icircular, did not begin until the
second half of the 13th century. To it belong the greater part of the
Cathedral of Strasburg, which combines, with much beautiful Romanesque
work, a typical Gothic facade with a fine open tracery spire, a
companion to which was designed but never erected. The Cathedral of
Freiburg, with a graceful and ornate spire, the Church of S. Stephen at
Vienna, with aisles almost as lofty as the nave, portions of the Church
of S. Sebald, Nuremberg, the decorative sculpture of which is remarkably
fine, and, above all, the Cathedral of Cologne, the noblest example of
German Gothic, with an exceptionally symmetrical plan, which in spite of
the fact that the building extended over more than a century, and that
the west point was only completed in the 19th century, was not departed
from, so that it remains a unique specimen of mediaeval design. It has a
noble nave, double aisles, one of which is continued round the eastern
apse and is divided into seven chapels, forming a picturesque chevet.
Massive towers with a tapering central spire and many pinnacles flank
the western entrance, elaborately decorated buttresses break the long
lines of the walls, and from the intersecting nave and transepts rises a
slender but most effective spire.

[Illustration: Plan of Cologne Cathedral]

To the third period of Gothic architecture in Germany belong Ulm
Cathedral, which has a nave of exceptional height; the unfinished Church
of S. Barbara at Kullenberg, with a very picturesque chevet, the
exterior of which is most lavishly decorated, and a steeply pitched roof
of unusual height, with soaring towers and pinnacles; S. Catherine at
Oppenheim, the over ornate complex decorative carvings of which are
specially typical; and the parish Church of Thaun, the western portal of
which is remarkably fine.

With these ecclesiastical buildings may be named the town halls of
Lubeck, Brunswick, Munster, and other German towns, which, though they
are neither so beautiful or so characteristic as those of Belgium, are
of noble and symmetrical proportions, whilst a word of recognition must
also be given to the beautiful domestic architecture of Germany,
especially that of Prague, Nuremberg, and Frankfort all rich in
survivals of mediaeval times.

CHAPTER IX

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN GREAT BRITAIN

[Illustration: Early English Lancet Window]

[Illustration: Early English Window]

Gothic architecture in England and Scotl