XV Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2023

The Abbey of Maria Laach is one of the works of architectural art, located in the southwest of the Lake Laach near the Eifel mountains, and one of the well-known sights of Germany, which is a real monument of the Romanesque era, since the cathedral has been preserved almost in its original form: it was not reconstructed (there were only two large-scale restorations). Nevertheless, the building fits perfectly into the surrounding landscape, looks majestic and is not perceived as ancient or outdated. Instead, hundreds of people admire the decoration of the cathedral.

It is an architectural ensemble of six towers, in which includes a basilica vault with columns, naves, choirs, transepts, an inner garden, a paradise, or a western portal and a cloister, referring us to the Salic dynasty - the dynasty of the kings of the East Frankish kingdom and the emperors of the Roman Empire.

Indeed, the cathedral was founded by Heinrich II von Laach and the construction was delayed from 1933 to 1200, it was erected in parts during this time. Count Palatinate Heinrich chose this name for the monastery in honor of the Holy Mother of God Mary and St. Nicholas for the “salvation of his soul”.

Today, the cathedral, as already mentioned, attracts a huge number of tourists every year. Today it is a monastery open to pilgrims, belonging to the Benedictine order, that maintains its garden farm. The Lake Laach is used by tourist rental, camping and fishing services; there is even a small zoo and other places for the tourists entertainment: book publishing, learning crafts like carpentry or art forging, workshops, hiking trails in the surroundings.

I found this architectural monument very interesting, both from a historical point of view and from its constructive features. I believe that the topic of analyzing the structure of ancient buildings is relevant for an architect, since these are the origins of our work, an example of an eternal monument for posterity.

So, let's break down the main parts of the Abbey of Mary Laach.

Romanesque architecture is generally quite austere; we associate it with the following characteristics - majestic massive towers, ecclesiastical themes (castles, monasteries...), “stretching” of space, columns, limestone, brick, marble as a material.

So, in this building, yellow tuff, Lorraine limestone, sandstone and lava were used, for roofs (before reconstruction and replacement with more modern slate) - copper coating. The shape of the cathedral can be called basilica; the basilica has a simple design without arcades and decor. The basilica of the church has a central nave with five transverse rectangular spans (traves) and a double transept. The two side naves consist of five rectangular grasses. Outside, groups of towers balance each other over the eastern and western choirs.

Thin and tall, square in plan and octagonal above crossroads, the towers rise from the eastern side of the church. In sharp contrast with them are round and square towers, above the crossroads, with a roof in the form of four rhombuses on the western side. In 1220-1230 the chapel of St. Nicholas was erected, it still exists, later a portal-narthex with columns was added from the west, the so-called "paradise". Outside, the cathedral is decorated with reliefs with mythological creatures and floral ornaments.

The building has 3 naves (comparatively short), one of which has a stone vault, as well as 2 choirs (in the eastern choir there is a unique altar with a ciborium from the gravestone of the founder of the monastery), 2 transepts.

The Cathedral has 16 altars. The structure is crowned with 6 towers - one tower above each transept, a central tower and two round towers lower, as well as an octagonal cross tower, which was joined by two more square ones; three side towers are empty, in the northwestern a spiral staircase is placed, and the southern round tower is intended for bells. Decoration of external walls - blades. Outside, the facade is also decorated with a relief that refers us to mythological creatures, ibid there is a floral ornament. In the structure of the building there are clear lines, simplicity, rigor. The plan of this building forms a cross.

Figure 1. - Cross in Plan of the Abbey of Maria Laach

Thus, the external appearance of the cathedral is the idea of all Romanesque art about the “fortress of God”.

In conclusion, I would like to remind you that the Abbey of Maria Laach is a kind of a reminder to posterity of the era of the Romanesque culture, built in the spirit of that era according to the canons of minimalism and severity, an architectural monument, which is now a popular place with a fairly developed infrastructure for tourists to visit both for entertainment purposes and for pilgrimage.

Bibliography:

[Electronic resource], https://www.vipgeo.ru/countries/germania_showpl/dostoprimechatelnosti/abbatstvo_mariya_laah.html

[Electronic resource], https://uchitelj.livejournal.com/1020164.html

[Electronic resource], https://think-head.livejournal.com/743428.html