ARNOLD OF WESTPHALIA

Dresden Castle (Dresdner Residenzschloss) is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden, Germany. For almost 400 years, it was the residence of the electors (1547-1806) and kings (1806-1918) of Saxony. Most of the castle was reduced to a roofless shell during the February 13, 1945 bombing of Dresden in World War II. Restoration began in the 1960s and it was completed in 2013.

The original castle was a Romanesque keep, built around 1200. From 1468 until 1480, the keep was extended by the master builder, Arnold von Westfalen (Arnold of Westphalia), becoming an enclosed four-wing construction. In the middle of the 16th century, an addition was added in the Renaissance style.

The photo shows Dresden Castle viewed from the Zwinger.

The Albrechtsburg (so-called in 1676) in Meissen is one of the most important German Late Gothic buildings, commissioned by the brothers Elector Ernest (reg 1464-86) and Duke Albrecht (reg 1464-85) of Saxony as their main residence and seat of government. It is the best example of Arnold’s original and innovative style in the transition from the medieval to the modern era: here, the fortified nature of the medieval castle gave way to the splendour of a modern palace complex. The buttresses are turned inwards, the piers have strong concave mouldings and no capitals, and the vault springers rise directly from the socles. The unusually large windows have arches shaped like a gathered curtain. This decorative feature, known as a ‘curtain arch’, was characteristic of Arnold and his workshop.

The uniquely rich and fantastic vaults in the interior of the Albrechtsburg, especially in the Great Hall, have earned Arnold the epithet ‘master of vaulting technique’. Almost all the rooms have cell vaults of a type first used in larger rooms in the Albrechtsburg, which quickly spread throughout Saxony and the neighbouring regions to the east. There are also vaults of original design in the Wappensaal, where the ribs cross at different levels, and the stone Princes’ Stairs, called the ‘Grosser Wendelstein’.

Albrechtsburg Castle is an original piece of 15th-century secular architecture in Germany. It deserves the name of palace rather than castle. To the south the building is connected to a Gothic cathedral, the two buildings forming an imposing complex on a hill above the Elbe.

Albrechtsburg Castle is an original piece of 15th-century secular architecture in Germany. It deserves the name of palace rather than castle.

The picture shows the west or courtyard side.

Albrechtsburg Castle is an original piece of 15th-century secular architecture in Germany. It deserves the name of palace rather than castle.

Rooms, such as the elector’s room, reveal the cell vaults in their full glory. The only traditional element here is the bench running along the wall. In all other respects the room has an almost futuristic feel to it.

The picture shows the elector’s room.

Albrechtsburg Castle is an original piece of 15th-century secular architecture in Germany. It deserves the name of palace rather than castle.

A highly original spiral staircase climbs in a tower-like building opened by arcades. The staircase exhibits several remarkable innovations: the steps are curved, the core of the stairway is hollow, and the supports are three slim columns into which the banister is incorporated. Apart from the steps, all these features are built of brick. Added to this is the crystalline “cell vault” with few or even no ribs, a brilliant creation of the architect, Arnold of Westphalia (died 1481 in Meissen). In contrast to the brick of the stairway, all the walls are made of stone.