royal castles gradually transformed into complex complexes of palaces, fortresses and places of worship. In the center of the city, as a rule, there was a cathedral or castle, which became the heart of city life.
Milan Cathedral.
The complex but bold frame structure of the Gothic cathedral, which embodied the triumph of the daring thought of the architect, made it possible to surpass the massiveness of Romanesque structures, lightening the vaults and walls and creating a dynamic integrity of the internal space. By using a frame, the walls ceased to be load-bearing elements of buildings. It seemed as if there were no walls at all. Lancet vaults were superior to semicircular vaults due to their variability, being structurally superior in many respects.
It is in Gothic that the complication and enrichment of the consonance of the arts comes, the expansion of the plot system, which reflected the medieval worldview. Interest arises in the real forms of nature, in the feelings and physical beauty of man, and the theme of motherhood, martyrdom, moral suffering and sacrificial resilience of man receives a new interpretation. The Gothic style of architecture organically intertwines tragic emotions with lyricism, social satire with spiritual sublimity, folklore with fantastic grotesquery and acute life observations.
The Gothic style originated in Northern France in the middle of the 12th century and reached its peak by the first half of the 19th century. Gothic stone cathedrals in France received their own classical form. Such a structure usually consisted of three to five nave basilicas with transverse naves - transepts and an ambulatory, to which radial chapels were adjacent. The impression of indomitable movement towards the altar and upward is created by the slender pillars, the great rise of pointed arches and the rapid pulse of the triforium. Due to the contrast of the main high nave, as well as the side semi-dark naves, a rich painting of aspects and a boundless sense of space appear.
Types of arches.
Gothic ornament.
Gothic capitals.
The Gothic frame system originated in the abbey church of Saint-Denis (1137-1144). The cathedrals in Paris, Laon and Chartres can also be classified as Young Gothic. The richness of rhythm, the perfection of compositional architecture and the impeccability of decorative sculptology - this is what distinguishes the stunning cathedrals and temples of mature Gothic in Amiens and Reims. The Parisian chapel of Sainte-Chapelle (1243-1248) with many stained glass windows also belongs to the Gothic cathedrals of the mid-12th century. The Crusaders brought the principles of Gothic architecture to Rhodes, Syria and Cyprus.
Late Gothic in interiors already spreads sculptural altars that combine painted and gilded wooden sculptures with temperamental paintings on wooden boards. Here a new emphatic structure of images is already taking shape, distinguished by intense (often exalted) expression, which is especially evident in the scenes of the suffering of Christ and other saints, conveyed with unapologetic truthfulness.
As a result, we can conclude that by solving just one architectural problem, not even related to construction, a whole movement in art was born, and, one might say, by accident, a mysterious and amazing style was created - Gothic.
Notre Dame Cathedral. (Notre Dame de Paris)
Notre Dame Cathedral (Notre Dame de Paris.)
Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral is the heart of Paris. The lower part of the facade has three portals: the portal of the Virgin Mary on the left, the portal of St. Anne on the right, and between them is the portal of the Last Judgment. Above them rises an arcade of twenty-eight statues of the kings of Judah. The center of the facade is decorated with a large rose-shaped window, decorated with stone patterns and stained glass. The bronze bell, donated to the Cathedral in 1400, weighing six tons, is located in the right tower of the Cathedral. Subsequently, the bell was melted down again, and the residents of Paris threw jewelry into the molten bronze, from which the ringing of the bell, according to stories, acquired a clear and sonorous timbre.
The cathedral, as a model of the divine universe, looks upward, towards the sky. There are no sharp spiers on top of the towers, contrary to the design. This decision was made so that the harmony of the entire structure would not be disturbed. And from the inside the temple amazes with the volume and breadth of space. Neither the massive pillars nor the bare walls remind of the massiveness of the Cathedral. There is a beautiful tradition associated with the Cathedral. Every year, on the first of May of each year, artists donate paintings, sculptures and other creations. They decorate the chapels on the right side of Notre Dame Cathedral. It also contains two statues: the Virgin Mary, in whose honor the Cathedral is named, and a statue of Saint Dionysia. In memory of the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV, their sculptural images are located in the central part of Notre Dame Cathedral. Bas-reliefs on the theme of the New Testament decorate the outside of the choir. In 1886, the rite of acceptance of the Catholic faith of the writer Paul Claudel took place in the Cathedral, as evidenced by a bronze plate with an inscription mounted in the floor of the transept. Notre Dame Cathedral itself is immortalized in the work of the same name by Victor Hugo.
