page_title: Architecture of Switzerland
section_title: Romanesque architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Architecture of Switzerland / Romanesque architecture
caption_attribution_description: Schaffhausen, Museum zu Allerheiligen, Dauerausstellung zur Klostergeschichte Modell des ersten Münsters
context_page_description: The architecture of Switzerland was influenced by its location astride major trade routes, along with diverse architectural traditions of the four national languages. Romans and later Italians brought their monumental and vernacular architecture north over the Alps, meeting the Germanic and German styles coming south and French influences coming east. Additionally, Swiss mercenary service brought architectural elements from other lands back to Switzerland. All the major styles including ancient Roman, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Modern architecture and Post Modern are well represented throughout the country. The founding of the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne in La Sarraz and the work of Swiss-born modern architects such as Le Corbusier helped spread Modern architecture throughout the world.
  The relative isolation of villages in the Alpine foothills, the Alps and the Jura mountains as well as different languages led to great diversity in the vernacular style. Due to differing traditions, climate and building materials, villages in each region are distinctly different.
context_section_description: Some of the defining characteristics of Romanesque architecture is solid walls with few, small, semi-circular, paired windows, groin vaults and in religious architecture rows of columns that separate the nave from the aisles.  In the 11th and 12th centuries, architecture in Switzerland can be roughly divided into three zones of influence, the Lombards in the south, Burgundy in the west and Germanic in the north and east, though there is significant overlap.  The Lombard and Burgundian craftsmen experimented with barrel and groined vaults and carved capitals and friezes.  In the Germanic parts of Europe, the ecclesiastical Romanesque style often included an apse on both the eastern and western ends of the nave, such as was shown in the Plan of St. Gall.  The western apse was often flanked by two symmetrical, square towers which may include a westwork.
  When the Cluniac reforms spread through Switzerland in the late 10th and 11th centuries, it triggered a wave of church and monastery construction.  All five Bishops in the area (Basel, Chur, Geneva, Lausanne and Sion) built Romanesque cathedrals, which included a full range of Romanesque and later Gothic elements.  Romainmôtier Priory and Payerne Priory were both daughter houses of Cluny and were built in the Cluniac inspired Romanesque style.  Romainmôtier was built by Lombard trained craftsmen by Odilo of Cluny around the end of the 10th century and has remained generally unchanged since then.  The central nave features pillars with simply carved capitals and a groined ceiling.
  The cathedrals at Basel and Constance and the monasteries at Schaffhausen and Einsiedeln were all built with two symmetric square towers flanking the main portal like Cluny.  Though all four of these examples were later rebuilt in other styles, the Romanesque floor plan is generally still visible.  The Grossmünster in Zurich also shows Lombard elements despite being firmly in the Germanic zone.
  In addition to church and monastery construction, a number of Romanesque forts and castles were built throughout the country side.  In German Switzerland wooden forts were replaced by stone towers, though in the French and Italian areas stone castles had remained common since the Roman era.  These new castles featured a large, multi-story tower with thick, heavy walls.  The central tower was then surrounded by a ring wall with towers and a gate house.  As long distance trade increased, the castles were placed along rivers and mountain passes to collect tolls and regulate movement.  The Counts of Savoy built castles with square ring walls and towers on the corners such as Grandson and Yverdon.  The Counts of Zähringen built large donjon like residence towers such as Thun Castle.  The Counts of Kyburg built their castles with massive stones, visible in Kyburg Castle.
caption: Model of the first church at Schaffhausen
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