A blind arcade or blank arcade is an arcade (a series of arches) that has no actual openings and that is applied to the surface of a wall as a decorative element: i.e., the arches are not windows or openings but are part of the masonry face. It is designed as an ornamental architectural element and has no load-bearing function.

Similar structures

Whereas a blind arch is usually a single arch or a series of joined arches as a frieze (sometimes called Lombard band), a blind arcade is composed of a series of arches that have well-defined columns in between its arches. A blind arcade may resemble several blind windows (false/blank windows or sealed-up windows) or blind niches that are side by side.

Examples

Blind arcades are a common decorative features on the facades of Romanesque and Gothic buildings throughout Western Europe, and are also a common feature in Byzantine Orthodox churches in Eastern Europe, and in Armenian churches.