Strasbourg Cathedral

A Gothic cathedral of pink Vosges sandstone in Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin. Its 142-metre spire made it the tallest building in the world from 1647 to 1874.

Strasbourg Cathedral stands on the Place de la Cathédrale in the Grande Île, the historic centre of Strasbourg in Alsace. Construction began in 1015 on the remains of an earlier cathedral, was relaunched in 1190 and was completed in 1439, when the single octagonal spire was finished on the northern side of the west front.

At 142 metres, it was the tallest building in the world from 1647 to 1874, and it remains the tallest structure built entirely in the Middle Ages. The reddish-brown sandstone from the Vosges mountains gives it its distinctive colour. Victor Hugo called it a “gigantic and delicate marvel”, and it can be seen from far across the plain of Alsace. In 1988 it was inscribed on the World Heritage List together with the Grande Île.