Eastern Europe's Tallest Parts

Posted by Amanda Kendle Jan 12, 2007

I love lists, and I love "world's biggest", "world's longest", "world's craziest", and anything else that gives me just one more excuse to travel somewhere. But when I thought about Eastern Europe, I couldn't think of many "world's tallest" parts. A bit of research later, it turns out I'm more or less right, but there are (and were) a few record-breaking heights in Eastern Europe:

• in the category of "tallest latice tower", Ukraine's capital Kyiv wins with its 385m TV Tower.
• the tallest supported structure in the world was the Warsaw radio mast in Poland; until it collapsed in 1991; but the radio tower in Gliwice became the tallest wooden tower after a taller one in Germany collapsed
• in the timeline of world history, St Olav's Church in Tallinn, Estonia, held the record as the world's tallest building between 1549 and 1625, before France's Strasbourg Cathedral beat it; and from 1967 until 1975, Moscow's Ostankino Tower gave the crown to Russia.

The thing is, I really like it that there's a lack of tall buildings in Eastern Europe - that's where a lot of the charm comes from. So I really hope that developments like the proposed St Petersburg skyscraper don't become the norm. Here's for Eastern Europe staying out of the tallest building record books!