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Carolingian architecture is the style of north European architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance
Carolingian Renaissance

The Carolingian Renaissance was a period of intellectual and cultural revival occurring in the late Eighth century and Ninth century centuries, with the peak of the activities occurring during the reigns of the Carolingian rulers Charlemagne and Louis the Pious....
 of the late 8th and 9th centuries when the Carolingian
Carolingian

File:Charlemagne denier Mayence 812 814.jpgThe Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century....
 family dominated west European politics.






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Lorsch Gatehouse
Aachener Dom Oktagon
Carolingian architecture is the style of north European architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance
Carolingian Renaissance

The Carolingian Renaissance was a period of intellectual and cultural revival occurring in the late Eighth century and Ninth century centuries, with the peak of the activities occurring during the reigns of the Carolingian rulers Charlemagne and Louis the Pious....
 of the late 8th and 9th centuries when the Carolingian
Carolingian

File:Charlemagne denier Mayence 812 814.jpgThe Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century....
 family dominated west European politics. It was a conscious attempt to emulate Roman architecture
Roman architecture

The Architecture of Ancient Rome adopted the external Greek Architecture for their own purposes, which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new architecture style....
 and to that end it borrowed heavily from Early Christian
Early Christian art and architecture

Early Christian art and architecture is the art produced by Christians or under Christian patronage from about the year 100 to about the year 500....
 and Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture

Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine I moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to Byzantium....
, though there are nonetheless innovations of its own, resulting in a unique character.

The gatehouse of the monastery at Lorsch, built around 800, exemplifies classical
Classical architecture

Classical architecture is the set of building styles and techniques of Classical Greece, as used in ancient Greece, the Hellenistic period, and the Roman empire....
 inspiration for Carolingian architecture, built as a triple arched hall, with the arched facade interspersed with attached classical
Classical architecture

Classical architecture is the set of building styles and techniques of Classical Greece, as used in ancient Greece, the Hellenistic period, and the Roman empire....
 columns and pilasters above.

The Palatine Chapel in Aachen
Palatine Chapel in Aachen

The Palatine Chapel in Aachen is the chapel of Charlemagne's Charlemagne's Palace in Aachen, now part of Aachen Cathedral in Aachen, Germany. It is Aachen's major landmark, the central monument of the so-called Carolingian Renaissance, and the reason the French call the city Aix-la-Chapelle....
 (Aix-la-Chapelle) constructed between 792 - 805 was inspired by the octagonal Justinian church of San Vitale
Basilica of San Vitale

The Church or Basilica of San Vitale? styled an "Basilica" in the Roman Catholic Church, though it is not of Basilica form? is the most famous monument of Ravenna, Italy and is one of the most important examples of Byzantine Art and architecture in western Europe....
 in Ravenna, built in the 6th century, but at Aachen there is a tall monumental western entrance complex, as a whole called westwork
Westwork

A westwork is the monumental, west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian architecture, Ottonian architecture, or Romanesque architecture church ....
 - something initiated in Carolingian times.

Carolingian churches generally are basilican
Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a ancient Rome public building , usually located in the Forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC....
, like the Early Christian
Early Christian art and architecture

Early Christian art and architecture is the art produced by Christians or under Christian patronage from about the year 100 to about the year 500....
 churches of Rome, and commonly incorporated westwork
Westwork

A westwork is the monumental, west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian architecture, Ottonian architecture, or Romanesque architecture church ....
, which is arguably the precedent for the western facades of later medieval cathedrals. Original westwork
Westwork

A westwork is the monumental, west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian architecture, Ottonian architecture, or Romanesque architecture church ....
 survives today at the Abbey of Corvey, built in 885.

Examples

  • Lorsch Abbey
    Lorsch Abbey

    The Imperial Abbey of Lorsch , in Lorsch, about 10 km east of Worms, Germany, was one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire....
    , gateway, (c.800)
  • Palatine Chapel in Aachen
    Palatine Chapel in Aachen

    The Palatine Chapel in Aachen is the chapel of Charlemagne's Charlemagne's Palace in Aachen, now part of Aachen Cathedral in Aachen, Germany. It is Aachen's major landmark, the central monument of the so-called Carolingian Renaissance, and the reason the French call the city Aix-la-Chapelle....
     (Aix-la-Chapelle) (792-805)
  • St. Michael, Fulda
    St. Michael, Fulda

    St. Michael Church, in Fulda, Hesse, is considered to be the oldest Holy Sepulchre church in Germany, built in the Carolingian architecture architectural style on behalf of abbot Eigil in the years ....
    , rotunda and crypt (822)
  • Einhard's Basilica
    Michelstadt

    Michelstadt in the Odenwald is a town in the Odenwaldkreis in southern Hesse, Germany between Darmstadt and Heidelberg....
    , Steinbach (827)
  • Saint Justinus' church, Frankfurt-Höchst
    Saint Justinus' church, Frankfurt-Höchst

    The Carolingian architecture Saint Justinus' church, Frankfurt-H?chst is the oldest building in Frankfurt am Main and one of the oldest in Germany....
     (830)
  • Broich Castle, Muelheim on the Ruhr (884)
  • Abbey of Corvey (885)
  • St. George, Oberzell in Reichenau Island
    Reichenau Island

    Reichenau Island lies in Lake Constance in southern Germany, at approximately . It lies between the Gnadensee and the Untersee, almost due west of the city of Konstanz....
     (888)


See also

  • Carolingian art
    Carolingian art

    Carolingian art is the roughly 120-year period from about Anno Domini 780 to 900 — during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs — popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance....