List of tallest churches in the world

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tallest churches, heights in metres

From the Middle Ages until the advent of the skyscraper, Christian churches have been among the tallest buildings in the world. Starting in 1311, when the spire of Lincoln Cathedral surpassed the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza, until the Washington Monument was constructed in 1884, a succession of churches held the title of world's tallest building. Even now, particularly in Europe, churches are still some of the most dominant buildings on the landscape. If it is ever completed, which currently seems quite likely, Barcelona's Sagrada Familia will become the tallest church in the world, at 170 m (558 ft) tall.

This list does not include structures from other religions. For example, the minaret of Casablanca's Hassan II Mosque is 210 m (689 ft) tall. Nor does it include church buildings that are not actually churches such as the Chicago Temple Building.

The churches are ordered based on their tallest recorded height in history. Churches in italics either no longer exist or no longer stand to their original full height as listed. When the current shorter height still is significant, churches may be mentioned a second time on the list according to their current height.

Height (metres)	Height (feet)	Name	Completion	City	Country	Comment
161.5 m	530 ft	Münster	1890	Ulm	Germany	intended to be shorter, but size increased in order to outdo Cologne Cathedral; second largest Gothic church (and largest Protestant Gothic church) in Germany
159.7 m	524 ft^[1]	Cathedral	1311	Lincoln	England	today 83 m - spire collapsed in 1549; tallest building in the world from 1311 to 1549. Was 103 metres from 1549 to 1807.
158.4 m	520 ft	St. Olav	1519	Tallinn	Estonia	today 123m - spire destroyed by lightning in 1625; tallest building in the world from 1549 to 1625
158.0 m	518 ft	Our Lady of Peace Basilica	1989	Yamoussoukro	Côte d'Ivoire	largest church in the world; world's tallest domed church, the dome being lower but the cross taller than that of St Peter's, Rome; tallest Roman Catholic church in the world; tallest church in Africa
157.4 m	516 ft	Dom	1880	Cologne	Germany	tallest building in the world from 1880 to 1884; largest Gothic church in Germany; tallest Roman Catholic cathedral in the world
153.0 m	502 ft^[2]	Saint-Pierre Cathedral	1569	Beauvais	France	tower collapsed in 1573
151.0 m	495 ft	Notre-Dame Cathedral	1876	Rouen	France	tallest building in the world from 1876 to 1880; tallest church in France
150.0 m	493 ft	Old St. Paul's Cathedral	1240	London	England	spire destroyed by lightning in 1561; whole cathedral destroyed in Great Fire of London in 1666
147.3 m	483 ft	St. Nikolai	1874	Hamburg	Germany	tallest building in the world from 1874 to 1876; rest of church destroyed in bombing in 1943 - only tower left standing
144.0 m	472 ft	Notre-Dame Cathedral	1439	Strasbourg	France	tallest building in the world from 1625 to 1874, tallest 15th century structure in the world
137.0 m	449 ft	Stephansdom	1570	Vienna	Austria	tallest church in Austria, tallest 16th century structure in the world
136.0 m	446 ft	St. Peter	15th Century	Riga	Latvia	tower collapsed in 1666 and again in 1721; tower and roof damaged in World War II
134.5 m	441 ft	St Lambert et Notre Dame	1433	Liege	Belgium	destroyed by the Liegeois in 1793 after the French Revolution
134.1 m	440 ft	Neuer Dom	1924	Linz	Austria
132.8 m	436 ft	St. Petri	1878	Hamburg	Germany
132.5 m	435 ft	St. Peter's Basilica	1560-1590	Vatican City	Vatican City	largest church in the world until 1989. Tallest dome (excluding the cross on top) from 1590, the tallest Renaissance structure in the world.
131.9 m	433 ft	St. Michaelis	1786	Hamburg	Germany, the tallest 18th century church in the world.
131.3 m	431 ft	Abbey		Malmesbury	England	spire collapsed in the late 15th or early 16th century
130.6 m	428 ft	St. Martin	1500	Landshut	Germany	tallest brickwork structure in the world
130.0 m	426 ft	St. Elisabeth	1535	Wrocław	Poland	today 83m, spire collapsed in 1529 during storm
128 m	420 ft	Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lichen	2000	Stary Licheń	Poland	largest church in Poland, seventh largest in Europe and eleventh largest in the world
127.0 m	417 ft	Martinikerk	1482	Groningen	Netherlands	spire burned down in 1577, now 97 m in height
125.0 m	410 ft	St. Jacobi	1962	Hamburg	Germany
125.0 m	410 ft	Marienkirche	1350	Lübeck	Germany
124.0 m	410 ft	Cathedral	1972	Maringá	Brazil
123.7 m	406 ft	St. Olav	1931	Tallinn	Estonia	once much taller; tallest church in the Baltic States; tallest church in the former Soviet Union
123.0 m	404 ft	Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal	1521	Antwerp	Belgium	tallest church in the Low Countries
123.0 m	404 ft	Cathedral	1315	Salisbury	England	tallest church in the United Kingdom, tallest 14th century structure in the world
123.0 m	404 ft	St. Peter	1973	Riga	Latvia	once much taller; tallest church in Latvia
123.0 m	404 ft	Peter and Paul Cathedral	1733	St. Petersburg	Russia
122.3 m	400 ft	Abbaye-aux-Hommes	13th Century	Caen	France	spire replaced by a lower tower in the 17th century
121.0 m	397 ft	San Gaudenzio	1878	Novara	Italy
119.8 m	392 ft	Cathedral Basilica of St. James the Apostle	1892	Szczecin	Poland	the cathedral's tower collapsed during a bombardment in 1944; nowadays it measures 67 m
119.8 m	392 ft	Riverside Church	1930	New York City	United States
119.2 m	390 ft	Domkyrka	1435	Uppsala	Sweden
119.0 m	390 ft	Reinoldikirche	1520	Dortmund	Germany	Built in 1454 with 112m (367ft), collapsed in earthquake 1661, now 104m (340ft)
118.3 m	387 ft	Cathedral	1468	Metz	France
117.5 m	385 ft	Dom	1892	Schwerin	Germany
117.0 m	384 ft	St. Petri	1577	Rostock	Germany
116.5 m	381 ft	Münster	1330	Freiburg	Germany
116.5 m	381 ft	Dom	1905	Berlin	Germany	dome damaged in World War II
115.9 m	379 ft	Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk	1350	Bruges	Belgium
115.3 m	377 ft	St. Katharinen	1657	Hamburg	Germany
115.3 m	377 ft	Sagrada Familia	in progress	Barcelona	Spain	intended to eventually be 172 m (564 ft) tall
115.0 m	376 ft	St. Andreas	1389	Hildesheim	Germany
115.0 m	376 ft	Duomo	1434	Florence	Italy
114.6 m	375 ft	Cathedral	1514	Chartres	France
114.0 m	374 ft	Saint Michael's Basilica	1492	Bordeaux	France
113.0 m	371 ft	Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church	1895	Berlin	Germany	spire damaged in World War II, current height 68 m
112.5 m	369 ft	Domtoren	1382	Utrecht	Netherlands	the cathedral's nave collapsed during a storm in 1674
112.0 m	367 ft	Dom	1894	Schleswig	Germany
112.0 m	367 ft	Notre-Dame Cathedral	1549	Amiens	France
111.5 m	366 ft	St. Paul's Cathedral	1710	London	England	tallest building in London until 1962
111.0 m	364 ft	Johanniskirche	14th Century	Lüneburg	Germany
110.4 m	361 ft	Herz-Jesu-Kirche	1891	Graz	Austria
110.1 m	360 ft	New Cathedral	1733	Salamanca	Spain
109.0 m	358 ft	Duomo	1858	Milan	Italy
108.8 m	357 ft	Nieuwe Kerk	1496	Delft	Netherlands
106.0 m	348 ft	Sanctuary of the Black Madonna	1900	Częstochowa	Poland
106.0 m	348 ft	Saint-Joseph	1957	Le Havre	France
106.0 m	348 ft	Resurrection Cathedral	1832	Shuya	Russia	freestanding belltower
105.0 m	344 ft	Niguliste Church	1230	Tallinn	Estonia
105.0 m	344 ft	Dom	1856	Regensburg	Germany
105.0 m	344 ft	Cathedral	1899	Zagreb	Croatia
105.0 m	344 ft	Dom	1341	Lübeck	Germany
105.0 m	344 ft	Les Invalides	1706	Paris	France
105.0 m	344 ft	Sankta Klara	1888	Stockholm	Sweden
105.0 m	344 ft	St Petri	1310	Malmö	Sweden
105.0 m	344 ft	St. Patrick's Cathedral	1939	Melbourne	Australia
105.0 m	344 ft	Cathedral of Christ the Saviour	2000	Moscow	Russia	reconstruction; original cathedral consecrated 1883 and demolished by Soviets in 1931; still the tallest Orthodox church in the world
105.0 m	344 ft	St. Catherine Church	1550	Hoogstraten	Belgium
104.0 m	341 ft	Dom	1520	Magdeburg	Germany
104.0 m	340 ft	Reinoldikirche	1954	Dortmund	Germany	was 119m (390ft) from 1520 until 1661
103.3 m	339 ft	St. Patrick's Cathedral	1878	New York City	United States
103.0 m	338 ft	St. Stanislaw and St. Waclaw	1496	Świdnica	Poland
103.0 m	338 ft	Katharinenkirche	1430	Osnabrück	Germany
102.6 m	337 ft	St. Mary	1854	Chojna	Poland
102.3 m	336 ft	Cathedral	20th Century	Ypres	Belgium	almost exact replica of the medieval church destroyed during the First World War
102.0 m	335 ft	St. Bartholomew	1600	Plzeň	Czech Republic
101.8 m	334 ft	Saint Isaac's Cathedral	1858	St. Petersburg	Russia
101.5 m	331 ft	Cathedral of St. Stanislaw	1912	Łódź	Poland
101.0 m	331 ft	Anglican Cathedral	1978	Liverpool	England	largest cathedral and Protestant church in Europe and possibly the largest Protestant church in the world
101.0 m	330 ft	St. Wenceslas Cathedral	1892	Olomouc	Czech Republic
101.0 m	330 ft	Cathedral	1558	Segovia	Spain
100.0 m	328 ft	Gedächtniskirche	1904	Speyer	Germany
100.0 m	328 ft	Münster	1893	Bern	Switzerland
100.0 m	328 ft	Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception	1959	Washington, DC	United States	largest Roman Catholic church in the Americas
100.0 m	328 ft	Cathedral	1954	São Paulo	Brazil
100.0 m	328 ft	Basilica	1869	Esztergom	Hungary	still the tallest building in Hungary
99.5 m	326 ft	Saint Vincent	1883	Eeklo	Belgium
99.5 m	326 ft	St. Vitus Cathedral	1929	Prague	Czech Republic
99.5 m	326 ft	Frauenkirche	1525	Munich	Germany
99.0 m	325 ft	St. John	1892	Stargard Szczeciński	Poland
99.0 m	325 ft	Votivkirche	1879	Vienna	Austria
98.0 m	322 ft	St.-Petri-Dom	1893	Bremen	Germany
98.0 m	322 ft	Onze-Lieve-Vrouwentoren	15th Century	Amersfoort	Netherlands	rest of church accidentally blown up in 1797
98.0 m	322 ft	Grote Kerk		Breda	Netherlands
98.0 m	322 ft	St. Martin	1534	Amberg	Germany
97.8 m	321 ft	Nidaros Cathedral	1300	Trondheim	Norway
97.3 m	319 ft	Marktkirche	14th Century	Hannover	Germany
97.0 m	318 ft	Sameba Cathedral	2004	Tbilisi	Georgia
96.9 m	318 ft	Martinikerk	1627	Groningen	Netherlands	once much taller
96.9 m	318 ft	Sint-Romboutskathedraal	1520	Mechelen	Belgium	the tower was supposed to be 127 m (417 ft) tall, but the money ran out
96.9 m	318 ft	Saint Joseph's Oratory	1967	Montreal	Canada	tallest church in Canada
96.6 m	317 ft	Agricola Church	1935	Helsinki	Finland	still the tallest building in Finland
96.0 m	315 ft	Cathedral	1480	Norwich	England
96.0 m	315 ft	Orthodox Cathedral	1946	Timişoara	Romania
96.0 m	315 ft	Domkirke	1500	Aarhus	Denmark
96.0 m	315 ft	Kreuzkirche	1788	Dresden	Germany
96.0 m	315 ft	Saint Leopold Church (Donaufeld)	1914	Floridsdorf, Vienna	Austria
96.0 m	315 ft	St. Stephen's Basilica	1905	Budapest	Hungary	still the tallest building in Budapest
96.0 m	315 ft	St. Paul's Cathedral	1931	Melbourne	Australia
95.7 m	314 ft	Tyska Kyrkan	1884	Stockholm	Sweden
95.1 m	312 ft	Frauenkirche	1743	Dresden	Germany	destroyed by bombing in 1945 and rededicated in 2005
95.1 m	312 ft	Kaiserdom	1877	Frankfurt	Germany
94.1 m	309 ft	St. Walburge	1866	Preston	England
93.8 m	308 ft	Kreuzkirche	1800	Dresden	Germany
93.8 m	308 ft	St. John's Cathedral	1861	Limerick	Republic of Ireland	Tallest church spire in Ireland
93.8 m	308 ft	Dom	13th Century	Paderborn	Germany
93.5 m	307 ft	Church of the Savior on Blood	1907	St. Petersburg	Russia
93.5 m	307 ft	St. Ulrich und Afra	1594	Augsburg	Germany
92.9 m	305 ft	Eusebiuskerk	1965	Arnhem	Netherlands
92.9 m	305 ft	St. James' Cathedral	1853	Toronto	Canada
92.9 m	305 ft	Cathedral	1196	Seville	Spain
92.6 m	303 ft	Grote Kerk	1424	The Hague	Netherlands
92.6 m	303 ft	Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church	1973 (?)	Fort Lauderdale	United States
92.3 m	302 ft	Cathedral	1792	Murcia	Spain
91.7 m	301 ft	National Cathedral	1990	Washington, DC	United States
91.1 m	299 ft	Sint-Jacobuskerk	1878	The Hague	Netherlands
91.1 m	299 ft	St. Andreas	12th Century	Braunschweig	Germany
90.5 m	297 ft	Lange Jan	1300	Middelburg	Netherlands	the tower was rebuilt after destruction by Luftwaffe bombings in 1940
90.5 m	297 ft	Cathedral	1077	Canterbury	England	the tower was rebuilt in 1494 to the current height stated
90.0 m	295 ft	Notre-Dame Cathedral	1345	Paris	France
90.0 m	295 ft	Old Cathedral	1433	Coventry	England	the spire was the only part of the cathedral that survived intact when it was bombed in 1940
90.0 m	295 ft	St. Colman's Cathedral	1919	Cobh	Republic of Ireland
90.0 m	295 ft	Cathedral of Santa Eulalia	15th Century	Barcelona	Spain
90.0 m	295 ft	Dom	1776	Riga	Latvia
90.0 m	295 ft	Neue evangelische Garnisonkirche	1897	Berlin	Germany
90.0 m	295 ft	St. Nikolajs	1829	Copenhagen	Denmark
90.0 m	295 ft	St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral	1917	Edinburgh	Scotland
90.0 m	295 ft	St. James' Parish Church	1515	Louth	England	reputedly the tallest Anglican parish church in the UK
90.0 m	295 ft	Garnisonkirche St. Martin	1900	Dresden	Germany
90.0 m	295 ft	Georgskirche	1501	Nördlingen	Germany
90.0 m	295 ft	El Escorial	1584	San Lorenzo de El Escorial	Spain
90.0 m	295 ft	Cathedral	1440	Toledo	Spain
90.0 m	295 ft	Abbaye-aux-Hommes	13th Century	Caen	France	formerly much taller
90.0 m	295 ft	Saint-Eloi	15th Century	Dunkirk	France
90.0 m	295 ft	Basilica of the Sacred Heart	1971	Brussels	Belgium
89.9 m	294 ft	Vor Frelsers Kirke	1696	Copenhagen	Denmark
89.3 m	292 ft	St. Bavo's Cathedral	1538	Ghent	Belgium
89.3 m	292 ft	St. Mary Redcliffe	1872	Bristol	England	second-highest parish church spire in England; the previous spire collapsed in a storm in the 1440s
88.7 m	290 ft	Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King	1967	Liverpool	England
88.3 m	289 ft	Peterskirche	1885	Leipzig	Germany
88.3 m	288 ft	Washington Temple	1974	Kensington	United States	tallest LDS temple
88.0 m	288 ft	Cathedral	1400	Burgos	Spain
87.7 m	287 ft	Dreikönigskirche	1857	Dresden	Germany	completely destroyed in the 1945 bombing and now rebuilt
87.1 m	285 ft	Cathedral	1787	Orléans	France
87.1 m	285 ft	Saint-Epvre	1872	Nancy	France
86.8 m	284 ft	Westminster Cathedral	1903	London	England
86.5 m	283 ft	Schlosskirche	1897	Chemnitz	Germany	destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt considerably lower
86.2 m	282 ft	Liebfrauenkirche	1651	Bremen	Germany
86.2 m	282 ft	St. Wulfram's Church	1450	Grantham	England
86.2 m	282 ft	Aegidienkirche	1840	Lübeck	Germany
86.2 m	282 ft	St. Jacob's Cathedral	1225	Riga	Latvia
86.2 m	282 ft	Marienkirche	14th Century	Mühlhausen	Germany	largest parish church and second largest church in Thuringia
86.2 m	282 ft	Jakobskirche	16th Century	Straubing	Germany
86.2 m	282 ft	Saint-Ouen	1851	Rouen	France
86.0 m	282 ft	St. Catherine Church	1897	Toruń	Poland
86.0 m	282 ft	St. Georg	1904	Ulm	Germany
85.9 m	281 ft	Hofkirche	1755	Dresden	Germany	elevated to cathedral status in 1980; the largest church in Saxony
85.9 m	281 ft	Cathedral	1834	Turku	Finland
85.9 m	281 ft	St. Elphin's Church	1860s	Warrington	England	church itself dates from 1354
85.6 m	280 ft	Saint Denis Basilica	1281	Saint-Denis	France	now considerably shorter
85.6 m	280 ft	Dom		Berlin	Germany	reconstructed after World War II; formerly considerably taller
85.3 m	279 ft	Westerkerk	1638	Amsterdam	Netherlands	largest Protestant church in the Netherlands
85.3 m	279 ft	Johanneskirche	1881	Düsseldorf	Germany
85.3 m	279 ft	Saint-Esprit	1931	Paris	France
85.0 m	278 ft	St. Mary Abbot, Kensington	1879	London	England	tallest church spire in London
85.0 m	278 ft	Saint-Nicolas	19th Century	Nantes	France
82.9 m	272ft	St. Botolph	1520	Boston	England	tallest parish church tower (as opposed to spire) in England; known as the "Boston Stump"
82.0 m	269 ft	St. Sava	2004	Belgrade	Serbia

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

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List of tallest churches in the world

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