List of highest church naves


The nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church, in Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting. The nave of a church, whether Romanesque, Gothic or Classical, extends from the entry to the chancel and is flanked by lower aisles separated from the nave by an arcade.
#Cathedral/ChurchNave heightCityCountryNotes
1Beauvais CathedralBeauvaisFranceThe "Parthenon of French Gothic", only one bay of the nave was built, but choir and transepts were completed to the same height.
2St. Peter's Basilica
Vatican CityVatican City
3Florence CathedralFlorenceItaly
3Milan CathedralMilanItaly
3Santa ChiaraNaplesItaly
3Sagrada FamíliaBarcelonaSpainStill under construction, although the interior of the church is complete. Vaults of the crossing and the apse reach 60 and 75 metres respectively.
7San Petronio BasilicaBolognaItaly
8Palma CathedralPalmaSpainPillars sustaining vaults are the narrowest in the world: they measure 1/12 of vault width
8People's Salvation CathedralBucharestRomaniaIt is the tallest and largest Orthodox church building in the world.
8Basilica of Our Lady of LicheńLicheń StaryPolandHighest nave in Poland, 77 m wide. The highest point inside the church is 85 meters high
8Chiesa di San NicolòTrevisoItaly
12Cologne CathedralCologneGermanyHighest height to width ratio of any nave
13Amiens CathedralAmiensFrance
14Seville CathedralSevilleSpainRanked as largest medieval Gothic church
15Metz CathedralMetzFranceLargest glass surface
16St Bartholomew's ChurchBrightonUnited KingdomHighest nave in the UK, not vaulted.
17Ulm MünsterUlmGermany
17Narbonne Cathedral

NarbonneFranceOnly the great choir of this French Gothic cathedral has been built.
19Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of AparecidaAparecidaBrazilThird biggest church in the world. Biggest place of worship in all the Americas.
20St. Mary's ChurchLübeckGermanyHighest brick vault in the world.
22Reims CathedralReimsFranceHolds the world record for statues: 2303 stone figurines are represented on it.
23Cathedral of St. John the DivineNew York CityUnited States
24St Paul's CathedralLondonUnited Kingdom
24Cathedral of La PlataLa PlataArgentina
24Nantes CathedralNantesFrance
28Bourges CathedralBourgesFrance
28Chartres Cathedral
ChartresFrance
28Basilica of St. ThérèseLisieuxFrance
28St. NicholasWismarGermany
28Cathedral of Christ the SaviourMoscowRussia
33Liverpool CathedralLiverpoolUnited Kingdom
34Tournai CathedralTournaiBelgiumHighest nave in the Low Countries
35New CathedralSalamancaSpain
36Notre Dame
ParisFrance
36Málaga CathedralMálagaSpain
36St. George churchWismarGermany
39Granada CathedralGranadaSpain
40Basilica of Saint-QuentinSaint-QuentinFrance
39Cathedral of Our Lady of GuadalupeZamora de HidalgoMexicoTallest Neo-Gothic church in Mexico, 106 m. Still under construction. Known as the "Incomplete Cathedral".
39Girona CathedralGironaSpainWidest Gothic nave in the world, 22.98 m, and lower ratio high/wide in Gothic architecture
39Church of Our Lady of the SnowsPragueCzech Republic high nave destroyed during Hussite Wars
43Le Mans CathedralLe MansFrance
43Segovia CathedralSegoviaSpain
43St. Vitus CathedralPragueCzech Republic
43Speyer CathedralSpeyerGermanyHighest romanesque vault
47St. Mary's churchStralsundGermanyWorld's highest building from 1625 to 1647. Today 104 m.
48St. Mary's ChurchStargard SzczecińskiPolandSecond highest nave in Poland
48Batalha MonasteryBatalhaPortugal
50Aachen CathedralAachenGermanyHeight of the gothic choir.
50Strasbourg CathedralStrasbourgFrance
50Ely CathedralElyUnited Kingdom
50Glasgow CathedralGlasgowUnited Kingdom
50Magdeburg CathedralMagdeburgGermany
50Santa Maria del MarBarcelonaSpainGreatest separation between pillars in Gothic architecture
50Engelbrekt ChurchStockholmSwedenHighest nave in Scandinavia
57Regensburg CathedralRegensburgGermany
58Cathedral of Our Lady of the AngelsLos AngelesUnited States
59St. Martin's CathedralUtrechtNetherlandsThe nave collapsed during a storm in 1674.
59St. Mary's ChurchRostockGermany
61St Bavo's CathedralGhentBelgium
62Westminster AbbeyLondonUnited Kingdom
62Munich FrauenkircheMunichGermany
62York MinsterYorkUnited Kingdom
62St. Olaf's ChurchTallinnEstonia
62Washington National CathedralWashington, D.C.United States
67Archbasilica of Saint John LateranRomeItaly
67Pavia CathedralPaviaItaly
69St. John's Cathedral's-HertogenboschNetherlands
70Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the BaptistKutná HoraCzech Republic
70Cathedral of Our Lady AntwerpBelgium
70St. Rumbold's CathedralMechelenBelgiumHeight mentioned on the Dutch Wikipedia article without source.
70Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint EulaliaBarcelonaSpain
75Grace CathedralSan FranciscoUnited States
76Lancing College ChapelLancingUnited Kingdom
77Uppsala CathedralUppsalaSweden
78Salisbury CathedralSalisburyUnited Kingdom
79Lincoln CathedralLincolnUnited KingdomA central spire from after 1311 until 1548 had a reputed height of, which would have made the cathedral the tallest structure in the world during the spire's existence.
80Cathedral of St. John the EvangelistSpokaneUnited States
81Canterbury CathedralCanterburyUnited KingdomNave is with a crossing height of, and a tower tall
82Grundtvigskirken22 m CopenhagenDenmark
83All Saints CathedralHalifaxCanada

Note: The lower part of the list probably has many missing cathedrals. For example, St Patrick's Cathedral Melbourne - 24.3 metres