If freezing temperatures and icy roads aren’t proof enough that spring semester is in full swing, Facebook photo albums of your junior friends’ studies abroad will settle the debate. From the beer halls of Munich to the warm weather in Australia, there are plenty of reasons to envy your friends overseas. While St. Louis can’t compete with French food or the bearskin hats in London, the Gateway City can contend with any European city in one respect: churches. Below are two of the finest examples of Church architecture in not only St. Louis, but the United States as a whole.

Cathedral Basilica
The Cathedral Basilica, in the Central West End, boasts the most impressive collection of mosaics in the United States. From 1912 until 1988, artists covered 83,000 square feet of wall and ceiling space with tiny pieces of colored glass to illustrate religious scenes and stories. As one enters through the front doors into the narthex, the foyer or lobby of this cathedral, the mosaics immediately threaten to overload the senses. Here, against a shining gold background, is the life of Louis IX of France, the namesake of the city. Different narratives embellish the rest of the space in the Cathedral, from Bible stories to the lives of various saints to the Last Judgment. Impressively, the mosaics extend to the top of the central dome, more than 200 feet above ground level. Outside, the cathedral resembles a Byzantine cathedral, like the Hagia Sophia. Other striking features include the two rose windows and a baldachin, supported by marble columns, above the main altar. Below the cathedral in the crypts lay the remains of bishops who served St. Louis, as well as a small museum about the construction of the Cathedral.

Basilica of St. Louis, King of France
Right on the riverfront, this church used to be the Cathedral of St. Louis until the new cathedral’s consecration in 1926. The Old Cathedral, as St. Louis natives refer to it, was completed in 1834. In fact, until 1845, this church was the sole cathedral west of the Mississippi river. The Old Cathedral hardly resembles its successor. While the current Cathedral favors Byzantine architecture, the Old Cathedral favors the Greek Revival; it resembles a government building with a steeple, replete with Doric columns and a pediment. The tympanum bears the name of God in Hebrew letters, and Latin adorns the architrave. Inside, the church looks more like a Protestant parish, as its decoration is far more reserved than the typically ornate Catholic basilica. The interior is principally azure with white columns, pillars and rails. Unsurprisingly, the Old Cathedral is one of the most popular wedding destinations in St. Louis. Visitors should note the Old Cathedral’s marble altar and beautiful organ.