Speyer, Germany: Cathedral

Do you like your churches to have long titles? I'm not sure why you think that way, but this one qualifies. You can therefore refer to it as the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen. No matter what you call it, it's a heck of a church.

Construction started on this around 1030, and finished around 1060. That was good for 30 years or so, when an expansion plan was started. It was finished in 1106, and it was one of the biggest buildings in the world at that time. This is still the largest Romanesque church in the world. Some emperors were buried here in the early centuries of its use. It's been called one of the most important architectural monuments of its time.

French troops burned down most of the city in 1689, and it took another beating from the forces of that country in 1792. But the building refused to go away, and life settled down after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. There haven't been many changes to the structure since then, although it's been expensive to keep the place looking good over the years.