France

The Romanesque style in France first developed in the south of France, particularly in the provinces bordering Catalonia. In Burgundy Benedictine Abbeys – Orders played a particularly important role in the development of the Romanesque style in the region all around Cluny, where the Abbey of Cluny was one of the most influential religious centers of the Middle Ages as the starting point for important monastic reforms. Normandy was one of the most productive regions of Romanesque architecture.

The “Route of the Romanesque” program in Southern Burgundy aims at connecting about one hundred 11th and 12th century churches and chapels that are wholly or partially Romanesque. The density of Romanesque buildings is so great in this limited area that it has been called a “Romanesque Garden”.