The Ulmer Münster in southern Germany is the world’s tallest church. For now, anyway. The Gothic-style Lutheran church’s reign – begun on May 31, 1890 – could end in 2025, when La Sagrada Familia Basilica’s “Tower of Jesus Christ” in Spain is set to be completed.
At an eventual 172.5 m. high, the Catholic basilica in Barcelona should inch out the Ulmer Münster by a mere 11 m.
But La Sagrada Familia ‘s construction has taken 142 years and counting. The ultimate completion could come in 2026, 100 years since the death of the original Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí. Ironically, when the basilica reaches its final height, it will be thanks to a 17-m. cross that was made by a German company.
Still, the Ulmer Münster’s lead pastor isn’t upset.
“I don’t find it all that fascinating that it is the highest church tower in the world,” Dean Torsten Krannich says. “The church also lifts my heart up to God. This is simply a wonderful church that invites you to pray and be thankful.”
After all, Ulm will always have Albert Einstein. The physicist was born there in 1879 and lived in Ulm for the first 15 months of his life. His extended family remained, and he returned and climbed the church’s tower in 1923.
In addition to a stained-glass window inside the Ulmer Münster that features Einstein and other famous scientists, the head of communications for Ulm’s tourism board is quick to point out that the rest of the city has “a very high density of art and culture.”
“We can inspire the guests who come here even when we no longer have the highest church in the world, but only have the second highest,” Dirk Homburg said.
The Ulmer Münster’s history dates to 1377, when Ulm’s citizens decided to demolish their old parish church. Located outside the city gates, it could be a perilous trek for congregants during the frequent wars of the Middle Ages. The residents chose to finance the building of a new one in the city’s centre themselves and planned for it to have the highest spire in the world.
Construction paused in 1543 when, in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, the city’s leaders decided to stop the work amid political and economic turbulence. Building resumed in 1844 and by May 31, 1890, the church was complete.
Reaching a record 161.5 m. high, the Ulmer Münster was built deliberately to be taller than the Cologne Cathedral in northwest Germany – which topped out at 157.2 m. in 1880.
Although Ulm was destroyed by a World War II bombing raid in 1944, the church itself remained upright. But the Ulmer Münster’s age, as well as weather impacts and some 1 million annual visitors, mean that construction and restoration occur constantly amid tourism and religious services.
For example, visitors can currently climb 560 stairs to the viewing platform at 102 m. The platform at 143 m. – 768 stairs – is closed due to stairwell repairs.
Krannich said it remains special regardless. “Whether the tower is now 5 m. higher or 5 m. lower, it doesn’t matter to the quality of this church,” he said.
Ursula Heckler, a two-time visitor to the church, said she initially journeyed to Ulm in 2019 because she, like many others who trek there, knew it was the world’s tallest. She doesn’t plan to visit La Sagrada Familia when it takes over.
Christos Kalokerinos, a native Ulmer, is unruffled by the looming loss of status.
“There are so many other nice things about the Münster that it’s not really relevant,” he said. “I think most people think that way, too. But of course, it was also great to brag a bit about the fact that we have the highest church tower – because many, many people don’t necessarily know Ulm that way.”
Indeed, there are few indications of the record in the city. The gift shop inside the church just has a fake fireplace labeled “the world’s tallest church,” and the only reference in a tourism store across the street appeared to be a postcard stacking the church’s height up against the Great Pyramid of Giza, Big Ben and the Statue of Liberty. All are shorter than the Ulmer Münster.
Apparently, the region’s residents, known as Swabians, “prefer understatement.”
“They don’t want to tell everyone that they’re the greatest,” Krannich said. “Not everyone needs to know. It’s enough if we know it.”
But this year? “We’re going to involve Albert Einstein a bit more in our marketing,” Homburg said.
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