From time immemorial, man has been using stone for construction. The replacement of stone with brick greatly facilitated the construction process itself, and also gave impetus to the development of various styles and directions of architectural art.
One of the clearest examples of this influence of brick on architectural art is the so-called brick or North German Gothic, which became widespread in the 13th-16th centuries in the Baltic States, Poland and Northern Germany. The brickwork of this period is characterized by the absence of decorations and details, which at that time could not be made of brick. All decoration elements were made exclusively of brick and are present in the decoration of the walls in large quantities. During this period of time, all kinds of recesses and niches in the walls, which were formed by buttresses or other structural elements, gained wide popularity. They were not hidden, but on the contrary, they were isolated and even sometimes additionally specially painted white with lime.
The distinctive features of the buildings of the Gothic style are their heaviness and monumentalism. This is more true of castles, temples and churches. For cheaper, budget houses at that time, the fechwerk-type construction technology was used – the building’s supports were made of wooden frames with transverse and diagonal lintels, and clods of clay, unbaked bricks or low-quality bricks were laid in between them. For the construction of cathedrals and castles, imported, ready-made bricks were used, and not produced locally, as was the case during the previous several centuries. At that time, the produced brick had rather large dimensions and an oblong shape (from 28x15x9 cm to 30x14x10 cm). It was laid on a special lime mortar, which still retains high strength. Brick Gothic was most popular in places where natural stone was inaccessible. A large number of brick buildings in the Gothic style were built in the North of Europe: from the Netherlands to the Baltic states. Gothic brick style was laid in the city of Lübeck, where many churches, cathedrals and other various buildings have survived to this day. One of the brightest examples of the Gothic style is the Old Town, which is listed in the catalog of world heritage and is protected by UNESCO.
Poland has the largest number of Gothic buildings among the Slavic countries (the Old Town in Torun, Malbork Castle in Marienburg) with a wide variety of town halls, churches and other buildings made in this style. The Gothic style has also become widespread in Northern Germany, since there are rich deposits of clay in this area, and there are practically no deposits of natural stone in this area.
The available clay has become an excellent material for the manufacture of high-quality, durable and reliable bricks. Many masterpieces of the Gothic style of architecture have survived to this day, embodied mainly in parish churches and cathedrals in Schleswig, Lübeck, Segeberg and Oldenburg. All of them are under the protection of UNESCO and are objects of tourist excursions. There are many buildings of the Gothic style that have survived to this day in Russia.
So, for example, using this style, the Lord’s Chamber in Veliky Novgorod, many historical buildings on the territory of present-day Kaliningrad (Balga Castle, Königsberg Cathedral, Arnau Church, etc.) were built. After the Brick Gothic period, it was changed by the Brick Renaissance in the 16th century. The era of the brick renaissance or renaissance, like the Gothic era, became an important stage in the formation of the brick art of the Middle Ages.
Throughout Europe, impregnable fortresses and luxurious palaces were erected along with gloomy Gothic cathedrals. Samples of medieval architectural ensembles have survived to this day, bright examples of which are the French Louvre, Venetian palazzos, the unique complexes of Tsarskoye Selo, Tsaritsyno and the Winter Palace. The emergence of architecture as an independent art became possible due to the unique capabilities and properties of bricks.
Wood, of course, is also considered a noble material, but it can only be used to build low-rise buildings. High-rise structures can only be built with stone. Moreover, the use of bricks instead of natural stone significantly reduces the complexity of masonry work, increases the speed of construction, and their results are striking in quality and aesthetic appeal. Is it possible to imagine the enchanting lace arcades and excellent galleries of Karlovy Vary built from ordinary ordinary bricks. The whole city is, as it were, the embodiment of a fabulous and enchanting music box, built in one breath, having a single unique style. A little later, brick began to be used for mass construction, for the construction of gloomy and similar houses. Thanks to the brick, it was possible to save precious municipal land by building 5-6-storey buildings on it. These houses were distinguished by their strength, reliability and excellent thermal insulation characteristics. They helped solve housing problems in large densely populated cities.
Descriptions of various brick buildings can be found in almost any art and journalistic publications. They appear both on the pages of literary works and various tourist booklets, etc. Brick buildings can create a different mood, act in different roles. Buildings and structures made of brick can act as gloomy abandoned buildings, as a light and bright summer gazebo, as well as a bright yellow brick path leading to the Emerald City or Oz.
At present, the importance of brick in construction remains at a fairly high level. It is widely used for both construction and finishing works.
In any case, the consumer needs a high-quality and reliable building material, which is produced by the Lutuginsky plant of building materials under the Litos trademark. The products of this plant have proven themselves only on the positive side. Lithos brick has a wide range of colors, a wide variety of textures, shapes and sizes, has excellent physical, technical and operational characteristics. If you want to build a beautiful, but at the same time reliable and durable house, then Litos products are best suited for this.
We wish you successful construction.