Upper storey

This article describes the structural element of the basilica, for the upper room of the residential tower see Gaden , a similar structural element in rail vehicles is called a skylight structure .

Obergaden at the Stralsund Nikolaikirche

The Obergaden , also known as Lichtgaden or Fenstergaden ( Latin claristorium or clerestorium , English clerestory or overstorey , French claire-voie , Italian cleristorio ), is the upper wall surface of the central nave of a basilica .

The upper storey is located above the roofs of the side aisles and is pierced with windows. Similar to a roof lantern , the upper aisle as a wall of the high nave and high choir pierced by windows enables direct exposure of the central nave. The windows on the outer walls of the side aisles are also referred to as the lower aisle in comparison to the upper storey .

In contrast to the basilica, the central nave of a hall church has no upper cladding and is lit from the windows of the side aisles. If the upper aisle is clearly formed but windowless, one speaks of a pseudo-basilica . In (other) relay halls , the central nave also rises higher than the side aisles, but there are no or hardly any walls above the arcades.

Osnabrück Cathedral , warrior of the vaults at the base of the upper aisle, neither triforium floor nor gallery

to form

St. Lorenz in Kempten (Allgäu) , baroque upper storey with low semicircular windows

St. Lorenz in Kempten from the outside

The top arcade can be designed very differently. In addition to the difference in height between the nave eaves and the aisle roofs, what is important is the height of the central nave vaults in relation to the aisle roofs and upper aisle windows.

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  St-Étienne in Caen , warrior of the vaults at the base of the Obergaden, gallery basilica

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  Notre-Dame de Paris , warriors of the vaults at the height of the window centers, gallery basilica

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  Choir of Magdeburg Cathedral , vaults and windows about the same height, gallery above the ambulatory

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  Strasbourg Cathedral , fighters of the vaults a little below the middle of the windows, triforium floor

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  Bern Minster , fighters of the vaults at the height of the window sills, triforium floor

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  Marienkirche in Lübeck , lower half of the window blind

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  Santa Maria del Mar , Barcelona , lower and upper ceilings

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  Santa Maria del Mar, row of chapels and lower cliffs

Origin of the term

The upper storey towers above the farm buildings of the Middle Ages, the Gaden built on the church wall (also: Gadem , 'Verschlag', 'Schuppen', 'Haus'), and therefore receives its name, which it also retains in the later multi-nave church buildings move the extensions further away from the main nave. By the way, free-standing churches have only been in use since the middle of the 19th century; in medieval urban planning, the churches were permanently enclosed.

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  Paris, 16th century, Notre-Dame (model): The free spaces around the town churches are an urban “invention” of the 19th century.

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  Vienna, St. Stephen's Cathedral : Remains of the Gadenbauten have been preserved until today

swell

• Wilfried Koch: Baustilkunde , 33rd edition 2016, ISBN 978-3-7913-4997-8 , p. 465

Web links

Commons : Obergaden  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Obergaden  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Barbara Schock-Werner: The buildings in the Prince Bishopric of Würzburg under Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn 1573-1617 - structure, organization, financing and artistic evaluation . Schnell + Steiner, 2005, ISBN 9783795416232 , p. 269.
2. ^ Hans-Eckhard Lindemann: Historic town centers in Mainfranken. History, structure, development . Callwey, 1989, ISBN 9783766709189 , p. 90 ff.