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    To make these massive buildings, the builders obviously needed a lot of building material. Most of the cathedrals made back then were made up of stone, mainly limestone. The citizens had to build a huge rock quarry in order to meet the needs of the builders.

    Bricks were not used widely for some reason, but can be found in cathedrals only in northern and eastern Germany and southern France. These countries also used bricks to make their churches, castles, and palaces.

    The material that was used to bind the stones together is called mortar. This is a material which was helped to bind the bricks and other building materials together. It was sort of like a very primitive form of cement.

    Some people might not think that wood is an intricate part of the cathedral. However, wood is the building material which holds up the roofs, flying buttresses, as well as, the doors. Many different kinds of wood were used because they only used the type of wood which was easily available, as well as, which was in great supply. Furthermore, wood was used to help make some of the vaults which will be explained later on

    Another feature is the stained glass window. One of the most interesting and spectacular areas of the cathedrals, it can dazzle people and shine gracefully on the ground below. More is explained in the area entitled Stained Glass Windows.

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