Rotonda - what is it? Rotunda in secular and sacred architecture

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

In literary works of a romantic nature, the rotunda is often the meeting place for the beloved. What building is this? And is it a building at all? In the writings of the beginning and middle of the 19th century, heroines are dressed in a rotunda. This word seems to have several meanings. Indeed, in the description of the architecture of churches, we meet the term "rotunda". What is it? We will try to find out in this article. Below we will consider not only the etymology of the word, which was embodied in park arbors and women's coats, but also give interesting facts about the rotunda located in St. Petersburg. What are the myths behind this type of building?

Rotonda - what is it?

The origin of this word is Latin. Rotundus in translation simply means "round". And before the rotunda became an architectural term for Italian architects, it already existed in ancient buildings. Ancient Greek monopters and tholos are built in the form of circles. Some pagan temples in the Roman Empireare also rotundas. An example is the Pantheon. Later, buildings based on a circle began to be used in Christian sacred architecture. These are mainly baptisteries, which used to be buildings separate from churches, and some churches. It turns out that the rotunda is a cylindrical building topped with a round dome. But it is not so. We can meet rotundas without walls at all. Instead, the circle is created by columns evenly spaced from each other. And there are rotundas without a roof at all. So, in Greek buildings, only a portico served as a roof.

Rotondas in church architecture

When building temples, the Christian Church took ancient mausoleums as a model, which were round in their layout. The first temples for believers were a place of remembrance and veneration of the holy martyrs. Perhaps that is why the shape of the pantheons was taken for the planning of churches. Italian architects actively used the rotunda in their work. This influenced sacred architecture not only in Southern Europe, but also in Kievan Rus. We find rotunda temples of the XI-XII centuries in Galich, Lvov, Vladimir-Volynsky, Przemysl. The foundations of round churches in Uzhgorod, Nizhankovichi, Chernikhovtsy, Stolpye date back to the thirteenth century. The earliest rotunda church in the northern part of Kievan Rus was discovered in Smolensk. This is the temple of the German Mother of God, which was built in the second half of the 12th century by order of foreign merchants. But this architectural form quickly took root in Russian architecture. Morein the pre-Petrine era, when it was fashionable to invite Italian masters to build churches, rotundas appeared in Moscow monasteries. Centuries later, they could be found everywhere.

Rotondas in secular architecture

Buildings in the shape of a perfect circle in the Roman era were often erected as mausoleums, pantheons. Therefore, the secular architecture of the times of classicism, wishing to inherit antique samples, began to use rotundas. These were mausoleums glorifying fallen heroes. As a rule, the walls of such buildings were decorated with columns, and a rounded dome served as a roof. With the advent of the era of romanticism, "pantheons" began to be built in parks. These small structures have become an integral part of landscape design. The rotunda in the park did not always inherit the pantheon. She might not have walls. Many parks decorate rotundas in the form of columns standing in a circle, connected by a low dome. But there are also structures reminiscent of romantic chapels.

Rotonda in St. Petersburg

The house on the corner of the Fontanka embankment and Gorokhovaya street hides a rather mystical object. Looking at a gloomy building typical of St. Petersburg, it is impossible to guess that a rotunda is hidden in it. How did this rounded architectural element end up in a rectangular house? No one can accurately answer this question. The house was built in the 18th century, but subsequently rebuilt several times. Probably, the rotunda remained from the original design. Now it is, as it were, hidden in the "case" of the new house: the dome rests on the attic, the windows overlookcourtyard. Because of its secrecy, the rotunda in St. Petersburg is covered with the darkest legends. It is believed that it is the center of the universe, a kind of axis of being, and here at midnight you can meet Satan. In the 80-90s of the last century, the rotunda became a place of visit not only for various kinds of esotericists, but also for informal youth. V. Tsoi and Kinchev have been here. Recently, the beautiful rotunda has been so defaced with vandal graffiti that the residents of the house have introduced an entrance fee - as much as 70 rubles. For this money, they are restoring this landmark of St. Petersburg.

Other meanings of the word "rotunda"

In architecture, the term means a cylindrical structure, regardless of what function it performs: a church, a pavilion or an arbor. Rotunda is also the name of women's outerwear in the form of a spacious cape. She was in fashion in the XVIII-XIX centuries. In the Middle Ages, a round dance was called a rotunda. There is also a term of the same name in typography. It means a type of gothic font.