Rhenish helm
Introduction

[thumb\|upright\|Rhenish helm on [Maria Laach Abbey](/wiki/Maria_Laach_Abbey "Maria Laach Abbey")](/wiki/File:20110507_marialaach19.JPG "20110507 marialaach19.JPG")
The **Rhenish helm** is a type of [spire](/wiki/Spire "Spire") typical of [Romanesque](/wiki/Romanesque_architecture "Romanesque architecture") [church architecture](/wiki/Church_architecture "Church architecture") of the historic [Rhineland](/wiki/Rhineland "Rhineland").

It is a pyramidal roof on towers of square plan. Each of the four sides of the roof is [rhomboid](/wiki/Rhomboid "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](/wiki/Gable "Gable") from the peak of which runs a ridge to the [apex](/wiki/Apex "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](/wiki/Cathedral_of_Speyer "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.


Where can an early example of the Rhenish helm spire be found?