Romanesque Architecture - Romanesque Castles, Houses and Other Buildings

Romanesque Castles, Houses and Other Buildings

The Romanesque period was a time of great development in the design and construction of defensive architecture. After churches and the monastic buildings with which they are often associated, castles are the most numerous type of building of the period. While most are in ruins through the action of war and politics, others, like William the Conqueror's White Tower within the Tower of London have remained almost intact.

In some regions, particularly Germany, large palaces were built for rulers and bishops. Local lords built great halls in the countryside, while rich merchants built grand town houses. In Italy, city councils constructed town halls, while wealthy cities of Northern Europe protected their trading interests with warehouses and commercial premises. All over Europe, dwellers of the town and country built houses to live in, some of which, sturdily constructed in stone, have remained to this day with sufficient of their form and details intact to give a picture of the style of domestic architecture that was in fashion at the time.

Examples of all these types of buildings can be found scattered across Europe, sometimes as isolated survivals like the two merchants' houses on opposite sides of Steep Hill in Lincoln, England, and sometimes giving form to a whole medieval city like San Gimignano in Tuscany, Italy. These buildings are the subject of a separate article.

The Great Hall of Oakham Castle, England, once part of the fortified manor of a Norman baron. Crusader castle, Krak des Chevaliers, Syria, was mainly constructed in this period, with the outer walls being later. Many towns, such as San Gimignano, were enclosed with walls, causing crowding and the building of tower houses .