Rundbogenstil and its reflections on Eastern Europe

In the XVIIIth century Europe, with Neoclassicism, which emerged in parallel with the attempts to revive the culture of the Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, which they considered their ancestors, ancient order and facade systems in architecture began to be implemented in buildings constructed with modern techniques. As of the XIXth century, this international style was not enough for the nationalist motives of the nations, and each nation made attempts to reveal its own national architectural style. Rundbogenstil, which emerged in this context, is an eclectic understanding that Germans have created by combining two or more of the Early Medieval European styles, which they consider their own national architectural movements, and the Roman and Early Christian, Byzantine, Renaissance architecture and Islamic building details that these were inspired by. Originating in Bavaria and Prussia, Rundbogenstil also manifested itself in the Austro-Hungarian Empire due to the fashion of the period and the theoretical influence on architects. The style, which spread in the Czech Republic and Croatia as a result of the close relations with Austria and Hungary, was applied by the nations in the east of Europe in the form of a more intense use of Byzantine forms in order to reflect the Orthodox spirit (undoubtedly with the idea that the representation of Orthodoxy in architecture could be achieved through Byzantine forms). In addition, another Rundbogenstil variant, which is characterized by the intensive application of Islamic characteristics both in the German and Austrian geography and in Eastern Europe, is observed to be preferred in Jewish buildings. Reflections of the style can be seen in the buildings constructed in the last period of the Ottoman Empire, especially in those constructed as a result of the rights granted to minorities with the Tanzimat Edict. Although there is considerable data on the theoretical basis of the style in the German geography, there is a lack of information on the spread of the style in Eastern Europe, the sub-styles that constitute this eclectic understanding, the considerations in the combinations of sub-styles, and the theoretical understanding underlying the differences between these combinations. In addition, it is also observed that the style is referred to by different nomenclatures in some references, evaluated within different styles, or its examples are attributed to different styles. In this study, which aims to remedy these deficiencies, Berlin was chosen to follow the emergence and development of the style in the German geography, Vienna, Prague, Budapest and Zagreb to represent the formation in the Habsburg region that enabled its spread to Eastern Europe, and Athens, Belgrade, Sofia and Istanbul to analyze its reflections in Eastern Europe. In this study, which aims to remedy these deficiencies, Berlin to follow the emergence and development of the style in the German geography, Vienna, Prague, Budapest and Zagreb to represent the formation in the Habsburg area, which enabled the style to spread to Eastern Europe, and examples in Athens, Belgrade, Sofia and Istanbul to analyze its reflections on Eastern Europe were determined to form the catalog of the study. The works on the line investigated were evaluated in terms of their architectural features, and by grouping them according to the spread of the style in Eastern Europe and sub-stylistic features, it was tried to determine the connection between the stylistic diversity and dominance within the style and the ethno-religious groups to which the buildings belonged. Therefore, this study, in which both the factors that caused the spread of Rundbogenstil, which was born in Central Europe and symbolized a nation, to Eastern Europe and the analysis of its stylization in buildings will be presented, will greatly contribute to the relevant part of the European architectural history and Turkish literature, which is currently missing