Absolutism and Baroque Architecture Ch 17 – Royals, their palaces, and their cities

Royals came back in full force in eastern Europe Nobles served rulers fully Peasants and middle class are inferior again Armies larger and professional Taxes imposed (no representation here) Royals used art to show their power Leopold of Austria Peter the Great of Russia Charles XI of Sweden

Baroque is the style of choice Baroque= bold sweeping statements, which were intended to provide a dramatic emotional experience Style was brought back by Catholic Church – Appeal to sense of church goers – Showed power of Church – Spreads to Royals

Santa Maria della Salute in Venice, Italy Karlskirche was building in 1737 and commissioned by Emperor Charles VI in fulfillment of a vow at the end of the plague in 1713

The church of St Mary of the Snows (Sveta Marija Snježna) at Belec, Poland

Basílica de Santiago Galicia, Spain Nave and choir Saint James on the middle pier

1700s Royals build big All had to compete with Louis XIV – Schonbrunn Palace (Leopold 1695) – Stockholm Royal Palace (Charles XI 1693) This was petty & expensive but all royals did it

Rich Nobles get in on the building Favored nobles got very rich Built their own palaces – Extensions of Royals power – Big sign of favoritism Prince Eugene of Savoy (Winter & Summer Palace) Summer Palace Winter Palace

Royal Cities Royals reinvented or created new capital cities – Again shows power of monarchies Karlsruhe (Germany) all roads led to palace – Broad avenues, huge govt buildings, set up mathematically Nobles built large town homes Streets were wide for soldiers to get thru easily Shops with window displays

Growth of St. Petersburg Great Northern War – Only small Swedish fortress on mouth of Neva River Peter took outpost Peter starts building new capital – No longer the ancient Moscow The Neva and Peter and Paul Fortress

St. Petersburg 1 st eight years are built for military purposes – Fortress built on Peter Island – Port and shipyards built across on mainland Used for the “new” Russian navy Poltava victory for Russia shifts building into high gear – Rough times ahead for Russian citizens Coat of Arms

Royal decrees ordered people to build Peter wanted a modern, Western city – Buildings all built to strict govt regulations – Each social group would live in designated area The River Neva flows through much of the center of the city. (Left) the Spit of Vasilievsky Island, (Center) River Neva, Peter and Paul Fortress and Trinity Bridge, (Right) Palace Embankment with the Winter Palace.

Peasants at the bottom Peter used autocracy to build his city – Peasants hit the hardest thousand drafted for 3mnths unpaid summer work Every household had to send worker Summer tax on all to help feed workers – ¼ to 1/3 ran away from work Consultants planning the city

Nobles do their part Peter forced nobles to build homes in St. Petes – Also had to live in home for most of the year Also forced to fund the building projects Peter’s Cabin – 1 st house built in the citySummer Palace & Gardens– Across from the Cabin The Admiralty was one of the first structures to be built in St Petersburg. It was designed to be a dockyard, where some of the first ships of Russia's Baltic fleet were. The Admiralty was also fortified to be an extra defense for the newly acquired territory of the Neva delta.