Round church

For churches specifically named the Round Church, see Round Church.

Østerlars Round Church, Bornholm, Denmark

A round church is a special type of church construction, having a completely circular plan. Round churches are often found in Sweden and Denmark (notably the island Bornholm) and were popular church constructions in Scandinavia in the 11th and early 12th centuries.

Round churches should not be confused with the older types of round-tower church constructions. Churches with many-sided polygonal shapes (such as the 16-sided example in Richmond, Vermont, USA) are colloquially referred to as round as well.

Round churches by country

Bosnia

Church of the Holy Transfiguration in Sarajevo.

Croatia

Church of Saint Vitus in Rijeka.

Denmark

Nyker Church, Nylars Church, Saint Ols Church and Østerlars Church, Bornholm; Bjernede Church, Zealand; Horne Church, Funen (with later gothic extensions), and Thorsager Church, Jutland.

United Kingdom

There are four medieval round churches still in use in England, Holy Sepulchre, Cambridge; Temple Church, London; St. John the Baptist Church, Little Maplestead, Essex, and The Holy Sepulchre, Northampton. St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury is a Georgian round church. The 19th-century All Saints' Church, Newcastle upon Tyne is redundant and used for other purposes. The ruins of the round church of St Nicholas near Houton in the Orkney Islands are the only example in Scotland.

Germany

Liebfrauenkirche in Trier. St. Ludwig in Darmstadt, Hessen. There is also a round church in Untersuhl, Thuringia.

Hungary

Saint Anne Church in Kallósd, Roman Catholic Church in Kiszombor, Rotunda in Öskü, St. Jacob rotunda in Ják, Neoclassical church in Balatonfüred (19th century).

Italy

Church of Saint Stephen in Rome; Church of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in Rome; Old Cathedral of Brescia; Church of Saint Lawrence in Mantua; Santo Stefano, Bologna; Church of Saint Angelo in Perugia; Church of Saint Marie in Forlì.

Philippines

Church of the Holy Sacrifice in the campus of the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City.

Serbia

Church of Saint Anthony of Padua at Red Cross, Belgrade; Church of Saint Basil of Ostrog in New Belgrade; Evangelical church in Zemun.

Sweden

• Bromma Church, Solna Church, Valleberga Church.

Gallery

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  Church of the Holy Transfiguration, Sarajevo, Bosnia

• Crkva Sv Vida Rijeka 140807.jpg

  Church of Saint Vitus, Rijeka, Croatia

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  Bjernede Church near Sorø, Denmark

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  Thorsager Church, Thorsager, Denmark

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  Holy Sepulchre, Cambridge, England

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  Untersuhl Church, Germany

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  Saint Anne Church, Kallósd, Hungary

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  Bowmore Church, Scotland

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  Church of St. Anthony of Padua, Belgrade, Serbia

See also

• Rotunda (architecture)
• Norra begravningsplatsen
• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

References

• Ann Vibeke Knudsen The Old Churches of Bornholm. Bornholm Museum, Rønne, 1999. ISBN 87-88179-43-5.