Sagrada Família in the context of "Architecture of cathedrals and great churches"

Eclecticism in architecture is a 19th and 20th century architectural style in which a single piece of work incorporates eclecticism, a mixture of elements from previous historical styles to create something that is new and original. In architecture and interior design, these elements may include structural features, furniture, decorative motives, distinct historical ornament, traditional cultural motifs or styles from other countries, with the mixture usually chosen based on its suitability to the project and overall aesthetic value.

The term is also used of the many architects of the 19th and early 20th centuries who designed buildings in a variety of styles according to the wishes of their clients, or their own. The styles were typically revivalist, and each building might be mostly or entirely consistent within the style selected, or itself an eclectic mixture. Gothic Revival architecture, especially in churches, was most likely to strive for a relatively "pure" revival style from a particular medieval period and region, while other revived styles such as Neoclassical, Baroque, Palazzo style, Jacobethan, Romanesque and many others were likely to be treated more freely.

Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom, pronounced [ˌkœlnɐ ˈdoːm] , officially Hohe Domkirche zu Köln, English: High Cathedral Church at Cologne) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 6 million people a year. At 157 m (515 ft), the cathedral is the tallest twin-spired church in the world, the third tallest church in Europe after Sagrada Família and Ulm Minster, and the third tallest church of any kind in the world.

Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248, but was halted in the years around 1560. Attempts to complete construction began around 1814, but the project was not properly funded until the 1840s. The edifice was completed to its original medieval plan in 1880. The towers for its two huge spires give the cathedral the largest façade of any church in the world.

This list of tallest church buildings ranks church buildings by height. From the Middle Ages until the advent of the skyscraper, Christian church buildings were often the world's tallest buildings. From 1311, when the spire of Lincoln Cathedral surpassed the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza, until the Washington Monument was completed in 1884, a succession of church buildings held this title.

• The tallest church building in the world is the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, which surpassed Ulm Minster (161.53 m) on 30 October 2025 when its central tower reached 162.91 m. The tower is intended to reach 172 m when completed, expected in 2026.
• The tallest church building in the world until 2025 was the Ulm Minster (161.53 m), the main Lutheran congregation in Ulm, Germany.
• The tallest domed church building, and the tallest Catholic church until surpassed by Sagrada Família, is the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace (158 m) in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast.
• The tallest cathedral as well as the tallest church building with two steeples is Cologne Cathedral (157.22 m) in Cologne, Germany.
• The tallest domed cathedral as well as the tallest Eastern Orthodox is People's Salvation Cathedral (132 m) in Bucharest, Romania.
• The tallest brickwork church building is St Martin's Church (130.6 m) in Landshut, Germany.
• The tallest brickwork church building with two steeples is St Mary's Church (125 m) in Lübeck, Germany.
• The tallest wooden church building is Săpânța-Peri Monastery church (78 m) in Săpânța, Romania.
• The tallest church building in the Americas is the Cathedral of Maringá (124 m) in Maringá, Brazil.

The cities with the most churches surpassing 99 metres (325 feet) are Hamburg (5 of the 29 tallest churches, with 5 towers overall), Lübeck (4 of the 56 tallest churches, two of which with twin towers → 6 towers overall), Vienna (2), Tallinn (2), St. Petersburg (2), New York City (2), Dortmund (2) and Stralsund (2).

Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (/ɡaʊˈdi/ gow-DEE, /ˈɡaʊdi/ GOW-dee; Catalan: [ənˈtɔni ɣəwˈði]; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalan architect and designer from Spain, widely known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernisme. Gaudí's works have a sui generis style, with most located in Barcelona, including his main work, the Sagrada Família church.

Gaudí's work was influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature, and religion. He considered every detail of his creations and combined crafts such as ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork forging, and carpentry. He introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials, such as trencadís which used waste ceramic pieces.

Ulm Minster (German: Ulmer Münster) is a Gothic church located in Ulm, State of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). It was originally built as a Catholic church and dedicated to the Virgin Mary but became a Lutheran church in the 16th century. It was the tallest church in the world with a steeple measuring 161.53 metres (530.0 ft) until 30 October 2025, when it was surpassed by Sagrada Família in Barcelona, by then still unfinished. The church was the fourth-tallest structure in the world when the towers were completed in 1890.

Though it is sometimes referred to as Ulm Cathedral because of its great size, the church is not a cathedral as it has never been the episcopal see of a bishop. Though the towers and all decorative elements are of stone masonry, attracting the attention of visitors, most of the walls, including the façades of the nave and choir, actually consist of visible brick. Therefore, the building is sometimes referred to as a brick church. As such, it lays claim to the rank of second- to fourth-largest, after San Petronio Basilica in Bologna and together with Frauenkirche in Munich and St. Mary's Church in Gdańsk. The tower however was mainly built from sandstone.