List of Gothic edifices by year of construction

The Gothic style originated in Northern France, more precisely with the Abbey of St Denis neat Paris, where most of the Kings of France are buried since Clovis. The name "Gothic" has no relation with the Gothic people (a Germanic tribe). It was first used in the 16th century as a pejorative term to describe what Renaissance men thought of as overly complicated and "barbaric" architecture, as opposed to the simplicity of the classical Greco-Roman style.

Ironically, the Gothic style was most popular in the former parts of the Western Roman Empire (especially France, Belgium, England, Spain and Portugal), while the Romanesque style (inspired by Ancient Rome) prevailed in most of Germany.

The very first examples of Gothic architecture in 12th-century Picardy are called Early Gothic or Proto-Gothic. The style then developed into Classical Gothic characterised by very tall structures (Amiens, Reims, Bourges, Chartres). The Rayonnant Gothic style started in the Abbey of St Denis again, when the choir was repaired in 1231. It lasted until around 1350, and was supplanted by the Flamboyant Gothic style, also called Late Gothic.

Oldest Gothic buildings by country

Name of the edifice	Beginning of construction	Region, Country
Abbey Church of St Denis	1122	Ile-de-France, France
Cathedral of Noyon	1140	Picardie, France
Cathedral of Senlis	1153	Picardie, France
Cathedral of Laon	1155	Picardie, France
Cathedral of Paris	1163	Ile-de-France, France
Cathedral of Tours	1170	Centre, France
Cathedral of Canterbury	1174	Kent, England
Cathedral of Soissons	1176	Picardie, France
Monastery of Alcobaça	1178	Leiria, Portugal
St. Lambert Cathedral, Liege	1189 (destroyed in 1794)	Wallonia, Belgium
Cathedral of Wells	1190	Somerset, England
Cathedral of Strasbourg	1190	Alsace, France
Cathedral of Bourges	1192	Centre, France
Cathedral of Lincoln	1192	Lincolnshire, England
Cathedral of Chartres	1194	Centre, France
Cloth Hall, Ypres	1200 (rebuilt after WWI)	Flanders, Belgium
Cathedral of Rouen	1202	Normandy, France
Cathedral of Winchester	1202	Hampshire, England
Cathedral of Leon	1205	Castile and León, Spain
Cathedral of Magdeburg	1209	Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Cathedral of Sées	1210	Normandy, France
Cathedral of Reims	1211	Champagne, France
Cathedral of Bayonne	1213	Aquitaine, France
Cathedral of Auxerre	1215	Burgundy, France
Cathedral of Amiens	1220	Picardie, France
Cathedral of Toul	1220	Lorraine, France
Cathedral of Metz	1220	Lorraine, France
Cathedral of Beauvais	1220	Picardie, France
Cathedral of Salisbury	1220	Wiltshire, England
York Minster	1220	Yorkshire, England
Cathedral of Ypres	1221 (rebuilt after WWI)	Flanders, Belgium
Cathedral of Burgos	1221	Castile and León, Spain
Cathedral of Brussels	1226	Brabant, Belgium
Cathedral of Toledo	1226	Castile-La Mancha, Spain
Cathedral of Hereford	1226	Herefordshire, England
Cathedral of Peterborough	1230	Northamptonshire, England
Freiburg Münster	1230	Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Santa Maria della Spina, Pisa	1230	Tuscany, Italy
Elisabeth Church, Marburg	1235	Hesse,Germany
Belfry of Bruges	1240	Flanders, Belgium
Westminster Abbey	1245	London, England
Sainte-Chapelle, Paris	1246	Ile-de-France, France
Cathedral of Clermont	1248	Auvergne, France
Cathedral of Cologne	1248	North-Rhine-Westphalen, Germany
St. Mary's Church, Lübeck	1250	Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice	1250	Veneto, Italy
Cathedral of Évreux	1253	Normandy, France
Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht	1254	Utrecht, the Netherlands
Cathedral of Exeter	1258	Devon, England
Cathedral of Valencia	1262	Valencia, Spain
Cathedral of Regensburg	1273	Bavaria, Germany
Cathedral of Limoges	1273	Limousin, France
Cathedral of Siena (façade)	1284	Tuscany, Italy
Cathedral of Aix	1285	Provence, France
Cathedral of Orléans	1287 (destroyed in 1568)	Pays de la Loire, France
Cathedral of Orvieto	1290	Umbria, Italy
Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence	1294	Tuscany, Italy
Basilica of Saint Maximin la Sainte Baume	1295	Provence, France
Cathedral of Florence	1296	Tuscany, Italy
Palazzo Pubblico, Siena	1297	Tuscany, Italy
Cathedral of Barcelona	1298	Catalonia, Spain
Collegiate Church of Kortrijk	1300	Flanders, Belgium
St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna	1304	Austria
Doge's Palace, Venice	1309	Veneto, Italy
Collegiate Church of Huy	1311	Liege, Belgium
Belfry of Ghent	1313	Flanders, Belgium
Cathedral of Perpignan	1324	Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Cathedral of Mechelen	1335	Flanders, Belgium
Palais des Papes, Avignon	1335	Provence, France
St. John's Cathedral, 's-Hertogenbosch	1340	North Brabant, the Netherlands
St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague	1344	Czech Republic
Cathedral of Antwerp	1354	Flanders, Belgium
Cathedral of Mende	1368	Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Townhall of Bruges	1376	Flanders, Belgium
Cathedral of Ulm	1377	Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Cathedral of Milan	1386	Lombardy, Italy
Monastery of Batalha	1386	Leiria, Portugal
Cathedral of Seville	1402	Andalusia, Spain
Townhall of Brussels	1402	Brabant, Belgium
Palazzo Santa Sofia, Venice	1428	Veneto, Italy
Cathedral of Sheffield	1430	South Yorkshire, England
Cathedral of Nantes	1434	Pays de la Loire, France
King's College Chapel, Cambridge	1446	Cambridgeshire, England
Townhall of Leuven	1448	Brabant, Belgium
Town hall & Beflry, Aalst	1460	Flanders, Belgium
Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon	1502	Lisbon, Portugal
New Cathedral of Salamanca	1513	Castile and León, Spain
Belém Tower, Lisbon	1515	Lisbon, Portugal
Town hall, Oudenaarde	1526	Flanders, Belgium
Cathedral of Orléans	1601 (rebuilt)	Pays de la Loire, France