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.[1] 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[2] separated from the nave by an arcade.
| Cathedral/Church | Nave height | City | Country | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beauvais Cathedral | 47m (154feet)[3] | Beauvais | France | The "Parthenon of French Gothic", only one bay of the nave was built, but choir and transepts were completed to the same height. | |
| 2 | St. Peter's Basilica | 46m (151feet)[4] 45m (148feet)[5] | Vatican City | Vatican City | ||
| 3 | Florence Cathedral | 45m (148feet) | Florence | Italy | ||
| 3 | Milan Cathedral | 45m (148feet) | Milan | Italy | ||
| 3 | Santa Chiara | ~45m (148feet) ~33.5m (109.9feet)[6] | Naples | Italy | ||
| 3 | Sagrada Família | 45m (148feet)[7] | Barcelona | Spain | Still under construction, although the interior of the church is complete. Vaults of the crossing and the apse reach 60 and 75 metres respectively. | |
| 7 | San Petronio Basilica | 44.24m (145.14feet)[8] | Bologna | Italy | ||
| 8 | Palma Cathedral | 44m (144feet)[9] [10] | Palma | Spain | Pillars sustaining vaults are the narrowest in the world: they measure 1/12 of vault width (at Reims, pillars are 1/6 of vault width) | |
| 8 | People's Salvation Cathedral | 44m (144feet)[11] | Bucharest | Romania | It is the tallest and largest (by volume) Orthodox church building in the world. | |
| 8 | Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń | 44m (144feet) | Licheń Stary | Poland | Highest nave in Poland, 77 m wide. The highest point inside the church (dome presbytery) is 85 meters high | |
| 11 | Cologne Cathedral | 43.35m (142.22feet)[12] | Cologne | Germany | Highest height to width ratio of any nave | |
| 12 | Amiens Cathedral | 42.3m (138.8feet)[13] | Amiens | France | ||
| 13 | Seville Cathedral | 42m (138feet)[14] | Seville | Spain | Ranked as largest medieval Gothic church | |
| 14 | Metz Cathedral | 41.41m (135.86feet) | Metz | France | Largest glass surface | |
| 15 | St Bartholomew's Church | 41.15m (135.01feet)[15] | Brighton | United Kingdom | Highest nave in the UK, not vaulted (wooden wagon roof). | |
| 16 | Ulm Münster | 41m (135feet)[16] | Ulm | Germany | ||
| 16 | Narbonne Cathedral | 41m (135feet) 40.1m (131.6feet)[17] | Narbonne | France | Only the great choir of this French Gothic cathedral has been built. | |
| 18 | Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida | 40m (130feet) | Aparecida | Brazil | Third biggest church in the world. Biggest place of worship in all the Americas. | |
| 19 | St. Mary's Church | 38.5m (126.3feet) | Lübeck | Germany | Highest brick vault in the world. | |
| 20 | Reims Cathedral | 37.95m (124.51feet) | Reims | France | Holds the world record for statues: 2303 stone figurines are represented on it. | |
| 21 | Cathedral of St. John the Divine | 37.7m (123.7feet)[18] | New York City | United States | ||
| 22 | Cathedral of La Plata | 37.5m (123feet) | La Plata | Argentina | ||
| 22 | Nantes Cathedral | 37.5m (123feet) | Nantes | France | ||
| 25 | Bourges Cathedral | 37m (121feet) | Bourges | France | ||
| 25 | Chartres Cathedral | 37m (121feet) 36.55m (119.91feet) | Chartres | France | ||
| 25 | Basilica of St. Thérèse | 37m (121feet) | Lisieux | France | ||
| 25 | St. Nicholas | 37m (121feet) | Wismar | Germany | ||
| 25 | Cathedral of Christ the Saviour | 37m (121feet)[19] | Moscow | Russia | ||
| 30 | Liverpool Cathedral | 36.54m (119.88feet) | Liverpool | United Kingdom | ||
| 31 | Tournai Cathedral | 36m (118feet) | Tournai | Belgium | Highest nave in the Low Countries | |
| 32 | New Cathedral | 35.4m (116.1feet) | Salamanca | Spain | ||
| 33 | Notre Dame | 35m (115feet)[20] 34m (112feet)[21] [22] | Paris | France | ||
| 33 | Málaga Cathedral | 35m (115feet) | Málaga | Spain | ||
| 33 | St. George church | 35m (115feet) | Wismar | Germany | ||
| 36 | Granada Cathedral | 34.5m (113.2feet)[23] | Granada | Spain | ||
| 37 | Basilica of Saint-Quentin | 34m (112feet) | Saint-Quentin | France | ||
| 37 | Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe | 34m (112feet)[24] | Zamora de Hidalgo | Mexico | Tallest Neo-Gothic church in Mexico, 106 m. Still under construction. Known as the "Incomplete Cathedral" ("La Catedral Inconclusa"). | |
| 37 | Girona Cathedral | 34m (112feet) | Girona | Spain | Widest Gothic nave in the world, 22.98 m, and lower ratio high/wide in Gothic architecture | |
| 37 | Church of Our Lady of the Snows | 34m (112feet)[25] | Prague | Czech Republic | 39m (128feet) high nave destroyed during Hussite Wars | |
| 41 | Chiesa di San Nicolò | 33.35m (109.42feet)[26] | Treviso | Italy | ||
| 42 | Le Mans Cathedral | 33m (108feet) | Le Mans | France | ||
| 42 | Segovia Cathedral | 33m (108feet)[27] | Segovia | Spain | ||
| 42 | St. Vitus Cathedral | 33m (108feet)[28] | Prague | Czech Republic | ||
| 42 | Speyer Cathedral | 33m (108feet) | Speyer | Germany | Highest romanesque vault | |
| 46 | St. Mary's church | 32.95m (108.1feet) | Stralsund | Germany | World's highest building from 1625 to 1647 (151 m). Today 104 m. | |
| 47 | St. Mary's Church | 32.5m (106.6feet) | Stargard Szczeciński | Poland | Second highest nave in Poland | |
| 47 | Batalha Monastery | 32.5m (106.6feet)[29] | Batalha | Portugal | ||
| 49 | Aachen Cathedral | 32m (105feet) | Aachen | Germany | Height of the gothic choir. | |
| 49 | Bayeux cathedral | 32 m(105 ft) | Bayeux | |||
| 49 | Strasbourg Cathedral | 32m (105feet) | Strasbourg | France | ||
| 49 | Ely Cathedral | 32m (105feet) | Ely | United Kingdom | ||
| 49 | Glasgow Cathedral | 32m (105feet) | Glasgow | United Kingdom | ||
| 49 | Magdeburg Cathedral | 32m (105feet) | Magdeburg | Germany | ||
| 49 | Santa Maria del Mar | 32m (105feet) | Barcelona | Spain | Greatest separation between pillars in Gothic architecture (15 m) | |
| 49 | Engelbrekt Church | 32m (105feet) | Stockholm | Sweden | Highest nave in Scandinavia | |
| 56 | Regensburg Cathedral | 31.85m (104.49feet)[30] | Regensburg | Germany | ||
| 57 | Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels | 31.7m (104feet) | Los Angeles | United States | ||
| 58 | St. Martin's Cathedral | 31.5m (103.3feet) | Utrecht | Netherlands | The nave collapsed during a storm in 1674. | |
| 58 | St. Mary's Church | 31.5m (103.3feet) | Rostock | Germany | ||
| 60 | St Bavo's Cathedral | 31.1m (102feet)[31] | Ghent | Belgium | ||
| 61 | Westminster Abbey | 31m (102feet)[32] | London | United Kingdom | ||
| 61 | Munich Frauenkirche | 31m (102feet) | Munich | Germany | ||
| 61 | 31m (102feet) | York | United Kingdom | |||
| 61 | 31m (102feet)[33] | Tallinn | Estonia | |||
| 61 | Washington National Cathedral | 31m (102feet) | Washington, D.C. | United States | ||
| 66 | Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception | 30.5 m (100 ft) | Washington, D.C. | United States | ||
| 67 | Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran | 30m (100feet) | Rome | Italy | ||
| 67 | Pavia Cathedral | 30m (100feet) | Pavia | Italy | ||
| 67 | St. Peter's Church | 30m (100feet) | Riga | Latvia | ||
| 69 | Saint Thomas Church | 29m (95feet) | New York City | New York | ||
| 69 | St. John's Cathedral | 29m (95feet) | 's-Hertogenbosch | Netherlands | ||
| 71 | St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna | 28m (92feet) | Vienna | Austria | Height mentioned on the German Wikipedia article without source. | |
| 71 | St Paul's Cathedral | 28m (92feet) | London | United Kingdom | ||
| 71 | Alexander Nevsky Cathedral | 28m (92feet)[34] of the central nave | Sofia | Bulgaria | ||
| 71 | Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist | 28m (92feet)[35] | Kutná Hora | Czech Republic | ||
| 71 | Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp) | 28m (92feet)[36] | Antwerp | Belgium | ||
| 71 | St. Rumbold's Cathedral | 28m (92feet) | Mechelen | Belgium | Height mentioned on the Dutch Wikipedia article without source. | |
| 71 | Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia | 28m (92feet)[37] | Barcelona | Spain | ||
| 78 | Grace Cathedral | 27.7m (90.9feet)[38] | San Francisco | United States | ||
| 79 | Lancing College Chapel | 27.4m (89.9feet)[39] | Lancing | United Kingdom | ||
| 80 | Uppsala Cathedral | 27m (89feet)[40] | Uppsala | Sweden | ||
| 81 | Salisbury Cathedral | 25.5m (83.7feet)[41] | Salisbury | United Kingdom | ||
| 82 | Lincoln Cathedral | 25m (82feet)[42] | Lincoln | United Kingdom | A central spire from after 1311 until 1548 had a reputed height of 160m (530feet), which would have made the cathedral the tallest structure in the world during the spire's existence. | |
| 83 | Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist | 24.3m (79.7feet) | Spokane | United States | ||
| 84 | Canterbury Cathedral | 24m (79feet) | Canterbury | United Kingdom | Nave is 80feet with a crossing height of 92feet, and a tower 169feet tall | |
| 85 | Grundtvigskirken | 22 m (72 ft) | Copenhagen | Denmark | ||
| 86 | All Saints Cathedral | 19.5m (64feet) | Halifax | Canada |
Note: The lower part of the list probably has many missing cathedrals. For example, St Patrick's Cathedral Melbourne – 24.3 metres
a.
b.