Fieldstone church

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Fieldstone church at Zixdorf in the Fläming, Germany, 13th and 15th century

The term fieldstone church (German: Feldsteinkirche) denotes a type of church, built using fieldstone of glacial erratics and glacial rubble. Such churches occur mostly in areas where the ice ages have deposited such rock material on the one hand, and where on the other hand there is little or no access to natural rock for quarrying and fashioning. In Europe, the primary areas with fieldstone churches are Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg and Berlin in Germany, as well as Poland, Finland, parts of Scandinavia and the Baltic states. The stones used are often granite, gneiss or quartzite; they can be used both hewn and unshaped. Since some of the churches are painted, the stones are not always visible. Especially in later examples, the fieldstones are often combined with other materials, such as brick or half-timbered parts.

Many fieldstone churches are of Romanesque date, some are Gothic or somewhat later. The earliest examples date to the 11th century (in some regions later, depending on the date of Christianisation and of the German eastward expansion). Many early examples in Holstein are associated with the activities of St. Vicelinus and are thus known as Vizellinskirchen (Vicellinus churches); they often have round towers. Some of the earliest churches in Denmark (especially Bornholm) are fieldstone-built round churches. The flourish of the development of fieldstone churches was around the end of the 12th century, after which they became less common due to the increasing popularity of brick-built architecture (see Brick Romanesque and Brick Gothic). Their construction mostly ceased at the end of the 16th century. In the context of architectural revival styles, especially of Neo-Romanesque, further fieldstone churches were erected in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

[edit] Gallery

Examples of fieldstone churches
Herzberg, Germany, 13th century	Fieldstone and brick combination on spire in Klein Marzehns, Germany, Late Medieval	Fieldstone, brick and half-timbered combination at Kranepuhl, Germany, early 13th century	Lübnitz, Germany, early 13th century
Ratekau, Germany, St. Vicellinus, 1156	Østerlarskirke, Allinge-Gudhjem on Bornholm, Denmark, 11th century	Dźwierzno, Poland, 15th century	Tyrvää near Vammala, Finland, 1510

[edit] References

Ehl, Heinrich: Norddeutsche Feldsteinkirchen. Braunschweig-Hamburg, 1926.
Riediger/Köhler: Feldsteinkirchen, Burgen und Herrensitze im Gebiet des Limes Saxoniae. Reinbek, 1968.
Badstübner, Ernst: Feldsteinkirchen des Mittelalters in Brandenburg und Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Hinstorff, 2002.ISBN 3356009427
Erhaltung und Instandsetzung von Feldsteinkirchen in Mecklenburg. Motive aus Großmutters Zeit. Schwerin, 2001. ISBN 3931185680
Pfeifer, Viola: Feldsteinkirchen im Fläming. Ein kunsthistorischer Führer. Berlin, 1997. ISBN 3930541181
Ibbeken, Hillert: Die mittelalterlichen Feld- und Bruchsteinkirchen des Fläming. Berlin, 1999. ISBN 3830500394
This article was initially translated from the Wikipedia article Feldsteinkirche, specifically from this version.