Rhenish helm

The Rhenish helm is a type of spire typical of Romanesque church architecture of the historic Rhineland.

It is a pyramidal roof on towers of square plan. Each of the four sides of the roof is rhomboid in form, with the long diagonal running from the apex of roof to one of the corners of the supporting tower. Each side of the tower is topped with an even triangular gable from the peak of which runs a ridge to the apex of the roof. Thus, the corners of the pyramidical roof do not correspond with the corners of the tower but with the peaks of the gables.

An early if not the first example of such spires can be found on the four tall towers of the Cathedral of Speyer. Rhenish helm spires are mainly found in the historical Rhineland but there are a few churches in other areas with such spires.

Examples of churches in the historical Rhineland

 * Speyer Cathedral
 * Maria Laach Abbey, near Andernach
 * Basilica of St. Castor, Koblenz
 * Collegiate Church of St. Bartholomew, Liège
 * Limburg Cathedral
 * St. Dionysius, Rhens
 * Munsterkerk, Roermond
 * St. Faith's Church, Sélestat
 * Basilica of the Holy Apostles, Cologne
 * St. Maria Lyskirchen, Cologne
 * St. Aegidius Church, Bad Honnef
 * Eibingen Abbey

Germany

 * St. Mary's Church, Lübeck
 * Stumm-Kirche, Brebach-Fechingen, Saarbrücken

The Netherlands

 * Basilica of Our Lady, Maastricht

Canada

 * Moravian Church, Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador
 * Saint Peter's and Saint John's Anglican Church, Baddeck, Nova Scotia
 * Trinity Anglican Church, Jordan Falls, Nova Scotia

China

 * St. Michael's Cathedral, Qingdao

England

 * Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Sompting, West Sussex
 * St Margaret's Church, Wormhill, Derbyshire
 * St Mary's Church, Flixton, Suffolk
 * St Peter and St Paul, Hawkley, Hampshire
 * St Stephen's Church, West Bowling, Bradford, West Yorkshire
 * St Andrew's Church, Churcham, Gloucestershire
 * St Anne's Church, Bowden Hill, Wiltshire

Hungary

 * Abbey Church of St James, Lébény
 * Mary Magdalene Church, Egregy, Hévíz

Denmark

 * Ribe Cathedral

The United States

 * Old Chapel (Amherst, Massachusetts)

Further examples

 * Preußisches Regierungsgebäude, Koblenz
 * Temple Neuf, Metz
 * https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3852199
 * https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/mysterious-and-magnificent-lewes-home-market-1109789?amp