architecture: Brick Historism / Backsteinhistorismus And so nicely...

Brick Historism / Backsteinhistorismus

And so nicely renovated and fresh looking / Und so nett renoviert und frisch aussehend

8 comments so far...

Fizgig October 03, 2018, 10:18 AM

Beautiful building! Nicely captured =)

Sonja October 03, 2018, 10:57 AM

Looks to me somehow -- american. LOL
In southern Germany styles like this are not common, so I was quite surprised at Treuenbritzen downtown. Everyone knows the name of the place's name from the old Sabinchen criminal ballad of course but nobody I know personally has ever been there although its conveniently right by the highway nearly an hour south of Berlin. So I suggested it for whimsy's sake as dinner destination on our way home and finally without a crowd, and it was not disapointing. So much interesting buildings!

Fizgig October 03, 2018, 04:29 PM

It is interesting, indeed.... One thing it's not, though, is a "brownstone"... These are brownstones -- and if I recall correctly, the only officially recognized brownstone structures in Europe exist exclusively in southern Wales. The above is just a brick building, albeit a bit unusual in that those arches with windows in 'em look like they were taken right from a church building.... Makes me wonder if there was some tie to some religious function somewhere in its original purpose.

Sonja October 05, 2018, 07:36 PM

It was an english teacher of mine that translated the more expensive glazed stone (Klinker) needing no plaster on top as brownstone as opposed to bricks which are the dull and unglazed burned earthen ware. Perhaps she was not right, after all also just a german teaching kids of her own country and this was just some situation about describing the way to a location in vincity of the school in Augsburg.

Judith used to refer to the house in Brooklyn Heights she lived in as a brownstone, but I got no idea how it looked like and never had the idea to reseach it. I thought it would be glazed brick however.

Fizgig October 07, 2018, 06:53 AM

Brownstone is actually a type of sandstone, not just a description of the appearance of the structure.... The five types are almost exclusively quarried in the US. Here's a shot of what a brownstone quarry looks like -- this one's in CT. As you can see, the stone looks nothing like any clay material used to make bricks nor the finished bricks themselves. It's a fascinating type of
stone, really....

Yeah, I think the misinfo. came about in the translation process -- especially since this isn't a building material that's readily available in Europe and would, therefore, not be familiar enough to have a proper translation. It may be one of those things that doesn't get translated, maybe... I dunno, but there ya have it ;)

It's fun how one can learn something new beginning with something as innocuous as a photo =)

Sonja October 08, 2018, 09:43 AM

Good to know that brownstone and Braunzeug are not the same thing although the superficial look at the colour scheme is not too different. Sandstone also, and not finer bricks or tiles with a brownish-red or orangey dark beige durable Boettger ware style finish... but how is this then translated. I have seen a lot of buildings in the USA made from or covered in the shiney washable tiles or stones. Does it all just run under brick?

Fizgig October 09, 2018, 12:55 AM

Shiny washable tiles.... Those are just tiles. Though the exteriors of buildings aren't usually covered in them --- too brittle.

In the US, the above would just be described as a brick building.

Sonja October 09, 2018, 01:05 PM

Well, online dictionary claims english for Klinker is -- Clinker.... never heared anyone say that in the USA however. Clinker usually is not comming as real massive stone, but rectangular cover tiles plastered to a brick pattern inbetween decorative tiles. It usally comes in different hues of reddish browns and clay colours, more rarely like off-white majolica or something totally different. Backstein is massive coloured bricks, corresponding the Clinker colour scheme.
Regular burnt bricks, used to build all on its own and plaster or at least paint then or to fill halftimbered walls with a herringbone pattern and then seal somehow are the cheap stuff. Some are so bad that when you denude them from the plaster layer after tearing down a wall and leave them all winter on a pile ouside, you only find a formless crumbling heap in spring. I speak from experiance with that. :o)

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