Wooden Churches and Bell Towers of Europe

“The jury was praised the scope of this two-volume study on wooden churches and towers, a particularly vulnerable part of our common European heritage. The great number of religious buildings from many parts of Europe, well illustrated, and grouped to emphasise similarities in styles, is truly impressive. It is anticipated that these publications could play a significant role in protecting the heritage they discuss, and the jury felt that this work is so significant that an English translation would be desirable.”

Wooden churches and bell towers are strongly representative of cultural and architectural developments in most European countries. In this comprehensive survey from across all of Europe, the authors examine almost 2,000 churches and over 3,000 bell towers.

The first volume allows the reader to consider wooden church structures from multiple points of view, explaining and comparing their ideological, architectural and structural aspects. The study attempts to show the principal form of each church, as well as the relationships between various architectural styles. The second volume, representing the very first overview of European wooden bell towers, introduces all the types and variations in individual historical regions, and examines the typology of structure and the relationships between construction techniques and architectural styles.

Unprecedented in its scope and generously illustrated by 2,500 photographs and drawings, this is a major study of the wooden church architecture of both Western and Eastern Europe. It makes an important contribution to efforts aimed at the better understanding and preserving this unique part of Europe’s cultural heritage.