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Of course these pages cannot replace all the literature
that was published to these topics. References to
literature dealing with a specific building can be found
on the page describing the building. Here you find the
general works. First there is a section of guides
that describe the buildings on different regions
on earth. The second part presents books that
are concerned with architectural styles and their
historic development. In the third section some
literature about churches and some explanations
of the meaning of their exterior and interior.
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Guides:
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- Georg Dehio:
Dehio - Handbuch der
deutschen Kunstdenkmäler. (Handbook of the German
art monuments).
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The standard work on German buildings. Meanwhile there
exist at least one own volume for each federal
state. For each place the existing art monuments are
listed and described. A first class reference
work.
Publisher: Dehio Vereinigung (Deutscher Kunstverlag)
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Richard Reid: The book of Buildings.
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For each era (classical antiquity, from Byzance to the
middle ages, the modern classical period, the modern architecture)
the most important buildings are presented, sorted by
countries. The pages are a little bit messy (many images
spread over the pages), there are short descriptions
to the buildings and to special topics as sacral architecture,
public buildings, residential buildings or castles and
palaces.
Publisher: Michael Joseph Ltd, London, Great Britain.
ISBN: 0-7181-1903-7
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Architectural Styles:
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Wilfried Koch: Baustilkunde. (Architectural Styles Encyclopaedia)
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A very complete book with unbelievably many drawings supplemented
by short, precise descriptions. The main sections are
sacral architecture, castles and palaces, public buildings
and urban development. In each section the according
buildings are presented ordered by era and countries.
Before there is a short description of the main elements of
the architectural style and the local characteristics.
There is a very comprehensive, multi-lingual index of
keywords and an illustrated glossary. This is THE standard
book and it is very cheap.
Publisher: Orbis Verlag, Münich, 1994.
ISBN: 3-572-00689-9.
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Churches:
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Hans Sedlmayr: Die Entstehung der
Kathedrale. (The development of the cathedral)
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This is the standard book on cathedrals. It is not only
a presentation of the architectual and technical elements
(eg the groined vault) but also a complete description of
the meaning of each element, the context in the
liturgy and the origin in the religious believes
of the middle ages. The work does not only provide
the "HO" but also the "WHY" of a church and its
elements and their principles of design.
Publisher: Herder Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1993.
ISBN: 3-451-04181-2.
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Joris Karl Huysmans: Die Kathedrale. (The cathedral)
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This book is not an encycopaedia or a non-fiction work but a
novel written at the end of the 19th century (the time
Victor Hugo wrote his famous works). The book is
autobiographic and tells the story of a young man who
has to decide wether to enter a monastery or not.
It is a very lively description of the wave of piety that
sweeps over Europe during the 19th century and gives
way for the building of many neo-gothic or neo-romanic
churches and for a new tradition of pilgrimage.
In passing Huysmans describes the cathedral of Chartres
very precisely and explains a big part of the
mediaeval symbolism and mysticism in the dialogues of
his main character. Even Sedlmayr mentions this book
(because of the provided knowledge), but he describes it
as a "strange work" not least because he sees churches
more as a object of scientific examination than as
a place of practised christian belief and superstition.
Publisher: P. Kirchheim Verlag, Munich, 1990.
ISBN: 3-87410-033-2.
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