When construction of Beauvais Cathedral began in the 12th century, the Diocese of Beauvais was determined to create the tallest cathedral in Europe. These pious overachievers weren't messing around - the initial choir design stretched a brain-scrambling 48 metres high, nearly double Notre Dame's interior height!

Sadly, this celestial dream proved too weighty for the cathedral's skeletal frame. In 1284, just twelve years after its completion, the towering vaulted roof came crashing down in a biblical shower of stone, almost taking out an entire community of unfortunate worshippers below. Undeterred, Beauvais' builders simply...kept building.

The end result is a jaw-dropping (if precarious) fusion of form and function, boasting 16th century transept galleries and a 67-metre high ceiling.