Where are churches normally be located?

Question

in the villages....

where are churches normally be located?

Answer 1

The locations of churches in the villages will depend on several factors: time period they were built, purpose of the church, type of the Christian congregation, village topography, and country.  However, there will be similarities across the world, since all of them were dedicated as a place of worship.

In my Central European country, the church was considered for the village as the most important symbol.  The wealth of the village and its people was shown in the church architecture.  Churches were usually built in the center of them.  It allows villagers to gather in front of them for important social events of the time and regular worships.  Such churches were erected directly at the square or main street.  Some buildings were founded in the corner of the square or side street leading from it, because the noise from the market could be destructive during worships.  Churches built at the corner of the square were popular during late medieval era, since they usually had opposite architectonic dominance at the village such castle or town hall.  

Time period is important factor for the selecting proper site.  During early Christianity, churches were set up on the places of pagan worships.  However, in the gothic to baroque era (1100s-1700s), churches had to follow certain style and symmetry, and locations were always carefully planned and chosen.  Not every churches played role as center of the worships for their communities.  Some villages had two types of churches.  One church was used for mass, and the other one used for funeral services.  Many churches had cemetery around them and people desired to be buried on the church’s property. Wealthier villages often had specific funeral church, since their main, centrally located church did not offer burial on their premises.

Some churches were associated with miracles or event that happened on specific place; and the building was often located in site that was completely unrelated to the village.

Topography also played important part of the church’s location.  If village was located on the hill or mountain, the church was located at the highest ground of the municipality.  This is the case across for many villages in the Alps and Carpathians.  Some churches were walled, and it allows to villagers to run for cover and attempt to defend their lives.  Fortified churches could be found in many areas across Europe.

As you can see, there was many different ways to erect the house of worship across the Christian communities.  It will depend on the community and the country you live in, and who is the main fundraiser to build such house.