Imperial Hall

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Imperial Hall of the New Residence in Bamberg

The Kaisersaal is a central design element of the architecture of princely residences in German-speaking countries. As the largest and most lavishly decorated room of a princely residence, it was, as the name suggests, intended to receive the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire on a possible visit to the prince's court and to provide him with an appropriate place for representation and consultation to offer to the assembled princes of the empire. However, there have been cases in which a princely seat, and with it the imperial hall, was never visited by an emperor. Nevertheless, the hall fulfilled its purpose as the architectural highlight of the princely residence, which represented the wealth and power of the prince and was also intended to legitimize his rule in an elaborate pictorial program.

Historical context

The design of rooms for a "wandering" emperor can only be understood in the context of the balance of power and the self-image of the empire. In nominal terms, the emperor was a ruler whose importance could not be overestimated. He was the head of a state-like entity that temporarily stretched from the North and Baltic Seas to the southern tip of Italy, a monarch crowned by the Pope and the protector of Western Christianity, to whom the tradition of the ancient Roman Empire had also passed. In reality, however, the emperor was at times almost powerless, a plaything for interest groups of various territorial princes and often faced with a pope who also claimed secular powers for himself. The election of the king and designated emperor by the electors gave them the opportunity to permanently prevent the formation of a central power or a hereditary claim to royal and imperial dignity by specifically choosing a politically weak candidate.

Thus, the emperor could not establish his own capital as the center of his administration and representation, rather he was constantly on the move, looking for allies and to support his own claim as head of the empire through personal presence.

Despite his weakness, the emperor deserved the greatest respect for the reasons mentioned above, a visit to a princely residence was the greatest honor imaginable for the local ruler and made it necessary to receive the emperor and his entourage in an unmatched architectural setting.

A distinction is made between imperial halls and Habsburg halls , especially for the early modern period . The imperial halls of the Habsburg emperors in their hereditary lands have a dynastic claim , those in other territories of the empire a claim corresponding to the imperial idea .

Structural and artistic design

Ceiling of the Kaisersaal in the Munich Residenz: Allegory of Wisdom

The Kaisersaal was the largest room in a residence and exceeded the other rooms many times over in terms of area and sometimes significantly in height. In many cases, an imperial staircase provided representative access. The size and splendor of the furnishings alone were not enough: A sophisticated artistic design program was intended to characterize the hall in its role as the temporary seat of government of the emperor, legitimize monarchical rule, especially of the emperor and the local prince, but at the same time to appeal to the assembled princes and the emperor remember their duties. Large-dimensioned allegorical depictions of the virtues are typical (e.g. in the Munich Residence). The program of images in the Kaisersaal of the New Residence in Bamberg goes so far as to show wisdom or just rule as the real sovereign of the empire and the emperor as their follower.

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo's frescoes that adorn the Imperial Hall of the Würzburg Residence are currently being extensively restored and should be available again from 2009.

Examples

Imperial Hall in the Würzburg Residence (1737–1752)

Holy Roman Empire

The German Imperium

In the broadest sense, individual grand halls are also called imperial halls in the Second German Empire. However, they are only in a dynastic context.

literature

  • Wolfgang Wüst: Imperial idea in the iconography of the "Suevia Sacra" . In: Rainer A. Müller (Ed.): Pictures of the Reich (=  Irseer writings ). No. 4 . Sigmaringen 1997, p. 189-220 .
  • Johannes Erichsen: Imperial Halls, Imperial Rooms . A critical close-up view. In: Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation 962 to 1806 . Old Kingdom and New States 1495 to 1806 essays. tape 2 . Sandstein Verlag, Dresden 2006, ISBN 3-937602-63-1 , p. 273-287 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Johannes Erichsen: Kaisersäle, Kaiserzimmer: A critical close-up view . In: Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation 962 to 1806 . tape 2 Old Kingdom and New States 1495 to 1806 essays. Sandstein Verlag, Dresden 2006, ISBN 3-937602-63-1 , p. 273-287 . P. 273.
  2. ^ A time-lapse film about the relocation of the Berlin Kaisersaal in connection with the development around Potsdamer Platz