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" (Medieval Latin navis, "ship") was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting. The nave of a church, whether Romanesque, Gothic or Classical, extends from the entry (which may have a separate vestibule, the narthex) to the chancel and is flanked by lower aisles separated from the nave by an arcade.
Note: Due to lack of documented verification, the lower part of the list is incomplete and probably has missing cathedrals.
| # | Cathedral/Church | Nave height | City | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beauvais Cathedral | 47 m (154 ft) | Beauvais | France | Only one bay of the nave was built, but choir and transepts were completed to the same height. |
| 2 | St. Peter's Basilica | 46 m (151 ft) 45 m (148 ft) |
Vatican City | Vatican City | |
| 3 | Florence Cathedral | 45 m (148 ft) | Florence | Italy | |
| 3 | Milan Cathedral | 45 m (148 ft) | Milan | Italy | |
| 3 | Sagrada Família | 45 m (148 ft) | Barcelona | Spain | Still under construction. Vaults of the crossing and the apse reach 60 and 75 metres respectively. |
| 3 | Santa Chiara | ~45 m (148 ft)[a] ~33.5 m (110 ft)[b] |
Naples | Italy | |
| 7 | San Petronio Basilica | 44.24 m (145.1 ft) | Bologna | Italy | |
| 8 | Palma Cathedral | 44 m (144 ft) | Palma | Spain | Pillars sustaining vaults are the narrowest in the world; measuring 1⁄12 of vault width (at the Reims Cathedral, pillars are 1⁄6 of vault width). |
| 8 | People's Salvation Cathedral | 44 m (144 ft) | Bucharest | Romania | Tallest and largest (by volume) Orthodox church building in the world. |
| 11 | Cologne Cathedral | 43.35 m (142.2 ft) | Cologne | Germany | Highest height to width ratio of any nave. |
| 12 | Amiens Cathedral | 42.3 m (139 ft) | Amiens | France | |
| 15 | St Bartholomew's Church | 41.15 m (135.0 ft) | Brighton | United Kingdom | |
| 16 | Ulm Münster | 41 m (135 ft) | Ulm | Germany | |
| 16 | Narbonne Cathedral | 41 m (135 ft) 40.1 m (132 ft) |
Narbonne | France | Only the great choir of this French Gothic church is completely built. |
| 17 | Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady Aparecida | 40 m (130 ft) | Aparecida | Brazil | |
| 20 | St. Mary's Church | 38.5 m (126 ft) | Lübeck | Germany | Highest brick vault in the world. |
| 21 | Reims Cathedral | 37.95 m (124.5 ft) | Reims | France | Holds the world record for statues: 2303 stone figurines are represented on it. |
| 22 | Cathedral of St. John the Divine | 37.7 m (124 ft) | New York City | United States | |
| 23 | Cathedral of La Plata | 37.5 m (123 ft) | La Plata | Argentina | |
| 23 | Nantes Cathedral | 37.5 m (123 ft) | Nantes | France | |
| 26 | Bourges Cathedral | 37 m (121 ft) | Bourges | France | |
| 26 | Chartres Cathedral | 37 m (121 ft) 36.55 m (119.9 ft) |
Chartres | France | |
| 26 | Basilica of St. Thérèse | 37 m (121 ft) | Lisieux | France | |
| 26 | St. Nicholas | 37 m (121 ft) | Wismar | Germany | |
| 26 | Cathedral of Christ the Saviour | 37 m (121 ft) | Moscow | Russia | |
| 31 | Liverpool Cathedral | 36.54 m (119.9 ft) | Liverpool | United Kingdom | |
| 32 | Seville Cathedral | 36 m (118 ft) | Seville | Spain | Largest medieval Gothic church. The vaults at the crossing reach 40 m. |
| 32 | Tournai Cathedral | 36 m (118 ft) | Tournai | Belgium | Highest nave in the Low Countries |
| 33 | New Cathedral | 35.4 m (116 ft) | Salamanca | Spain | |
| 34 | Notre Dame | 35 m (115 ft) 34 m (112 ft) |
Paris | France | |
| 34 | Málaga Cathedral | 35 m (115 ft) | Málaga | Spain | |
| 34 | St. George church | 35 m (115 ft) | Wismar | Germany | |
| 37 | Granada Cathedral | 34.5 m (113 ft) | Granada | Spain | |
| 38 | Basilica of Saint-Quentin | 34 m (112 ft) | Saint-Quentin | France | |
| 38 | Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe | 34 m (112 ft) | Zamora de Hidalgo | Mexico | Still under construction (work began in 1898). Known as the "Incomplete Cathedral" ("La Catedral Inconclusa"). |
| 38 | Girona Cathedral | 34 m (112 ft) | Girona | Spain | Widest Gothic nave in the world, 22.98 m, and lower ratio high/wide in Gothic architecture |
| 38 | Church of Our Lady of the Snows | 34 m (112 ft) | Prague | Czech Republic | 39 m (128 ft) high nave destroyed during Hussite Wars |
| 42 | Chiesa di San Nicolò | 33.35 m (109.4 ft) | Treviso | Italy | |
| 43 | Le Mans Cathedral | 33 m (108 ft) | Le Mans | France | |
| 43 | Segovia Cathedral | 33 m (108 ft) | Segovia | Spain | |
| 43 | St. Vitus Cathedral | 33 m (108 ft) | Prague | Czech Republic | |
| 43 | Speyer Cathedral | 33 m (108 ft) | Speyer | Germany | Highest Romanesque vault |
| 47 | St. Mary's Church | 32.95 m (108.1 ft) | Stralsund | Germany | World's highest building from 1625 to 1647 (151 m). Today 104 m. |
| 48 | St. Mary's Church | 32.5 m (107 ft) | Stargard Szczeciński | Poland | |
| 48 | Batalha Monastery | 32.5 m (107 ft) | Batalha | Portugal | |
| 50 | Aachen Cathedral | 32 m (105 ft) | Aachen | Germany | Height of the gothic choir. |
| 50 | Bayeux Cathedral | 32 m (105 ft) | Bayeux | France | |
| 50 | Strasbourg Cathedral | 32 m (105 ft) | Strasbourg | France | |
| 50 | Ely Cathedral | 32 m (105 ft) | Ely | United Kingdom | |
| 50 | Glasgow Cathedral | 32 m (105 ft) | Glasgow | United Kingdom | |
| 50 | Magdeburg Cathedral | 32 m (105 ft) | Magdeburg | Germany | |
| 50 | Santa Maria del Mar | 32 m (105 ft) | Barcelona | Spain | Greatest separation between pillars in Gothic architecture (15 m) |
| 50 | Engelbrekt Church | 32 m (105 ft) | Stockholm | Sweden | |
| 57 | Regensburg Cathedral | 31.85 m (104.5 ft) | Regensburg | Germany | |
| 58 | Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels | 31.7 m (104 ft) | Los Angeles | United States | |
| 59 | St. Martin's Cathedral | 31.5 m (103 ft) | Utrecht | Netherlands | Ruin. The nave collapsed during a storm in 1674. |
| 59 | St. Mary's Church | 31.5 m (103 ft) | Rostock | Germany | |
| 61 | St Bavo's Cathedral | 31.1 m (102 ft) | Ghent | Belgium | |
| 62 | Westminster Abbey | 31 m (102 ft) | London | United Kingdom | |
| 62 | Munich Frauenkirche | 31 m (102 ft) | Munich | Germany | |
| 62 | York Minster | 31 m (102 ft) | York | United Kingdom | |
| 62 | St. Olaf's Church | 31 m (102 ft) | Tallinn | Estonia | |
| 62 | Washington National Cathedral | 31 m (102 ft) | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 67 | Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception | 30.5 m (100 ft) | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 67 | Riverside Church | 30.5 m (100 ft) | New York City | United States | |
| 69 | Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran | 30 m (98 ft) | Rome | Italy | |
| 69 | Pavia Cathedral | 30 m (98 ft) | Pavia | Italy | |
| 69 | St. Peter's Church | 30 m (98 ft) | Riga | Latvia | |
| 71 | St. Bavo Church | 29 m (95 ft) | Haarlem | Netherlands | The nave is covered by a 16th-century wooden net vault. |
| 71 | Saint Thomas Church | 29 m (95 ft) | New York City | United States | |
| 71 | St. John's Cathedral | 29 m (95 ft) | 's-Hertogenbosch | Netherlands | |
| 74 | St. Catherine's Church | 28 m (92 ft) | Brielle | Netherlands | |
| 74 | St Paul's Cathedral | 28 m (92 ft) | London | United Kingdom | |
| 74 | Alexander Nevsky Cathedral | 28 m (92 ft) | Sofia | Bulgaria | |
| 74 | Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist | 28 m (92 ft) | Kutná Hora | Czech Republic | |
| 74 | Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp) | 28 m (92 ft) | Antwerp | Belgium | |
| 74 | Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia | 28 m (92 ft) | Barcelona | Spain | |
| 82 | Grace Cathedral | 27.7 m (91 ft) | San Francisco | United States | |
| 83 | Lancing College Chapel | 27.4 m (90 ft) | Lancing | United Kingdom | |
| 84 | Upper Church | 27 m (89 ft) | Kampen | Netherlands | |
| 84 | Uppsala Cathedral | 27 m (89 ft) | Uppsala | Sweden | |
| 86 | Der Aa Church | 26 m (85 ft) | Groningen | Netherlands | |
| 87 | Salisbury Cathedral | 25.5 m (84 ft) | Salisbury | United Kingdom | |
| 88 | De Krijtberg | 25 m (82 ft) | Amsterdam | Netherlands | |
| 88 | Lincoln Cathedral | 25 m (82 ft) | Lincoln | United Kingdom | |
| 90 | Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist | 24.3 m (80 ft) | Spokane | United States | |
| 91 | Church of Our Lady | 24 m (79 ft) | Dordrecht | Netherlands | |
| 91 | Canterbury Cathedral | 24 m (79 ft) | Canterbury | United Kingdom | Nave with a crossing height of 92 feet (28 metres) |
| 93 | East Liberty Presbyterian Church | 22.86 m (75 ft) | Pittsburgh | United States | |
| 95 | All Saints Cathedral | 19.5 m (64 ft) | Halifax | Canada |