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Architectural style · c. 780–900 in the Frankish Empire

Carolingian architecture

Karolingisk arkitektur

Charlemagne wants to be a new Roman emperor – and for that he needs Roman buildings. Carolingian architecture is Europe's first attempt to bring antiquity back to life.

How to spot it Find it in the app

The style in timeDrag to travel in time

  1. Zigguratc. 2200–500 BC
  2. Ancient Greek architecturec. 700–30 BC
  3. Roman architecturec. 500 BC–AD 400
  4. Nabataean architecturec. 300 BC–AD 106
  5. Byzantine architecturec. 330–1453 in the Eastern Roman Empire
  6. Moorish architecture8th–15th century in al-Andalus and North Africa
  7. Carolingian architecturec. 780–900 in the Frankish Empire
  8. Novgorod and Pskovc. 1045–1600 in north-western Russia
  9. Norman architecturec. 1050–1200
  10. Romanesquec. 1050–1250
  11. Mudéjarc. 1100–1600
  12. Gothicc. 1235–1530
  13. Brick Gothicc. 1250–1530
  14. Late Gothicc. 1400–1530
  15. Manuelinec. 1490–1530
  16. Renaissancec. 1520–1650
  17. Palladian architecturec. 1550–1800
  18. Dutch Renaissancec. 1560–1650 in the Netherlands and Flanders
  19. Baroquec. 1640–1730
  20. Carolean Baroquec. 1680–1720
  21. Georgian architecture1714–1830
  22. Rocococ. 1730–1775
  23. Neoclassicismc. 1750–1850
  24. Gustavianc. 1772–1810
  25. Karl Johan stylec. 1810–1850
  26. Victorian architecture1837–1901
  27. Gothic Revivalc. 1840–1910
  28. Historicismc. 1840–1900
  29. Industrial architecturec. 1850–1950
  30. Neo-Renaissancec. 1850–1900
  31. Swiss chalet stylec. 1850–1900
  32. Landshövdingehus1875–1945
  33. Neo-Baroquec. 1880–1910
  34. Beaux-Artsc. 1830–1920
  35. National Romanticismc. 1890–1920
  36. Art Nouveauc. 1896–1914
  37. Art Decoc. 1910–1940
  38. 1910s Neoclassicismc. 1910–1920
  39. Bauhaus1919–1933
  40. Swedish Gracec. 1920–1930
  41. Functionalismc. 1930–1950
  42. Socialist classicismc. 1933–1955
  43. Post-war Swedish modernismc. 1940–1960
  44. Brutalismc. 1950–1975
  45. The Record Yearsc. 1955–1975
  46. The Million Programme1965–1974
  47. DeconstructivismFrom the 1980s
  48. Postmodernismc. 1980–1995
  49. LonghouseStone Age to Viking Age
  50. Log houseThe Middle Ages onwards
  51. Raised storehouseIron Age to 20th century
  52. Swedish vernacularc. 1600–1900
  53. Croft and cottagec. 1700–1900
  54. Decorated farmhouses of Hälsinglandc. 1700–1900
  55. Half-timberingThe Middle Ages to the 19th century
  56. Sámi goahtiFrom prehistory to the present day
  57. Seljuk architecturec. 1040–1300
  58. Persian architectureIran
  59. British Colonialc. 1700–1950 in the British Empire

01. An emperor builds Rome

Charlemagne rules almost all of Western Europe. On Christmas Day in the year 800 he is crowned emperor in Rome. He wants his realm to be a new Roman Empire – with learning, Latin and buildings in stone.

North of the Loire most building is in timber. But now Vitruvius, the Roman writer on architecture, is brought out of the monastery libraries. Masons learn to build in stone again. And there is a lot of building: dozens of cathedrals, hundreds of monasteries, palace after palace.

The crown jewel stands in Aachen. Around 796 work begins on Charlemagne's palace chapel, designed by Odo of Metz. The model is San Vitale in Ravenna – an octagonal domed church from Byzantine times. In 805 the chapel is consecrated by the pope. When Charlemagne dies in 814 he is buried there, and for six hundred years German kings are crowned under its dome.

The Carolingians also invent something of their own: the westwork. A tall, tower-like block at the west end of the church, with an upper floor where the emperor can sit. The one at Corvey is dedicated in 885 and still stands, rebuilt in the 12th century – and the westwork lives on in the tower fronts of Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals.

Corvey also gives Sweden one of its first missionaries. Ansgar is a teacher at the monastery when the emperor Louis the Pious sends him to Birka around 830. The Carolingian world reaches Lake Mälaren.

02. How to spot it

  • 1.Roman forms in a new version – round arches, columns, pilasters
  • 2.Centrally planned octagonal buildings, after Byzantine models
  • 3.Westworks: a tower-like block at the west end of the church
  • 4.Walls in alternating colours, like patterns of stone
  • 5.Basilicas with the choir in the east and the entrance in the west

03. The giveaway

The westwork. A tall, closed block with towers in front of the nave – with an upper floor behind the small windows – is the Carolingians' own invention.

04. Architects and builders

  • Odo of Metz (Palatine Chapel
  • Aachen)

05. Where to see it

  • Palatine Chapel, Aachen Cathedralc. 796–805, World Heritage Site 1978
  • The gatehouse of Lorsch Abbeyc. 800
  • The westwork at Corveydedicated 885, World Heritage Site 2014
  • Germigny-des-Prés, FranceCarolingian chapel with a mosaic
  • The Plan of Saint Gallan ideal plan for a monastery, preserved on parchment

06. Often confused with

Romanesque. Romanesque grows out of Carolingian and takes over the westwork and the round arches. But it comes a couple of hundred years later and builds heavier, with vaults in long churches.

Byzantine architecture. Aachen copies San Vitale in Ravenna. The difference is that the Carolingians build in a colder land, with less gold and more stone.

Sources

  • Wikipedia (en): "Carolingian architecture"
  • Wikipedia (en): "Aachen Cathedral"
  • Wikipedia (sv): "Ansgar"
  • UNESCO: "Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey" (World Heritage Site 2014)

Text: Pontus Bovin · Last updated 9 November 2026

Carolingian architecture around the corner

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