Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche) (UNESCO World Heritage)

The unknown French master builders who worked on the project between 1230 and 1260 wanted to create nothing less than a paradise on earth in Trier, an architectural declaration of love to the Mother of God. And so everything about it – from the floor plan in the shape of a twelve-petalled rose, to the twelve supporting columns inside (designed to embody the apostles), to the lily calyces representing St Mary’s virginity and purity – exudes the symbolism of a large salvational structure that seeks to free visitors from their everyday routine. So it’s only logical that the altar is now situated in the centre of the church, not the eastern chancel. Because not only is the Liebfrauenkirche one of the very few examples of a Gothic central-plan church; it also wants to draw anyone who enters it into the centre of what the master builders from Champagne had given it for safekeeping: A mindscape full of harmony and perfection.