Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/39

Bk. IV. Ch. II. PROGRESS OF SPIRE-GROWTH. 23 still there, but do not extend to the angles, nor do they form the principal roof. The corners are cut off, so as to suggest an octa- o-on, and a second roof has grown up to the form of a spire, entirely eclipsing that suggested by the gables. In this instance also the tower has become a specimen of a complete design, and, though the narthex or porch has somewhat the appearance of being stuck on, the upper part of the tower is of considerable elegance. The same process of spire-growth can be traced to some extent both ill England and in France, but on the whole it is by no means clear that the spire, properly so called, is not an importation from the banks of the Rhine. Height in the roof appears always to have been considei-ed a beauty by German architects, and it seems to have been applied to towers earlier in Germany than in other countries. 472. Sta. Maria in Capitolio, Cologne. fFrom Boisser^e's " Nieder Rhein.") Scale 100 ft. to 1 in. Far more important than these, and surpassing them infinitely in beauty, is the group of churches which adorns the city of Cologne, the virtual capital, or at least the principal city, of Germany at the time of their erection. The old cathedral has perished and made way for the celebrated structure that now occupies its place. As just remarked, if it was like the restoration proposed by Boisseree, it resembled Worms, and must have belonged to the 12th century; but it does not seem that there are sufficient data for determining this question. Of the remaining churches three may be selected as types of the German round-arched style as it existed on the eve of the introduc- tion of the French pointed style into Germany. Of these Sta. Maria in Capitolio (Woodcut No. 472) is apparently