Oval church

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Floor plan of the Paulskirche in Frankfurt

A Christian sacred building with an oval floor plan is called an oval church .

The Romanesque St. Gereon Church in Cologne , a conical oval building from the 4th century, is considered the earliest peculiar shape of an oval church . The oval floor plan became a defining style element in the history of church construction much later. It is mainly found in Protestant church buildings of the Baroque and Classicism , but also occasionally in postmodern buildings. In the Protestant building tradition , the choice of this floor plan was often associated with striving to overcome the longitudinal church in favor of a preaching hall .

Evangelical Reformed Tradition

Reformed church of Chêne-Pâquier , 1667
Reformed Church Horgen , 1782

According to the teachings of Huldrych Zwingli and Jean Calvin , the word preaches should be the focus of the worship service. The Catholic mass, and with it the altars , were rejected by these reformers . In the Protestant-Reformed church building tradition, this brought about some new floor plans, such as the transverse church and thus, significantly influenced by the French Huguenots , also the transversely oval sermon room. Examples:

Germany

Switzerland

Evangelical Lutheran Tradition

New Protestant Church in Wommelshausen , egg-shaped floor plan
New Protestant Church Wommelshausen, view of the altar
Kreuzkirche in Hirschegg

Oval churches are a rarity in the Lutheran tradition.

Denmark

Germany

Austria

Protestant St. Johanneskirche, Bodenmais

Poland

Further

Catholic tradition

In Catholic church construction, oval churches were mainly built in the Baroque era. The reasons for the shape of the floor plan do not lie in liturgical considerations, but rather in the playful architecture of the Catholic Baroque, which strives for originality. In the case of more modern buildings, however, liturgical considerations often play a role. Examples:

Germany

Interior of the chapel of Haus Heidhorn in Munster-Hiltrup

Italy

Dome of the Church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale in Rome, 1670

Austria

Switzerland

Spain

Netherlands

See also

literature

  • K. Speich / HR Schläpfer: Churches and monasteries in Switzerland . Ex Libris Verlag Zurich, 1978.
  • H. Schneider: Voyage of Discovery - Reformed Church Building in Switzerland . Stäubli Verlag Zurich, 2000.
  • Art guide through Switzerland - Volume 1 . Society for Swiss Art History GSK Bern, 2005.
  • Culture guide Switzerland . Ex Libris Verlag Zurich, 1982.
  • Knaur's cultural guide German Democratic Republic . Theodor Knaur Verlag Munich, 1989.
  • Knaur's cultural guide Italy . Theodor Knaur Verlag Munich, 1978.