Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/107

Rh bk. IV. ch. vn. LUBECK. 91 Another defect is, that a brick buikling ahiiost inevitably sug- gests a ]iLaster finishing internally ; and every one knows how easy it is to repeat by casting the same ornaments over and over again, and to apply such ornaments anywhere and in any way without the least reference to construction or propriety. All these temptations may of course be avoided. They Avere so at Granada by the Saracens, who loved art for its own sake. They were, to a considerable extent, avoided in the valley of the Po, though by a people far less essentially art-loving than the Moors. But it Avill easily be sui)posed that this taste and perception of beauty exerted very little influence in the valley of the Elbe. There the public buildings were raised as cheaply as the necessities of construction would allow, and ornaments were applied only to the extent absolutely requisite to save them from meanness. Thus the churches represent in size the wealth and popula- tion of the cities, and were built in the style of Gothic architecture which prevailed at the time of their erection ; but it is in vain to look in them for any of the beauties of the stone Gotliic buildings of the same period. The principal group of churches in the district is found at Lubeck, Avhich was per- haps, in the Middle Ages, the wealthiest town on the shores of the Baltic. The largest of these is the Dom Kirche or Cathedral (Woodcut No. 533), a building 427 ft. long overall. The nave is 120 ft. wide externally. The vaults of the three aisles spring from the same height, the central one being 70 ft. high, those of the side-aisles a little less. This, with the wide spacing of the piers, gives a poor and bare look to the interior. The choir is better, showing a certain amount of variety about the chevet ; but even this is leaner than in any stone building, and displays all the poverty so characteristic of the style. The Maria Kirche is a more favorable specimen of its class, •though not so larsre. It is of a somewhat earlier age, and is built more in accordance with the principles of Gothic design. The 534. Plan of Church of St. Mary, Lubeck. Scale lOiJ ft. to 1 ill.