The gothic cathedrals here in northern Germany are neat because they’re made of red brick instead of the huge white stones typical to Paris:

Since a lot of the cities here were part of the Hanseatic League, a non-feudal trading consortium, the cathedrals weren’t as much built on the backs of the poor as in a feudal society. …though I imagine a solid social safety net would have been a better use of the money as always. :)