List of the largest domes of their time

Dome of the Pantheon in Rome with Opaion . Largest dome in the world for over 1700 years

Oval dome of St. Gereon in Cologne

The following tables list the largest domes of their time , each sorted according to the size of the inner diameter.

A dome is a self-supporting, bell-shaped or hemispherical structural element of architecture. It is considered a particularly demanding construction task.

*) Since this article is still under construction, the data in the Record held column are still to be regarded as preliminary results.

Worldwide

Below is a list of the buildings that are believed to have * held the record for the world's largest dome of their time; sorted in ascending order by diameter.

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
1250 BC BC - 1st century BC Chr.	14.5 m	Treasury of Atreus	Mycenae , Greece	City-state of Mycenae	Cantilever vault
1st century BC BC - 19 BC Chr.	21.5 m	Temple of Mercury	Baiae , Italy	Roman Empire	first large dome
19 BC BC - early 2nd century	25.0 m	Agrippathermen , 'Arco della Ciambella'	Rome , Italy	Roman Empire	first thermal bath in Rome with domed central building
Early 2nd century - 128	30.0 m	Thermae of Trajan	Rome , Italy	Roman Empire	Semi-dome
128-1436	43.4 m	Pantheon	Rome , Italy	Roman Empire	largest non-reinforced concrete dome up to the present day; probably the best preserved Roman building in Rome; A role model for western domed architecture up to the 20th century; exact year of completion not known for sure
1436-1873	42-45 m	Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore	Florence , Italy	City-state of Florence	first double-skinned dome of the Renaissance
1873-1937	108 m	rotunda	Vienna , Austria	Harkort factory	steel structure clad with wood and plaster; various architects
1957-1963	109.0 m	Belgrade Fair, Hall 1	Belgrade , Serbia	Belgrade Fair	largest prestressed concrete dome in the world
1963-1965	121.9 m	Assembly Hall	Champaign , USA	University of Illinois	Reinforced concrete; Architect Max Abramovitz
1965-1975	195.5 m (642 ft)	Reliant Astrodome	Houston , USA	HA Lott, Inc.	Steel frame construction; first fully roofed and air-conditioned stadium in the world
1975-2001	207 m (678 ft)	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans , USA	Architects Curtis & Davis, Statik Sverdrup & Parcel , executed by the American Bridge Company	Steel frame construction; Designer Nathaniel Curtis
2001-2009	274 m	Kyushu Sekiyu Dome	Ōita , Japan		Designer Kishō Kurokawa
2009 - today	275 m	AT&T Stadium	Arlington , USA	HKS, Inc.

Sorted by continents

Below is a list of the buildings that probably * held the title of the largest dome of their time on their respective continent.

Europe

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
1250 BC BC - 1st century BC Chr.	14.5 m	Treasury of Atreus	Mycenae , Greece	City-state of Mycenae	Cantilever vault
1st century BC BC - 19 BC Chr.	21.5 m	Temple of Mercury	Baiae , Italy	Roman Empire	first large dome
19 BC BC - early 2nd century	25.0 m	Agrippathermen , 'Arco della Ciambella'	Rome , Italy	Roman Empire	first thermal bath in Rome with domed central building
Early 2nd century - 128	30.0 m	Thermae of Trajan	Rome , Italy	Roman Empire	Semi-dome
128-1436	43.4 m	Pantheon	Rome , Italy	Roman Empire	largest unreinforced concrete dome up to the present day; best preserved Roman building in Rome; Model character for western domed architecture up to the 20th century.
1436-1873	42-45 m	Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore	Florence , Italy	City-state of Florence	first double-skinned dome of the Renaissance
1873-1957	108 m	rotunda	Vienna , Austria	Harkort factory	steel structure clad with wood and plaster; various architects
1957-2012	109.0 m	Belgrade Fair, Hall 1	Belgrade , Serbia	Belgrade Fair	largest prestressed concrete dome in the world
2012 - 2012	120 m	Balances2	Rheinfelden , Switzerland	Haring & Co.	largest wooden dome in Europe; De-icing salt depot of the Swiss Rhine Saltworks
2012 - today	144 m	ENEL domes	Civitavecchia, Italy	ENEL	largest aluminum dome in Europe, winner of the ALUMIMUM AWARD 2012; Manufacturer: Mero-TSK; Coal store

In the first half of the 1980s, a domed hall with a diameter of 234 m was built near Istra in Russia, but it collapsed on January 29, 1985, see Istra high-voltage test hall .

America

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
1864-1902	29.0 m	Capitol	Washington DC , USA	United States	Architect Thomas Walter
1902-1963	59.45 m	West Baden Springs Hotel	West Baden, USA	Lee Wiley Sinclair	Steel-and-glass dome; Architect Harrison Albright
1963-1965	121.9 m	Assembly Hall	Champaign , USA	University of Illinois	Reinforced concrete; Architect Max Abramovitz
1965-1975	195.5 m (642 ft)	Reliant Astrodome	Houston , USA	HA Lott, Inc.	Steel frame construction; first fully roofed and air-conditioned stadium in the world
1975-2009	207 m (678 ft)	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans , USA	Architects Curtis & Davis, Statik Sverdrup & Parcel , executed by the American Bridge Company	Steel frame construction; Designer Nathaniel Curtis
2009 - today	275 m	AT&T Stadium	Arlington, Texas , USA	HKS, Inc.

Asia

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
691-1659	20.40 m	Dome of the Rock	Jerusalem	Umayyad Empire	first monumental building of Islam; built in the Byzantine architectural style
1550-1557	27.25 m	Suleymaniye Mosque	Istanbul, Turkey	Architect Sinan, Ottoman Empire	Built by order of Sultan Suleyman.
1569-1575	30.28 m	Selimiye Mosque	Istanbul, Turkey	Architect Sinan, Ottoman Empire	Commissioned by Sultan Selim II and completed by the son Sultan Murat III.
1659-1960	37 m	Gol Gumbaz	Bijapur , India	Adil Shahi Sultans of Bijapur	Tomb of the Sultan Mohammed Adil Shah (1627–1657); Cantilever dome made of layers of brick embedded in cement mortar; Trumpet dome
1960-2001	108 m	Araneta Coliseum	Quezon City , Philippines	J. Amado Araneta	the world's largest covered sports arena when it opens
2001 - today	274 m	Kyushu Sekiyu Dome	Ōita , Japan		Designer Kishō Kurokawa

Africa

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
1988-1997	90 m	Notre-Dame de la Paix basilica	Yamoussoukro , Ivory Coast	Ivory Coast	following the model of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome built
1997 - today	140.0 m	Coca-Cola Dome	Johannesburg , South Africa	?	Sports arena

Sorted by building materials

Below is a list of the buildings that presumably * held the title of the world's largest dome of their time, differentiated according to building materials.

stone

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
1250 BC BC - AD 150/175	14.5 m	Treasury of Atreus	Mycenae , Greece	City-state of Mycenae	Cantilever vault
150/175 AD - today	15.0 m	West thermal baths	Gerasa , Jordan	Roman Empire	one of the first wedge stone domes with a square floor plan

Concrete, unreinforced

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
1st century BC BC - 1st century BC Chr.	6.52 m	Stabianer Thermen , Laconicum	Pompeii , Italy	Roman Empire	Conical vault (early form of the dome); oldest known concrete dome
1st century BC Chr. - 128 AD	21.5 m	Temple of Mercury	Baiae , Italy	Roman Empire	first large dome
128 - today	43.4 m	Pantheon	Rome , Italy	Roman Empire	largest unreinforced concrete dome up to the present day; probably the best preserved Roman building in Rome; Model character for western domed architecture up to the 20th century.

Masonry

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
2nd century - approx. 150	11.5 m	Red hall	Pergamon , Turkey	Roman Empire	brick
approx. 150 - early 4th century	23.85 m	Zeus Asclepius Temple	Pergamon , Turkey	Roman Empire	first large dome made of (radially placed) bricks
Early 4th century - 563	24.15 m	Rotunda (Thessaloniki)	Thessaloniki , Greece	Roman Empire	radially placed bricks
563-1436	31.5 m	Hagia Sophia	Istanbul , Turkey	Eastern Roman Empire	first pendentive dome in history; completed in 537, rebuilt after earthquake in 563; Builder Anthemios von Tralleis and Isidore von Milet
1436 - today	42-45 m	Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore	Florence , Italy	City-state of Florence	first double-skinned dome of the Renaissance

Hollow clay body

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
Early 3rd century - 216	12.0 m	Aquae Flavianae thermal baths	El Hammam, Algeria	Roman Empire	nested clay tubes
216 - today	35.08 m	Baths of Caracalla , Caldarium	Rome , Italy	Roman Empire	nested amphorae

Wood

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
691-1781	20.40 m	Dome of the Rock	Jerusalem	Umayyad Empire	first monumental building of Islam; built in the Byzantine architectural style
1781-1977	36.0 m	St. Blasien Cathedral	St. Blasien	Benedictine	third largest European cathedral at the time of its construction; Wooden structure replaced by iron arch ribs and prestressed concrete after fire in 1874
1977-1983	153.0 m	Walkup Skydome	Flagstaff , USA	University of Northern Arizona	Geodesic dome
1983-1991	161.5 m	Tacoma Dome	Tacoma , USA	City of Tacoma	Geodesic dome
1991 - today	163.4 m	Superior dome	Marquette, USA	State of Michigan	Geodesic dome

cast iron

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
1864 - today	29.0 m	Capitol	Washington DC , USA	United States	Cast iron ; Architect Thomas Walter

steel

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
1873-1965	108 m	rotunda	Vienna , Austria	Harkort factory	steel structure clad with wood and plaster; various architects
1965-1975	195.5 m (642 ft)	Reliant Astrodome	Houston , USA	HA Lott, Inc.	Steel frame construction; first fully covered and air-conditioned stadium in the world
1975 - today	207 m (678 ft)	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans , USA	Architects Curtis & Davis, Statik Sverdrup & Parcel , executed by the American Bridge Company	Steel frame construction; Designer Nathaniel Curtis

Reinforced concrete

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
1913-1930	65.0 m	Centennial Hall	Wroclaw , Poland	German Empire	Reinforced concrete; Architect Max Berg
1930-1960	65.8 m	Leipzig wholesale market hall	Leipzig , Germany	German Empire	Reinforced concrete; Designer Franz Dischinger
1960-1963	100.6 m	Palazzo dello Sport	Rome , Italy	Italy	Venue of the 1960 Summer Olympics ; Reinforced concrete; Architect Pier Luigi Nervi
1963-1971	121.9 m	Assembly Hall	Champaign , USA	University of Illinois	Reinforced concrete; Architect Max Abramovitz
1971-1976	134.1 m	Norfolk Scope	Norfolk , USA	Norfolk City	Reinforced concrete; Architect Pier Luigi Nervi
1976-2000	201.0 m	Kingdome	Seattle , USA	King County	Reinforced concrete; Architects: Naramore, Skilling and Praeger; demolished in 2000

snow and ice

Record held	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
2016 – today	12.9 m	World record igloo in Zermatt	Zermatt , Switzerland	unnamed group of 14 builders	Replaced the previous record igloo from Canada with a diameter of 9.5 m

Famous domes

The following is a list of large domed buildings which, for various reasons, have a certain special status.

Completed	diameter	Surname	place	builder	Remarks
about 64	13.48 m	Domus Aurea	Rome , Italy	Roman Empire	first dome over a polygonal floor plan ( octagon ); first in palace architecture
11th - mid-12th century	25.60 m	Baptistery of San Giovanni	Florence , Italy	Bishop of Florence and Chapter	largest domed structure in the West between Hagia Sophia and Florence Cathedral
1227	21.0 m long 16.9 m wide	St. Gereon	Cologne , Germany	Archbishop and Canon	Ribbed decagonal dome
1405	18.2 m	Mausoleum of Hodja Ahmad Yasawi	Yasi , Kazakhstan	Timur Lang	double-skinned dome
1436	42-45 m	Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore	Florence , Italy	City-state of Florence	first double-skinned dome of the Renaissance
1557	27.2 m	Suleymaniye Mosque	Istanbul , Turkey	Ottoman Empire	Architect Sinan
1575	31.2 m	Selimiye Mosque	Edirne , Turkey	Ottoman Empire	Architect Sinan
1590	42.3 m	St. Peter's Basilica	Rome , Vatican City	Holy See	double-skinned dome
1616	23.5 m	Sultan Ahmed Mosque ("Blue Mosque")	Istanbul , Turkey	Ottoman Empire
1641	17.7 m	Taj Mahal	Agra , India	Mughal Empire
1710	30.8 m	St Paul's Cathedral	London , England	British Empire
1743	26.15 m	woman Church	Dresden , Germany	George Bähr	largest masonry dome north of the Alps
1781	36.0 m	St. Blasien Cathedral	St. Blasien , Germany	Benedictine	third largest dome in Europe at the time of construction; Wooden structure replaced by iron arch ribs and prestressed concrete after fire in 1874
1871	39.0 m	Rotunda of Mosta	Mosta , Malta	Mosta population	fourth largest church dome in the world after St. Peter's Basilica , Pantheon (both in Rome ) and Florence Cathedral
1914	42.5 m	Dome hall - Hanover Congress Centrum	Hanover , Germany	Paul Bonatz and Friedrich Eugen Scholer	Congress and event center around the city hall of the Lower Saxony state capital Hanover. The city hall with the domed hall is one of the most striking buildings in the city.
1929	60.0 m	Market hall Basel	Basel , Switzerland	Franz Dischinger and Ulrich Finsterwalder	third largest dome in the world upon completion. Used as a market hall until 2004; a shopping center and event location since 2012
1944	61.0 m	V2 -Bunker La Coupole	Wizernes - Helfaut , France	German Empire	Reinforced concrete, wall thickness 5 m
1975	53.0 m	Zelenchuk Observatory , Russia	Zelenchukskaya	Soviet Union	Dome for 6-meter reflector telescope
1999	38.0 m	Reichstag building	Berlin , Germany	Germany	Steel and glass construction; Architect Norman Foster
2000	110.0 m	Eden Project	Cornwall , England	England	Steel construction in Mero construction; Architect Nicholas Grimshaw

further reading

• Erwin Heinle , Jörg Schlaich : domes of all times, of all cultures . Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-421-03062-6
• Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, design, construction . In: Architectura , 15, 117-139 (1985)
• Werner Müller: dtv-Atlas Baukunst I. General part: Building history from Mesopotamia to Byzantium . 14th edition, 2005, ISBN 3-423-03020-8

See also

• Technical records
• List of Roman domes
• List of tallest church towers and sacred buildings in the world

Web links

• The Roman Pantheon: The Triumph of Concrete

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Since this article is still under construction, the data in the Record held column should be regarded as a preliminary result.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Treasury of Atreus. In: Structurae
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Robert Mark, Paul Hutchinson: On the Structure of the Roman Pantheon . In: Art Bulletin , Vol. 68, No. 1 (1986), p. 24
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, design, construction . In: Architectura , Vol. 15 (1985), p. 118
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} Werner Heinz: Roman thermal baths. Bathing and bathing luxury in the Roman Empire . Munich 1983, ISBN 3-7774-3540-6 , pp. 60-64
6. ↑ ^{a b} Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, design, construction . In: Architectura , Vol. 15 (1985), p. 119
7. ↑ Romanconcrete.com
8. ↑ Werner Müller: dtv-Atlas Baukunst I. General part: Building history from Mesopotamia to Byzantium . 14th edition, 2005, ISBN 3-423-03020-8 , p. 253
9. ^ Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. In: arch INFORM ; Retrieved December 1, 2009.
10. ↑ ^{a b c d} Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. In: Structurae
11. ↑ The basic idea came from the English architect John Scott Russell , the actual planning by engineers for the Vienna World Exhibition in 1873.
12. ↑ ^{a b} Belgrade Fair (Beogradski Sajam), Hall 1
13. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Monolithic.com: Reinforced Concrete Thin Shell Sports Facilities
14. ↑ ^{a b c} dome in: Microsoft Encarta
15. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Encyclopædia Britannica: Astrodome
16. ↑ ^{a b c} archrecord.construction.com: Now infamous, Superdome once stood as a great New Orleans landmark
17. ↑ Romanconcrete.com
18. ↑ Werner Müller: dtv-Atlas Baukunst I. General part: Building history from Mesopotamia to Byzantium . 14th edition, 2005, ISBN 3-423-03020-8 , p. 253
19. ^ Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. In: arch INFORM ; Retrieved December 1, 2009.
20. ↑ The basic idea came from the English architect John Scott Russell , the actual planning by engineers for the Vienna World Exhibition in 1873.
21. ↑ Balance 2
22. ↑ FM Mazzolani: Aluminum domes of the Enel plant in Civitavecchia, Italy . In: HERON . tape 55 , no. 3/4 , 2010, p. 171–185 (English, heronjournal.nl [PDF; accessed December 12, 2016]).
23. ↑ ^{a b} H. Hagedann & Ch. Plato: United States Capitol
24. ↑ ^{a b} CAPITOL DOME
25. ↑ ^{a b} Thomas U. Walter in the English language Wikipedia
26. ^ Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), Library of Congress (1974)
27. ↑ ^{a b} BUSSE, Heribert / Georg KRETSCHMAR (1987): Jerusalem sanctuary traditions in early church and early Islamic times. Otto Harrassowitz: Wiesbaden; P. 5.
28. ↑ Manfred Görgens: A short history of Indian art . DuMont, Cologne 1986, ISBN 3-7701-1543-0 , p. 226
29. ↑ en: List of largest church buildings in the world , fr: Basilique Notre-Dame de la Paix de Yamoussoukro
30. ↑ Coca-Cola Dome: Dimensions of Coca-Cola Dome ( Memento of the original from June 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
31. ↑ ^{a b} Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, design, construction . In: Architectura , Vol. 15 (1985), p. 126
32. ↑ Romanconcrete.com
33. ↑ Werner Müller: dtv-Atlas Baukunst I. General part: Building history from Mesopotamia to Byzantium . 14th edition, 2005, ISBN 3-423-03020-8 , p. 253
34. ↑ Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, design, construction . In: Architectura , Vol. 15 (1985), p. 137
35. ↑ ^{a b c d} Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, design, construction . In: Architectura , Vol. 15 (1985), p. 125
36. ^ Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. In: arch INFORM ; Retrieved December 1, 2009.
37. ↑ Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, design, construction . In: Architectura , Vol. 15 (1985), p. 124
38. ↑ Erwin Heinle, Jörg Schlaich: domes of all times, of all cultures . Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-421-03062-6 , p. 27
39. ↑ ^{a b c d} main page of St. Blasien Cathedral
40. ↑ ^{a b} Schnell Art Guide: “St. Blasien / Schwarzwald “ , No. 555, Regensburg 2001, ISBN 3-7954-4017-3 , p. 7
41. ↑ The basic idea came from the English architect John Scott Russell , the actual planning by engineers for the Vienna World Exhibition in 1873.
42. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Site: Centennial Hall in Wroclaw
43. ^ The Großmarkthalle Leipzig. In: Structurae
44. ↑ Kingdome.org: Internet Tribute to the Former Kingdome ( Memento of March 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
45. ↑ The largest igloo is under the Gornergrat. In: NZZ Online. January 31, 2016, accessed December 23, 2017 . 
46. ↑ Consecration date 1059, construction may not be completed until 1150
47. ↑ Werner Schäfke : Cologne's Romanesque churches. Architecture, furnishings, history . Cologne 1985, 5th edition, ISBN 3-7701-1360-8 , pp. 100 & 118
48. ^ Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. In: arch INFORM ; Retrieved December 1, 2009.
49. ↑ Selimiye Mosque. In: Structurae
50. ↑ Taj Mahal. In: Structurae
51. ^ Robert Mark, Paul Hutchinson: On the Structure of the Roman Pantheon . In: Art Bulletin , Vol. 68, No. 1 (1986), p. 34
52. ↑ Inventaire general des monuments et des richesses artistiques de la France: Gravel works North West (SNW): Base V2  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (the specified diameter of 71.0 meters refers to the external dimensions)  
53. ↑ Dimensioned section through the central area of ​​the bunker in Wizernes, France
54. ↑ Bauen in Stahl 5/2002: The Reichstag in Berlin ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF)