Identify Architectural Styles

Romanesque

Romanesque loves thick walls and massive round arches, as at Speyer Cathedral.

💡 Did you know? It shaped Europe's churches from the 10th to 12th century.

Gothic

Gothic soars skyward with pointed arches and towers, like Cologne Cathedral.

💡 Did you know? Coloured glass windows made the cathedrals glow.

Renaissance

The Renaissance returned to the clear, symmetrical forms of antiquity.

💡 Did you know? Château de Chambord is a splendid French example.

Baroque

Baroque loves splendour, movement and lavish ornament, as at Versailles.

💡 Did you know? It was the architecture of the absolutist kings.

Rococo

Rococo is playful, light and decorated with delicate shells and tendrils.

💡 Did you know? The Wieskirche in Bavaria is a masterpiece.

Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism revives the columns and pediments of antiquity.

💡 Did you know? The Brandenburg Gate is its best-known German example.

Historicism

Historicism rebuilt in the styles of past eras, like the fairy-tale castle Neuschwanstein.

💡 Did you know? It inspired Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau loves flowing lines and floral ornament.

💡 Did you know? Vienna's Secession Building bears a golden dome of leaves.

Bauhaus

Bauhaus favoured plain, functional forms without ornament.

💡 Did you know? “Form follows function” became the motto of modernism.

Art Deco

Art Deco combines elegant geometry with gleaming materials.

💡 Did you know? The Chrysler Building in New York is an icon.

Modernism

Modernism built with concrete, steel and glass, free of ornament.

💡 Did you know? Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye floats on slender pillars.

Deconstructivism

Deconstructivism deliberately breaks straight lines into bold, slanting forms.

💡 Did you know? The gleaming Guggenheim in Bilbao is its landmark.