Cistercian Architecture

Cistercian architecture is the building tradition of the Cistercian monastic order, which spread abbeys across France, Spain, Italy, England, Germany and Portugal through the 12th and 13th centuries. Shaped by Bernard of Clairvaux's belief that churches should avoid ornament that distracts from prayer, it favored plain cruciform churches with short chancels, small transept chapels and aisled naves divided by screens that separated the choir monks from lay brothers, grouped around a working cloister. Despite this rejection of decoration, Cistercian builders were technically advanced, adopting Gothic structural innovation early and developing notable skill in water management, metalworking and stone construction. Fontenay Abbey in France, Fountains Abbey in England, Alcobaca in Portugal, Poblet in Spain and Maulbronn in Germany, all now UNESCO World Heritage Sites, are among the best preserved examples.