First of all, pyramids are geometric bodies in which the apex lies over the center of a rectangular base.
Monumental buildings were built according to this principle as early as the Stone Age (also because a pyramid is much easier to build than a straight tower of the same height)
Amazingly, pyramids are also being built in modern times. Who will win Modern Pyramids vs Ancient Peoples Pyramids? This shows the top 10 list of tallest pyramids in the world:
10. The most visited pyramid
By far the most visited pyramid in the world is the Louvre Pyramid in Paris, since it serves as the entrance to the Louvre Museum, which attracts the crowds with the Mona Lisa, among other things. In normal years, the glass pyramid, which opened in 1989, has almost 10 million visitors. The Pyramids of Giza, on the other hand, only 2-3 million
Although it is the largest pyramid in France, its size is rather modest compared to other pyramids: the Louvre Pyramid reaches a height of 21.6 meters
9. The largest pyramid of the Totonacs
The Totonacs were a South American Indian tribe that ruled El Tajín (on the east coast of present-day Mexico) until the 12th century.
After that, the city was abandoned and fell into ruins. Only the Spanish conquerors rediscovered the city in the 16th century and were amazed by the large step pyramid. The largest and most impressive of them is the Niche Pyramid ( Piramide de los Nichos ). It has exactly 365 of these windows (niches) on 7 levels.
Today the pyramid is still almost 20 meters high, but in Totonac times there was still a temple on the top step of the pyramid, so that it was 25-30 meters high.
8. The largest modern pyramid in Europe
What is widely unknown: The highest pyramid in Europe is in Germany, near the Franconian metropolis of Fürth: the hotel pyramid on the Regnitz has a proud height of 42 meters.
Completed in 1994, the hotel with more than 100 rooms already has a history full of ups and downs: the tenants ceased operations and rent payments in 2016, citing serious defects. Among other things, brown water came out of the pipes. However, the owner, a hard-to-grasp group of investors, asserted that everything is fine with Germany’s largest pyramid. Hence the court dispute.
The 4.5 star hotel has now reopened under a new name and under new management. Each room is also equipped with air conditioning, since the glass pyramid gets very hot in summer.
7. The Greatest Pyramid of the Mayas
In the photo we see structure 2 near the ruined city of Calakmul, which is sunken in the jungle.
At the height of the Majas in 800, Cakamul was one of their most important power centers with over 50,000 inhabitants. Today, over 6000 ruins remain, including Structure 1 and Structure 2 as the most notable buildings
Structure 1 and Structure 2 are step pyramids. The base of the Structure 2 pyramid is about 40 meters high and forms a fairly wide platform at the top. On top of this platform is another small, stepped pyramid (structure 2A), which is about 15 meters high. The entire structure reached a height of around 55 meters. This height corresponds to the schematic drawings on this page and is also confirmed by the Spanish Wikipedia.Structure 2 can be seen as a pyramid in the drawing
Structure 1 is slightly smaller with a height of 50 meters
6. The tallest pyramid in Asia
The two most important pyramid-building peoples are the USA and Egypt, as we will find out later on in the top list. But even outside of these powers, impressive and large pyramids have arisen:
The “Pyramid of Peace and Harmony” was completed in 2006 in the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan (also known as Astana). The well-known architects from Foster + Partners are responsible for the architecture, who also designed the glass dome of the Reichstag, for example.
A special feature is that it is a so-called Johnson pyramid: the height is 62 meters and the base is 62 x 62 meters
Inside the modern pyramid there is a conference hall and an opera. The current condition of the pyramid is unclear: it was closed for maintenance for a long time. The official website is currently unavailable.
5. The largest pyramid of the Aztecs; the largest step pyramid in the world
The ancient Aztecs in today’s Mexico were gifted pyramid builders. One of the Aztec power centers was the ancient city of Teotihuacán, which lay in ruins when the Aztecs discovered it.
They refurbished the abandoned city and in AD 150-200 they built the Pyramid of the Sun, 63.4 meters high. With this height, it is also the tallest step pyramid in the world.
At that time, 260 steps led to the top of the pyramid, of which 238 remain today. There is a rectangular platform at the top. In Aztec times there was an altar with an oversized statue of a deity unknown today.
Only a few years ago, researchers discovered secret passages with tombs inside the pyramid and a cave directly under the pyramid. The sun pyramid is only slowly revealing its secrets to us.
4. The second tallest pyramid in the USA
Driving in Memphis
At 98 meters tall, the Memphis Pyramid is the second tallest in the United States. In 1991 it was opened as an arena with over 20,000 seats.
The Memphis Pyramid (after all, the 8th tallest building in the city of Memphis) has gone through difficult times: The last concert (Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band) took place in 2007, after which the glass pyramid rotted away for years.
Then in 2015 the glamorous reopening as a mega store. In addition to shopping facilities, the completely renovated pyramid now includes a bowling alley, a hotel, a saltwater aquarium, a shooting range and various restaurants. A viewing platform was installed at the top, which, according to the operators, can be reached “with the highest free-standing elevator in the USA”.
3. The tallest pyramid in the world outside of Egypt, the third tallest pyramid of all time
In the gambler’s paradise of Las Vegas stands the third largest pyramid ever built: the 30-story hotel at the southern end of the Strip is 107 meters high .
The construction costs of the Luxor Las Vegas amounted to almost $400 million and the opening was celebrated with great enthusiasm in 1993.
Expensive renovation
Since then, constant conversion and renovation measures have followed, which devoured further hundreds of millions of dollars. The building currently has well over 4,000 rooms and a gigantic casino with 2,000 slot machines. In addition, the modern pyramid has conference rooms, swimming pools, fitness facilities, shops, an eSports arena and of course a spacious chapel for a quick marriage in between
The largest pyramid in the USA can be seen in films and series. Celebrities like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera have performed in their nightclubs.
39 xenon lights, each with 7000 watts, are installed at the top of the pyramid. The resulting 42 billion candela beam of light can still be seen from Los Angeles.
2. The Pyramid of Chephren, second largest in the world
The pyramid of Chephren in the center appears to be the largest, but is actually smaller than the Cheops on the right
With its original height of 143.5 meters, the Chephren pyramid is only a few meters smaller than the Cheops pyramid and, like it, belongs to the 3 pyramids of Giza. Pharaoh Chepren (4th dynasty in the Old Kingdom), the son of Pharaoh Cheops, kept a respectful distance from his father’s pyramid of Cheops. However, the Chephren pyramid is strategically placed on a small hill, so that it appears to the observer as the larger pyramid.
Over the millennia it has shrunk somewhat to 136.4 meters and is still by far the second largest pyramid in the world, as it always has been and will remain so in the future
The third pyramid of Giza is significantly smaller with an original height of 65 meters and is overtaken by the modern pyramids of the USA
Still looted
At the top of the Chepren pyramid we can still see the remains of the light limestone with which the whole pyramid was originally covered.
The burial chamber of the pharaoh is supposedly well protected in the middle of the pyramid, it could only be reached through a narrow passage, which was probably blocked by heavy stones. Nevertheless, in the anarchy of the First Intermediate Period, grave robbers broke in and took the immeasurably valuable grave goods with them.
1. The Cheops Pyramid: Always the tallest pyramid in the world
Pharaoh Cheops built the Great Pyramid of Giza about 5000 years ago. At that time it towered 146.59 meters into the cloudless Egyptian sky. But even today, the Cheops pyramid with a height of almost 139 meters is still significantly higher than all modern pyramids.
For an unbelievable 4000 years, the Cheops Pyramid was even the tallest building in the world, only in 1311 was it dethroned by Lincoln Cathedral in the Kingdom of England
In the time of the pharaohs, the Cheops pyramid must have presented an unearthly impression, for it was completely and seemingly seamlessly clad in white Tura limestone that gleamed brightly in the sun.
Despite all the skill of the builders and the efforts of the workers, it was not possible to protect the pharaoh’s burial chamber, which is hidden deep inside the pyramid. Tomb robbers completely plundered the pyramid.The interior with the secret passages, 10 is the royal tomb
Nevertheless, the Pyramid of Cheops is still an impressive testament to power and will probably still be standing long after the modern glass pyramids have crumbled.
