Freemasonry (architecture)

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Architecture associated with Freemasonry includes thousands of buildings worldwide, but for historical reasons it is mainly concentrated on North America and here especially on the USA , where, especially in the decades between 1870 and 1930, a large number of cathedral-like temples of the Freemasons in classicist or "Moorish." “Style emerged ( orientalizing architecture is mainly shown in the buildings serving the rites of the Shriner , a men's association derived from Freemasonry). In the opinion of some authors, the Monument to the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig is also to be seen as Masonic architecture.

George Washington Masonic National Memorial
Freemasons' Hall,
Great Queen Street, London
Masonic Temple,
Chicago 1892-1939

history

While Freemasonry in continental Europe after the French Revolution and especially after the end of Napoleon Bonaparte's hegemony came into serious opposition to the majority of the ruling political and religious groups and was thus prevented from building powerful buildings, the United States became essential after the successful War of Independence shaped by Freemasons like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin (and later Andrew Jackson ) and Freemason-friendly politicians like Thomas Jefferson . The moderate Masonic element (without anti-religious thrust) is part of the central legacy of the American Revolution and was able to develop on a broad basis as a result, regardless of the political and religious reservations of other groups. At the height of the Confederation's proliferation, in 1929, 8.6% of the male population in the United States belonged to Freemasonry, and in 1960, with over 4 million members, the penetration rate was 7.6%. Membership in Masonic organizations as a medium-sized mass phenomenon also corresponded to a self-confident architectural self-representation. Especially in the decades between 1870 and 1930, when the USA rose to become the world's leading industrial power after overcoming its civil war, there was therefore an abundance of large-scale Masonic buildings. In the wake of the global economic crisis , many of these representative large buildings had to be devoted to other purposes, and a comparable trend can also be observed in the last few decades. In 1987 a former Masonic temple became the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington) and the Egyptian Scottish Rite Temple in Mobile (Alabama) became a restaurant.

Remarkable Masonic buildings

Germany

Spain

Canada

  • Masonic Temple (St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador).
  • Masonic Temple in Toronto.

Liberia

Great Britain

United States

International impressions

literature

  • William D. Moore: Masonic Temples. Freemasonry, Ritual Architecture, and Masculine Archetypes. Knoxville 2006.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Alexander Suss: Leipzig Freemasons in word and stone. The influence of the lodges on the Völkerschlachtdenkmal and the book city. Salier Verlag, ISBN 978-3939611448 .
  2. ↑ Figures based on John L. Belton in: Arturo de Hoyos, S. Brent Morris: Freemasonry in Context. Lanham, Maryland 2004, p. 314.
  3. ↑ The secret of the Leipzig Völkerschlachtdenkmal. MDR television , May 3, 2012, archived from the original on November 17, 2011 ; accessed on September 29, 2016 .