Carolingian architecture

Carolingian architecture is a special style of building from the late 8th and 9th centuries in Europe. It started during a time called the Carolingian Renaissance when the Carolingian dynasty ruled western Europe. This style tried to look like old Roman buildings. It took ideas from Early Christian and Byzantine designs, but it also had its own special features.

One great example is the gatehouse of the monastery at Lorsch, built around the year 800. It has a big three-arched hall with classical columns and pilasters, showing Roman influence.

Another important building is the Palatine Chapel in Aachen, built between 792 and 805. It was inspired by an octagonal church in Ravenna made by Emperor Justinian. The chapel has a tall entrance area called a westwork, which was a new idea from the Carolingian period.

Carolingian churches were usually built in a basilican shape, like Early Christian churches in Rome. They often included westworks, which later influenced medieval cathedrals. A westwork from this time still exists at the Abbey of Corvey, which was built in 885.

Carolingian architecture

The Carolingian Renaissance led to many new buildings. Between 768 and 855, people built 27 new cathedrals, 417 monastic buildings, and 100 royal homes. During Charlemagne's rule alone, 16 cathedrals, 232 monasteries, and 65 palaces were built. The kings started these projects and gave money and architects for them.

Architects studied old Roman books by Vitruvius, which taught them to build with stone, something not common north of the Loire Valley. In Italy, the Carolingians saw Roman basilicas and triumphal arches. They used these Roman styles for royal and religious buildings. These early designs later helped create the Romanesque architecture of the 11th century.

Leaders like bishop Chrodegang of Metz helped shape early Carolingian architecture. The pope and Charlemagne worked together to organize the Catholic Church. Churches were built with the altar at the eastern end and the entrance at the western end, inspired by famous buildings like the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Important buildings from this time include Lorsch Abbey, the Princely Abbey of Corvey, and the abbeys of Saint-Riquier and Fulda. The Palace of Aachen, especially its Palatine Chapel, showed the best of this style. As Charlemagne's rule ended, more building projects began, and the Plan of Saint Gall gave detailed plans for monasteries.

In the 10th century, the Carolingian dynasty began to decline. By 1000–1020, their institutions fell apart in France, and in Germany, the new Ottonian dynasty created Ottonian architecture, using ideas from Carolingian designs. An example is the Eglise Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul d'Ottmarsheim in Alsace, built around 1030.

Notable examples

Here are some important buildings from the Carolingian architecture period:

• Lorsch Abbey, gateway (around 800)
• Benedictine Convent of Saint John, Müstair (around 800)
• Palatine Chapel, Aachen (792–805)
• Oratory in Germigny-des-Prés (806)
• Imperial Palace, Ingelheim (completed after 814)
• Abbey in Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu (815)
• Lobbes Abbey, Belgium (819–823)
• St. Michael, Fulda, rotunda and crypt (822)
• Einhard's Basilica, Steinbach (827)
• Saint Justinus' church, Frankfurt-Höchst (830)
• Broich Castle, Muelheim an der Ruhr (884)
• Abbey of Corvey (885)
• St. George, Oberzell in Reichenau Island (888)

Notable Carolingian architects

Some important architects from the Carolingian period include Odo of Metz. He designed Charlemagne's Palace of Aachen and its Palatine Chapel. Another important architect was Ratgar of Fulda.