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Spire
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Marienkirche
Stylized illustration of the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona with sunburst lines and blue labels reading "Sagrada Familia" above the building.
Kálymnos: church spire
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Marienkirche
Marienkirche Spires of the Marienkirche, Lübeck, Ger.

Spire

architecture
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

Spire, in architecture, steeply pointed pyramidal or conical termination to a tower. In its mature Gothic development, the spire was an elongated, slender form that was a spectacular visual culmination of the building as well as a symbol of the heavenly aspirations of pious medieval men. The spire originated in the 12th century as a simple, four-sided pyramidal roof, generally abrupt and stunted, capping a church tower. Its history is a development toward slimmer, higher...

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