Round church

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Østerlars Round Church, Bornholm, Denmark

A round church is a church with a completely circular plan, thus a rotunda in architectural terms.

There are many Nordic round churches in Sweden and Denmark (notably the island of Bornholm); round churches were popular in Scandinavia in the 11th and early 12th centuries.

Round churches should not be confused with the older types of round-tower church constructions. Churches with many-sided polygonal shapes (such as the 16-sided example in Richmond, Vermont, USA) are likewise colloquially referred to as 'round'.

Round churches by country

Armenia

Zvartnots Cathedral in Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin),[1] often cited as the world's largest round church during its existence in the Middle Ages[2][3][4]

Bosnia

Church of the Holy Transfiguration in Sarajevo
.

Brazil

Cathedral of Brasília

Bulgaria

Round Church, Preslav

Canada

Croatia

Church of Saint Vitus in Rijeka.

Denmark

Ethiopia

France

Medieval churches of Saint-Bonnet-la-Rivière and Neuvy-Saint-Sépulchre, Baroque churches as Chapelle de l'Oratoire, Avignon and Vieille Charité church, Marseille.

Germany

Hessen. There is also a round church in Untersuhl, Thuringia
.

Hungary

Italy

Malta

Mexico

The Netherlands

Norway

Philippines

Portugal

Serbia

Spain

Church of San Marcos in Salamanca

Sweden

United Kingdom

In England, there are four

St John the Baptist Church, Little Maplestead, Essex, and The Holy Sepulchre, Northampton. St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, is a Georgian round church, and the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral was built in the 20th century. The 18th-century All Saints' Church, Newcastle upon Tyne, is now part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales
.

In Scotland, the medieval Orphir Round Church near Houton on Mainland, Orkney, is in ruins. Kilarrow Parish Church at the top of main street in Bowmore is a round church, built in 1767, on the island of Islay, on Scotland's west coast.

Gallery

See also

References

  • Ann Vibeke Knudsen, The Old Churches of Bornholm. .

External links