Strange facts about churches

May 1, 2012 | In: Art facts

I guess I don’t need to talk about what churches are and why they are built for. It’s obvious. But I do want to talk a little about the types of churches around the world, the biggest, the largest, etc.

First, to put it briefly, there are Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Churches, with different rites. There are many types of churches, but a discussion of such kind is a little boring.

Now let’s see three of the biggest (by area) churches in the world:
I. The Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City- 164.000 square feet. It was built between 1506 and 1626. It is a Roman Catholic Church and can hold 60.000 people.
II. Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil – 129.000 square feet. It’s also a Roman Catholic Church and it’s located in Aparecida, Brazil. It can hold up to 45.000 people.
III. Cathedral of Seville in Spain – 124.000 square feet. A Catholic Church situated in southern Spain, in Seville. Built between 1402 and 1511, it has a Gothic Style and can house 40.000 people.

Ok, let’s see the top 3 tallest Churches in the World:
I. Ulm Minster- 161.5 m (530 ft). The Largest Protestant Gothic church in Germany. Has 768 stairs going up to a height of 143 m. Spires were intended to be shorter, but height increased to outdo Cologne Cathedral.
II. Lincoln Cathedral- 159.7 m (524 ft) The tallest building in the world from 1311 to 1549. Was 103 meters from 1549 to 1807.
III. Saint Olaf- 159 m (521.6 ft). The tallest building in the world from 1549 to 1625; tallest church in the Baltic States.

Churches are the most visited tourist sites in the world. It doesn’t come as a surprise, regarding their scale and beautifulness.