Spiral staircase planner
A spiral staircase in a round tower. Choose the size of the tower, the pillar in the middle and the height, and build the staircase step by step. Click blocks you have placed to keep track of where you are.
Odd sizes only, so the pillar stands exactly in the middle.
A wall of 2 blocks is possible from a diameter of 7.
A 3 × 3 pillar is possible from a diameter of 15.
The way you turn when you walk up, seen from above.
One turn from above
lowhighpillarwallNorth is up. The arrow shows the walking direction upward: that is where the high side of the stair goes.
Build breakdown
Per step, from bottom to top
| Step | Layer | Direction | Stairs | Blocks underneath |
|---|
Build tips
- Build the pillar to full height first. It is your fixed point: each step sits in the same place relative to the pillar, just one layer higher.
- After a full turn the pattern repeats. Step 1 of the second turn lies exactly above step 1 of the first.
- Look in the walking direction when you place a stair. Then the high side ends up on the right side by itself.
- A closed underside gives you a sloping ceiling under the staircase. It costs a row of blocks per step, but looks neat from below.
- Want to add a floor? Lay a floor on the layer where you want to step off and let the staircase continue next to it.
- Headroom of 3 blocks or more walks comfortably. With 2 you just get through; less does not work.
3D and layer-by-layer build plan
To Minecraft
Download the staircase as a schematic file and paste it into your world with WorldEdit, or rebuild it from a hologram in Litematica. The steps, the pillar and the underside are included. The tower wall is not. Stairs have their high side in the walking direction; slabs alternate between the bottom and top of the block.
Shopping list
Add the amounts of this design to your list. There you see everything together, converted to stacks and shulker boxes.
How it is calculated
History and fun facts
A staircase that takes little space
A spiral staircase turns around a centre point. This way you get high up without using much floor space. That is why you see them in narrow towers, church towers and lighthouses.
The steps are narrow on the inside and wide on the outside. They often rest on a central column on the inside, called the newel.
Already in Roman times
The Romans already built spiral staircases. Inside Trajan's Column in Rome, from AD 113, a stone spiral staircase leads to a viewing platform at the top.
Each step and the piece of newel below it were often cut from one piece of stone. So each step supported the next.
In castles and churches
In the Middle Ages almost every castle and church tower had a stone spiral staircase, often inside the thickness of the wall or in a small turret next to it.
It is often said that castle stairs turn clockwise going up, so a right-handed defender at the top had room to swing his sword. Historians doubt this: many staircases also turn the other way.
Famous spiral staircases
In the Château de Chambord in France there is a double spiral staircase. Two people can walk up and down at the same time without meeting each other.
In the Vatican, Donato Bramante designed a spiral ramp without steps around 1505, so even pack animals could walk up it. The Dom Tower in Utrecht has 465 steps to the top.
Headroom and rhythm
A good spiral staircase has enough space above your head. After one full turn you walk under the steps of the turn above.
The more steps per turn, the lower each step and the more headroom. That is why wide towers have gentle stairs and narrow towers have steep stairs.
Did you know?
- Trajan's Column has a spiral staircase of 185 steps inside.
- The double spiral staircase at Chambord is often linked to Leonardo da Vinci, but this is not certain.
- The Dom Tower in Utrecht has 465 steps.
- The central post of a spiral staircase is called the newel.
- A player in Minecraft is 1.8 blocks tall, so you need at least 2 blocks of headroom.
About this tool
With this spiral staircase planner you build a spiral staircase in a round tower in Minecraft. You choose the size of the tower, the pillar in the middle and the height. Then you build the stairs step by step.
The diameter is always odd, so the pillar stands exactly in the centre. You choose a wall of 1 or 2 blocks and a pillar of 1 × 1 or 3 × 3. You decide whether the stairs go up clockwise or counterclockwise, and how many steps there are in one turn: automatic or 4 to 24. Steps can be made of stairs, slabs or full blocks, as a full ring or one stair per step, with an open or closed underside.
The walkability check shows how much headroom you have. So you know if you can really walk up it. The top view of one turn is coloured from low to high, and the arrow shows the walking direction.
The layer-by-layer build plan and the table per step tell you exactly where each stair goes and which way it faces. In the 3D view you can show the tower wall whole, open or hidden. The counter counts stairs and blocks. With the block palette you choose your blocks, and you can download the steps, the pillar and the underside as a .schem file.
Build the tower around it with the tower planner or the circle generator.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a spiral staircase in Minecraft?
First build the pillar to the full height. Then place the steps one by one around the pillar, each step a bit further and higher. After one full turn the pattern repeats: step 1 of the second turn is exactly above step 1 of the first.
How much headroom do I need?
A player is 1.8 blocks tall. With 2 blocks of headroom you just fit. With 3 blocks or more it walks comfortably. The walkability check in the tool shows what your staircase has.
How big should my tower be?
From a diameter of 5 you can make a small spiral staircase. A wall of 2 blocks works from 7, and a 3 × 3 pillar from 15. Larger towers give more steps per turn and a gentler staircase.
Which way should the stair face?
Look in the walking direction when you place a stair. Then the high side ends up on the correct side by itself. In the top view the arrow points to the high side.
How do I add a floor halfway up?
Place a floor on the layer where you want to step off and let the staircase continue next to it. Make sure there is enough headroom above the floor.
Can I build this in Bedrock?
The layer-by-layer build plan and the table per step work in every edition, including Bedrock. The .schem file is for Minecraft Java Edition, with WorldEdit or Litematica. The tower wall is not included in the file.