Die koloniale manifestasie van die Neo-Gotiese kerkboustyl op die Tuinroete van Suid-Afrika

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: During the 12th century the Ab Suger, a church leader from near Paris in France, initiated a new approach to church architecture, the Gothic style. He diverted from the existing traditions and utilized pointed arches as one of the basic components of the new style. Pointed arches, unlike normal arches, distribute load-carrying weight not only downwards, as normal arches do, but also sideways. Strategically placed flying buttresses can help neutralize the thrust to the sides and reduce the weight on walls. Walls no longer had to be massive and it became possible to utilize big parts of the walls for windows, which were filled with brightly coloured glass. The style deliberately made use of height and enclosed spaces as a design element, to an extent unknown until that time. For some four centuries cathedrals in this style were built all over Europe, before the style was replaced with the coming of the Renaissance.The 19th century saw the coming of a style of Gothic Revival. New building materials had become available and there were fundamental differences between the original Gothic style and the Neo-Gothic (or Gothic Revival) style. In some instances elements of the original style lost their functions and were applied in a purely decorative function in the Gothic Revival style.With the colonization of Africa, the Neo-Gothic style came to South Africa. It took root locally and became part of South African church architecture. Local conditions required that some adaptations be made and several varieties of the Neo-Gothic style became part of the South African architectural landscape.Many church buildings were constructed in South Africa in this style during the last century and a half. The ones older than sixty years enjoy some measure of protection under current legislation relating to heritage conservation. It became evident that within the variety of Neo-Gothic idioms a number of churches have become so simplified that only some characteristics of the style have remained.Throughout the study it was indicated how the significance of a building and its architectural style also impact on the non-material culture of a community.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University