Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

dates back to the 11th century to the reign of

Casimir I the Restorer Casimir I the Restorer (; 25 July 1016 – 28 November 1058), a member of the Piast dynasty, was the duke of Poland from 1040 until his death. Casimir was the son of Mieszko II Lambert and Richeza of Lotharingia. He is known as the Restorer beca ...

. It was developed in and ranging approximately from the 11th century until well into the 13th century and it was succeeded by

Polish Gothic architecture The Gothic architecture arrived in Poland in the first half of the 13th century with the arrival of the Dominican and Franciscan orders. The first elements of the new style are evident in the foundation of the Dominican Trinity church in Kraków ...

. Romanesque style in Poland was preceded by

Pre-Romanesque Pre-Romanesque art and architecture is the period in European art from either the emergence of the Merovingian kingdom in about 500 AD or from the Carolingian Renaissance in the late 8th century, to the beginning of the 11th century Romanesqu ...

architecture of the early Polish state. Its prime foundations were the

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral ( pl, Katedra Wawelska), formally titled the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, the

Gniezno Cathedral The Royal Gniezno Cathedral (The Primatial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Shrine of St. Adalbert, pl, Bazylika Archikatedralna Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Marii Panny i Sanktuarium św. Wojciecha) is a Bri ...

and the

Poznań Cathedral The Archcathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul in Poznań is one of the oldest churches in Poland and the oldest Polish cathedral, dating from the 10th century. It stands on the island of Ostrów Tumski north-east of the city centre. His ...

(later re-built in different styles). Polish Romanesque architecture was influenced by the Polish Pre-Romanesque style. Most of Romanesque buildings in Poland can be found in Greater Poland,

Kuyavia Kuyavia ( pl, Kujawy; german: Kujawien; la, Cuiavia), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three ...

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

and

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a ...

regions. Many Polish Romanesque buildings represent the characteristic

Brick Romanesque Brick Romanesque (german: Backsteinromanik) is an architectural style and chronological phase of architectural history. The term described Romanesque buildings built of brick; like the subsequent Brick Gothic, it is geographically limited to N ...

style due to limited stone resources. Majority of these buildings are churches, rotundas and chapels. Most significant Polish Romanesque buildings include the Collegiate church in Tum, St. Nicholas Church in Wysocice,

St. Peter and Paul-Collegiate in Kruszwica St. Peter and Paul-Collegiate in Kruszwica - granite and sandstone romanesque Roman Catholic church with transept, presbytery and apse founded in 1120. Inowrocław County Kruszwica Kruszwica (german: Kruschwitz) is a town in central Po ...

and the Saint Nicholas rotunda church in

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...

. The best known civil Polish Romanesque building is the Keep of the Royal Castle in Lublin.

Gallery

File:Cieszyn 9891 crop.JPG, Saint Nicholas rotunda church,

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

File:Collegiate Church in Tum.jpg,

Collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

, Tum,

Łęczyca Land Łęczyca (; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, pl, Królewskie Miasto Łęczyca; german: Lentschitza; he, לונטשיץ) is a town of 13,786 inhabitants () in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the ...

File:Strzelno 2.jpg, Saint Procopius church,

Strzelno Strzelno (german: Strelno) is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. The town is located south of Inowrocław. According to the June 2005 Census, the population numbered 22,486. It is located in the historic region of Kuyavia. ...

File:PL-DS, Wrocław, pl. Katedralny 18; Plebania; 58.jpg, Saint Giles church,

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

File:Wysocice, church front.JPG, St. Nicholas Church, Wysocice,

File:Kruszwica kolegiata śś. Piotra i Pawła3(WLZ13).jpg, St. Peter and Paul-Collegiate,

Kruszwica Kruszwica (german: Kruschwitz) is a town in central Poland and is situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship (1975–1998). It has a population of 9,412 (2004). Initially founded in the 6th ...

, Kuyavia File:Kościół św. Jana Jerozolimskiego za murami w Poznaniu 2014.jpg,

Church of St. John of Jerusalem Outside the Walls The Church of Saint John of Jerusalem outside the walls ( pl, Kościół św. Jana Jerozolimskiego za murami) is a Roman Catholic parish church in the city of Poznań in western Poland. The original church on this site was built at the end of th ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

, Greater Poland File:Lublin Donżon 2009.jpg, Keep,

Lublin Castle The Lublin Castle ( pl, Zamek Lubelski) is a medieval castle in Lublin, Poland, adjacent to the Old Town district and close to the city center. It is one of the oldest preserved royal residencies in Poland, initially established by High Duke Casimi ...

, Lublin, Lesser Poland File:Opatow, kolegiata sw. Marcina 3.jpg, St Martin's Collegiate Church,

Opatów Opatów (; yi, אַפּטאַ, אַפּט) is a town in southeastern Poland, within Opatów County in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Province). Historically, it was part of a greater region called Lesser Poland. In 2012 the populati ...

, Lesser Poland File:Inowroclaw kosciol NMP.jpg, Holy Name of Mary church,

Inowrocław Inowrocław (; german: Hohensalza; before 1904: Inowrazlaw; archaic: Jungleslau) is a city in central Poland with a total population of 70,713 in December 2021. It is situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, previously in the B ...

, Kuyavia File:Sulejów, kościół, ob. par. p.w. św. Tomasza,XII, XIV, XVIII.JPG, Saint Thomas of Canterbury church, Sulejów,

Sieradz Land Sieradz Land or Siradia ( pl, Ziemia Sieradzka) is a historical region of Poland, the southeastern part of Greater Poland. It has been also the name of the administrative unit from 14th-18th centuries (former Duchy of Sieradz) of the same border ...

File:Krakow kosciol 20071229 1246.jpg, St. Andrew's Church,

, Lesser Poland File:Kosciol pw sw Jana Chrzciciela w Siewierzu.jpg, Church of St. John,

Siewierz Siewierz is a town in southern Poland, in the Będzin County in the Silesian Voivodeship, seat of Gmina Siewierz. History Siewierz was first mentioned in 1125, and was administered by the Castellan of Bytom. In 1177, Casimir II of Poland grante ...

, Lesser Poland File:Kosciol w Grzegorzowicach 20140421 1369.jpg, Saint John the Baptist church, Grzegorzowice, Lesser Poland File:Tulceprezbiterium.JPG, Church of St. Mary, Tulce, Greater Poland

References

11th-century architecture Romanesque architecture {{authority control