Tallest church/cathedral spire

The tallest church or cathedral is Ulm Minster, a Lutheran church located in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The structure, which was built in several phases between 1377 and 1890, has a spire which reaches a height of 161.53 m (530 ft).

The oldest parts of Ulm Minster were laid down as a Roman Catholic church in the late 14th century. Ulm never had a resident bishop, nor any royal connection, therefore it is incorrect to refer to this structure as a cathedral, despite its size. The scale of the initial phase of construction was highly ambitious, but problems began to emerge with the structure before it reached its intended height. Between 1477 and 1512, the side-aisles had to be completely redesigned as their heavy vaults were causing the walls to bow outward.

In the 16th century, work on the cathedral ground to a halt. Fundamental structural problems with the original design had increased costs and the economy of the city had gone into decline. Furthermore, in 1530 the city voted to convert to Protestantism, meaning that few had any interest in a large and ostentatious church building. The minster was declared complete at just 100 m (328 ft) and work halted in 1543.

In the 19th century, the town decided to take advantage of several centuries' advancements in engineering and resume work on the cathedral. Between 1844 and 1890, the lower parts of the building were renovated and reinforced, and a towering spire was added onto the 14th century foundation. The last stone was laid, some 613 years after construction started, on 31 May 1890.

This record is sometimes awarded to the Chicago Temple Building, a 23-story mixed-use skyscraper owned by the First United Methodist Church of Chicago. This building, which was completed in 1924, houses a church on the lower two floors, and has a gothic spire at the top. Inside the spire is a small consecrated space called the Sky Chapel. The floors between the two religious spaces, however, are – and have always been – commercial office space.

The Sagrada Familiachurch in Barcelona which is due to be completed in 2026 will have the tallestchurch spire in the world, at 172.5m to the top of the cross on the centraltower. Work on the church in its current form, designed by Catalan architectAntoni Gaudi, started in 1883 and (with some interruptions) has been continuousever since. From 2014 work has been accelerated using modern engineeringtechniques including the use of large panels of masonry prestressed withstainless steel rods, constructed off-site. Completion is due by the centenaryof Gaudi’s death. The height is limited to that of Barcelona’s Montjuic Hill,as Gaudi believed his church should not surpass God’s creation.