10 Most Famous Domes In The World

1. Taj Mahal, Agra, India

A giant mausoleum of white marble, built between 1632 and 1653 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife. The most spectacular feature of the Taj Mahal is the marble dome that surmounts the tomb. It is 35 meters tall (115 ft). The top of the famous dome is decorated with a lotus design. The Taj Mahal is the most famous monument of the entire subcontinent of India.

2. Dome Of The Rock, Jerusalem, Israel

The Dome of the Rock is one of the first and most familiar achievements of Islamic architecture, as it was completed in 691 AD. It is located on the Temple Mount, one of the most contested religious sites in the world. The Dome of the Rock is not a mosque, but rather a shrine which protects beneath its high ceiling, a sacred rock. The Dome is probably the most spectacular building in the Old City, topped with a dazzling golden dome visible from afar, the interior layered with glittering ceramics, mosaics and Arabic calligraphy. It is one of the best attractions in Jerusalem

3. Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow, Russia

Located in Moscow’s Red Square, this is a Russian Orthodox church built from 1555 till 1561 on orders from Ivan the Terrible. St. Basil’s marks the geometric center of Moscow and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

4. United States Capitol, Washington DC, United States

Located on Capitol Hill, the Capitol is the home of the US Congress. The cast iron dome of the Capitol is the second dome of this building: The initial dome was replaced after the Capitol was expanded in the 1850s to accommodate the growing number of legislators from newly admitted states. The expansion more than doubled the length of the Capitol, but also dwarfed the original, timber-framed dome.

5. Imam Mosque (Shah Mosque), Isfahan, Iran

The mosque is regarded as one of the masterpieces of Persian Architecture. Its construction began in 1611, and its splendor is mainly due to the beauty of its seven-color mosaic tiles and calligraphic inscriptions. The dome of the Shah Mosque is the tallest in Isfahan reaching a height of 53 meters (74 ft). The distinct feature of this dome is the colorful tiles that cover both the exterior and the interior of the dome.

6. Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

A former Greek Orthodox patriarchal church, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum. From the date of its construction in 537 until 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum in1935 as it still is today.

7. Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore), Florence, Italy

The main church of Florence, Italy, and one of the city’s major attractions. Construction began in 1296 in the Gothic style and completed in 1436 with the completion of the dome. The exterior of the basilica is faced with marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival facade.

8. Reichstag, Berlin, Germany

The Reichstag was originally completed in 1894 and was used by the German parliament until 1933 when in was severely damaged in a fire. After the reunification of Germany it underwent reconstruction and in 1999 it became the meeting place of the modern German parliament, the Bundestag. During the reconstruction, the spectacular glass dome was added. The dome has a spectacular 360-degree view of the surrounding Berlin cityscape.

9. Pantheon, Rome, Italy

The Pantheon in Rome was built in 126 AD as a temple for all the Roman gods and served as a Roman Catholic Church since the 7th century. The temple is topped with a concrete dome with a central opening: the oculus. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon’s famous dome is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world.

10. St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy

Constructed during the years 1506 and 1615. The dome itself was designed in 1547 by Michelangelo that took into consideration a previous design that was made for the same dome. The dome of St. Peter’s rises to a total height of 136.57 meters (448.1 ft) from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross. It is the tallest dome in the world.