Minecraft Cathedral
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© 2010 - 2020 pdurdin
Finally, the finished thing!
I used the floorplan and dimensions of Amiens Cathedral for the initial design, and it's approximately the same size (with one Minecraft block being one meter). The central tower would have been taller, with a spire like Amiens, but I hit the game's ceiling...
Over 20,000 blocks of smelted cobble, more thousands of blocks of sand and wood and wool (over a thousand sheep were shorn during the making of this cathedral)...and far, far too many hours.
Built over August-December 2010.
A whole lotta screenshots taken during construction can be seen at: [link]
And you can download the world to play through yourself here:
[link]
I used the floorplan and dimensions of Amiens Cathedral for the initial design, and it's approximately the same size (with one Minecraft block being one meter). The central tower would have been taller, with a spire like Amiens, but I hit the game's ceiling...
Over 20,000 blocks of smelted cobble, more thousands of blocks of sand and wood and wool (over a thousand sheep were shorn during the making of this cathedral)...and far, far too many hours.
Built over August-December 2010.
A whole lotta screenshots taken during construction can be seen at: [link]
And you can download the world to play through yourself here:
[link]
Image size
1280x968px 1.05 MB
Comments63
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SuperSarcosmicStudent General Artist
Gotta say, your dedication to finish the whole thing puts me in awe of you.
Props to you!
Props to you!
pdurdin Photographer
What can I say, I was addicted...but I burnt out on the game building this, I've barely touched it since.
Oh my HOLY JESUS! 
Did you make this in creative mode???
Did you make this in creative mode???
pdurdin Photographer
Nope, survival mode. But, on peaceful. 
ok, peaceful makes more sense
I was about to start bowing down to you when you said survival... lol
I was about to start bowing down to you when you said survival... lol
pdurdin Photographer
Monsters spawn under the floor if it's not peaceful.
true dat xD
zstew2Hobbyist Writer
WHOLLY JESUS THAT'S AWESOME
THAT'S AWESOME pdurdin Photographer
Thanks for the comment, fav and watch! (although, don't expect any more Minecraft stuff) 
Do you have the floor plan dimensions? And how many blocks did you use per foot? i guess lol
pdurdin Photographer
I used the floorplan and dimensions of Amiens Cathedral available on wikipedia at [link] and modified it slightly to fit meter cubes.
It's built roughly to scale, so one meter on the floorplan is one block in Minecraft.
You can download the whole thing from from my google site [link] and get the final measurements off that.
It's built roughly to scale, so one meter on the floorplan is one block in Minecraft.
You can download the whole thing from from my google site [link] and get the final measurements off that.
That is SERIOUSLY impressive!!! You have a lot of patience... Just, wow.
My roommate and I built a cathedral in Minecraft as well, though I admit it was not nearly as large!!! Ours was built almost entirely out of stone brick, and we did it in survival mode as well... Except on hard. Creepers and Endermen were the BANE of our existence, lol!!! I cannot tell you how many times we had to fill crap in, haha! I can't say I blame you for doing it on Peaceful! Feel free to check it out on my page.
My roommate and I built a cathedral in Minecraft as well, though I admit it was not nearly as large!!! Ours was built almost entirely out of stone brick, and we did it in survival mode as well... Except on hard. Creepers and Endermen were the BANE of our existence, lol!!! I cannot tell you how many times we had to fill crap in, haha! I can't say I blame you for doing it on Peaceful! Feel free to check it out on my page.
pdurdin Photographer
Thanks for the fav and comments! I don't think yours is anything to be ashamed of!
Building in multiplayer would have been a lot more fun. But when I built this multiplayer wouldn't run on my machine, it just crashed constantly...which is why I ended up playing singleplayer.
But yes...monsters spawn under the cathedral floor (it's about 3 blocks off the ground) if it's not in peaceful mode.
Although I built this way back in alpha before endermen existed. I'd have used sandstone instead of sand for the walls if it had existed, too.
Building in multiplayer would have been a lot more fun. But when I built this multiplayer wouldn't run on my machine, it just crashed constantly...which is why I ended up playing singleplayer.
But yes...monsters spawn under the cathedral floor (it's about 3 blocks off the ground) if it's not in peaceful mode.
Although I built this way back in alpha before endermen existed. I'd have used sandstone instead of sand for the walls if it had existed, too.
Haha, I guess I am late on the draw then, lol. Looks amazing, and I actually thought using sand was pretty unique and challenging! We built our cathedral right as they introduced endermen... When they were EVERYWHERE. I'm glad they toned that down a bit... I probably used an extra stack of stone brick JUST for endermen holes... lol! Thanks for the compliment!
pdurdin Photographer
I burned out on minecraft building this. I built a castle and village later on a friend's computer but I really didn't have any motivation left to play the game properly.
I suppose if I didn't have friends to play with, the game would have gotten boring for me as well. Nothing like sitting down with a friend to finish an epic project!
pdurdin Photographer
Yeah! Just think how much better my cathedral would've been with an extra hand or two.
way to put me to shame... i've been playing this game for months and all i have is a big hole in the ground...
pdurdin Photographer
There's a big hole in the ground under the cathedral...where do you think all the stone came from?
I don't want to download the map to play around ( I'd feel like I'd be cheating) but I REALLY want to build something like this in my world. Thanks for the inspiration, and good job!
pdurdin Photographer
Thanks for the comment! Churches are fun to build, that's for sure.
Hi,
I was inspired to make my own version.
The main body of it I can work out but I cant for the life of me make the domed end. (nor can I get the download of the world to work.)
Was wondering if you could tell me the dimensions of the base of the semi-dome.
Much respect for this build, especialy in Alpha.
I was inspired to make my own version.
The main body of it I can work out but I cant for the life of me make the domed end. (nor can I get the download of the world to work.)
Was wondering if you could tell me the dimensions of the base of the semi-dome.
Much respect for this build, especialy in Alpha.
pdurdin Photographer
Oh yes, cathedral3.jpg on the Google Sites page shows the dome from another angle, might be useful.
pdurdin Photographer
Hi, thanks for the fav and the comments!
The base of the dome is a half circle with a radius of 14 blocks. There are an extra three or four rows of blocks at the chancel end of the dome which just follow the same contour as that end of the dome (where it "straightens out").
One thing I forgot and which annoys me every time I look at this picture are the flying buttresses around the dome. There should be three on each side at least: one in line with the flying buttresses on the chancel, one at 45 degrees halfway round the dome, and one at 90 degrees. I'd recommend adding these if you rebuild it!
I have uploaded a new version of the world to the Google Sites page ([link]), as saved from the latest Minecraft update, as well as a few more screenshots. There are no mods installed, so it should in theory load up no trouble on an unmodded copy of the game.
Enjoy!
(wow, loading up Minecraft to create that new version...the game has changed a LOT since I last really played it!)
The base of the dome is a half circle with a radius of 14 blocks. There are an extra three or four rows of blocks at the chancel end of the dome which just follow the same contour as that end of the dome (where it "straightens out").
One thing I forgot and which annoys me every time I look at this picture are the flying buttresses around the dome. There should be three on each side at least: one in line with the flying buttresses on the chancel, one at 45 degrees halfway round the dome, and one at 90 degrees. I'd recommend adding these if you rebuild it!
I have uploaded a new version of the world to the Google Sites page ([link]), as saved from the latest Minecraft update, as well as a few more screenshots. There are no mods installed, so it should in theory load up no trouble on an unmodded copy of the game.
Enjoy!
(wow, loading up Minecraft to create that new version...the game has changed a LOT since I last really played it!)
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