Christian Cathedral Architecture

Dani Gordon

Notre Dame

Historic roman catholic cathedral The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and among the largest and most well known church buildings in the world.

In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. An extensive restoration began in 1845. A project of further restoration and maintenance began in 1991.

During the second world war, stain glass windows were damaged. After the war they were replaced, but had a modern geometric pattern instead of scenes from the bible

Construction began in 1163 and was completed in 1345

St Paul’s CathedralA church of England cathedral. St Paul’s cathedral was built between 1675-1720

The most visible and most notable feature is the dome, which rises 366 feet (108 m) to the cross at its summit. The dome on St Paul’s cathedral has been said to be one of the finest in Europe. The inspiration for the dome came from Michelangelo's dome of St Peter's Basilica

The 18th century engraving shows that there has little noticeable change to the outside of St Paul’s cathedral

Cathedral CologneRoman catholic cathedral. Considered to be a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site. Its the most visited landmark in Germany with an average of 20,000 visitors a day.

The cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires in the worldThe building of the Cathedral began in 1248 and was halted in 1473, leaving it unfinished. Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880.

Cologne's medieval builders had planned a grand structure and fit as a place of worship for the Holy Roman Emperor. Despite having been left incomplete during the medieval period, Cologne Cathedral eventually became unified as "a masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value" and "a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe"

Comparison

•All the cathedrals were built at different times, therefore there is very little similarity in the designs •St Paul’s cathedral was built after the other two, I believe for this reason it looks a lot more modern than the other two. This could be due to the fact that the other two look traditional, with the exterior you would expect from a cathedral. St Paul's looks more modern due it not looking exteriorly how you could expect a cathedral to look.•All three cathedrals have similar west fronts as they all have towers framing the entrance