ARCHITECT, German
(active early 12th century in the Black Forest)

View of the west portal

1105-15
Photo
Monastery church, Paulinzella

The Benedictine Order underwent a profound renewal in the tenth century. One of the main centres of the reform was the Black Forest monastery of Hirsau. Regarding the interior, a pronounced bay in front of the crossing is peculiar to the Hirsau churches, and it is a typical characteristic of other buildings based on the Hirsau style such as Alpirsbach in the Black Forest or Paulinzella in Thuringia.

The monastery church of Alpirsbach and the monastery ruin in Paulinzella are impressive expressions of the spiritual ethos of the Hirsau Reform Order and its school of architecture. These churches exemplify the monumental architecture of this order.