Located in Paris, France, Notre Dame Cathedral is one of the most well-known and beautiful churches in the world. Built in the gothic style, construction on this Roman Catholic cathedral began in 1160 and lasted for over one hundred years. The two most notable features of Notre Dame are its impressive rose window and multiple flying buttresses.
Home church to some of the most prominent leaders in history, Westminster Abbey in London, England is another breathtaking representation of gothic architecture. Famous not only for its beauty, this Anglican cathedral has played host to a variety of royal coronations, weddings and funerals and serves as the permanent resting place for such individuals as Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Geoffrey Chaucer.
The largest and most impressive gothic church in Italy is undoubtedly the Duomo de Milan. Famous for the height of its nave and the hundreds of spires atop this mammoth structure, the Milan Cathedral was under initial construction for over six centuries.
With its twin spires stretching to the heavens, the Kolner Dom in Koln, Germany is by far one of the most beautiful and intricately designed churches in the world. This massive Roman Catholic cathedral holds the title for the most visited landmark in all of Germany and the second tallest spire in the world.
Situated along the edge of Red Square in the center of Moscow, St. Basil's Basilica with its multiple, brilliantly-coloured Byzantine onion domes is singular in its design and structure among Russian Orthodox cathedrals and ranks as one of the most beautiful places of worship worldwide. Inside, the basilica includes not one, but eight individual sanctuaries arranged as seven smaller churches around a central sanctuary. The basilica is known officially as The Church of Intercession on the Moat and the Temple of Basil the Blessed.
Built into the side of the Guaitara River canyon, the Las Lajas Sanctuary in Ipialas, Colombia is a gorgeous gothic revival style structure built during the early twentieth century. This striking Roman Catholic basilica rises above the river on enormous, stone archways which support a pedestrian bridge stretching to the church doors.
An extraordinary representation of the rococo era, the Weiskirche, or White Church, in Weis Germany is an oval sanctuary filled with magnificent gold-painted frescoes, detailed Corinthian columns, and paintings of cherubs and clouds. The shape of the space typifies the late baroque period in its warmth and detail.
