Which building is a famous example of Gothic architecture?

• A. Hagia Sophia
• B. Notre Dame
• C. Colosseum
• D. Parthenon

Answer: (B)

Gothic architecture emphasizes height, light, and structural innovation, using features like pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses to create tall interiors with large stained-glass windows. Notre Dame embodies these ideas most famously: its pointed arches and ribbed vaults push the eye upward, while the flying buttresses support the walls from the outside, allowing expansive windows that fill the space with light. Built in the medieval period, it became the iconic example of Gothic design.

Hagia Sophia, by contrast, showcases Byzantine domed architecture; the Colosseum is an ancient Roman amphitheater, and the Parthenon is a classical Greek temple—none of these are Gothic.