Double spiral staircase Graz
The Graz double spiral staircase , a twin spiral staircase (so its official name), was built by stonemasons in the years 1499/1500 during the reign of the German king and later emperor Maximilian I by an unknown builder of a medieval construction hut in Graz Castle .
History, description
The Graz staircase is not the only one and not the oldest of its form in Central European architecture, but one of the most important. It was cut from sandstone and is characterized by the particularly high quality of the details and the daring of its construction with hollow spindles. On the facade of the Karlsbau on the courtyard side, it was given a stair tower that was clearly visible from the outside.
This is where the enthusiasm for experimentation of late Gothic architecture under Emperor Maximilian I is expressed. Craftsmanship and the geometry of the Graz double helix influenced Konrad Wachsmann to develop the Grapevine study in Chicago in 1953.
The new reference to antiquity on the threshold from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance is also expressed in the Graz Staircase: In 1506, two Roman gravestones from the nearby Roman town of Flavia Solva were walled into the façade . Experts recognize the principle of separation and reconciliation in the design , which is why these stairs are also called reconciliation stairs . The locals call it the Busserlstiege (Busserl for kisses during reconciliation). It consists of two stairs running in opposite directions, which briefly merge on each floor, separate and come together again.
Origin of twin spiral stairs
The first twin spiral staircases were made by Peter Parler , a great master of late Gothic architecture. His construction works built a staggered spiral staircase in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague in 1371 .
The oldest surviving example of a twin spiral staircase is in the Elisabeth Cathedral in Košice / Kaschau (SK), which was built around 1440.
swell
Graz City Archives, Styrian Provincial Archives
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ double spiral staircase at www.graz.net; accessed on January 24, 2020.
- ↑ Graz double spiral staircase at www.graztourismus.at; accessed on January 24, 2020.
Coordinates: 47 ° 4 ′ 21.8 " N , 15 ° 26 ′ 34.1" E