ARCHITECT, German
(active 820s in Fulda)

View of the round crypt

820-22
Photo
St. Michael's Catholic Chapel, Fulda

In the early Romanesque period only centrally planned buildings or crypts were vaulted. The latter had been erected as tombs since the late eight century, mostly under the high altar. The main reason for this was the desire to create a place for the venerated relics of the saints and to make them accessible to everyone. Various ground plans were selected depending on the architectural possibilities of the particular building: a ring crypt, a barrel-vaulted semicircular passageway, or a cross-shaped passage or tunnel crypt.

The photo shows the crypt in Fulda.