Centralising Tendencies of Lutheran Church Architecture in Hungary
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PP Periodica Polytechnica Tradition and Liturgy: Architecture Centralising Tendencies of Lutheran 44(1), pp. 1-8, 2013 Church Architecture in Hungary during DOI:10.3311/PPar.7297 the Interwar Period http://www.pp.bme.hu/ar/article/view/7297 Creative Commons Attribution b Eszter Baku RESEARCH ARTICLE RECEIVED 7 DECEMBER 2012 Abstract 1 Introduction The majority of the architectural research focusing on Hun- Architecture and church architecture of the Interwar period garian architecture in the Interwar period, has to date, mainly might be apostrophised as the investigation of solutions. As analysed buildings with regard to international modern archi- Károly Hafenscher wrote: “The huge wave of church building tecture and the steps leading to the development of modern of the century (of its first third and its last decade) has simulta- church architecture. This research has however, only margin- neously borne the traditional practice and the openness towards ally expanded to include Evangelical Lutheran church archi- novelty. These periods have been described as the search for tecture. The present article undertakes a complex research on a identity, the conservation and re-composition of ‘Lutheran’ special building type, which increased between the World Wars values in a different context.” [4, p. 16.] The church build- and was determined by a geometric centralised ground plan ing wave, almost regardless of denomination, is in connection based on both national and international architectural tradi- with historical, economic and political events. It means that tion. Lutheran churches built between the World Wars with cen- because of the trauma of World War I and despite the burden tral ground plans are analysed from both a liturgical perspec- of the Great Depression, the volume of church building had tive, examining the theological aspect and the use of space, and increased in Hungary after the 1920s and lasted until the 1940s. also from the tradition of the ground plans. Gyula Sándy, the frequently employed Lutheran architect, also refers to the process: “Conclusions of great Wars motivated Keywords the faithful souls by vivid activity in the field of ecclesiasti- Centralised space · church architecture · Lutheran churches cal life. […] Far from the War-years, the activity of believers · liturgy · architecture in the Interwar period decreased; until the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, new church constructions could hardly be found until World War I, when, in spite of the critical economic situation, more churches were built in Hungary in 10-15 years than one century before.” [16, p. 459] The increased number of Lutheran churches between the Wars was characteristically var- ied in both style and the applied structures of the ground plans. Although less Protestant churches were built than Roman Cath- olic ones, both were characteristic in the pluralism of styles. In this case, pluralism of styles refers to historical styles that became a coulisse-like character using modern building mate- rials that coexisted together with the marks of style of mod- ern architecture, with the adaptation of foreign architectural influences such as reinforced concrete. In the present article, a survey is made of the churches with a central ordering space, the centralising tendencies of the Lutheran Church and church Eszter Baku Department for History of Architecture and of Monuments, buildings are researched, and completed with the adaptation of Budapest University of Technology and Economics, possible foreign results. Churches with a central ground-plan Műegyetem rkp. 3-9., H-1111 Budapest, Hungary arrangement could be another possibility for the renewal of e-mail: [email protected] church buildings in this period. Centralising Tendencies of Lutheran Church Architecture in Hungary 2013 44 1 1 2 Roots of the central arrangement churches From the ‘Eisenach Directive’ to World War I The foreign origin Besides the effects mentioned above, various measures Lutheran churches with central arrangement space structure and regulations affected Lutheran church design, for exam- in the Interwar period in Hungary were not without precedent ple the ‘Eisenach Directive’. In 1861, one of the 16 articles of either in Hungarian or European architectural history. Cen- the ‘Eisenach Directive’ adopted by the Lutheran Regional tralising tendencies in Protestant church architecture need to Churches in Germany, under the influence primarily of the com- briefly be reviewed to see distinctly the preliminary of the form pletion of Cologne Cathedral in the late-Gothic style, decreed: and the tradition, on which 20th century churches were referred “the dignity of Christian ecclesiastical architecture requires to, and the measures, which appointed the direction of how to a connection with one of the historically developed Chris- plan and build Lutheran churches. tian architectural styles and, taking as the basic form the lon- Four elements organized the space and ground plan of Prot- gitudinal rectangle, recommends especially the style called estant churches: the liturgy, the pulpit, the position of the Lords’ Germanic (Gothic) alongside the early Christian basilica Supper, the altar and their connection to the congregation. These and the style known as Romanesque (pre-gothic).” [17, p. 7] aspects significantly influenced the form of the space and already After the ‘Eisenach Directive’, churches with centrally arranged evoke the need of central ground-plan arrangement churches, ground plans were no longer suitable for Protestant churches because the form decreased in a longitudinal direction and because of the relationship to the profane architecture. Instead increased transversely. [3, p. 170] Churches with centralising of the various, centralised churches, the new regulations of the ground plans had spread all around Europe and finally reached Directive re-evaluated the medieval architecture [14, p. 122] and Hungary through various routes. The centralised ground plan supported the building practice of the longitudinal, orientated forms originated from the French Huguenot architecture [14, p. churches provided with tower and apse. [6, p. 21] The central- 117] [9, p. 79] [7, p. 190] and could be explained by the gesture ised forms were ignored because of the reminiscence of theatres of reaching back to the ancient central church types and the sim- or antique sanctuaries, although the reasons that had evoked its plicity of the early Church. [13, p. 205] The term ‘temple’ of the application remained. The centralised arrangement consequently Huguenots implies in its name, a hint to the Biblical predecessor, evolved from the requirements of the Protestant liturgy. However, the Temple of Jerusalem. Research indicates a different approach these could not be applied in the same way. [14, p. 162] In the to centralising tendencies, at the beginning of the 18th century, last decades of the 19th century, the ‘Eisenach Directive’ had lost from Germany based on the oeuvre of the Protestant church its strength, which led to the development of new programmes architecture theoretician, architect, and mathematician Leonhard like the Wiesbaden Programme in 1891 and the 1st Evangelical- Christoph Sturm. [14, p. 117] In 1712, and later in 1718 [19] he Lutheran Congress of Church Architecture held in Berlin in 1894. published a theoretical analysis of Protestant church architecture These processes were based on the Liturgical Movements, which in which he made a collection and a typology of those church laid emphasis on the theological aspects. As a result, the inner plans he found suitable for Protestant churches. [9, p. 80][3, p. space of the church had to be formed. Understandably, World War 172] The Protestant model plans [9, p. 80] of Sturm determined I set these processes back; however a group of talented young the centralised Lutheran churches for centuries. The adaptation architects had consciously been preparing for the transforma- of Sturm’s ideal ground plans was manifested in 20th century tion of spaces and church forms, according to the new concepts, Hungarian Lutheran church architecture. [21, pp. 364-365] and to create a liturgy-centred inner space. During the War, these Fig. 1. Central and centralising ground-plans of L.C. Sturm (plates XIV., XII., XIII. a, b, XV.) [19] 2 Per. Pol. Arch. Eszter Baku concepts were perfected, and as a result, were manifested in the quadrangle ground plan in historical ”Christian style” with a main work of Otto Bartning Vom neuen Kirchenbau (1919) or in the front tower, a main entrance, with raised sanctuary where the altar churches of Dominicus Böhm from the late 1910s. [17, p. 15] is placed in front of the back-wall, and with a pulpit, which must be placed to the arch separating the nave and the sanctuary. The 3 Theology, liturgy and practice long-lasting influence of the church building rules registered in The most important aspect and challenge of the Evangelical reli- the “Eisenach Directive” is perceivable in Hungarian Evangelical gious service was to make the principal parts of the liturgy visible. church architecture. Gyula Sándy’s churches in Hungary, from the Namely, the priest has to be clearly visible and audible, and the first part of the 20th century, could be considered to exemplify the congregation needs to be closer to the altar and the pulpit [3, p. rules of the Directive. [8, pp. 18-19]. 170], whereby they can take part in both the sermon [13, p. 133] After reviewing the liturgical references and the various types and the Lord’s Supper. In the case of Protestant church planning, of the Agenda, we should conclude that in these documents, no the fundamental liturgical rules need to be taken into consideration. architectural determination regarding the real function of the These rules can prevail in different types of churches; in a short, church buildings, the use of space in accordance with the liturgy aisleless/single-nave church building that consists of a single hall- can be found. The former rich Evangelical liturgy, originated like room without columns, or in centralised arrangements - even from the Medieval Roman liturgy after omitting the parts of the polygons, Greek-cross etc.