I was reading
Wikipedia's article on East Prussia and was struck by two adjacent photos that I think when juxtaposed together illustrate as starkly as possible the difference between traditional Christian monarchical Europe and modern secular republican Europe, all the more so because the hideous "House of the Soviets" stands on the very site of Königsberg Castle, tragically destroyed along with so much else in World War II. Whatever its flaws, the Europe of Kings and Princes cared about Beauty and left an unparalleled legacy of magnificence, of which Königsberg Castle was but one of countless examples. The Europe of Presidents and Bureaucrats is ugly to the core, and is fittingly represented by the House of the Soviets. The French writer Anatole France (1844-1924) perhaps foreshadowed the lesson of these two buildings when he wrote, "For every monarchy overthrown the sky becomes less brilliant, because it loses a star. A republic is ugliness set free."
(Originally posted at RoyalWorld; requested here by Beaverbrook)
Oh, I quite agree.
ReplyDeleteBut there is a small amount of good news about this region in recent years: the castle is being reconstructed and the House of Soviets - which even Soviets recognized as a particularly hideous eyesore - being demolished.
The (I think now solely Lutheran - it was shared with the Orthodox for a time) Cathedral has also been reconstructed after decades out of use, and when he was President (although...one wonders if Tsar-aspirant might be a more appropriate title), Vladimir Putin attended the opening of a new Russian Orthodox Cathedral in the town, too.
All is not entirely lost.
Interesting, though that's not what appears at Wikipedia, which says that castle rebuilding "plans were dropped for the time being." If you have more detailed and recent information, with sources, perhaps you could edit the article?
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6nigsberg_Castle#Current_situation
And to the extent that ugly modern architecture prevails in nominal monarchies is a reflection of the decline in power of those monarchies to commission said beauty. Thank heavens Prince Charles is doing his bit to stem and (hopefully) reverse this tide of rot.
ReplyDeleteOh, I stand corrected, I last looked into the matter a couple of years ago. That is a pity.
ReplyDeleteThe Russian version of the Wikipedia article provides some links to very recent sources that provide some interesting information, though:
The regional administration is planning to hold a referendum on the reconstruction of the castle. So far, it's been delayed on numerous occasions, but is now scheduled to take place next March.
(the discussion in the thread below one of these articles suggests that any construction will be on a smaller scale than the original building)
(sources: http://www.klops.ru/news/23509.html
http://kaliningrad.kp.ru/online/news/681098/)
Happily, there are positive developments, the Berlin Stadtschloss is also being reconstructed, albeit with a modern interior:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadtschloss,_Berlin#Plans_for_reconstruction
Unfortunately but understandably delayed by German budget cuts.
Thanks for the pictures! It is indeed a shocking contrast. However, I can't see that the pictures show
ReplyDelete"as starkly as possible the difference between traditional Christian monarchical Europe and modern secular republican Europe".
The ruins of that city are a sad story, but one very specific to the era in which Stalin decided to push the borders of Germany far away from Russia and teach the Germans a lesson by systematic imposed suffering. As a counter example the Russians have preserved the Tsarist architecture of St Petersburg with great love.
I would say in fairness that the pictures here represent good and bad taste in architecture rather than a representation of monarchy vs. European republicanism.
There are plenty of modern works of architecture built for Britain to replace buildings destroyed by acts of war. As examples look at the British diplomatic mission in Rome demolished after a terrorist bombing and Coverntry cathedral destroyed by German bombs, both by Basil Spence.
These buildings are not hard brutalism like the eyesore you illustrate, but seem to me naturally less charming than the buildings they replace.
Trouble is, you have got millions upon millions of people who have got to be housed somewhere. Whether Monarchy or no Monarchy, we can't all live in the castles. What would that do to the natural social order or hierarchy? Hee! Hee! Hee!
ReplyDeleteOne detail worth adding, without changing the main sense, is that the castle partly survived the IIWW. Leonid Brezhnev ordered to destroy the remains of it in... 1968 (despite many protests). The ugly building was located there soon later, but never finished and never opened.
ReplyDeleteReminds me a bit of the University library in my home town, only much uglier (too many windows). If narwisz is correct, though, those windows probably don't have anything in them and the building as a whole could be made prettier with the right choice of windows.
ReplyDeleteIf it's falling apart, though, or dominic's right about it being torn down, I'm not going to grieve.