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.Encyclopædia Britannica, s.v. "nave". 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 aislesNave (definition from Answers.com. Accessed 2010-01.20.) 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. +List of highest church naves#Cathedral/ChurchCityCountryDenominationNotesImage 1 Beauvais Cathedral Beauvais France Catholic Only one bay of the nave was built, but choir and transepts were completed to the same height. 2 St. Peter's Basilica "The Basilica of St. Peter". Argiletum Tour. Retrieved 24 January 2013."The Nave". St. Peter's Basilica. Retrieved 24 January 2013. Vatican City Vatican City Catholic 3=Florence CathedralFlorenceItaly Catholic 3= Milan Cathedral Milan Italy Catholic 3=Sagrada FamíliaBarcelonaSpain Catholic Still under construction. Vaults of the crossing and the apse reach 60 and 75 metres respectively. 3= Santa Chiara ~~ Naples Italy Catholic 7 San Petronio Basilica Bologna Italy Catholic 8Palma Cathedral"Restoration of the Cathedral of Palma de Majorca". Gaudi & Barcelona Club. Retrieved 24 January 2013.PalmaSpain Catholic Pillars sustaining vaults are the narrowest in the world; measuring of vault width (at the Reims Cathedral, pillars are of vault width). 8People's Salvation CathedralBucharestRomania Eastern Orthodox (Romanian Orthodox) Tallest and largest (by volume) Eastern Orthodox church building in the world. 10 Cologne Cathedral "Measures and dates" . Der Kölner Dom. Retrieved 24 January 2013.Cologne Germany Catholic Highest height to width ratio of any nave. 11 Amiens Cathedral Der Geschichtliche Weg Der grossen Kathedralen Frankreichs, France Monuments. Amiens France Catholic 12 Málaga Cathedral Málaga Spain Catholic All three naves reach the same height, the highest among the Andalusian cathedrals. 13 Metz Cathedral "The cathedral in figures - cathedrale de metz" Metz France Catholic 14 St Bartholomew's Church"St Bartholomews Church". Visit Brighton. Retrieved 14 May 2013. Brighton United Kingdom Anglican (Church of England) 15= Ulm Münster "St. Mary's Lutheran Cathedral". Université du Québec. Retrieved 24 January 2013. Ulm Germany Protestant (Evangelical Church in Germany) 15= Narbonne Cathedral "Narbonne". Université du Québec. Retrieved 24 January 2013. Narbonne France Catholic Only the great choir of this French Gothic church is completely built. 17 Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady Aparecida "63 years since the construction of the National Shrine of Aparecida". a12.com - The official website of the Cathedral Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 May 2025. Aparecida Brazil Catholic 18 St. Mary's Church Lübeck Germany Protestant (Lutheran) Highest brick vault in the world. 19 Reims Cathedral Reims France Catholic Holds the world record for statues: 2303 stone figurines are represented on it. 20 Cathedral of St. John the Divine New York City United StatesAnglican (Episcopal Church) 21= Cathedral of La Plata La Plata Argentina Catholic 21= Nantes Cathedral Nantes France Catholic 23= Bourges Cathedral Bourges France Catholic 23= Chartres Cathedral Chartres France Catholic 23= Basilica of St. Thérèse Lisieux France Catholic 23= St. Nicholas Wismar Germany Protestant (Lutheran) 23= Cathedral of Christ the Saviour "The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour" . Retrieved 24 January 2013. Moscow Russia Eastern Orthodox (Russian Orthodox) 28 Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool United Kingdom Anglican (Church of England) 29= Seville Cathedral "Seville Cathedral". Spain (official tourism portal). Retrieved 01 March 2025. Seville Spain Catholic Largest medieval Gothic church. The vaults at the crossing reach 40 m. 29= Tournai Cathedral Tournai Belgium Catholic Highest nave in the Low Countries 31 New Cathedral Salamanca Spain Catholic 32= Notre Dame "Notre Dame en long et en large chiffres et anecdotes". Notre Dame de Paris. Retrieved 24 January 2013."Notre-Dame de Paris, Paris – Interior". Planetware. Retrieved 24 January 2013. Paris France Catholic 32= St. George's Church Wismar Germany Protestant (Lutheran) 34 Granada Cathedral "Catedral de Granada [homepage]" Granada Spain Catholic 35= Basilica of Saint-Quentin Saint-Quentin France Catholic 35= Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe "El proyecto". Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Retrieved 24 January 2013. Zamora de Hidalgo Mexico Catholic Still under construction (work began in 1898). Known as the "Incomplete Cathedral" ("La Catedral Inconclusa"). 35= Girona Cathedral Girona Spain Catholic Widest Gothic nave in the world, 22.98 m, and lower ratio high/wide in Gothic architecture 35= Church of Our Lady of the Snows "Church of Our Lady of the Snows". Prague Welcome. Retrieved 24 January 2013. Prague Czech Republic Catholic high nave destroyed during Hussite Wars 39 Chiesa di San Nicolò Treviso Italy Catholic 40= Le Mans Cathedral Le Mans France Catholic 40= Segovia Cathedral "Social events". CLIP Lab. Retrieved 24 January 2013. Segovia Spain Catholic 40= St. Vitus Cathedral Prague Czech Republic Catholic 40= Speyer Cathedral Speyer Germany Catholic Highest Romanesque vault 40= St. Mary's Church Stralsund Germany Protestant (Lutheran) World's highest building from 1625 to 1647 (151 m). Today 104 m. 45= St. Mary's Church Stargard Szczeciński Poland Catholic 45= Batalha Monastery Batalha Portugal Catholic 47= Aachen Cathedral Aachen Germany Catholic Height of the gothic choir. 47=Bayeux Cathedral32 m (105 ft)Bayeux France Catholic 47= Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg France Catholic 50= Ely Cathedral Ely United Kingdom Anglican (Church of England) 50 Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow United Kingdom Protestant (Church of Scotland) 50= Magdeburg Cathedral Magdeburg Germany Protestant (Lutheran) 50= Santa Maria del Mar Barcelona Spain Catholic Greatest separation between pillars in Gothic architecture (15 m) 50= Engelbrekt Church Stockholm Sweden Protestant (Lutheran) 55 Regensburg Cathedral Regensburg Germany Catholic 56 Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Los Angeles United States Catholic 57= St. Martin's Cathedral Utrecht Netherlands Protestant (Protestant Church in the Netherlands) Ruin. The nave collapsed during a storm in 1674. 57= St. Mary's Church Rostock Germany Protestant (Lutheran) 59= St Bavo's Cathedral "OKV: De Sint-Baafskathedraal gent. Monument en heiligdom.". Retrieved 21 March 2015. Ghent Belgium Catholic 59= Westminster Abbey "Jewels of the Architecture: London". Europanas. Retrieved 24 January 2013. London United Kingdom Anglican (Church of England) 59= Munich Frauenkirche Munich Germany Catholic 59= York Minster York United Kingdom Anglican (Church of England) 59= St. Olaf's Church St. Olaf's Church, Tallinn Tallinn Estonia Protestant (Baptist) 59= Washington National Cathedral Washington, D.C. United States Anglican (Episcopal Church) 65=Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception30.5 m (100 ft)Washington, D.C.United States Catholic65=Riverside Church30.5 m (100 ft)New York CityUnited States N/A (Interdenominational) 67= Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran Rome Italy Catholic 67= Pavia Cathedral Pavia Italy Catholic 67= St. Peter's Church Riga Latvia Protestant (Lutheran) 70= St. Bavo Church Haarlem Netherlands Protestant (Protestant Church in the Netherlands) The nave is covered by a 16th-century wooden net vault. 70= Saint Thomas Church New York City United States Anglican (Episcopal Church) 70 St. John's Cathedral 's-Hertogenbosch Netherlands Catholic 73= St. Catherine's Church Brielle Netherlands Protestant (Protestant Church in the Netherlands) 73= St Paul's Cathedral London United Kingdom Anglican (Church of England) 73= Alexander Nevsky Cathedral Sofia Bulgaria Eastern Orthodox (Bulgarian Orthodox) 73= Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist "Santini". Česká televize. Retrieved 24 January 2013. Kutná Hora Czech Republic Catholic 73= Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp) Antwerp Belgium Catholic 73= Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia Barcelona Spain Catholic 79 Grace Cathedral San Francisco United States Anglican (Episcopal Church) 80 Lancing College Chapel Lancing United Kingdom Anglican (Church of England) 81= Upper Church Kampen Netherlands Protestant (Protestant Church in the Netherlands) 81= Uppsala Cathedral "Hur hög och hur lång?" . Linköpings domkyrkoförsamling. Retrieved 24 January 2013. Uppsala Sweden Protestant (Lutheran) 83 Der Aa Church Groningen Netherlands N/A No longer operating as a church. 84 Salisbury Cathedral "Frequently Asked Questions" . Salisbury Cathedral. Retrieved 24 January 2013. Salisbury United Kingdom Anglican (Church of England) 85= De Krijtberg Amsterdam Netherlands Catholic 85= Lincoln Cathedral "Plan and Description of Lincoln Cathedral from an Anonymous guide booklet printed near the end of the Nineteenth Century" . The Bourne Archive. Retrieved 24 January 2013. Lincoln United Kingdom Anglican (Church of England) 87Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Spokane United States Anglican (Episcopal Church) 88= Church of Our Lady Dordrecht Netherlands Protestant (Protestant Church in the Netherlands) 88= Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury United Kingdom Anglican (Church of England)Nave with a crossing height of 88=Turku Cathedral24 m (79 ft)TurkuFinland Protestant (Lutheran) 91 East Liberty Presbyterian Church22.86 m (75 ft) Pittsburgh United States Protestant (Presbyterian) 92 All Saints Cathedral Halifax Canada Anglican (Anglican Church of Canada)
See also Description of the term "nave" List of largest church buildings List of tallest church buildings List of tallest domes
Notes a. b.
References
he:רשימת הקתדרלות בעלות הספינות הראשיות הגבוהות ביותר