This list ranks the tallest buildings in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

that stand at least tall, based on standard height measurement. This means that

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...

s and other architectural details are included in the official height, but not antenna masts, as it is defined by the

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings and sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States ...

. Only habitable buildings are ranked, which excludes

radio masts and towers Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-made ...

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

s, steeples,

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typ ...

s and other tall architectural structures. Since 22 February 2021 the tallest building in the EU has been the

Varso Tower Varso or Varso Place is a neomodern office building complex in Warsaw, Poland. It was designed by Foster and Partners and developed by HB Reavis. The complex features three buildings, of which the main one, Varso Tower, at in height, is the t ...

in Warsaw, Poland, which is tall.

Existing buildings

Blick auf den Main und die Frankfurter Wolkenkratzer

This list includes buildings under construction that have already been architecturally

topped out In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlaye ...

. Architectural height is considered, so masts and other elements added after completion of building are not considered.

Buildings by pinnacle height

Some skyscraper enthusiasts prefer this measurement, claiming that the extensions that can or cannot be deemed "architectural" are subjective. However, many non-architectural extensions (such as radio antennas) are easily added and removed from tall buildings without significantly changing the style and design of the building, which is seen as a significant part of the value of these buildings. The list includes all skyscrapers of at least tall. However the height data is subject to fluctuations due to simple changing of mast extensions. This list includes buildings under construction that have already been architecturally topped out.

Buildings under construction

This lists buildings that are under construction in European Union and are planned to rise at least . Approved or proposed buildings are not included in the table. Included are renders of the finished towers or images of the current construction sites.

Timeline of the tallest buildings in the EU/EEC

The following is a timeline of the tallest buildings in the European Union (EU) and its direct predecessor, the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...

(EEC) established in 1957. Prior to 1966,

Edificio España The Hotel Riu Plaza España is a historic skyscraper, the 8th tallest building in Madrid, Spain. It opened in 1953 as the Edificio España ( es, Spain Building), a mixed-use structure containing a hotel, offices, apartments and shops. It is an exa ...

and Torre de Madrid in Madrid surpassed the height of the then tallest EU building, but Spain didn't become a European Union member until 1986. Similarly, before 1990, the

Palace of Culture and Science A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

surpassed the height of the then tallest EU building; however, Poland did not become a member of the European Union until 2004. The Shard ceased to be tallest building in the EU in 2020 due to the United Kingdom exiting the European Union. The title then returned to the previous holder, Frankfurt's Commerzbank Tower.

Footnotes and references

Bibliography

Skyscrapers
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Emporis Emporis GmbH was a real estate data mining company that was headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The company collected data and photographs of buildings worldwide, which were published in an online database from 2000 to September 2022. On 12 Sept ...