Hall church

St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna is a hall church.

A hall church is a type of church building. The term "hall church" is about the architecture of the building. Most very large churches and cathedrals are built with a long part where people sit, called the "nave". On each side of the nave is a lower "aisle". Between the nave and the aisles are rows of columns. Above the columns are windows which let light into the nave. In a hall church, there are no windows above the columns. The nave and the aisles are about the same height.

Famous cathedrals which are hall churches are Milan Cathedral in Italy, St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna and Bristol Cathedral in England.

The term was first used in the mid-19th century by the German art historian Wilhelm Lübke.

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  Another inside view of St Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna.

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  Saint Thomas Church (Strasbourg) is the only hall-church in Alsace. It is a Protestant church today.

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  The main Church in Tulln, Austria.

Hall Church Media

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  Great Yarmouth Minster

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  Frauenkirche, Munich, a hall of three naves with lateral extensions

Related pages

• Gothic architecture