Comparison - Celia Ruiz Fentes
What can a Spanish city like Madrid have in common with an Austrian city like Krems?
Madrid, the capital of Spain, is a large city with a large population and many activities to do. It is also very industrialised and has large buildings that stand out, which is far from the city of Krems in Austria. Krems features a small medieval style city with just 24,000 inhabitants. The city is characterised by its beautiful promenades overlooking the Danube and historic looking buildings and baroque style churches...
So at first sight it is difficult to find a common element between these two cities, however with the visit to the museum of Krems I have been able to observe that both cities have a very marked religious character that they represent through their buildings and representations of the Virgin or Jesus.
This religious feeling in the city of Krems, due to buildings like the church of the Dominicans, made me think of the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial close to where I live. This building is newer than the one in Krems and dates back to the 16th century. It was founded by monks of the Order of St. Jerome and is one of the greatest renaissance architectural works in Spain. It was built by order of King Philip II to give God a house in which to praise Him and thank Him for His intervention in the war of St. Quentin.
One of the most outstanding religious buildings in Krems is the Dominican church, a former monastery under the patronage of Peter and Paul, which was ordered to be built by Leopold VI in 1236. Its construction began in 1240 and over the years it has undergone multiple transformations, one of the reforms was due to a fire in 1410. In addition, in the 18th century the church took on a baroque style, except for the cloister, which is more gothic style. At the time of its construction it was considered one of the largest and most representative halls in the country, and was the meeting place of the provincial assemblies. Between 1994 and 1996 it was rebuilt under Arch's command. Nowadays the church serves as the Provincial Gallery of Contemporary Art with temporary exhibitions in summer.
The two buildings have many differences, such as their architectural style, dimensions, and context of creation. However, they both fulfil the same function: to serve as a place of worship to praise and pray to God and a religious symbol of the city. It showed the people of that time that the city was Christian and had beliefs that they were proud of. In addition, these buildings, despite of the reforms or wars they have suffered over the centuries, are still standing and preserved. Thankfully today's society can learn from them and understand what life and religion was like at that time.
