Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/36

20 20 EIIENISH ARCHITECTURE. Part II. lateral entrances, and from these, moreover, being placed unsyi. - metrically on the flanks. The fact of these being lateral arose from the double-apse arrangement ; but there seems no reason why they should not have been central, and been covered by a porch to give them dignity. Whether right or wrong, this position of the entrances is typical of German church architecture, and is found in all ages. Although the cathedral of Spires cannot boast of the elegance and finish of that of Worms, it is perhaps, taken as a whole, the finest specimen in Europe of a bold and simple building conceived, if the expression may be used, in a truly Doric spirit. Its general dimen- sions are 435 ft. in length by 125 in width ; and, taken with its adjuncts, it covers about 57,000 square feet, so that though of sufiicient dimensions, it is by no means one of the largest cathe- drals of its class. It is built so solidly that the supporting masses occupy nearly a fifth of the area, and, like the other great building of Conrad's, the church of Limburg, this possesses, what is so rare in Germany, a narthex or porch, and its principal en- trance faces the altar. Its great merit is the daring boldness and simplicity of its nave, which is 45 ft. wide between the piers, and 105 ft. high to the centre of the vault, dimensions never at- tained in England, though they are equalled or surpassed in some of the French cathedrals. There is a simple grandeur about the 469. Plan of the Cathedral at Spires. (From ■, ■, Geier and Gorz.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in. a vame tO tUC l)arts of this building which gives dimensions un- known in later times, and it may be questioned if there is any other Mediaeval church which impresses the spectator more by its appearance of size than this. Externally, too, the body of the chui'ch has no ornament but its small window openings, and the gallery that runs round under all its roofs. But the bold square towers (certainly of the 12th century) and