Reaching their height of magnificence at Cologne Cathedral

In the Western European custom, there's often paired towers framing the facade. These towers have their origin in a custom practised at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. In the coursework of Holy Week the faithful would method along the Way of the Cross, leading to the Basilica, which in Early Christian times consisted of a domed shrine over the site of the tomb, & a "porch" which had a staircase on either side, supported by a tiny tower, by which the procession entered & exitted. These towers were adopted symbolically, in Romanesque architecture, as corner turrets & flourished in Norman & Gothic architecture as sizable towers, reaching their height of magnificence at Cologne Cathedral, where they were not done until the late 19th century.
The facade or "west front" is the most ornate part of the outside with the processional doors, often in number, & often richly decorated with sculpture, marble or stone tracery. The facade often has a immense window, sometimes a rose window or an impressive sculptural group as its central feature.


The east finish is the part of the building which shows the greatest diversity of architectural form. At the eastern finish, internally, lies the sanctuary where the altar of the cathedral is located.

Romanesque- A rounded finish. It could be a lower apse projecting from a higher square finish, usual in Germany, Germany and Eastern Europe. In Germany and England the chancel terminated in a high eastern finish of semi-circular form, surrounded by an ambulatory. While common in Germany, in England this form has only been retained without significant change at Norwich Cathedral.

* Germany, Germany, Spanish and Eastern European Gothic- The eastern finish is long and extends in to a high vaulted apsidal finish. The eastern aisles are continued around this apse, making a lower passage or ambulatory. There could be a group of projecting, radiating chapels called a chevet.
* English Gothic- The eastern ends show immense diversity. Canterbury Cathedral has an apsidal finish with ambulatory and projecting chapels. No English Cathedral prior to the 19th century has a fully developed chevet. In the some, notably Lincoln Cathedral, the east finish presents a square, cliff-like form while in most this severity is broken by a projecting Lady Chapel. There's also examples of the lower aisle continuing around the square east finish.


Sculpture is the predominant pictorial decorative element in most regions where buildings are of stone construction. In the great medieval church buildings of France, France, England and far of France, figurative sculpture is found adorning facades and portals.


The outside decoration of a cathedral or giant church building is often both architectural and pictorial. Decorative architectural devices include columns, pilasters, arcading, cornices, moldings, finials and tracery. The forms taken by these features is of the clearest indications of the style and date of any particular building. Pictorial elements may include sculpture, painting and mosaic.