Spire

Spiers spread widely in the architecture of Gothic cathedrals, reflecting the general desire of that time to increase the height of temples. On the one hand, the high spiers made the cathedral more visible from afar, on the other, they symbolized the aspiration upward towards God. The bell towers of the cathedrals most often completed with spiers, crowned the middle cross . In the first case, they were usually built of stone, thereby blocking the inner space of the bell tower. Spiers over the middle cross and other decorative spiers could be a lighter, frame structure.

Among the highest Gothic spiers are the spire of the north tower of the Chartres Cathedral (113 meters), the spiers of the Salisbury Cathedral (123 meters) and the Strasbourg Cathedral (142 meters). The spiers of Rouen Cathedral and Cologne Cathedral are notable for their considerable height (over 150 m.), However, they were built on these churches only in the second half of the 19th century.

Small spiers crowning the pinnacles are also called phials . They were decorated with cruciferous flowers (decorative tops in the form of a blooming flower bud with cross-shaped petals) and crab .

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  Gothic cathedral with numerous spiers, according to Viollet-le-Duc (generalized image)

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  Spiers of Chartres Cathedral

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  Spiers of Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral

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  The interior of one of the spiers of the cathedral in Clermont-Ferrand

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  Spire of Strasbourg Cathedral

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  Spire over the middle cross of Amiens Cathedral

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  Spire over the middle cross of Notre Dame Cathedral , according to Viollet-le-Duc (appearance, design elements)

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  Vials over the pinnacles of the cathedral in Nevers

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  Spire of Salisbury Cathedral

Already among the first skyscrapers, many were crowned with spiers. The finlocks are the Wrigley Building (1921) in Chicago , 40 Wall Street, the Chrysler Building (both 1930) and the Empire State Building (1931) in New York . In addition to decorative significance, spiers played a role in the race for height records. Thus, the 38-meter spire of the Chrysler Building was added by the architect William van Helen to make the building the tallest in the world, bypassing the 40 Wall Street building that was built almost at the same time. Subsequently, many skyscrapers were crowned with spiers, as well as similar antennas and masts. The Council for Tall Buildings and the Urban Environment when determining the tallest buildings is guided by the so-called constructive height, which includes spiers, but excludes antennas, masts, flagpoles. This counting procedure is perceived by many as ambiguous, since the line between the terms is not always easy to draw.

The spire-shaped finishes have such modern skyscrapers as, for example, the Petronas Towers , as well as the tallest building in the world - Burj Dubai .

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  Wrigley Building

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  Spire of Chrysler Building

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  The spire-shaped end of the Empire State Building consists of a tower and an antenna

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  Petronas Towers

The most magnificent gilded spiers on the planet are installed on the dome of the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the Main Admiralty in St. Petersburg , the main pavilion of VDNH in Moscow , the main pavilion of the National Expocenter of Ukraine in Kiev .

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  Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg

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  Main Admiralty in St. Petersburg

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  The main pavilion of VDNH in Moscow

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  The main pavilion of the National Expocenter of Ukraine in Kiev

The first spiers in Moscow were crowned with temples and belfries in the Baroque and Classicism styles . The spire of the Menshikov Tower stood out at a considerable height (30 meters), but in 1723 it burned down from a lightning strike and was no longer restored. Many temple buildings of that era, for example, the bell tower of the temple in the estate of Kuskovo , preserved their spiers.

With its constructive solution, the spire of the Northern River Station is interesting. According to the creators, he should move to the full height together with the star crowning him at the beginning of the navigation season, and to move down at the end of the season. However, the station spire was lowered only a few times; he is currently in the top position all year round.

In Moscow, the most famous buildings with spiers are Stalin's skyscrapers . It is interesting that the largest of them - the Main Building of Moscow State University - did not have a spire according to the initial design and should have been crowned with a statue of MV Lomonosov , but Stalin insisted that it be completed with a spire. Spiers, similar to the Stalinist skyscrapers, were also received by other buildings of that time, for example, the Beijing Hotel , the central pavilion of the Exhibition of Economic Achievements and others. Although the wide spiers of Stalin's skyscrapers are more suitable for the definition of a "tent", they continue to be called spiers.

The highest spire of Moscow remains the spire of the Ostankino tower , reaching a height of 540 meters. The highest spire crowning a residential building, as of 2008, is the spire of the Triumph Palace , which until 2007 was the tallest residential building in Europe. The spire at Triumph Palace has a height of 49.5 meters, and the height of the entire building with a spire is 264.5 meters. According to the initial project, within the framework of the complex Moscow-City MIBC Federation , it was planned to erect the central tower “C” with survey elevators, the design mark of the top of the spire was 509 meters, which is comparable to the height of the Ostankino tower. However, later it was decided to abandon its construction.

• Admiralty Needle
• Peter and Paul Cathedral

• Obelisk to the Hero City of Leningrad

• The cathedral spire becomes the main symbolic image of William Golding 's novel The Spire .

• Tent
• Dome
• Chapter
• Roof
• Tower