5 stunning architectural wonders around the globe

Humans have created beautiful things since the dawn of time. Regardless of location, difficulty or time restraints, people have proven a love of beautiful things, and it’s reflected in their buildings. Here are five of the most beautiful architectural feats around the world.

What are the greatest architectural wonders of the world?

1. Cologne Cathedral

Construction on Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 and ended 632 years later in 1880, according to UNESCO. This cathedral “bears witness to the strength and endurance of European Christianity. No other Cathedral is so perfectly conceived, so uniformly and uncompromisingly executed in all its parts.”

2. Schwerin Palace

Schwerin Palace was constructed around the same time Cologne Cathedral was finished, in 1857. It took 10 years to build, according to the palace’s website.

The palace was housed by the House of Mecklenburg until their reign ended in 1918. After that “it has been a school for nursery school teachers, a hospital and housed several museums. After the German Reunification Schwerin Castle became seat of regional parliament. It is also open to visitors as Schwerin Castle Museum since 1974.”

3. Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is in Cambodia, dating back to the beginning of the 12th century, according to History. Experts suggest it was first dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, but later became a Buddhist temple.

Angkor Wat has an unusual history, as it never really fell dormant, but “fell gradually into disuse and disrepair.” When it was “discovered” by the French in the 1840s, explorer Henri Mouhot recorded that Angkor Wat was “grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome,” per History.

4. Saint Basil’s Cathedral

Ivan the Terrible constructed Saint Basil’s Cathedral in six years between 1555 and 1561, according to the University of Pennsylvania. Though it’s located in Moscow, Russia, its domes are reminiscent of religious architecture in Jerusalem.

There have been many legends surrounding the cathedral. Bridge to Moscow explained two of them. The first was that “the cruel Russian tsar had the architect blinded to prevent him from building a more magnificent building for anyone else,” and the second was that “Napoleon wanted to destroy the Cathedral when he realized he couldn’t relocate it to Paris.”

This Cathedral not only has a breathtaking exterior, but an intricate interior as well. The Moscow Times published photos of the inside that can be viewed here.

5. York Minster

The cathedral’s website marks York Minster’s history as long and complicated including Constantine the Great and arson, and dating back to A.D. 306. However, construction on the minster as we know it today began 1220 and was not finished for over 250 years in 1472, according to History of York. The church is in the distinct Gothic style.