Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/56

40 40 CIRCULAR CHURCHES. Part II. foundation of the older churcli, its dimensions must have been nearly similar, or only slightly inferior to those of either of the two last- mentioned churches. The details of the model belong to the age in which it was made, and not to that of the church it was meant to represent. At Ottmarsheim in Alsace is another example which, both in design and dimensions, is a direct copy of the church at Aix-la- Chapelle. The only difference in plan is that it remains an octagon externally as well as internally, and that the gallery ai'ches, instead of being hlled with a screen of classical pillars borroAved from Italy, are ornamented with shafts supporting eight arches designed for the place. There is no tradition which tells us who built this church, nor for what purpose it was erected. It is older than that at Nime- guen, but is certainly a copy of Charle- magne's church, and apparently not very At the Petersberg, near Halle, is a '""'■■"I' I' ll.. 10 io sn 40 CO w 70 80 much more modern feet 491. Church at Petersberg. (From Puttrich.) curious compound example shown in the Woodcut No. 491. It is a ruin, but interesting as showing another form of circular church differing from those described above, more essentially German in design, and less influenced by classical and Romanesque forms than they were. It never was or could have been vaulted, and it possesses that singular flat tower-like frontispiece so charac- teristic of the German style, which is fouml in no other country, and whose origin is still to be traced. At Fulda there is a circular church of a more complicated plan than tliis, though it is in fact only an extension of the same design. The circular part or choir is in this instance adorned with eight free-standing pillars of very classical proportions and design, very similar to those of Hildesheim (Wood- cut No. 464). There is a small tran- septal entrance on one side of the circle, and apparently a vestry to correspond on the other. It is altogether one of the most perfect buildings of its class, either in Germany or France, in so far at least as its plan is concerned. Its date is probably the beginning 492. Plan of Church at Fulda. (From Pettit.) Scale 50 ft. to 1 in.