Temples have long been seen as the place where earth meets heaven. The architects sought to make this connection more tangible, which is why there are many very tall churches in the world.
1. Height 161.5 m Ulm Cathedral (1377-1890) Ulm Germany
High temples made the connection tangible between earth and sky
2. Height 158 m Notre Dame de la Paix (1989) Height includes the cross on the main dome. Yamoussoukro Ivory Coast
The tallest temple is Ulm Cathedral. Height 161.5 m
3. Height 157.4 m Cologne Cathedral (1248-1880) The highest church in the world with two identical towers. 533 steps lead to a height of 100 meters. Cologne. Germany
4. Height 151 m Rouen Cathedral (1877). The tallest cast iron tower in the world. Rouen. France
5. Height 147.3 m Cathedral of St. Nicholas (1874). Not restored after World War II, left as a monument. Hamburg. Germany
6. Height 142 m Strasbourg Cathedral (1439). From 1625 to 1874 the tallest structure of mankind. Strasbourg. France
7. Height 141.5 m Basilica Holy Mother of God Likhenskaya (2004). Likhen-Stary. Poland
8. Height 136.4 m St. Stephen's Cathedral (1433). Vein. Austria
9. Height 134.8 m New Cathedral (1924). Linz. Austria
10. Height 132.5 m St. Peter's Cathedral Petersdom (1626) Vatican
11. Height 132.2 m St. Peter's Cathedral First built in 1516. Restored after the Hamburg fire in 1878. Hamburg. Germany
12. Height 132 m Church of St. Michael (1786). Called colloquially "Michel". Hamburg. Germany
13. Height 130.6 m Cathedral of St. Martin (1500) Landshut. Germany
14. Height 129 m Oratory of St. Joseph (1917-1967) Montreal. Canada
15. Height 125.4 m Church of St. Jacob (1962) Hamburg. Germany
16. Height 124.9 m Church of St. Mary (1350) Lubeck. Germany
17. Height 124 m Cathedral in Maring (1959-1972) Maring. Brazil
18. Height 123.7 m Church of St. Olaf (1267) At the turn of the 16th century, the height reached 159 meters, which allowed it to be considered the tallest building in the world from 1549, when the tower of Lincoln Cathedral collapsed, until its own misfortune, a fire in 1625 Tallinn. Estonia
19. Height 123.5 m Church of St. Peter (1209-1690). Riga. Latvia.
20. Height 123.1 m Salisbury Cathedral (1220-1258). Salisbury. Great Britain
Ulm is a German city with the tallest cathedral in the world. Also in Germany, in the cities of Cologne and Hamburg, there are two more of the five highest churches on the planet.
These include the French cathedral at Rouen and the grandiose basilica at Yamoussoukro, the capital of the West African country of Côte d'Ivoire. The article provides short description, history and photographs of the tallest cathedral in the world, as well as four churches that are slightly inferior to him in this championship.
Ulm Cathedral
With a stunning Gothic (total height of 162 m) is located in the center of the German city of Ulm, on the spacious Marktplatz square. This cathedral is the highest in the world, it rises above all other city buildings, it can be seen from the Danube and even areas located on the opposite bank. The laying of the Catholic church took place in 1377. The predominant part of the building was erected in the period from 1392 to 1405, after which the consecration ceremony was performed, and the church received the first parishioners. Although Ulm Cathedral remained unfinished according to plan, construction work stopped as the vaults reached the maximum weight that the walls of the side aisles could support.
After the renewed construction of 1530-1543, the building, together with the bell tower, reached a height of 100 m. Due to the strengthening of Protestantism in Germany, the cathedral became Lutheran by the middle of the 16th century, which it still remains. The last stage of construction work took place from 1817 to 1890, after which the completed temple with its openwork tent of the bell tower became the tallest cathedral in the world. During the bombing by American aircraft in 1944, the city turned into ruins, but the building remained untouchable and was not damaged at all. Its magnificent architecture and interior design invariably attract many tourists to Ulm, which is not rich in sights.
Notre Dame de la Paix
This 158-meter basilica lacks a little more than four meters to be revered as the tallest cathedral in the world. But the 30,000 sq. meters is considered the largest church on the planet, which is recorded by the World Book of Records. It is located in Yamoussoukro, the new capital of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, once called the Ivory Coast. Erected in honor Mother of God Mira, the church became a copy of the Roman Cathedral of St. Peter, surpassing it in height and area, as well as striving to compete with the main temple of the Vatican in beauty and luxury.
The construction of such a large-scale Catholic sanctuary in a very poor African country, where Christians make up 33% of the population and Muslims 39%, was the decision of President Felix Houphouet-Boignype. From the beginning of construction in 1985 to its completion in 1989, about 300 million US dollars were spent, which doubled the republic's external debt per capita, exceeding the similar indicators of all African countries.
It is curious that the consecration of the cathedral took place after the completion of its construction in 1989. At the request of the president to consecrate the temple, the Pope put forward a condition: a state hospital should be built near Notre Dame de la Paix. After the president's promise to build a hospital, the pontiff himself laid a stone next to the completed church, which served as the foundation for the building and is usually considered the first in temple construction. The consecration ceremony took place in September 1990, conducted personally by John Paul II, and a month and a half later, the Vatican decided to give the cathedral the honorary position of a minor basilica.
Cologne Cathedral
The 157-meter temple, which took the third position in the list of the tallest, again directs attention to the medieval Cathedral in the rich and powerful Cologne was originally conceived as a large-scale and majestic structure that overshadows other temples. It was supposed not only to be the main cathedral and the residence of the archbishop, but also as a repository of the remains of the Three Kings (Holy Magi). The relic was received from the emperor Barbarossa in gratitude for the service by the military leader Rainald von Dassel in 1164, after which he moved it to Cologne. From precious metals and stones for the relics, a shrine was built for ten years, which is considered a masterpiece of Romanesque art. This shrine, along with no less valuable relics, the staff and monstrance of St. Peter is still kept in the cathedral.
In 1248, the first stone was laid by the Archbishop of Cologne, which marked the founding of the cathedral. This was followed by the first, almost two-century stage of construction, which lasted from 1248 to 1437. The structure was erected in accordance with the design of Gerhard von Riehl, the first and main architect of the Cologne Cathedral. Separate work on the installation of the roof continued until the beginning of the 16th century. However, the cathedral was without towers, and a number of works remained unfinished.
Financing and construction resumed from 1842, and in 1863 the construction of two identical towers began. By mid-October 1880, they were completed and reached a height of 157 meters. On this, the construction of the Cologne Cathedral, which as a whole lasted 632 years, was completely completed. The building is included in the UNESCO cultural heritage list, it impresses with its ancient grandeur and Gothic beauty, although it is not the tallest cathedral in the world. Photos only remotely convey its legendary splendor and monumentality.
Rouen Cathedral
Reaching 151 meters, this temple is famous for being crowned by the world's tallest cast iron tower. The history of the Rouen Cathedral is marked by a series of destruction and restoration. Among the tallest churches on the planet, this building, perhaps, can be called the most ancient.
The construction of the Romanesque building began in the 1020s; the crypt has been preserved from the architecture of those times. The Romanesque nave collapsed after a fire, and after 1200 a new, Gothic one took its place. All parts of the church were gradually replaced, and the current image of the cathedral is fully consistent with the architectural canons of the Gothic. In the XVIII century, significant damage was caused by a strong hurricane. But the largest destruction was caused by air strikes on the city during military operations in the spring of 1944. The most ancient element of the Rouen Cathedral was the tower of Saint-Romain built in 1145, from which, after the bombardment on April 1, only the charred walls of the base remained. An explosion on 19 April severely damaged the chapels and nave, and the north tower burned out on 31 May. The last damage to the building was the damage to the bell tower after the December 1999 storm. Due to the frequent destruction of the temple is subject to constant reconstruction. Today, the current Rouen Cathedral is a monument of French national heritage.
Cathedral of Saint Nicholas
Majority architecture Christian churches includes bell towers, spiers and towers. The vertical dimensions of the temples are mainly indicated by their height. The tallest cathedrals in the world include a 147-meter tower in the German city of Hamburg. It belonged to the Lutheran church of St. Nicholas, the ruins of which have been preserved from war times as a reminder of the victims of the arbitrariness of 1933-1945. Inside the tower there is an elevator that takes you up to the observation deck, located under the very spire. And nearby in the pavilion is a museum of the history of the temple. In terms of height, the tower structure is considered the second building in Hamburg and the fifth among the tallest cathedrals on the planet.
Orthodox churches
Supreme Orthodox Cathedral- This is Petropavlovsky in St. Petersburg. It reaches 122.5 m and ranks 22nd in the world ranking of the tallest churches. Once Russian tsars were buried in it, now it is an inactive temple and an architectural monument. Until the middle of the last century, the cathedral was the highest building in Russia, and until 2012 - in St. Petersburg. Among the active Orthodox (103 m) in Moscow is considered to be the highest today. After it follows Saint Isaac's Cathedral(101.5 m) in St. Petersburg.
Today we want to introduce you to the list of the most big churches peace. This rating is based on many different criteria.
The Basilica of the Blessed Virgin of Lichen is a Roman Catholic church located in the village of Lichen Stary near the town of Konin, Poland. It was built with donations from pilgrims between 1994 and 2004 according to the design of Barbara Beletskaya. The temple, 120 meters long and 77 meters wide, has 365 windows representing the number of days in a year and 52 doors representing the number of weeks. The height of the tower is 141.5 meters. Today it is the largest church in Poland and one of the largest in the world. The square in front of the basilica can accommodate about 250,000 people.
In ninth place in the list of the largest churches in the world is the “Church Holy Trinity” - a Catholic church located in the city of Fatima, Portugal. It was built with donations from pilgrims (€ 80 million) between 2004–2007. designed by the Greek architect A. Tombazis. The church, 95 meters long, 115 meters wide and 20 meters high, can accommodate 9,000 believers at the same time.
Notre Dame de la Paix
Notre Dame de la Paix is a Roman Catholic church located in Yamoussoukro, the capital of Ivory Coast. Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix with an area of 30,000 square meters and a height of 158 m (one of the tallest churches in the world) is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest church in the world. The basilica was built between 1985–1989. Its construction is estimated at $ 300 million. The interior of the church can simultaneously accommodate about 18,000 believers. The square in front of the temple can accommodate another 200,000 people.
The Sacré-Coeur Basilica is a Catholic basilica located in the Elisabeth Park on top of the Koekelberg hill in the Belgian capital city of Brussels. It is the largest Art Deco building in the world and can accommodate up to 3,500 people. It is 89 meters high, 164.5 meters long and 107 meters wide.
Liverpool Cathedral - Anglican Cathedral located in Liverpool, Merseyside, UK. It is the main church of the diocese of Liverpool and the largest church in the UK. Its construction began in 1904 according to the project of the architect Giles Gilbert Scott, but the cathedral was fully completed only in 1978. It covers an area of 9687 m². Its length is 188 m, height is 101 m.
The fifth place in the ranking of the largest cathedrals in the world is occupied by the “Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist” located in New York, USA. The construction of this temple began in 1892 and as of July 2014, its construction is still not completed. The length of the temple is 183.2 m, the height is 70.7 m. It occupies an area of 11,240 square meters.
The fourth place in the list of the largest churches in the world is occupied by the Seville Cathedral, located in the city of Seville, Spain. It is the largest Gothic cathedral in Europe. It was built between 1401–1519. on the site of the former mosque. It is 116 meters long, 76 meters wide and 105 meters high.
The honorable third place in the ranking of the largest cathedrals in the world is Milan Cathedral. This is a cathedral built between 1386-1805. on the central square of the city of Milan, Italy. The total length of the temple is 158 meters, the height of the spire is 106.5 meters, the total area is 11,700 square meters. The cathedral can accommodate up to 40,000 people inside.
The Basilica of the National Shrine of Nossa Señora Aparecida is a Roman Catholic basilica located in the city of Aparecida de Goiania, Brazil. The construction of the temple was started in 1955 by architect Benedito Calixto Neto. On July 4, 1980, the cathedral was solemnly consecrated by John Paul II. This building, 188 meters long and 183 meters wide, covers an area of 18,000 square meters and can simultaneously accommodate 45,000 believers. The height of the tower is 102 m. Every year, about 12 million pilgrims from all over Brazil visit the basilica.
Saint Paul's Cathedral - Catholic cathedral located in Rome, Vatican City. It is the most famous monument of Renaissance architecture, as well as one of the tallest and largest churches in the world. Its construction began on April 18, 1506, and was completed on November 18, 1626. With a length of 220 m, a width of 150 m and a maximum height of 136.6 m, the cathedral can accommodate 60,000 believers inside. Another 400,000 people can sit on the square in front of the temple at the same time.
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Cathedral - when reading this word, a majestic building, made with a frantic design intent, inevitably comes to mind. As a rule, the cathedral is one of the main city temples, the creation of which is necessarily associated with an important for the country historical event. That is why the construction of cathedrals has always taken place on an extraordinary scale. Despite the many beautiful temples around the world, the first lines of the rating of cathedrals in size were occupied by European buildings. So, it will be interesting to study information about the largest cathedrals in Europe.
Ulm Cathedral, which is located in the city of Ulm, Germany, is considered the first in the list of the highest cathedrals not only in Europe, but throughout the world. The height of the structure, together with the bell spire, is 161.5 meters. Visitors to this giant have the opportunity to climb the most high point cathedral on stone spiral staircases. An interesting fact is that the construction of Ulm Cathedral took place over 5 centuries, starting in 1377, ending with the construction of the spire in 1890. It is also noteworthy that, according to legend, during the construction of the temple, the unlucky builders were faced with the task of how to carry huge logs through the gate. While the builders were struggling to figure out how to get a log into the city, which did not fit through the city gates in height, one of them noticed a sparrow carrying straws to his dwelling parallel to the ground. A solution was found, Ulm Cathedral was built, and the sparrow became a symbol of the city. It is his sculpture with a twig in its beak that rises on the main roof of the building.
The construction of the second largest cathedral in Europe began in 1248 and took place in two stages due to financial problems. 1880 was marked by the opening of the tallest building in the world, which for 4 years was the Cologne Cathedral, located in Germany, the city of Cologne. The height of the structure with the spire is 157 meters. Today, this architectural creation has the largest church facade in the world, as well as the largest working bell. When examining the building, one should not forget that its construction affected two eras, for example, the western facade, which more attracts the views of enthusiastic tourists, was built in the 19th century and embodied the Neo-Gothic style, while the rest of the building contains elements and features classic gothic. The largest bell in the world is called "St. Peter" and weighs 24 tons, and the weight of its bell tongue is 800 kilograms.
The next record holder by right was the Notre Dame Cathedral in France, the city of Rouen. The building is included in the list of monuments of the national French heritage, is a cathedral with the highest cast-iron tower in the world (151 meters). The construction of the French Miracle began in 1145, but after a severe fire, only the walls of the northern tower of Saint-Romain were saved, the restoration of which turned into the construction of the southern part of the building and the Oil Tower, the creation of which ended in 1880. It is noteworthy that the great artist Monet in the 19th century created a series of paintings that depicted the history of the great cathedral, its ups and downs. In total, the cycle has 50 canvases.
Strasbourg Cathedral is located in France and for more than 200 years was considered the world's tallest church building. The height of the building is 142 meters and today it is the sixth highest cathedral in the world. An interesting and most visited place in the cathedral is the astronomical clock, which was made back in 1574 and even then had astronomical functions. These include the ability of the clock to calculate the starting point from the new year to the holidays, the dates of which each year fall on different days. In Strasbourg, there is a tradition according to which various color performances are broadcast on the walls of the cathedral on summer evenings to works of world classical music.
The most capacious European cathedral is St. Peter's Cathedral, which is located in the Vatican on the famous square, which has the same name with the cathedral. The building is considered the central ceremonial site catholic church, the capacity of the cathedral is 60,000 people. The construction began to be erected in 326, but it was finally completed only in the 17th century, when, at the request of Paul V, the eastern part was lengthened. The 17th century was also marked by the appearance of a square near the cathedral, which was conceived for the gathering of people to receive the blessing of the Pope. Such famous architects and artists as Raphael, Michelangelo, Bernini and others worked on the decoration of the cathedral.
Despite the capacity of St. Peter's Basilica, the largest cathedral in the world by area is not he, but Milan Cathedral. The length of the building is 158 meters, the width is 93 meters, and this building also has the highest spire in Europe in terms of the height of the central nave (47 m). Milan Cathedral is the only gothic cathedral made of marble. The altar of this miracle is decorated with one of the most valuable relics of antiquity - a nail from the crucifixion of Christ.
St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague is rightfully considered not only one of the largest, but also the longest Catholic church in the world; the length of the main nave of the cathedral is 124 meters. The date of foundation of the building is 925, but the peak of its development fell on 1350-1930. Inside, the cathedral offers visitors a wonderful gothic panorama, smoothly turning into a choir area with huge stained-glass windows.
The longest cathedral along the length of the central nave (169 meters) is Winchester Cathedral, Hampshire, UK.
The cathedral began to be built on the initiative of Kenwal, King of Wessex. The construction was completed in 648. The cathedral hosted such important events for the history of Britain as the Coronation of Henry the Younger and his wife Margaret of France (1172), the Second Coronation of Richard Lion Heart(1194), the marriage of Henry IV and Joan of Navarre (1403), the marriage of Mary I and Philip II (1554). The building attracts the attention of tourists not only for its size and architectural delights, but also for the burial place of the famous British writer Jane Austen and the filming of the film The Da Vinci Code in 2005.
The cathedral is widely known for its large stained-glass window. The height of the largest stained-glass window is 24 meters, the width is 11.6 meters. It is this building that is the Hogwarts school in the popular film masterpiece Harry Potter. The construction of the cathedral took place in the distant 11th century. In this building, the coronation of one of the most famous figures of the British monarchy, Henry III, took place.
The church that TravelAsk will talk about today is striking in its size. It is rightfully the largest in the world.
Main church of Ivory Coast
A real giant among churches is located in Africa, in the capital of Côte d'Ivoire, in the city of Yamoussoukro. The church has a very sonorous name: Notre Dame de la Paix, which means Basilica in French of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the World. This catholic church listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
The area of the church is 30 thousand square meters, it is located on an area of 130 hectares. The height of its dome is also quite impressive - 158 meters. It also makes the church the second tallest in the world after Ulm Cathedral in Germany, which stands 161.5 meters high.
By the way, the dome of the basilica is the largest in the world: its diameter is 90 meters.
Why Africa?
In general, it is surprising that the most big temple, and even Catholic, is located in Africa. After all, Catholicism is far from the most popular religion here, moreover, Christians make up 33% of the country and are mainly represented by Pentecostals, Adventists and Methodists. Most of all there are Muslims - about 40%. So where did this temple come from? We found out all about this seemingly strange fact.
It's all about the first president of Côte d'Ivoire - Felix Houphouet-Boigny. The country was a French colony for a long time, and gained independence in 1960. It was then that he was proclaimed President Houphouet-Boigny, who was in power for several decades.
Felix did the incredible: he moved the capital from the millionaire city of Abidjan to the small town of Yamoussoukro, where he was from. The population of the city at that time was about 200 thousand people. Now, by the way, a little more: a little more than 280 thousand inhabitants live in the city.
In addition, the president decided to leave a memory of himself in the new capital, so he ordered the construction of the largest church in the world. The Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Peace is a gift to Pope John Paul II.
Construction of the basilica
Notre Dame de la Paix is a copy of the main temple of the Vatican - St. Cathedral, only surpasses it in size. But, despite all its scale, the temple can accommodate only 18 thousand people, while the Vatican Cathedral - 60 thousand.
Especially for the construction of the basilica, Italian marble was brought into the country, and the stained-glass windows were created from French colored glass, which here (!!!) is 7 thousand square meters. No temple has so much painted glass, this is also a kind of record. By the way, one of the stained-glass windows depicted the chief architect, President Felix Houphouet-Boigny.
This giant was rebuilt quite quickly, in just 4 years, construction continued from 1985 to 1989. The temple cost, according to various estimates, from 175 to 400 thousand dollars, part of which was donated by the president (according to him, only from 175 to 400 thousand)))). By the way, this is about 6% of the country's annual budget. In general, for Côte d'Ivoire this is an unheard of luxury, because many people here live very poorly. 1,500 workers from Africa were involved in the construction, the French were the main architects.
The church was lit in 1990, the Pope himself came to this ceremony. True, the main condition was the construction of a hospital near the temple, but it began to be built quite recently. And in 1990, a stone was laid not far from the basilica, which can still be seen today.
Near the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Peace there are two more buildings, very similar to the temple, only smaller in size: this is the papal villa and the house for the priest. By the way, the Pope visited here only once, at the consecration of the temple.
Competitors of Notre Dame de la Paix
In fact, the Basilica has two competitors, it is noteworthy that they are also in Africa, only in Nigeria. So, in Lagos there is a Pentecostal temple "Tabernacle of Faith", it has only about 50 thousand seats. In addition, in 2011, another Pentecostal temple was opened here - the National Temple Apostolic Church Nigeria. It is able to accommodate about 100 thousand believers at the same time.
