The primary characteristics of Romanesque Architecture were Roman in origin. Large internal spaces were topped by barrel vaults on thick, squat columns and piers. Windows and doors had round-headed arches, and most major churches were laid out on the basilican plan, modified by the additions of some buttresses, transepts, and towers. Stained glass windows were first seen in Europe but only in a few cases because of the narrow size of window openings. In the northern part of Europe, where Roman remains were not often found, more freedom existed in Medieval Architecture. From the middle of the 10th to the middle of the 12th century, more progress was made to the development of a style which is known as Gothic.
Gothic architecture was noted for its flying buttresses, pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and traceried windows. One pointed difference from the earlier medieval architecture was the slenderness of the columns. Gothic architecture spread to Germany. In this country, only a few cathedrals, such as one in Cologne approached the size and quality of the northern French structures.
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