in
Stralsund,
Germany In the course of the medieval German
eastward expansion,
Slavic areas east of the
Elbe were settled by traders and colonists from the overpopulated Northwest of Germany in the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1158,
Henry the Lion founded
Lübeck, in 1160 he conquered the Slavic principality of
Schwerin. This partially violent colonisation was accompanied by the
Christianisation of the Slavs and the foundation of
dioceses at
Ratzeburg, Schwerin,
Cammin,
Brandenburg and elsewhere. The newly founded cities soon joined the
Hanseatic League and formed the "
Wendic Circle", with its centre at Lübeck, and the "
Gotland-
Livland Circle", with its main centre at
Tallinn (Reval). The affluent trading cities of the Hansa were characterised especially by
religious and secular representative architecture, such as council or
parish churches,
town halls,
Bürgerhäuser, i.e. the private dwellings of rich traders, or
city gates. In rural areas, the
monastic architecture of monks' orders had a major influence on the development of brick architecture, especially through the
Cistercians and
Premonstratensians. Between
Prussia and
Estonia, the
Teutonic Knights secured their rule by erecting numerous
Ordensburgen (castles), most of which were also brick-built. In the regions along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, the use of brick arrived almost at the same time as the art of masonry. But in
Denmark, especially
Jutland, in the
Frisian regions, in present-day
Netherlands and in the
Lower Rhine region, many high-quality medieval stone buildings were built before the first medieval brick was burnt there. Nevertheless, these regions eventually developed a density of Gothic brick architecture as high as in the regions near the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. The central and southern regions of
Poland also had some important early stone buildings, especially the famous round churches. Many of these buildings were later enlarged or replaced using brick in a Gothic style. Especially in
Flanders, the Netherlands, the lower Rhine region,
Lesser Poland and
Upper Silesia, Brick Gothic buildings often, but not always, have some elements of stone ashlar. In the Netherlands it was mostly
tufa, in Denmark old squared
granite and new
limestone. On the other hand, in many regions regarded as typical for Brick Gothic, boulders were cheaper than brick, and therefore many buildings were erected using boulders, and only decorated by brick, all through the period of Gothic architecture.
Development in the
province of Friesland is an example of Brick Gothic in the
Netherlands Brick building became prevalent in the 12th century, still within the
Romanesque architecture period. Wooden architecture had long dominated in northern Germany but was inadequate for the construction of monumental structures. Throughout the area of Brick Gothic,
half-timbered architecture remained typical for smaller buildings, especially in rural areas, well into
modern times. The techniques of building and decorating in bricks were imported from
Lombardy. Also some decorative forms of
Lombard architecture were adopted. In the areas dominated by the
Welfs, the use of brick to replace natural stone began with cathedrals and parish churches at
Oldenburg (Holstein),
Segeberg,
Ratzeburg, and
Lübeck. Henry the Lion laid the foundation stone of the
Cathedral in 1173. In the
Margraviate of Brandenburg, the lack of natural stone and the distance to the Baltic Sea (which, like the rivers, could be used for transporting heavy loads) made the need for alternative materials more pressing. Brick architecture here started with the Cathedral of
Brandenburg, begun in 1165 under
Albert the Bear.
Jerichow Monastery (then a part of the
Archbishopric of Magdeburg), where construction started as early as 1149, was a key influence on Brick Gothic in Brandenburg. == Characteristics ==