Romanesque (Norman) interior style.

Are you afraid of vampires?

No.

I also stopped being afraid after visiting one of Count Dracula's castles in Budapest.

Today I will tell you about the Romanesque or Norman style in which the medieval castle of Count Dracula was built.

It is believed that the prototype of Dracula was a real historical figure - Vlad III Tepes, the popular nickname - ("impaler"), also Dracula, from rum. Dracul - "dragon, devil" (a nickname inherited from his father), ruler of the medieval principality of Wallachia.

Many lovers of savoring the details of the life and life of vampires cannot even imagine how surprised the real-life Wallachian prince Vlad III Tepes would be if he somehow found out that several centuries later he would be classified as an insignificant blood-sucking reptiles.

Of course, this historically reliable despot shed a lot of blood in his lifetime, but it was not included in his menu at all, and we know this today from the most authoritative sources of those years - monastic chronicles.

Romanesque (Norman style) era:

In the 10th-12th centuries, the beginning of the revival of the architectural traditions of ancient Rome under the strong influence of Byzantine art.

The creators of the Romanesque style are sculptors, architects, painters of that time. They wanted one thing: the embodiment in their creations of beauty and a sense of the significance of the Christian world.

The colors are natural and calm. The decoration uses stone, metal, bronze, enamel, wood.

The Romanesque style is characterized by massiveness, rigor and lack of frills, as well as the severity of the appearance. Romanesque architecture is famous for heavy castles and temples, more like an impregnable fortress in the spirit of the Middle Ages. The main buildings during this period were the temple-fortress and the castle-fortress. The main element of the composition of the monastery or castle is the tower -donjon. Around it were the rest of the buildings, made up of simple geometric shapes - cubes, prisms, cylinders.

The Romanesque style is dominated by powerful walls, massive semicircular doors, thick columns, cruciform or barrel vaults, apses and acanthus, semicircular or round windows.

Romanesque buildings are characterized by powerful walls and columns due to heavy vaults. The main motif of the interior is semicircular arches.

Sculptural reliefs were mainly used in the external decoration of cathedrals and were located around portals or placed on the surface of the facade, on archivolts and capitals. The figures in the middle of the tympanum had to be larger than the corner ones. In friezes, they acquired squat proportions, on bearing pillars and columns - elongated.

The main task was to create a symbolic image of the universe in all its grandeur. Also, the reliefs of Romanesque sculpture carried the task of reminding believers of God, the sculptural decoration amazes with an abundance of fantastic creatures, differs from the sounds of pagan ideas.

In the interior of the Romanesque style, power is also more likely than grace. All elements of the interior produce a feeling of simplicity and heaviness, almost no decorative decorations of the rooms. Public order was not aimed at the development of style. For about 400 years of existence, the Romanesque style has not received any development or a leap in technology in production.

Romanesque interior.

Floor - marble, patterned tiles. For laying the floor in the old Romanesque interior, ceramic tiles imitating stone are most often used, or the flooring is made with mosaics. Mosaic floors use ornamental themes such as zodiac signs, geometric patterns, stars, repeating geometric or leaf patterns.

All these elements are arranged symmetrically to the axis of fantastic creatures, centaurs, griffins, pelicans.

Mirrors - chiffon bronze. The walls are Venetian plaster. Painting (religious motifs).

The furniture is also characterized by squat proportions, some heaviness and gloomy solidity. Only the minimum necessary for life - beds, mostly with curtains, rough chairs made of wood and with a high back, chests fastened with metal plates and no upholstered furniture.

Adopting a bathroom by candlelight is a sophistication completely in the spirit of the Romanesque style. The tallest candlesticks look proud and sophisticated. Stone sculpture also works as accessories diluting the conciseness of the room. The bathroom is spacious.

Mirrors are an essential attribute of a bathroom. For their design, catchy chiffon bronze is used. The exacting and powerful frame highlights the representativeness of the Romanesque style. Bathroom accessories reflect the effect of antiquity - stone similarities of such products as a soap dish or liquid soap dispenser, coasters and bowls for toiletries

A torch light bulb can serve as an element, clearly characterizing the fullness of the Romanesque style. Forged parts will make the necessary consistency and rigidity.

As interior decorations in the Romanesque style, there are all kinds of decorative caskets and boxes in which you can put jewelry and jewelry, as well as candlesticks with candles, which are always in harmony with the overall interior.

Today, few people manage to completely decorate the interior in the old Romanesque style, but some of its elements fit quite well into a more modern design, so do not be surprised that in the photos presented for review in this part, you do not see interiors with high vaults and arches.


Continuation of the review of interior styles follows ...