Which Gothic cathedral in Strasbourg was the tallest building in the world from 1647 to 1874?

Strasbourg Cathedral was the Gothic cathedral whose 142-metre tower made it the world’s tallest building from 1647 to 1874.

The cathedral, also called Strasbourg Minster, stands in the historic centre of Strasbourg in Alsace, France. Its construction began in 1015, was restarted in 1190, and was completed in 1439. The building combines Romanesque remnants with Rayonnant Gothic design, while its distinctive reddish colour comes from sandstone quarried in the Vosges Mountains.

The record referred specifically to the cathedral’s north tower. In 1647, the taller spire of St. Mary’s Church in Stralsund burned down, leaving Strasbourg Cathedral as the world’s tallest building. It retained that distinction for 227 years, until the completed tower of St. Nicholas Church in Hamburg surpassed it in 1874.

The cathedral was designed with two towers in some plans, but only the north tower was completed. That unfinished asymmetry is now one of its defining features. A common mix-up is Cologne Cathedral, which later held the world-height record from 1880 to 1890. Strasbourg Cathedral remains the tallest surviving structure built entirely in the Middle Ages.