The Politics of the German Gothic Revival

Although the contribution of August Reichensperger (1808-1895) to the
European Gothic Revival has long been recognized, this is the first modern study of
his work. It clearly establishes Reichensperger as the major figure in the German
neo-Gothic movement, not only through his buildings, but through his writings and
manifestos as well.The Politics of the German Gothic Revival is both a biography and
a critical study of a designer and theoretician committed to historical fidelity as
opposed to a progressive, developmental view of architecture. Reichensperger
insisted on masonry construction and, convinced that Gothic architecture reflected
laws of geometric order, was suspicious of architectural experimentation and
innovation. His contemporaries were widely influenced by his doctrine as well as his
building.Lewis looks at Reichensperger's buildings and ideas in the context of his
time, taking up the architect's ties to English Gothic Revival, his activities in
the area of architectural education, and the interconnections between
Reichensperger's political and architectural ideas and the political, religious, and
social institutions of nineteenth-century Germany.Michael J. Lewis is currently
Historiographer at the Canadian Centre for Architecture.