GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

style that blossomed in France and spread throughout Europe from the 12th till the 16th century. It was the successor of Romanesque architecture and the predecessor of Renaissance architecture.

• Gothic architecture

• Roman architecture

• Egyptian architecture

• Greek architecture

What are the characteristics of Gothic architecture?

• Large colored all-glass windows

• Thin and pointed arches

• Intersecting barrel vaults (Ribbed Vaults)

• Flying buttresses

• All of the above

Construction of the cathedral started in 1296 and was finished in 1436. The iconic basilica owns the world’s biggest brick dome. The edifice has multi-colored columns made of pink and green marble with white marble on the margins.

• Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral – Florence, Italy

• Westminster Abbey – London, UK

• Canterbury Cathedral – Kent, UK

• Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral – Paris, France

cathedral was built during the reign of Henry III, and ever since it has witnessed major events and ceremonies for the British royal family. It is also the place of burial for many British monarchs like Henry III himself.

• Canterbury Cathedral – Kent, UK

• Westminster Abbey – London, UK

• Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral – Florence, Italy

• Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral – Paris, France

The church was founded in 597 and took several centuries for the completion of its construction, which was followed by some expansions, the latest of which was in 1834.

• Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral – Paris, France

• Amiens Cathedral – Amiens, France

• Cologne Cathedral – Cologne, Germany

• Canterbury Cathedral – Kent, UK

Being the site of Victor Hugo’s epic novel ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’, the basilica was built between 1163 and 1345. It features tinted glass and beautiful ornamentations and sculptures.

• Milan Cathedral – Milan, Italy

• Amiens Cathedral – Amiens, France

• Canterbury Cathedral – Kent, UK

• Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral – Paris, France

The cathedral is 138.8 feet high which allows it to win the title of the tallest basilica in France, in addition to having the greatest interior volume which reaches up to 260,000 cubic yards.

• Amiens Cathedral – Amiens, France

• Cologne Cathedral – Cologne, Germany

• Milan Cathedral – Milan, Italy

• Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral – Florence, Italy

It is one of the world’s tallest edifices, a key landmark of Cologne, and a tourist attraction as well. The cathedral stands where a Roman temple once existed.

• Cologne Cathedral – Cologne, Germany

• Milan Cathedral – Milan, Italy

• Reims Cathedral – Reims, France

• Chartres Cathedral – Chartres, France

It is the biggest basilica in Italy. Since it was customary for the construction of these great buildings to take centuries to be completed, our cathedral here took about 600 years. Milan Cathedral doesn’t have two front towers, but rather several little pinnacles.

• Reims Cathedral – Reims, France

• Chartres Cathedral – Chartres, France

• Cologne Cathedral – Cologne, Germany

• Milan Cathedral – Milan, Italy

This is where many French kings had their coronation ceremonies. The cathedral was built on the grounds of an ancient Catholic basilica. The construction of Reims Cathedral was finished by the late 13th century. The western front was constructed a century later.

• Reims Cathedral – Reims, France

• Chartres Cathedral – Chartres, France

• Amiens Cathedral – Amiens, France

• Westminster Abbey – London, UK