SPIRE
SHEET 04

Who was tallest

From a limestone pyramid to a kilometre of glass. The title has moved — and the definition has, too.

  1. 012560 BCE– 1311

    Great Pyramid of Giza

    146.6 m

    Giza · Structure, not a building

    Tallest man-made structure for nearly 3,800 years.

  2. 021311– 1549

    Lincoln Cathedral

    160 m

    Lincoln

    Central spire collapsed in a storm in 1549.

  3. 031549– 1569

    St. Mary's Church, Stralsund

    151 m

    Stralsund

    Inherited the title when Lincoln’s spire fell. Brick Gothic on the Baltic.

  4. 041569– 1573

    Beauvais Cathedral

    153 m

    Beauvais

    A 153 m tower stood for four years, then collapsed. The choir still has the highest Gothic vault ever built.

  5. 051573– 1647

    St. Mary's Church, Stralsund

    151 m

    Stralsund

    Regained the title after Beauvais fell. Lightning burned the spire in 1647; the tower is 104 m today.

  6. 061647– 1874

    Strasbourg Cathedral

    142 m

    Strasbourg

    Took the title when Stralsund’s spire burned — even though Strasbourg was shorter than the spire it replaced. Held it for 227 years.

  7. 071874– 1876

    St. Nikolai, Hamburg

    147.3 m

    Hamburg

    Briefly the tallest after Strasbourg. The nave was ruined in 1943; the spire still stands.

  8. 081876– 1880

    Rouen Cathedral

    151 m

    Rouen

    Cast-iron spire. Held the title until Cologne’s towers were finished.

  9. 091880– 1884

    Cologne Cathedral

    157.4 m

    Cologne

    Completed the medieval design and briefly held the title.

  10. 101884– 1889

    Washington Monument

    169.3 m

    Washington, D.C. · Structure, not a building

    An obelisk, not a building — the last monument to hold the record.

  11. 111889– 1930

    Eiffel Tower

    300 m

    Paris · Structure, not a building

    A tower, not a building. Still the structure that taught the world 300 metres.

  12. 121930– 1931

    Chrysler Building

    318.9 m

    New York City

    A secret spire assembled inside the building beat 40 Wall Street overnight.

  13. 131931– 1971

    Empire State Building

    381 m

    New York City

    Held the title for 40 years — the longest reign of the skyscraper age.

  14. 141971– 1973

    Original World Trade Center

    417 m

    New York City

    North Tower briefly held the title before Sears Tower opened.

  15. 151973– 1998

    Sears / Willis Tower

    442.1 m

    Chicago

    Lost the title when CTBUH counted Petronas spires and not Chicago’s antennas.

  16. 161998– 2004

    Petronas Towers

    451.9 m

    Kuala Lumpur

    First world’s-tallest outside the United States since the 19th century.

  17. 172004– 2009

    Taipei 101

    508 m

    Taipei

    First building past 500 m.

  18. 182009– present

    Burj Khalifa

    828 m

    Dubai

    Current holder. Jeddah Tower is designed to take the title — if it is finished.

Next title contender1,000 m

Jeddah Tower

Jeddah · On hold

Designed to be the first kilometre. Construction is on hold.

View details →