An aisleless church () is a single-

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways on either side of the nave and separated from the nave by

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

s or arcades, a row of pillars or

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

s. However, there is often no clear demarcation between the different building forms, and many churches, in the course of their construction history, developed from a combination of different types. Early aisleless churches were generally small because of the difficulty of spanning a large, open space without using pillars or columns. In many places, where the population made it necessary and money was available, former medieval hall churches were extended over the course of centuries until they became a hall church or

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

. Starting in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, the development of new technologies and better building materials allowed larger spaces to be spanned. The basic form of the church hall is rectangular. Aisleless churches are generally aligned longitudinally so that the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

and

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

are located at one of the narrower ends and are facing east. There are rare examples of

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

aisleless churches, in which the altar area occupies the short side east of the transept. This form of church building has proliferated since the Renaissance, especially in

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

churches. It became the basis of modern church architecture. In Norway, the aisleless and elongated "long church" is the most common design and is regarded as the typical Norwegian church.Muri, Sigurd (1975): ''Gamle kyrkjer i ny tid.'' Oslo: Samlaget. The Norwegian long church usually includes a

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

/vestibule in a separate section, often in a somewhat lower and narrower room attached to the main body and traditionally in the western end of the building. Until 1940 about 850 of Norway's 1300 churches were aisleless; these numbers do not include some 1000 vanished

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ...

es many of which were aisleless. For instance

Flesberg Stave Church Flesberg Stave Church () is a stave church located at Flesberg in Buskerud, Buskerud county, Norway. History Written sources mention the church the first time in 1359, but it was probably built in the latter half of the 1100s or the first ...

for 500 years had a rectangular aisleless ground plan until it was expanded in 1735 by adding three arms to a cruciform aisleless shape.Valebrokk, Eva og Thomas Thiis-Evensen: ''Levende fortid. De utrolige stavkirkene.'' Boksenteret, 1993.

Examples

* Church of the Redeemer near

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

* Church of St. Lambert's in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

* Christuskirche in Dresden-Strehlen,

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

-style church * The ''Hofkirche'' at

Ludwigslust Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Since 2011 it has been part of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal re ...

* The largest aisleless church in Germany is the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of St. Vitus in

Löningen Löningen () is a town in the district of Cloppenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the river Hase, approx. 25 km southwest of Cloppenburg. History Löningen originally appeared in 822 as Loingo. The name Löningen was m ...

. * The ''Saalkirche'' in the northern

Siebengebirge The (), occasionally Sieben Mountains or Seven Mountains, are a hill range of the German Central Uplands on the east bank of the Middle Rhine, southeast of Bonn. Description The area, located in the municipalities of Bad Honnef and Königswin ...

region * The ''Providenzkirche'' in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

* The ''Jakobikirche'' in

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

. * The ''Seminarkirche'' in Hildesheim. * The ''Johanniskirche'' in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

- Bornheim a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

aisleless church. * The Haltdalen Stave Church, now at museum in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, is a single-nave

* The

Bakka Church Bakka Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Bakka, on the shores of the sparsely populated Nærøyfjorden. It is the church for the Nærøy parish ...

is one of many hundred aisleless wooden "long churches" constructed in Norway 1851–1900

References

{{Authority control Church architecture Types of church buildings