Romanesque and Gothic Churches

On our trip to Paris, we knew we were going to be introduced to many important and historical sites that have been renowned throughout the world. It should be important to mention that at the time that these two great buildings were constructed the world was a very different place than the one we know currently. The Roman Catholic Church was a powerful institution that had reached out to the entire known world and had powerful holdings in most of the kingdoms of Europe. Because of how powerful the Church was, some of the most important and most lavish buildings were churches. Some of these churches have gone through many changes in style like artwork and the influences of the different styles are still evident in some. One that comes to mind that we had the priviledge to see is the Abbey of St Germain des Pres. The Abbey of St Germain des Pres was built in the 6th Century, making it one of the oldest churches in Paris. Because it was almost destroyed by the Normans, Pope Alexander III restored it in the 12th century. It was restored in a period where Gothic style was at its greatest, making the church become a mixture of the Romanesque and the Gothic styles. The Romanesque buildings are characterized by their thick stone walls and wooden ceilings. This style was often referred to as dark because of the lack of windows in the buildings not allowing a lot of light into the churches. Although the church of St Germain des Pres is considered to have some Gothic characteristics, there is a great contrast to the beautiful and typical Gothic cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. The Notre Dame de Paris is a perfect example of how the nobles attempted to construct churches that resembled the beauty of nature. Gothic style was able to accomplish many things that previous architectural styles had not. The weight of the roofs was now designed to be supported by the arches that were pointed. They also contain flying buttresses that extend outside of the cathedral and rib vaults. Perhaps the biggest and most wonderful accomplishment was the ability to create large windows that allowed light to shine beautifully inside the church. Notre Dame contains three rose windows from the 13th century. It was amazing to see the light shining on the floors of the church at around 6 o'clock. The church also contains the very famous gargoyles which are almost as iconic as the church itself. All of these amazing features could not have become possible without the great engineers of the Medieval times.