Architectural Styles of Northern Renaissance

The Northern Renaissance refers to a period from around 1450 to the late 16th century in Northern Europe. Architecture transformed from a dramatic, Gothic style to an ornate and classically inspired style similar to that of Italian building. Renaissance architecture is perhaps most popularly associated with southern Europe -- Rome and Vatican City in particular. The influence of Europe's cultural rebirth can in fact be seen as far north as Norway and Sweden, with each European country developing its own particular version.

Great Britain

• British Renaissance architects incorporated the Dutch crow-stepped gable into their designs. Buildings such as Eilean Donan castle in the Scottish Highlands have stepped triangles at their gabled ends. Flemish strapwork also began to appear in Elizabethan England and these curling bands of metal carved and molded into decorative shapes are perhaps best exemplified in the bay windows of Longleat House in Somerset. Buildings of the period were also often influenced by Palladian style, recreating the clean lines and Doric columns of ancient Greek and Roman architecture.

Germany

• There is a strong Italian influence in German renaissance architecture. The famous Landshut residence in Lower Bavaria took its inspiration from Italy's Palazzo Te in Mantua and its large courtyard and palace chapel. St. Michael's Church in Munich is based on Il Gesu in Rome and, with its barrel-vaulted ceiling, inspired the baroque architectural style that is typical of the German Counter-Reformation. Heidelberg Castle in Baden-Wurttemberg retains its Gothic heritage dating from 1214, but subsequent additions by Prince-electors of the 1500s brought an Italian flavor with columns imported from an old castle of Charlemagne's and royal residences built in the courtyards.

France

• Renaissance architecture in France created some of the country's finest chateaus, such as the Chateau de Chambord in the Loire Valley. While the lavish ornamentation recalls Italian architecture of the same period, the amount of decorative carving comes from a French Gothic tradition. Late in the Renaissance, Mannerism became fashionable in France, typified by dense engraving in a Roman style and exemplified in the work of Italian architects such as Sebastiano Serlio, who designed the Palace of Fontainebleau.

Scandinavia

• In Scandinavian countries, the Renaissance aesthetic tends to be expressed in the form of castles or castle-like manors. This is due both to the rise of Flemish-inspired architecture in Norway and the rise of Protestantism in Sweden, which ensured that ostentatious church-building of any kind was stopped. Buildings like Frederiksborg Palace in Denmark and the Wasa castles in Sweden tend to combine high gables with Palladian façades.