and it had a profound influence on the pattern of their ground plans and vaulting. Today – after the destruction of the Abbey of Cluny – Speyer Cathedral is the biggest Romanesque church in the world.

especially as it would have to start 180 feet above the ground, atop the existing walls. Other questions plagued the cathedral overseers. Their building plans eschewed the flying buttresses and ...

The plan is to transform ... as it takes place below the ground surface; repairing drains, for example. "We have been working hard to future proof the cathedral so that we don’t need to dig ...