Octagon (architecture)
An octagon or octagon (octagon) is a central building or room in architecture with a floor plan in the form of a regular octagon . The octagon has had a symbolic meaning since antiquity , which goes back to the archetype of the eight-pointed star and stands for perfection .
Ancient and early medieval buildings
Probably the first documented use of an octagon as a floor plan was in the Athens Tower of the Winds . While the octagon was mainly used to illustrate the eight winds and as a pointer for the weather vane, numerous octagonal buildings followed, primarily in the sacred area.
The two-fold axially symmetrical floor plan was chosen for secular-representative buildings as well as for sacred buildings because of the symbolic meaning of the number eight . It usually stands for perfection and divine perfection. Octagonal buildings have four axes of symmetry . The eight in Christianity also stands for the resurrection of Jesus Christ and participation in Christ in baptism . Often, baptisteries and baptismal fonts are octagonal.
In early medieval church buildings the octagon can be found as an independent central building . It is believed that the octagonal shape of sacred buildings from Byzantine architecture came to southern Europe via structures such as the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna (6th century). (The older Lateran baptistery from the early 4th century was probably not octagonal at the time of construction.) Charlemagne , who knew the church of Ravenna, chose this shape for the Aachen Palatine Chapel in the 8th century . This in turn served as a model for other early medieval churches in the Holy Roman Empire, such as the Mettlach grave church (around 990) or the Ottmarsheim abbey church (1020-1030). While the shape of the basilica , from the Ottonik also with a cross-shaped floor plan, became more and more popular, the central buildings and thus also the octagon were pushed to the edge, mostly as a baptistery or burial chapel. Emperor Friedrich II von Stauffen also built the Castel del Monte on an octonal floor plan, an architectural reference to the aforementioned sacred buildings can be assumed.
In the Romanesque and Gothic periods , octagons are used as tower floors and crossing towers , especially in imperial domes . The eight place was probably used as a proportion key. The imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire also has an octagonal shape, as does the base of the Cappenberger Barbarossa head . The Aachen Barbarossa chandelier , which symbolizes the heavenly Jerusalem , consists of eight segments .
The octagonal dome in the Kempten St. Lorenz Church represents a kind of honor . Due to the history, foundation and foundation of the Kempten monastery by Charlemagne and his third wife Hildegard , the octagonal dome in its basic shape echoes the Aachen Cathedral. Other evidence such as various ceiling frescoes with depictions of Charlemagne and Hildegard support this thesis.
Significant octagonal buildings (by age)
- Tower of the Winds , Athens (2nd century BC)
- Dining room of the Domus Aurea , Rome (built in 64 AD as a domed structure)
- Diocletian's mausoleum in Diocletian's Palace in Split (around 295–305), preserved as the cathedral of Split
- Planetarium of the Baths of Diocletian , Rome (298–306)
- Ascension Chapel (Jerusalem) (387), new building on the old floor plan (around 1150)
- Baptistery of the Lateran , Rome (built as a rotunda around 315, converted into an octagon between 432 and 440)
- Octagon as a subsequent installation in the Praetorium of the Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium of the 4th century
- George's Church in Izra ' , Syria (515)
- San Vitale , Ravenna (526-547)
- Dome of the Rock , Jerusalem (7th century)
- Aachen Cathedral (8th century)
- The Holy Chapel in Altötting (8th – 10th centuries, exact date of origin uncertain)
- Mettlach grave church , around 990
- Wieselburger Octagon , around 993/994
- Crossing towers of the Mainz Cathedral , around 1000–1051
- Ottmarsheim Abbey Church (1020-1030)
- Tower of the westwork and crossing tower of the Speyer Cathedral , probably from 1025
- Octagon of Conrad II in the St. Georg Abbey ruins (Goslar) , around 1025
- Nikolauskapelle in Nijmegen , built around 1030
- Essen Cathedral , westwork (early 11th century)
- Sakyamuni Pagoda of the Buddha Palace Temple in Ying County (China), 1056
- Baptistery of San Giovanni , Florence (11th century?)
- Crossing bell tower of the Ste Trinité basilica in Anzy-le-Duc (France), 1090–1130
- Central towers at the west choir and above the crossing of Worms Cathedral , 1030–1181
- Crossing tower of the Kaiserdom Königslutter , 1135 – approx. 1150
- Octagonal interior construction in the Knights Templar fortification Convento de Cristo in Tomar (Portugal), from 1160
- Sakya script pagoda in Putian (China), before 1165
- Holsterburg , 1191, one of the earliest octagonal secular buildings
- Baptistery of the Parma Cathedral , 1196–1216
- Tower of the St. Margareta Basilica in Düsseldorf-Gerresheim, probably 1236
- Crossing tower of St. Peter in Sinzig, 1225–1241
- Egisheim Castle (13th century)
- Castel del Monte (Apulia, 13th century)
- " Tower of Frederick II " (Sicily, 13th century)
- Crossing tower of the Notre Dame collegiate church in Semur-en-Auxois (France, 14th century)
- Karlshof Church in Prague (14th century)
- Königsstuhl von Rhens (before 1398, successor building in 1842)
- Brunelleschi Dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore , Florence (from 1418)
- Gallery in the Jain temple of Ranakpur , India (around 1450)
- Tiburium of the Santo Spirito Hospice in Sassia , Rome (1473–1478)
- Kaiserkreuz von Kleinenglis (15th century)
- Town hall tower of the city of Hof (Saale) , 1563–1566
- Central building of the Villa Pisani in Lonigo (Italy, 1576)
- Capella dei Principi of the Basilica di San Lorenzo , Florence (from 1604)
- Octagon in Hellbrunn Palace in Salzburg (17th century)
- Marekerk in Leiden , octagonal Evangelical Reformed preaching church (1639–1649)
- Lappienen Church (East Prussia) (1675)
- Chiswick House in London Chiswick, between 1720 and 1730
- St. Lorenz Basilica in Kempten (1748), 42 meter high dome with an octagon
- Central building in the Monticello mansion near Charlottesville , USA (from 1768)
- Napoleon's tower in Mildensee , 1809–1812
- Riedhof in Frankfurt, Mörfelder Landstrasse, 1815, architect: Nicolas Alexandre Salins de Montfort (destroyed in 1944)
- Antonin Hunting Lodge , 1822–24 by Karl Friedrich Schinkel
- Palace chapel as an octagonal, domed drum of the Berlin Palace , Friedrich August Stüler based on models by Friedrich Wilhelm IV and Karl Friedrich Schinkel, 1845–1853, externally reconstructed 2013–2020
- Greiffenhorst House in Krefeld-Linn (19th century)
- St. George's Cathedral in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), 1896
- Bismarck mausoleum in Friedrichsruh in 1899
- German Fountain (Istanbul) , 1898–1900
- Schanzenturm (water tower) - Hamburg, 1907–1910
- Extension of St. Blasius Church in Balve, around 1910
- Crossing tower of the Kreuzkirche in Düsseldorf-Pempelfort, 1907–1910
- Max Morlock Stadium in Nuremberg - Dutzendteich , 1925 to 1928 by Otto Ernst Schweizer
- New nave of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, 1957–1961
- Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas (USA), 1971
- Wabe cultural center in Berlin, 1986
- Office tower San Benigno Torre Nord in Genoa, 1992
Well-preserved medieval octagonal churches in German-speaking countries are also the village church Ludorf (12th / 13th century), St. Sigismund in Oberwittighausen (around 1150), St. Achatius in Grünsfeldhausen (around 1200), St. Ulrich in Standorf (1220).
Baroque octagons
- Muri monastery , monastery church (17th century)
- St. Katharinenkapelle Mahlberg , South Baden (1666)
- Giant Castle , Kassel (1717)
- Evangelical Church of Uelversheim , Rhineland-Palatinate (1722)
- St. Johann , Imperial Abbey Burtscheid (1736–1740)
- Church of the Prince of Peace , Klingenthal / Saxony (1737)
- Central pavilion of Clemenswerth Castle in Emsland (1737–1747)
- Weisdin village church , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (1749)
- Village church of Zislow , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (1749)
- Village church of Golzow (Mittelmark) (1750)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Rellingen , Schleswig-Holstein (1754–1756)
- Jesus Church (Lössau) , Thuringia (1759)
- Zehlendorf village church , Berlin (1768)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Seiffen / Erzgeb. (1776)
- Village church of Üplingen , Saxony-Anhalt (1786–1788)
In addition, in the Baroque period one can often find octagons on top of medieval tower floors, closed with a tent roof, which have the sound openings for the belfry and sometimes tower clocks .
The octagon u. in Neuf-Brisach use.
American octagon houses
In the middle of the 19th century, the octagon became briefly popular in civil architecture in the USA . Eight-sided model buildings come from the architects William Thornton and Thomas Jefferson (see Octagon House ).
The shape was popularized by the phrenologist Orson Squire Fowler , who saw the octagonal shape as the most economical construction and ideal living environment for people. In the USA, especially on the east coast and in the Midwest, around 500 of these fashionable residential buildings from the 19th century still exist today.
Lavatories
In Berlin, the iron public lavatories built on an octagonal floor plan in the 19th century are also jokingly referred to as Café Achteck .
Octagonal systems in urban planning and garden art
- Place Vendôme , Paris
- Leipziger Platz , Berlin
- Oktogon tér , Budapest
Pseudo-octagon
Individual evidence
- ^ Georg Friedrich Kempter : The octagon as a basic architectural form. (PDF; 187 kB) Retrieved December 13, 2013.
- ^ Karlheinz Schaldach: The ancient sundials of Greece. Frankfurt am Main, 2006, ISBN 3-8171-1756-6 , pp. 78-81.
- ↑ Franz Joseph Dölger : The octagon and the symbolism of the figure eight. In: Franz Joseph Dölger: Antiquity and Christianity, Volume 4 . Münster 1934, pp. 153-187.
- ↑ Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, Shaping, Construction , In: Architectura, Vol. 15 1985, pp. 117-139 (123).
- ^ Udo Mainzer : The Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne in Aachen as part of the world heritage . In: Andrea Pufke (Ed.): The Carolingian Palatine Chapel in Aachen. Material - construction technology - restoration (= workbook of the Rhenish monument preservation 78). Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 2012, ISBN 978-3-88462-325-1 , p. 9.
- ^ Herbert Brunner et al .: Reclam's Art Guide Germany VI . Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-15-010286-3 , p. 294.
- ↑ Caroline Horch: ... caput argentum ad imperatoris formatum effigiem ... The Cappenberger Barbarossakopf: picture or portrait In: AufRuhr 1225! The Middle Ages in the Rhine and Ruhr . Catalog for the exhibition in the LWL Museum for Archeology in Herne from February 27 to November 28, 2010, Mainz 2010, ISBN 978-3-8053-4108-0 , pp. 107–121.
- ^ Georg Minkenberg : The Barbarossa chandelier in the cathedral of Aachen . In: Zeitschrift des Aachener Geschichtsverein 96, 1989, pp. 69-102.
- ↑ gvba.de: The Aachen octagon as the crown of the collegiate church St. Lorenz zu Kempten. January 21, 2011 (accessed November 17, 2012).
- ↑ Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, Shaping, Construction , Architectura, Vol. 15, 1985, pp. 117-139 (118f., 122, 136).
- ↑ Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, Shaping, Construction , Architectura, Vol. 15, 1985, pp. 117-139 (130 & 136).
- ^ Carlo Pietrangeli (ed.): Il palazzo apostolico Lateranense . Nardini, Florence 1992, ISBN 88-404-1205-0 .
- ↑ Marcell Restle : The history of exploration of the architectural monuments in Hauran. Vienna, p. 6 ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 307 kB).
- ↑ C. v. Bothmer: On the architectural-historical interpretation of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Journal of the German Oriental Society (ZDMG), Supplement Volume III, 2 (1975), pp. 1568–1573.
- ↑ Model and history of the Wieselburg octagon , accessed on November 17, 2012.
- ^ Karl Heinz Esser: The cathedral of Willigis . In: Willigis and his cathedral. Festschrift for the millennium, Mainz 1975, p. 179.
- ↑ Paul Stintzi: Ottmarsheim history and art of the former abbey church , Mulhouse, 1955, 10 p
- ↑ Klaus Lange: The west building of the Essen cathedral. Architecture and rule in the Ottonian period , Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Münster 2001, ISBN 3-402-06248-8 .
- ^ Annamaria Giusti: The Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence . Mandragora, Florence 2000, ISBN 88-85957-57-9 .
- ↑ Toni Diederich : The building history of the Sinzig parish church St. Peter in the light of a new seal find . In: Rheinische Vierteljahrsblätter 45, 1981, pp. 35–43.
- ^ Carl A. Willemsen (Ed.): Castel del Monte. The most accomplished monument of Emperor Frederick the Second . Island Library. Vol. 619 B., Frankfurt am Main 1982, ISBN 3-458-08619-6 .
- ^ State Office for the Preservation of Monuments, Castles, Palaces, Antiquities Rhineland-Palatinate (Ed.): State castles, palaces and antiquities in Rhineland-Palatinate . Koblenz 2003, p. 146 f.
- ^ Alfred Hagemann : Symbolpolitik. Friedrich Wilhelm IV's dome for the Berlin Palace , article from May 25, 2020 in the humboldtforum.org portal , accessed on July 30, 2020
- ^ Christoph Dautermann: Krefeld-Linn . 1st edition. Neuss 2009, ISBN 978-3-86526-032-1 (Rheinische Kunststätten. Issue 509), pp. 17-18.
- ↑ Werner Ahrens: Balve and his Romanesque legacy . Heimwacht Balve, Balve 2006, ISBN 3-89053-109-1 .
- ^ Inge Zacher: Evangelical Kreuzkirche in Düsseldorf . Cologne 2010. (Rheinische Kunststätten Heft 522, edited by the Rheinischer Verein für Denkmalpflege und Landschaftsschutz eV), ISBN 978-3-86526-052-9 .
- ↑ Rothko Chapel. Retrieved October 19, 2018 .
- ↑ Peter Felder: The Muri Monastery. Swiss Art Guide, Volume 692, Bern 2001, ISBN 3-85782-692-4 , p. 18.
- ^ Karl Faymonville : St. Johann Baptist . In: Paul Clement (Ed.): Die Kunstdenkmäler der Rheinprovinz , Bd. 10, I: Stadt Aachen. The cathedral in Aachen . Düsseldorf 1916. p. 236 ff.
- ^ Ernst Andreas Friedrich: Das Jagdschloss Clemenswerth , In: If stones could talk, Volume II, Landbuch-Verlag, Hanover 1992, ISBN 3-7842-0479-1 , pp. 165-167.
- ^ Johanna weg: Die Rellinger Kirche , Verlag Boyens & Co, Heide 1990, ISBN 3-8042-0506-2 .
- ^ Barbara Bechter: Bergkirche Seiffen , Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin / Munich, 2010, ISBN 978-3-422-02275-1 .