On the Subsequent Vaulting of Churches in the Late Gothic Period: The Collegiate Church of San Vittore Mauro in Poschiavo, Switzerland

Abstract

While the Late Gothic construction boom had already covered large parts of southern Germany and Austria, on the territory of today’s canton of Grisons in south-eastern Switzerland no Late Gothic churches were built before the mid-fifteenth century. However, as in many other Central European regions, construction activity increased considerably in the fifteenth century due to economic prosperity and the resulting population growth. Consequently, the high demand for the new architectural forms led not only to the construction of new buildings, but also to several established churches being modified and vaulted according to a Late Gothic scheme. Hereinafter, this practice of vaulting pre-existing structures, which were originally never intended to withstand such forces and thrusts, will be referred to as ‘subsequent vaulting’. In the present paper, the challenges arising from such approaches are to be exemplified by the collegiate church of San Vittore Mauro in Poschiavo.