Medieval times

The Frauenkirche in Munich is a largely Gothic, medieval church.

From the 11th through the 14th centuries, a wave of cathedral-building and
construction of smaller parish churches occurred across western Europe. Besides
serving as a place of worship, the cathedral or parish church was frequently
employed as a general gathering-place by the communities in which they were
located, hosting such events as guild meetings, banquets, mystery plays, and fairs.
Church grounds and buildings were also used for the threshing and storage of grain.
[7]
Romanesque architecture

Between 1000 and 1200 the romanesque style became popular across Europe. While the
term "Romanesque" refers to the tradition of Roman architecture, the trend in fact
appeared throughout western and central Europe. The romanesque style is defined by
large and bulky edifices that are typically made up of simple, compact, sparsely
decorated geometric structures. Frequent features of the Romanesque church include
circular arches, round or octagonal towers and cushion capitals on pillars. In the
early romanesque era, coffering on the ceiling was fashionable, while later in the
same era, groined vault gained popularity. Interiors widened and the motifs of
sculptures took on more epic traits and themes.[8]
Gothic architecture
Las Lajas Sanctuary in southern Colombia.

The Gothic style emerged around 1140 in Île-de-France and subsequently spread
throughout Europe. Gothic churches lost the compact qualities of the romanesque era
and decorations often contained symbolic and allegorical features. The first
pointed arches, rib vaults and buttresses began to appear, all possessing geometric
properties that reduced the need for large, rigid walls to ensure structural
stability. This also permitted the size of windows to increase, producing brighter
and lighter interiors. Nave ceilings became higher and pillars and steeples grew
taller. Many architects used these developments to push the limits of structural
possibility, an inclination which resulted in the collapse of several towers
possessing designs that had unwittingly exceeded the boundaries of soundness. In
Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, it became popular to build hall churches, a
style in which every vault would be built to the same height.

Gothic cathedrals were lavishly designed, as in the romanesque era, and many share
romanesque traits. However, several also exhibit unprecedented degrees of detail
and complexity in decoration. The Notre-Dame de Paris and Notre-Dame de Reims in
France, as well as the San Francesco d’Assisi in Palermo, and the Salisbury
Cathedral and Wool Church in England and Santhome Church in Chennai,India shows the
elaborate stylings characteristic of Gothic cathedrals.

Some of the most well-known gothic churches remained unfinished for centuries,
after the gothic style fell out of popularity. The construction of the Cologne
Cathedral, which was begun in 1248, halted in 1473, and not resumed until 1842 is
one such example.[9]