List of tallest structures built before the 20th century

List of pre-twentieth century structures by height

Name Municipality (current) Country (current) Height (feet) Height (metres) Completed Comments
Eiffel TowerParisFrance9863001889
New Brighton TowerNew BrightonUnited Kingdom5671731900Tower dismantled from 1919.
Washington MonumentWashington, D.C.United States5551691884
Mole AntonellianaTurinItaly549.54167.51889
Philadelphia City HallPhiladelphiaUnited States5481671894
Ulm MinsterUlmGermany529.92161.531890
Lincoln CathedralLincolnUnited Kingdom5251601300Spire destroyed in 1549.
St. Olaf's ChurchTallinnEstonia5221591519Spire destroyed in 1625. Reconstructed with 139 meter.
Blackpool TowerBlackpoolUnited Kingdom5181581894
Cologne CathedralCologneGermany5161571880
Yongning Pagoda (永宁宝塔)LuoyangChina448137~154.95516
Rouen CathedralRouenFrance4951511876
St. Mary's ChurchStralsundGermany4951511625Spire destroyed 1647. Reconstructed with about 104 meter.
Old St. Paul's CathedralLondonUnited Kingdom493150.21240Spire destroyed in 1561. Completely destroyed in 1666.
St. NikolaiHamburgGermany4821471874
Great PyramidGizaEgypt481146.6c. 2570 BC
Pyramid of KhafreGizaEgypt475143c. 2530 BC
Strasbourg CathedralStrasbourgFrance4721421439Highest building between 1647 and 1874, between the St. Mary's Church spire collapse and the construction of the Church of St. Nicholas.
Halsbrücker EsseHalsbrückeGermany4591401889
St. Peter's BasilicaVatican City4521381626
St. Stephen's CathedralViennaAustria448c. 136.741433
St. Martin's ChurchLandshutGermany428130.61500Tallest brickwork tower in the world.
Amiens CathedralAmiensFrance415126.61533
St. Mary'sLübeckGermany4101251350Second tallest brickwork tower in the world.
Cathedral of Our LadyAntwerpBelgium4041231521
Salisbury CathedralSalisburyUnited Kingdom4041231320
Belltower of Peter and Paul CathedralSaint PetersburgRussia401122.51733
JetavanaramayaAnuradhapuraSri Lanka400122273–301
Basilica of San GaudenzioNovaraItaly3971211887
Phra PathommachediNakhon PathomThailand396120.451870
Kanishka stupaPeshawarPakistan400120200 CEDestroyed by White Huns in 460 CE.
Pharos LighthouseAlexandriaEgypt338~387103~118[1]c. 280 BCDestroyed by earthquakes in 1303 and 1323.
Sint-WalburgiskerkZutphenNetherlands38411716th c.Current height: 76 m. Until 1600, the church was 117 m tall and the highest structure in the Netherlands before the 20th century.
Potala PalaceLhasaChina3841171694
Freiburg MinsterFreiburg im BreisgauGermany380.7116c. 1330
Church of Our LadyBrugesBelgium379.3115.6c. 1465Third tallest brickwork tower in the world.
St. Andrew's ChurchHildesheimGermany376114.51883Tallest church tower in Lower Saxony.
Florence CathedralFlorenceItaly375114.51436
Torrazzo of CremonaCremonaItaly369.75112.71309
Shwedagon PagodaYangonMyanmar3671121775Successively rebuilt taller: 18m (1362); 40m (1462)
New St. Paul's CathedralLondonUnited Kingdom365111.21677Built after the destruction of Old St. Paul's.
Seven-Story Pagoda at Shōkoku-ji Kyoto Japan 358 109.1 1399 Destroyed by fire in 1403.
Dom Tower of UtrechtUtrechtNetherlands3581091382Restored in 1912 to reach current height of 112 metres.
Nieuwe Kerk (Delft)DelftNetherlands356.79108.751895
Milwaukee City HallMilwaukeeUnited States3531081895
Chaturbhuj TempleOrchhaIndia344104.8c. 1558Chaturbhuj Temple dedicated to Vishnu was the tallest structure in the Indian subcontinent from 1558 to 1970.
Red PyramidDahshurEgypt345105c. 2600 BC
St. Catherine's ChurchHoogstratenBelgium343.5104.71548
Palace of JusticeBrusselsBelgium3411041883
Old City Hall (Toronto)TorontoCanada340103.61899Largest civic building in North America prior to 20th century
Cathedral of St. Bartholomew (Plzeň)PlzeňCzech Republic335103c. 1480Construction begun in 1342.
St Martin's CathedralYpresBelgium3351021370
GiraldaSevilleSpain330101156868 m when was constructed in 1171; built it higher in 1568
Shwesandaw PagodaBaganMyanmar328+100+c. 1057100 meters tall without counting its hti spire
East Seven-Story Pagoda at Tōdai-ji Nara Japan 328 100 c. 743 Burned down by war in 1181
West Seven-Story Pagoda at Tōdai-ji Nara Japan 328 100 c. 743 Burned down by lightning in 943
St Mark's CampanileVeniceItaly32398.61514
Onze Lieve VrouwetorenAmersfoortNetherlands322.698.331470
St Vitus ChurchHilversumNetherlands321.5981892
St. Rumbold's CathedralMechelenBelgium31997.28c. 1520
Torre AsinelliBolognaItaly318.997.2before 1185
Grote Kerk (Breda)BredaNetherlands318.24971547
MartinitorenGroningenNetherlands318.2496.8c. 1550
Brussels Town HallBrusselsBelgium315961454
Norwich CathedralNorwichUnited Kingdom315961480Building of current spire commenced
Latting ObservatoryNew York CityUnited States315961853Shortened by 75 feet in 1855; destroyed by fire in 1856.
Martinikerk (Doesburg)DoesburgNetherlands308.594c. 1430
Church of St Walburge, PrestonPrestonUnited Kingdom308.5941873
Sint-Jacobus de Meerderekerk (The Hague)The HagueNetherlands308.5941878
St Eusebius' Church, ArnhemArnhemNetherlands305931550
Saint Vincent's ChurchEekloBelgium305931883
Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)TorontoCanada30592.91874
Grote or Sint-Jacobskerk (The Hague)The HagueNetherlands303.592.51424
RuwanwelisayaAnuradhapuraSri Lanka30092c. 140 BC
EtemenankiBabylonIraq298.5691c. 601 BCZiggurat dedicated to Marduk. Alleged to have originally been built, to an unknown height, between the 14th-9th centuries BC, then destroyed in 689 BC by Sennacherib. Rebuilt c. 600 BC by Nebuchadnezzar II. Finally demolished by Alexander the Great in 323 BC .
Belfry of GhentGhentBelgium298.5911380
AbdijtorenMiddelburgNetherlands296.690.41350–1400
Shwemawdaw PagodaBagoMyanmar295+90+1796Was 90 meters tall without counting its hti spire; raised to 114 m (without counting the hti spire height) in 1954.
Coventry CathedralCoventryUnited Kingdom295901500
St Bavo's CathedralGhentBelgium292891569
Torre del MangiaSienaItaly289881348
St Walburga ChurchOudenaardeBelgium289881627
WesterkerkAmsterdamNetherlands285871631
Belfry of MonsMonsBelgium285871669
The Roman-Catholic Parish ChurchSpišská Nová VesSlovakia285871894
St Medardus ChurchWervikBelgium282861433
Grote of Sint-ClemenskerkSteenwijkNetherlands2828615th c.
Liaodi PagodaDingzhouChina276841055
Cathedral of Our LadyAarschotBelgium276841337
St Tillo ChurchIzegemBelgium276841868
Brooklyn BridgeNew York CityUnited States276841883
St Willibrordus Church, BerchemAntwerpBelgium276841891
St Martin's ChurchKortrijkBelgium272831466
Belfry of BrugesBrugesBelgium272831487
Sint-Petrus' Stoel van AntiochiëkerkSittardNetherlands27283c. 1505
St Gummarus ChurchLierBelgium272831540
Minarets of Selimiye MosqueEdirneTurkey272831574
Tournai CathedralTournaiBelgium272831700
St. Mary's Church Gdańsk Poland 269 82 1502
CunerakerkRhenenNetherlands268.481.81531
HwangryongsaGyeongjuSouth Korea26280643
St. Christopher's Cathedral, RoermondRoermondNetherlands26179.71663
St Salvator's CathedralBrugesBelgium259791350, 1871
Sint-JanskerkMaastrichtNetherlands259791450–1500
Kutubiyya MosqueMarrakeshMorocco253771195
Beisi PagodaSuzhouChina249761153
St Nicholas ChurchGhentBelgium249761300–1330Construction completed early in the 14th century, with further extensions during the following centuries to accommodate the growing population.
Clérigos ChurchPortoPortugal24875.61750
Oude Kerk (Delft)DelftNetherlands246751350
AbayagiriyaAnuradhapuraSri Lanka24574.6c. 103 BC
MahachaityaAmaravathiIndia24273c. 300 BC
Taj MahalAgra, Uttar PradeshIndia240731653
Qutb MinarDelhiIndia23772.5c. 1200
La Danta TempleEl MiradorGuatemala23672300 BC
Minarets of Süleymaniye MosqueIstanbulTurkey236721558
Gonbad-e QabusGonbad-e QabusIran236721006
Canterbury CathedralCanterburyUnited Kingdom23571.61498
Pyramid of the SunTeotihuacanMexico233.671.2100
The Ziggurat of Dur-KurigalzuDur-KurigalzuIraq23070c. 1400 BC
Belfry of TournaiTournaiBelgium230701294
Qianxun PagodaDali CityChina22869.6823–840
Pagoda of Fogong TempleYing CountyChina22067.31056
Galata TowerIstanbulTurkey21966.91348
Great Pyramid of CholulaCholulaMexico21766200 BC
Arunachaleswara Temple Tiruvannamalai India 217 66 9th Century
Brihadiswara Temple Thanjavur India 217 66 1010 AD
Ely CathedralElyUnited Kingdom217661375
Thatbyinnyu TempleBaganMyanmar217661150
Angkor WatAngkorCambodia21365c. 1150
Temple of the Two-Headed Serpent (Tikal Pyramid IV)TikalGuatemala21264.6c. 741
Giant Wild Goose PagodaXi'anChina21064704
Minarets of Sultan Ahmed MosqueIstanbulTurkey210641616
Notre-Dame BasilicaMontrealCanada200601843
Liuhe PagodaHangzhouChina19659.891165
Mirisawetiya ViharaAnuradhapuraSri Lanka19258.5c. 161 BC
Leaning Tower of PisaPisaItaly191.4758.361372
Pagoda of Tianning TempleBeijingChina18957.81100–1120
Tikal Pyramid VTikalGuatemala18757c. 700
Hagia Sophia CathedralIstanbulTurkey18456.1537
El TigreEl MiradorGuatemala18355.8100
Main Pyramid of CalakmulCalakmulMexico180.455100
Temple of the Jaguar Priest (Tikal Pyramid III)TikalGuatemala180.455c. 810
Five-Story Pagoda of Tō-ji Kyoto Japan 180 54.8 1643 Tallest existing wooden tower in Japan.
Washington MonumentBaltimoreUnited States17854.41829
Basilica and Convent of St. FrancisSaltaArgentina177541877
Cathedral of Bogotá Bogotá Colombia 170 52 1823
Ananda TempleBaganMyanmar167+51+110551 meters tall without counting its hti spire
Huaca del SolTrujilloPeru16450450
Htupayon PagodaSagaingMyanmar161+49+1851/5249 meters tall without counting its hti spire; originally built in 1444–1454; now raised to 61.5 m (since 2016)
Kalyan MinaretBukharaUzbekistan157+481127One of the few monuments that survived Mongol conquest of Central Asia
ColosseumRomeItaly1574880
Temple of the Great Jaguar (Tikal Pyramid I)TikalGuatemala15447740–750
Templo MayorMexico CityMexicoc. 150c. 451325Destroyed in 1521.
Mausoleum of HalicarnassusBodrumTurkey14845c. 350 BC
Cathedral of CórdobaCórdobaArgentina148451787
Zvartnots CathedralZvartnotsArmenia14845652
Hassan TowerRabatMorocco144441199
Pyramid of the MoonTeotihuacanMexico14143100
Temple of the Masks (Tikal Pyramid II)TikalGuatemala13842c. 700
El CastilloXunantunichBelize13040600
St. Ignatius ChurchBuenos AiresArgentina130401722
Great Pyramid of La VentaLa VentaMexico11034c. 900 BC
Colossus of RhodesRhodesGreece11033.5c. 280 BC
High TempleLamanaiBelize10833400–100 BC
Five-Story Pagoda of Horyuji-Temple Ikaruga Japan 107 32.55 670-711 Oldest wooden tower in the world.

See also

References
  1. McKenzie, Judith (2011). The Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt: 300 BC – AD 700. Yale University Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0300170948.
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