Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/43

Rh altered as the work proceeded, to suit the taste of the day.

This circumstance makes them particularly interesting to the architectural historian, though the artist and architect must always regret the incompleteness and want of harmony which this produces. An exception to this rule is found in the beautiful abbey church at Laach, erected between the years 1093 and 1156, therefore rather early in the style. Its dimensions are small, only 215 ft. internally by 62 ; but this is compensated for by its completeness. It is one of the few churches that still possess the western paradisus or parvis, as shown in the remarkable ancient plan found at St. Gall. The western apse is applied to its proper use of a tomb-house, and on each side of it, as at Reichenau, are the principal entrances. Externally this church has two central and four lateral towers, two of the latter being square, and two circular. It is impossible to fancy anything more picturesquely pleasing than this group of towers of various heights and shapes, or a church producing a more striking