What is the purpose of a spire?
The spire could serve as a communication tower, or a lightning rod, and the flat roof area could also be used as a public viewing deck with the tapered spire serving as a guard rail or balustrade.
Why is it called a spire?
A tapering structure on top of a church tower, usually conical or pyramidal in shape. The word comes from the old Saxon word for spear, and certainly a very slender spire might be tought to resemble a spear. One variant is a broach spire, with the spire set atop a square tower.
Do castles have spires?
The spires are essentially just big spikes atop the turrets; they may have lighting rods, weather vanes, radio antennae, flags or other decorative features attached.
Why does a church have a spire?
Religious symbolism In Gothic architecture, where the spire is most commonly used, and particularly in Gothic cathedrals and churches it symbolised the heavenly aspirations of churches’ builders, as well as offering a visual spectacle of extreme height.
What is the roof of a church called?
Cupola. A relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. more images… Dome.
What does a spire at the top of the flag mean?
With the spire as its crown, the trade center will soar to a symbolic 1,776 feet (236 meters) in the air — a reference to the birth of the nation in 1776. With a beacon at its peak to ward off aircraft, the spire will provide public transmission services for television and radio broadcast channels.
What is the point of a steeple called?
A pointed cone shape on top of a building is called a spire, especially when it rises from the roof of a church. The part of a church roof that rises above a city skyline or a village’s rolling hills, pointing sharply up toward the sky, is its spire.
What does a steeple symbolize?
The use of spires, steeples and towers on Christian church buildings became a common element around the eighth century. Steeples symbolically pointed to heaven. Early towers in churches were also symbolic that the prayers of church members would ascend to heaven.
What is a church spire called?
The root of spire is the Old English spir, “sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass.” Definitions of spire. a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building (usually a church or temple) and that tapers to a point at the top. synonyms: steeple.
What is the top of a church spire called?
steeple
A steeple is a tall pointed structure on top of the tower of a church.