ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE

THE ARCHITECTURAL STYLE OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE

1000 – 1200 B.C.
THE CRUSADES
• Were a series of
religiously sanctioned
military campaigns
waged by western
Christian Europe
• Objective: To restore
Christian Control over the
Holy Land
• Effect: Brought about
different movements
resulting in “roman-like”
decoration of buildings
THE PILGRIMAGE
– Long trips to visit the relics of Saints
– Allowed for the exchange of ideas, including those
of architecture and construction.
– The Pilgrims’ way was filled with Romanesque
churches, monasteries, inns, and castles.
 Romanesque = “Roman- like”
 This style grew in those countries of
Western Europe which had been
under the rule of Rome.
 With the church as the unifying force,
this period was devoted to the
glorification of Christianity and the
church was the predominant building
type.
 CLIMATE AND MATERIALS
• Use of Local materials: • Climactic conditions
contribute to differences of
– Stone
treatment north and south
– Brick of the Alps & Pyrenees.
– Marble
– Terra-cotta • North – Window openings
were enlarged
– Ready- made
- High pitched roofs
columns
South – small window
openings
- Flat Roofs
ARCHES, COLUMNS, PLANS