Cologne Cathedral and Amiens Cathedral Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Cologne Cathedral and Amiens Cathedral - Essay Example A good example of this is the Amiens Cathedral and the Cologne Cathedral which are known all over the world. Even though, the two were designed by one architect by the name Gerhard Von Rile, they vary in so many ways like structure foundations, building historical background and decorative designs. These two structures were included in the World heritage site simply because they have about 800 years of history, and hence their significant effect in the world1. At the beginning of Medieval, Rainald of Dassel decided to put up a suitable church that would attract so many church goers. In so doing this, he had to seek for assistance from a renowned architecture that had to offer his expertise in the designing and construction of the famous church. Background Information about the Buildings The Cologne Cathedral traces its origin at the beginning of the medieval period. This is after Rainald of Dassel had acquired some skills from the three kings and thus decided to construct the largest church. With the artifacts contained by the Cologne Cathedral during the Middle Ages, So many people were attracted to thus making it one of the most famous religion centers in the world at the moment. Some of the common artifacts include the Three Magi2. During the designing of the Cologne Cathedral, the architecture solely relied on the original design of the Amiens Cathedral both in terms of ground plan, width and even height measurements. A Latin cross was the main shape of the plan as commonly associated with the Gothic Cathedral. There were to be two aisles on both sides which were to offer support to the highest Gothic vaults. With these exceptional collections of relics, the Cathedral of cologne was outstanding, and perhaps this was the thought of Rainald of Dassel. He decided to implore Gothic architecture, which had become very common, in most parts of Europe especially France and England. Despite the design not being popular in Germany, he chose the French architect to c onstruct the Gothic Cathedral3. Fortunately this turned out positive since the cathedral become famous internationally. The Gothic style went through several evolution periods basing on the country. For example in France, the periods included Early, Lancet, Rayonnant and Flamboyant or late Gothic while, in England, there were three stages namely Early English, Decorated and perpendicular. In both cases, the last periods were the most sophisticated as its amazing development led to introduction of different styles. During construction using this style, the climate played a crucial role in determining the physical features of the medieval, Gothic cathedrals. The Amiens cathedral in France had between 3 to 5 portals leading to the central nave. This style was similar to the one used to build the Cologne cathedral in Germany except that the later was made mainly of bricks, as opposed to the stones used in the Amiens4. However, this might not have been the main reason why the design was chosen because during the Roman period, the Romanesque style was eminent. That was the main reason why the some Romanesque features still existed in the Cologne church before the Cologne Cathedral. It was only after the changes in the economy of the society that the Gothic style became prominent. This led to the powerful influence of the French which was evident in the Cologne Cathedral particularly the Amiens Cathedral. The construction of this church was not a walk in the park, as it was forced to stand still for some