Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/88

72 to excess, rather than as a perfect example of what such an object should be. It deserves to be remarked that there is no open work

in the spire, though, from its own tenuity and the richness of the tower, there is no example where it would have been less objectionable.

Had the architects of Eastern Germany continued to practise the style a little longer before the introduction of the Renaissance art, it is probable they would have gone further from the French forms than they did even in St. Stephen's. Among the novelties they did employ, one of the most remarkable was the invention of flat-roofed choirs. The plan of the Franciscan church at Salzburg (Woodcut No. 518) will explain what is meant by this. The nave of the church is a very beautiful example of the round-arched style, so pure and elegant in

its details as to betray its proximity to Italy, and Mathout a trace of pointed architecture, though dating as late as 1230-1260. In the year 1470 it was determined to rebuild the choir. In France this would have been effected by an extended range of chapels round a chevet; in England by several bays added to the length. In Germany they did better: they placed five slender piers on the floor; these, though 70 ft. in height, are less than 4 ft. in diameter, yet they appear sufficient for the task they have to perform, while their slenderness prevents them from interrupting the view in any direction. From these rose a vault, extending on the same level from Avail to wall with a tree-like growth, from each of these pillars — without any exertion or constructive difficulty; the choir thus forms a hall 66 ft.' wide by 160 in length, exclusive of the side-chapels which surround it in two stories. A dome in that position might have been more sublime; but passing through the confined vestibule of the nave the expansion into the light and airy choir