Old Royal Naval College
The (Old) Royal Naval College in Greenwich is one of the most important baroque buildings in England and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997 .
history
After the Stuart Restoration , Charles II planned to build a new royal palace in Greenwich in place of the old Palace of Placentia . Until 1669, however, only the royal park was laid out and a side wing designed by John Webb was completed before construction was discontinued for financial reasons. Only under Wilhelm III. the blueprints were taken up again. Since the situation was not good for the health of the king, who suffered from asthma, the king and queen Maria decided under the impression of the English victory at La Hougue and following the example of the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris and the recently completed Royal Hospital in Chelsea to build a naval hospital for old and wounded sailors instead of a palace. The designs for the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich , usually just called Greenwich Hospital , were provided by Christopher Wren and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor without payment. The construction time on the complex extended over 30 years, in addition to Wren and Hawksmoor the architects Campbell , Vanbrugh and Ripley worked on the complex. The chapel was not completed until 1752, but the first pensioners moved in as early as 1705. Towards the end of the 18th century, around 2,000 retirees lived in the complex.
In 1805, Nelson's body was laid out in the Painted Hall , the hospital's dining room . From the hospital, the corpse was transported in an open state launch, accompanied by a magnificent ship procession, to the tomb in St Paul's Cathedral . Because of mismanagement and corruption, many pensioners moved away in the 19th century, and in 1869 the hospital was closed. From 1873 to 1998 the building served as the Royal Naval College , which was relocated here from Portsmouth. Today the buildings of the University of Greenwich serve , while the Trinity College of Music is located in King Charles Court . The Painted Hall and the chapel can be visited, in the northwest building is a visitor center. Since 1997, the buildings have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of Maritime Greenwich.
investment
When designing the complex, Queen Maria insisted that, contrary to the original design by John Webb, the Queen's House at the rear should remain visible and that it should be included in the central line of sight. Wren decided to erect four buildings oriented symmetrically to the central axis, each surrounding an inner courtyard. In doing so, he included the building that was erected as a side wing of the new royal palace until 1669. Opposite this building, called King Charles Court , the Queen Anne Court was built by 1729 . The two buildings at the rear are called King William Court and Queen Mary Court . The twin buildings set in perspective with their domes set optical accents and reveal a view of the Queen's House.
In King William Court to the west is the Painted Hall, which was originally planned as the retirees' dining room. With the vestibule , lower and upper hall, the hall consists of three different levels and, with its wall and ceiling painting, is considered the highlight of English baroque painting. The paintings are by James Thornhill , who alone worked on the ceiling painting The Triumph of the Protestant Succession to the Throne for 20 years.
The counterpart to the Painted Hall is the chapel in Queen Mary Court. Based on a design by Wren, it was not completed until 1752 by Thomas Ripley. After it was burned out in 1772, it was redesigned from 1779 by James "Athenian" Stuart with the help of William Newton . The classically furnished room is known for its good acoustics.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Maritime Greenwich. Retrieved January 17, 2012 .
- ↑ Ingrid Nowel: London: Biography of a Cosmopolitan City DuMont, Ostfildern 2005, ISBN 978-3-7701-4382-5 , p. 134.
Coordinates: 51 ° 29 ′ 0 ″ N , 0 ° 0 ′ 20 ″ W.