List of tallest church buildings


From the Middle Ages until the advent of the skyscraper, Christian church buildings were often the world's tallest buildings. From 1311, when the spire of Lincoln Cathedral surpassed the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza, until the Washington Monument was completed in 1884, a succession of church buildings held this title.
The tallest church in the world is the Ulm Minster, the main Lutheran congregation in Ulm, Germany. The tallest Roman Catholic, as well as the tallest domed church, is the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro. The tallest church with two steeples as well as the tallest cathedral is Cologne Cathedral in Cologne. The tallest brickwork church is St Martin's Church in Landshut, while the tallest brickwork church with two steeples is St Mary's Church in Lübeck. The city with the most of the tallest churches is Hamburg, second is Lübeck. The city with the most churches surpassing is Berlin. The tallest church in the Americas is St Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, while the city with the most churches surpassing in the Americas is New York City. If completed, Barcelona's Sagrada Família will be the tallest church in the world, at.

Constructed

This list does not include church buildings that incorporate a significant portion of space to non-church uses, such as the Chicago Temple Building. It does not include structures from non-Christian religions.
Note: The church buildings are ordered based on their tallest recorded height in history. Those are church buildings no longer in existence or no longer as tall as their previous maximum height. These church buildings may appear a second time on the list if their current shorter height is still greater than order to view the tallest present churches in a row click the sorting button in the H column.

Churches taller than 99 metres

Height
metres 		HName of ChurchReligious denominationCoordinatesCompletedCityCountryNotes
m Ulm MinsterLutheranUlmLargest Protestant Gothic church in Germany; 768 stairs going up to a height of. The spire's height was intended to be shorter but increased in order to surpass Cologne Cathedral.
m H>75Lincoln CathedralChurch of EnglandLincolnToday 83 m tall — spire collapsed in a storm in 1549; reputedly the tallest building in the world from 1311 to 1549; Was 103 metres from 1549 to 1807.
m Our Lady of Peace BasilicaRoman CatholicYamoussoukroWorld's tallest domed church; tallest Roman Catholic church in the world.
m Cologne CathedralRoman CatholicCologneReputedly the tallest building in the world from 1880 to 1884; largest Gothic church in Germany and tallest Roman Catholic cathedral in the world
153 m H<75Beauvais CathedralRoman CatholicBeauvaistower collapsed in 1573, today towerless and m tall; World's tallest building from 1569 to 1573.
m H>100St. Mary's churchLutheranStralsundToday 104 m tall — spire destroyed by lightning in 1647; World's tallest building from 1549 to 1647
m Rouen CathedralRoman CatholicRouenTallest building in the world from 1876 to 1880 and still the tallest church in France
m H>100Old St Paul's CathedralChurch of England
1314 		LondonSpire destroyed by lightning in 1561 — church destroyed in the Great Fire in 1666
m St. Nikolai, HamburgLutheranHamburgTallest building in the world from 1874 to 1876; Only tower remains after 1943 bombing
m Strasbourg CathedralRoman CatholicStrasbourgTallest building in the world from 1647 to 1874, tallest 15th-century structure in the world
m Basilica of Our Lady of LicheńRoman CatholicStary LicheńLargest church in Poland, seventh largest in Europe and eleventh largest in the world
140 m H>75CathedralLutheranRigademolished in 1775 - today 90 m tall
m St. Peter's BasilicaRoman CatholicVatican CityLargest church in the world both by area and volume
m St. Stephen's CathedralRoman CatholicVienna
m New Cathedral, LinzRoman CatholicLinzLargest church in Austria by area, but two metres shorter than Stephansdom since no building in Austria-Hungary was allowed to be higher than Stephansdom
m H DNotre-Dame-et-Saint-LambertRoman CatholicLiègeDestroyed by the Liegeois in 1794 after the French Revolution
m St. Peter's ChurchLutheranHamburg
m St. Michaelis ChurchLutheranHamburgThe tallest 18th-century church in the world
m H<75'LutheranRostockdestroyed in a storm in 1703, replaced afterwards by an 84 metres tall tower, which was destroyed in an air-raid in 1942, height of actual tower: 65 metres
m H<75Malmesbury AbbeyChurch of EnglandMalmesburySpire collapsed in the late 15th or early 16th century
m St. Martin's ChurchRoman CatholicLandshutTallest brickwork structure in the world
m H>75St. Elizabeth's ChurchRoman CatholicWrocławToday tall; spire collapsed in 1529 during storm
129 m Saint Joseph's OratoryRoman CatholicMontreal
m Basilica of San GaudenzioRoman CatholicNovaraThe church is 121.0 metres tall without the statue on its top.
m St JacobiLutheranHamburg
m St. Mary's Church, LübeckLutheranLübeckTallest two-steeples facade finished in the Middle Ages
m Cathedral of Our LadyRoman CatholicAntwerptallest church in the Low Countries
m Cathedral of MaringáRoman CatholicMaringáTallest church in Latin America
m St. OlafBaptistTallinnTallest in the Baltic States; According to some sources it was the tallest building in the world from 1549 to 1625, but this claim is controversial: one account of the final rebuilding states the church was formerly "ten fathoms" higher, but paintings depict a spire similar in proportions to the current one
m St. PeterLutheran/1973RigaTower collapsed in 1666 and again in 1721; tower and roof damaged in World War II, restored in 1973
m Cathedral of Saint MaryChurch of EnglandSalisburyTallest church spire in the United Kingdom. Also largest cathedral close in Britain Peter and Paul CathedralRussian OrthodoxSt. PetersburgThe world's tallest Orthodox belltower; since adjacent to the main sanctuary, may be considered the tallest Orthodox church
m H<75Abbaye-aux-HommesRoman Catholic 13th centuryCaenCollapsed in 1566, spire replaced by a shorter tower in the 17th century
120 m H>75St. Mary's Church, WismarLutheranWismarTower destroyed around 1500, height of tower today:
120 m H<75St. Nicholas' Church, WismarLutheranWismarTower collapsed om December 8, 1703 in a storm, height of tower today
m H>100Cathedral Basilica of St James the ApostleRoman CatholicSzczecinCathedral tower collapsed during a bombardment in 1944 and currently measures 110.18 m
m Riverside ChurchBaptistNew York City
m Uppsala DomkyrkaChurch of SwedenUppsalaLargest church in Scandinavia
m H>75Saint Steven CathedralRoman CatholicMetz
m Schwerin CathedralLutheranSchwerin
m St. Peter's ChurchLutheranRostock-
m St. Catherine's ChurchLutheranHamburg
m Freiburg MinsterRoman CatholicFreiburg
m Klara ChurchChurch of SwedenStockholm
m Belfry of Russian OrthodoxRybinsk
m Church of Our LadyRoman CatholicBrugesThe second tallest brickwork tower in the world.
m Basílica del Voto NacionalRoman CatholicQuito
m H<75'LutheranZwolleTower collapsed on December 17, 1682. Church is still standing
m H DRoman Catholic14th or 15th centuryPoznańDestroyed in a fire in 1777, finally demolished in 1802
m Lübeck CathedralLutheranLübeck
m Basilica of St. Michael,Roman CatholicBordeaux
m Florence CathedralRoman CatholicFlorence
m St. Andrew's ChurchLutheranHildesheimTallest church in Lower Saxony, Germany
m H>75Berlin Cathedral United and uniting churchesBerlin-Mitte
m Orléans CathedralRoman CatholicOrléans
m St. Peter and St. Paul's ChurchRoman CatholicMortegliano
m Chartres CathedralRoman CatholicChartres
m Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Rosary, ManizalesRoman CatholicManizales
m H<75Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church LutheranBerlin-CharlottenburgSpire damaged in World War II, actual height of tower: 71 m
m Notre-Dame CathedralRoman CatholicAmiens
m DomtorenLutheranUtrechtCathedral's nave collapsed during a storm in 1674.
m Torrazzo of CremonaRoman CatholicCremonaThe oldest brick structure taller than 100 m that is still standing. Third tallest brickwork bell tower in the world, the first being the tower of St. Martin's Church in Landshut, Bavaria, and the second at the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Belgium.
m H>100ReinoldikircheLutheranDortmundBuilt in 1454 with, collapsed in earthquake 1661, now
m Cathedral of La PlataRoman Catholic/2000La PlataDesignated cathedral in 1932, towers finished in 2000
m Saint Jacob's ChurchLutheranLübeck
m St. Paul's CathedralChurch of EnglandLondonTallest building in London until 1962
m Schleswig CathedralLutheranSchleswig
m H DSt. Peter's Church LutheranBerlin-Mittedestroyed at the end of World War II, last relicts were removed in 1964
m Cathedral Basilica of St James the ApostleRoman CatholicSzczecinIn 1892–1944 it measured 119.8 m; until 2008 it was 67 m
110 m H<75Pieterskerk, LeidenPuritanismLeidenToday towerless — tower collapsed in 1512
110 m H>100St. John's ChurchLutheranLüneburgToday 108.7 m tall — spire partially destroyed by lightning in 1406
m Herz-Jesu-KircheRoman CatholicGraz
m Nieuwe Kerk LutheranDelft
m St. John's ChurchLutheranLüneburgOnce slightly taller; spire rebuilt from 1406 to 1408
m Milan CathedralRoman CatholicMilan
m Zagreb CathedralRoman CatholicZagreb
m St. Martin's CathedralProtestantUtrecht
m Saint Peter's ChurchLutheranLübeck
m Cathedral of Our Lady of GuadalupeRoman CatholicZamora de Hidalgo
m H>75St. Walburga's Church, ZutphenProtestant 15th centuryZutphenToday 76 m tall. Gothic spire burned in 1600 due to a lightning strike.
m St. Peter and St. Paul's ChurchRoman CatholicMostarTallest church in Southeast Europe
m Monastery of Our Lady of KazanRussian OrthodoxTambovThe bell tower is the highest point of the monastery being first consecrated in 1848 and destroyed by the Soviet government in 1936. It has now been fully reconstructed in the years of 2009-2011.
m Linköping CathedralChurch of SwedenLinköping
m Alessandria CathedralRoman CatholicAlessandria
m Sanctuary of the Black MadonnaRoman CatholicCzęstochowa
106 m Basílica de Nuestra Señora de LujánRoman CatholicLuján
m St. Joseph's Church, Le HavreRoman CatholicLe Havre
m H<75St. Salvator's ChurchRoman CatholicDuisburgdestroyed by fire in 1467
m Resurrection CathedralRussian OrthodoxShuya
m St. Petri ChurchLutheranDortmund
m St. Catherine's ChurchRoman CatholicHoogstraten
m St PetriLutheranMalmö
m St. Patrick's CathedralRoman CatholicMelbourne
m Regensburg CathedralRoman CatholicRegensburg
m H DSt. George's Church LutheranBerlin-MitteHeavily damaged in World War II, demolished in 1949
m St. Nicholas' ChurchLutheranTallinnCathedral itself dates from 1275
m Archcathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus KostkaRoman CatholicŁódź
m ReinoldikircheLutheranDortmundwas from 1520 until 1661
m Cathedral of MagdeburgLutheranMagdeburg
m Cathedral of St. Mary of The SeeRoman CatholicSevilleTallest cathedral in Spain
m St. Mary's ChurchLutheranStralsund
m Cathedral of Christ the SaviourRussian OrthodoxMoscowReconstruction of the original cathedral consecrated 1883 and demolished by Soviets in 1931; still the tallest Eastern Orthodox Church church in the world
m Les InvalidesRoman CatholicParis
m St. Stanislaus and St. Wenceslaus CathedralRoman CatholicŚwidnica
m KatharinenkircheLutheranOsnabrück
m H<75Nikolaikirche, AnklamLutheranAnklamdestroyed on April 29, 1945 by artillery fire, actual height of tower: 58 metres
m St. Vitus CathedralRoman CatholicPragueSpire was rebuilt after fire in 1541, according some sources pre-fire spire, built in 1402, was 156.5 m tall
m St. MaryRoman CatholicChojna
m St. Nicholas' ChurchLutheranc Stralsund
m St.-Antonius-BasilikaRoman CatholicRheine
m St Martin's Cathedral, YpresRoman Catholic 20th centuryYpresFull reconstruction of the medieval church destroyed during World War I. This is a proto-cathedral
m St. BartholomewRoman CatholicPlzeň
m H>75Martinikerk LutheranGroningenSpire burned down in 1577, now in height
m H<75St. OtgerRoman CatholicStadtlohndestroyed in March 1945, rebuilt 74 metres tall
m H<75Sacred Heart ChurchRoman CatholicDüsseldorfSpire destroyed on May 17, 1945 by a tornado, actual height of tower 56.43 metres
m Saint Isaac's CathedralRussian OrthodoxSt. Petersburg
m Bielawa Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin MaryRoman CatholicBielawa
m Liverpool CathedralChurch of EnglandLiverpool
m Basilica Notre-DameRoman CatholicBoulogne-sur-Mer
m Saint Wenceslas CathedralRoman CatholicOlomouc
m St. Patrick's CathedralRoman CatholicNew York CitySpires completed in 1888, the tallest in New York City and the second tallest in the United States from 1880-1890.
m St Mark's CampanileRoman CatholicVenice
m GedächtniskircheLutheranSpeyer
m Münster of BernSwiss ReformedBern
m Las Lajas SanctuaryRoman CatholicIpiales
m São Paulo CathedralRoman CatholicSão Paulo
m Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate ConceptionRoman CatholicWashington, DC
m Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of AparecidaRoman CatholicAparecidaSteeple at 100.0 m
m BasilicaRoman CatholicEsztergomStill the tallest building in Hungary
m H<75Marienkirche, AnklamLutheranAnklamdestroyed in an air-raid in 1943, actual height of tower: 64 metres
m H<75Saint Peter and PaulRoman CatholicEltvilleSpire destroyed in 1683 by lightning, actual height of tower: 67 metres
m H DMarienkirche StettinLutheranSzczecindestroyed by lightning on July 9, 1789, last relicts were removed in 1830
m H DEisenach CathedralRoman CatholicEisenachdemolished
m Dom St. NikolailutheranGreifswald
m Saint Vincent's churchRoman CatholicEeklo
m Munich FrauenkircheRoman CatholicMunich
m Ludgerus-DomRoman CatholicBillerbeck

Churches 99 metres and less

Under construction

Planned height metres NameCompletionCityCountryComment
m Sagrada Família est. 2026BarcelonaWill become the tallest church in the world when completed.
135 m People's Salvation Cathedral est. 2020BucharestWill become the tallest Orthodox church in the world when completed.
m Nueva Catedral de TijuanaTijuana
m Intercession Cathedral, Mariupol 2018Mariupol
83 m Archangel Gabriel Cathedral, Odessa 2019Odessa

Timeline