Hall church

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A hall church is a church with nave and side aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof.

In contrast to a traditional basilica, which lets in light through a clerestory in the upper part of the nave, a hall church is lit through windowed side walls typically spanning the full height of the interior.

This form of church construction reached its height in the late Gothic period, especially in German Sondergotik.

St. Wolfgangskirche, Schneeberg
Stadtkirche, Bad Hersfeld

A completely separate 20th-century usage employs the term "hall church" to mean a multi-purpose building with moveable seats rather than pews and a chancel area which can be screened off, to allow use as a community centre during the week. This was particularly popular in Britain in inner city areas from the 1960s onwards.

Contrast: Church hall.

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