groined vault

The region of Bourgondy played an important role as a lab for constructing techniques. When looking at the romanesque churches in the region, you can easily follow the evolution of adding more elements to the plan. After adding side aisles and elevating the naves by adding tribunes, transepts appeared in the beginning op the 12th century. A nice example is the curch of Ste Foy in Conques, an important church on the pilgrimroute to Compostella.
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The nave, the side aisles and the transept are covered by barrel vaults. The barrel vaults of the nave and the transept intersect each other in the crossing, creating a groined vault.

crossing tower

In addition to the towers above the western entrance a crossing tower on top of the crossing appears as a new volume in romanesque churches.
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