Palas

The Palas (from spätlat. Palatium, imperial court ' via Old French palais pales or ) is a representative hall building of a medieval castle or Palatinate to the Romanesque period ( 11th to 13th century).

It is often used in reference to the Burgenkunde of the 19th century palace as a generic term for Saalbauten to castles, but the architecture historical use of the term is limited by other authors on the Romanesque hall building. The stone hall building has a rectangular plan along. Often, the building has a basement or provided with a basement floor. The main floors (usually two, sometimes even more) are generously illuminated by arched windows, which are often grouped into arcades. Rich architectural sculpture is preferred here their application to increase the representative effect of the Palas. Located upstairs great room occupies the entire footprint of the building and can be accessed via its own staircase. Often the room is divided by a row of columns in two ships, but can also be surmounted. Multi-storey Palasbauten may also contain several superimposed halls. The great hall was mainly used because of poor Heatability in summer, while in winter the bower was the preferred living space. The heated area was often referred to as Dürnitz. Back to top of the Palas usually closes off with a gable roof.

Palasbauten appeared as building type first in palaces, where they house the King's hall known as Aula Regia. In this hall were under the direction of King public acts of government rather than as court days, jurisdiction or the reception of secular and religious dignitaries. From the second half of the 12th century, the Romanesque palace was also adopted in the architecture of some castles of the nobility in the Holy Roman Empire. The most important part was still the great hall, which offered a prestigious setting for receptions and parties.