England: York – Minster
One of the most spectacular cathedrals is in England, this 13th century gothic masterpiece towers above the city of York in Yorkshire and can be seen from far away. But before it was constructed in its present form, the church here dates back all the way to 300AD, when the first Christian monks arrived here to convert the locals. The entire Kingdom of Northumbria became Christian when King Edwin was baptized in a wooden church in this very spot in 627AD. Then the structure underwent Saxon and Norman reconstructions, before finally this Gothic masterpiece was erected. You can climb to the top of one of the towers – 275 uneven steps in a spiral staircase are guaranteed to give serious vertigo, but the views in four directions (the tower is square) present a panorama of York. Inside the cathedral itself, there are plenty of decorated halls, glass windows, and high domes and chapels. I may be getting a cathedral-overload already, but this one was awesome!
