Building of the great cathedral

A sweeping epic of good and evil, treachery and intrigue, violence and beauty, a sensuous, spirited story set against a backdrop of war, religious strife and power struggles in 12th Century England.

A film relating from the inside the Notre-Dame de Paris fire of April 2019.

The Strasbourg cathedral is a stunning edifice, a masterwork of gothic architecture which also expresses the bold ambitions of its creators. With its church spire which rose to a height of 142 meters it became the world’s tallest building and it held that distinction until the 19th century. Who were the master builders of the cathedral? What is the cathedral’s history?

Architectural historian Jon Cannon goes in search of the clues that shed light on how our medieval forebears were able to build the wonders of their world.

These skyscrapers of stone dominated skylines for nearly a thousand years. Now, a team of scholars and builders investigates how they we went up, and why some of the tallest fell down. Embedded in stone and stained glass, they uncover a hidden mathematical code — ripped from pages of the Bible — that was used as a blueprint to build the great Gothic Cathedrals.

This atmospheric short film presents the many wonders of France’s Cathedral of Saint Peter of Beauvais, from its intricate stained glass to its soaring, vaulted interior. Although construction began in 1225, the cathedral remains unfinished today after braving numerous structural alterations and disasters. Ambitiously designed as the largest church in Europe, it enjoyed a brief stint as the world’s tallest building from 1569 through 1573. At 157 feet high, its choir is still unsurpassed.

Notre Dame to the National Cathedral Stone by stone, uncover the mind-boggling truths behind the engineering marvels known as cathedrals--great testaments to faith that have remained virtually unchanged for over 900 years! From their immense buttresses to the intricacies of their stained glass, the Gothic cathedrals stand as complex, richly designed celebration for all we hold most sacred, and as an articulation of joy and accomplishment. Reaching heavenward, they may be synonymous with medieval France, but perhaps the most famous lies right here in America. In 1891, Charles Glover Gathers, a prominent Washington banker, promoted the idea of a National Cathedral as a moral center. For the first time on DVD, follow the construction of this massive cathedral--which surpasses even the Notre Dame and the Chartres in size--and discover how 12th and 20th century methods were combined to raise 300 million pounds of limestone.

For 60 years, with no help or architectural expertise, one man builds a gigantic cathedral using waste and recycled materials. He works mostly alone, without ever drawing a single sketch, while his community labels him a madman.

Almost 50 years ago, Justo Gallego Martínez promised himself that he would dedicate the rest of his life to the construction of a cathedral. He is now 84 years old and still building.