This German church is the tallest in the world. Until Spain's La Sagrada Familia is done, anyway

ULM, Germany (AP) — The Ulmer Münster in southern Germany is the world's tallest church. For now, anyway.

The Gothic-style Lutheran church's reign — begun in May 31, 1890 — could end in 2025, when La Sagrada Familia Basilica's “Tower of Jesus Christ” in Spain is set to be completed. At an eventual 172.5 meters (about 566 feet) high, the Catholic basilica in Barcelona should inch out the Ulmer Münster by a mere 11 meters (36 feet).

But La Sagrada Familia 's construction has taken 142 years and counting. The ultimate completion could come in 2026, 100 years since the death of the original Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí. Ironically, when the basilica reaches its final height, it will be thanks to a 17-meter (55.77-foot) cross that was made by a German company.

Still, the Ulmer Münster's lead pastor isn't upset.

“I don’t find it all that fascinating that it is the highest church tower in the world," Dean Torsten Krannich told The Associated Press. "The church also lifts my heart up to God. This is simply a wonderful church that invites you to pray and be thankful.”

After all, Ulm will always have Albert Einstein. The physicist was born there in 1879 and lived in Ulm for the first 15 months of his life. His extended family remained, and he returned and climbed the church's tower in 1923.

In addition to a stained glass window inside the Ulmer Münster that features Einstein and other famous scientists, the head of communications for Ulm's tourism board is quick to point out that the rest of the city has “a very high density of art and culture.”

“We can inspire the guests who come here even when we no longer have the highest church in the world, but only have the second-highest,” Dirk Homburg said.

The Ulmer Münster's history dates to 1377, when Ulm's citizens decided to demolish their old parish church. Located outside the city gates, it could be a perilous trek for congregants during the frequent wars of the Middle Ages. The residents chose to finance the building of a new one in the city's center themselves, and planned for it to have the highest spire in the world.

Construction paused in 1543 when, in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, the city's leaders decided to stop the work amid political and economic turbulence. Building resumed in 1844 and by May 31, 1890, the church was complete.

Reaching a record 161.5 meters (530 feet) high, the Ulmer Münster was built deliberately to be taller than the Cologne Cathedral in northwest Germany — which topped out at 157.2 meters (516 feet) in 1880.

Although Ulm was destroyed by a World War II bombing raid in 1944, the church itself remained upright. But the Ulmer Münster’s age, as well as weather impacts and some 1 million annual visitors, mean that construction and restoration occur constantly amid tourism and religious services.

For example, visitors can currently climb 560 stairs to the viewing platform at 102 meters (335 feet). The platform at 143 meters (469 feet) — 768 stairs — is closed due to stairwell repairs.

Krannich said it remains special regardless.

“Whether the tower is now 5 meters (16.4 feet) higher or 5 meters lower, it doesn’t matter to the quality of this church,” he said.

Ursula Heckler, a two-time visitor to the church, said she initially journeyed to Ulm in 2019 because she, like many others who trek there, knew it was the world’s tallest. She doesn't plan to visit La Sagrada Familia when it takes over.

Christos Kalokerinos, a native Ulmer, is unruffled by the looming loss of status.

“There are so many other nice things about the Münster that it’s not really relevant," he said. "I think most people think that way, too. But of course it was also great to brag a bit about the fact that we have the highest church tower — because many, many people don’t necessarily know Ulm that way.”

Indeed, there are few indications of the record in the city. The gift shop inside the church just has a fake fireplace labeled “the world's tallest church,” and the only reference in a tourism store across the street appeared to be a postcard stacking the church's height up against the Great Pyramid of Giza, Big Ben and the Statue of Liberty. All are shorter than the Ulmer Münster.

Apparently the region's residents, known as Swabians, “prefer understatement.”

“They don’t want to tell everyone that they’re the greatest,” Krannich said. “Not everyone needs to know. It’s enough if we know it.”

But next year?

“We're going to involve Albert Einstein a bit more in our marketing,” Homburg said.

AP journalist Kirsten Grieshaber contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Interior view of Ulmer Münster, the world's tallest church, in Ulm, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Interior view of Ulmer Münster, the world's tallest church, in Ulm, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Interior view of Ulmer Münster, the world's tallest church, in Ulm, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Interior view of Ulmer Münster, the world's tallest church, in Ulm, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Interior view of Ulmer Münster, the world's tallest church, in Ulm, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Interior view of Ulmer Münster, the world's tallest church, in Ulm, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Interior view of Ulmer Münster, the world's tallest church, in Ulm, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Interior view of Ulmer Münster, the world's tallest church, in Ulm, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Interior view of Ulmer Münster, the world's tallest church, in Ulm, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Interior view of Ulmer Münster, the world's tallest church, in Ulm, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Exterior view of Ulmer Münster, the world's tallest church, in Ulm, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States said Sunday it rescued a service member missing behind enemy lines since Iran downed a fighter jet, as President Donald Trump escalated pressure on Tehran with renewed threats to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump wrote in a social media post that the aviator is injured but “will be just fine,” adding that the rescue involved “dozens of aircraft” and that the U.S. had been monitoring his location in the lead-up to his rescue.

“This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,” Trump wrote.

The airman's extraction followed a frantic U.S. search-and-rescue operation after the Friday crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle, as Iran also promised a reward for anyone who turned in an “enemy pilot.”

A second crew member was rescued earlier.

The fighter jet was the first U.S. aircraft to have crashed in Iranian territory since the war, now in its sixth week, erupted.

Trump said last week that the U.S. had “decimated” Iran and would finish the war “very fast.” Two days later, Iran shot down two U.S. military planes, showing the ongoing perils of the bombing campaign and the ability of a degraded Iranian military to continue to hit back.

The other jet to go down was a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft. Neither the status of the crew nor exactly where it crashed was immediately known.

On Sunday, Iran’s state TV aired a video showing thick black smoke rising into the air, claiming that they had shot down an American transport plane and two helicopters that were part of the rescue operation. However, a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission told The Associated Press that the U.S. military blew up two transport planes due to a technical malfunction, forcing it to bring in additional aircraft to complete the rescue.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert mission.

In Kuwait, an Iranian drone attack caused significant damage to two power plants and put a water desalination station out of service, according to the Ministry of Electricity. No injuries were reported from the attack, the ministry said.

In Bahrain, the national oil company said that a drone attack caused a fire at one of its storage facilities, which was extinguished. It said the damage was still being assessed and no injuries had been reported.

In the United Arab Emirates, authorities responded to multiple fires at the Borouge petrochemicals plant, a joint venture of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Borealis of Austria. They say the fires were caused by falling debris following successful interceptions by air defense systems, but production at the plant in Ruwais, near the UAE’s western border with Saudi Arabia, has halted.

The strike came a day after Israel struck a petrochemical plant in Iran that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said generated revenue that it had used to fund the war.

The war began with joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Feb. 28 and has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets, bringing warnings of possible war crimes.

Trump renewed his threats for Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz by Monday or face devastating consequences, writing Saturday in a social media post: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.”

The waterway is a critical chokepoint for global energy shipments, especially oil and gas moving from the Persian Gulf to Europe and Asia. Disruptions there have injected volatility into the market and pushed oil and gas-importing countries to seek alternative sources.

“The doors of hell will be opened to you” if Iran’s infrastructure is attacked, Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi with the country’s joint military command said late Saturday in response to Trump’s renewed threat, state media reported. In turn, the general threatened all infrastructure used by the U.S. military in the region.

But Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, told the AP that his government’s efforts to broker a ceasefire are “right on track” after Islamabad last week said that it would soon host talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt were working to bring the U.S. and Iran to the negotiating table, according to two regional officials.

The proposed compromise includes a cessation of hostilities to allow a diplomatic settlement, according to a regional official involved in the efforts and a Gulf diplomat briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, issued a veiled threat late Friday to disrupt traffic through a second strategic waterway in the region, the Bab el-Mandeb.

The strait, 32 kilometers (20 miles) wide, links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. More than a tenth of seaborne global oil and a quarter of container ships pass through it.

“Which countries and companies account for the highest transit volumes through the strait?” Qalibaf wrote.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed. In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people have been killed and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Ten Israeli soldiers have died there.

This report has been corrected to show that Borealis is an Austrian company and not Australian.

Metz reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Members of Lebanon's General Security stand at the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa valley, eastern Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A man, who fled Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon with his family, sleeps in his car used as shelter, along a seaside promenade in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Followers of Iraq's Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr chant slogans as they wave national Iraqi flag during a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A bedroom is damaged in a building struck in an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Pedetrians walk by a destroyed building within the Grand Hosseiniyeh, with the mosque visible in the background, which officials at the site say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday, in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Police officers and their horses take cover in an underground parking garage as sirens warn of an incoming missile fired from Yemen in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

A man looks at a destroyed building within the Grand Hosseiniyeh complex that officials say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)