The façade of the church of Marmoutier in the same province, and of the cathedral of Gebweiler, are two examples—very similar to one another—of a compromise between the purely German and purely Italian styles of design. The small openings in the former look almost like those of a southern clime, but in its present locality give to the church an appearance of gloom by no means usual. Still it has the merit of vigorous and purpose-like character.
[Illustration: 717. Church at Marmoutier (Maarmünster). (From Chapuy.)]
At Bamberg the church of St. Jacob is well worthy of attention, and the Scotch church at Ratisbon is one of the best specimens in Germany of a simple basilica without transepts or towers. Its principal entrance is a bold and elegant piece of design, covered with grotesque figures whose meaning it is difficult to understand. Had it been placed at the end of the church, it might have formed the basis of a magnificent façade; but stuck unsymmetrically on one side—as is so usual in Germany—it loses half its effect, and can only be considered as a detached piece of ornamentation, which is here—as it generally is—fatal to its effect as an architectural composition.
Before leaving ecclesiastical buildings, it is necessary to allude to a class of double churches and double chapels. Of the former the typical example is the church of Schwartz Rheindorf, erected by Arnold von Wied, Archbishop of Cologne, on his return from Constantinople in 1148, and dedicated in the year 1151. It is in itself a pleasing specimen of the style, irrespective of its peculiarity. It is, however, simply a church in two storeys, and was originally built as a mausoleum, and in the form of a Greek cross without a tower at the intersection. After the death of the Archbishop, his sister Hedwig (Abbess of Essen) extended the nave two bays towards the west in order to form a junction with a nunnery which she had built on the west side. It is probable that the Byzantine plan first carried out exercised much influence on the churches at Cologne and the Rhine generally. At first sight, the lower church looks like an extensive crypt, but this does not seem to have been its purpose so much as to afford an increase of accommodation, to enable two congregations to hear the same service at the same time, there being always in the centre of the floor of the upper church an opening sufficient for those above to hear the service, and for some of them at least to see the altar below. In castle chapels, where this method is most common, the upper storey seems to have been occupied by the noblesse, the lower by their retainers, which makes the arrangement intelligible enough.[69]