Arquitectura Arabiga

The 800-year-old Church of Termunterzijl in the north of the Netherlands
See also: Architecture of cathedrals and great churches
Church architecture refers to the architecture of buildings ofChristian churches. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly by imitating other architectural styles as well as responding to changing beliefs,practices and local traditions. From the birth of Christianity to the present, the most significant objects of transformation for Christian architecture and design were the great churches ofByzantium, the Romanesque abbey churches, Gothic cathedrals and Renaissance Basilicas with its emphasis on harmony. These large, often ornate and architecturally prestigious buildings were dominant features ofthe towns and countryside in which they stood. But far more numerous were the parish churches scattered across the Christian world, the focus of Christian devotion in every town and village. While afew are counted as sublime works of architecture to equal the great cathedrals, the majority developed along simpler lines, showing great regional diversity and often demonstrating local vernaculartechnology and decoration.
Buildings were at first adapted from those originally intended for other purposes but, with the rise of distinctively ecclesiastical architecture, church buildings came toinfluence secular ones which have often imitated religious architecture. In the 20th century, the use of new materials, such as steel and concrete, has had an effect upon the design of churches. Thehistory of church architecture divides itself into periods, and into countries or regions and by religious affiliation. The matter is complicated by the fact that buildings put up for one purpose mayhave been re-used for another, that new building techniques may permit changes in style and size, that changes in liturgical practice may result in the alteration of existing buildings and that a...