Most Beautiful Christian Monuments

[M.R.]

This is my first post in this section of Stirpes, I'm Christian myself, born in Christian (mostly Catholic, some Protestants) family. I see that there aren't much recent posts in this section so I decided to open this thread.

So, please post pictures of most beautiful European Christian monuments in this thread.

I'll start with pics from my country,

Slovenia



Today's aspect of Maria in Solio, Gospa Sveta, Maria Saal. It was founded or rebuilt in 753 AD by St. Modestus, Apostle of Carantania.



Brezje village is located in the Gorenjska region (map). The altitude is 485 m and there is a nice view to the highest peak of Slovenia Triglav (Julian Alps - Julijci) and Karavanke Alps. Famous worth seeing is a basilica of St. Vid with the chapel. It is a popular pilgrim destination. Inside the chapel is a painting of Maria (helper). Since 1863 prays were answered in front of the painting. After that the church becomes too small for so many pilgrims and in 1889 the church started getting present image. It was consecrated in 1900. In 1988 the church got title * basilica by the pope Paul II. He visited it in 1996. Full indulgence can be received basilica in the holly year 2000.



Stična Monastery. The oldest, biggest and best preserved of numerous monasteries scattered throughout Slovenia, founded in 1135 in the midst of the broad hills and forests of the Dolenjska region.





Russian chapel in the Julian Alps. This chapel celebrated 90-anniversary (1916 - 2006) few days ago. It was erected in memory of some 300 Russian prisoners of war who were used to build a mountain road over the Vršic Pass during the WW1 in 1916. An avalanche buried many of them under feet of snow.



The present-day view of Možnica (Moggio) Monastery in northern Friuli, which in 1115 was founded as a legacy of Count Kocel, Palgrafe of Carantania. The arms with the cock remember St. Gallus.



The monastery of Dobrla vas (Eberndorf) in southern Carinthia, a founding of Kocelin, Kocel's son, in 1106. The arms are not those of the founder as usually, but of the monastery itself.





Javorca, A Memorial Church from WW1 built in a Sunshine Post.

Christian monuments in Ljubljana, Slovenian capital

Trnovo Church





The original church of the Trnovo district was built by architect Candido Zulliani in 1753. The only surviving items from that church are a few paintings, including those of St. John the Baptist and St. Anthony by Valentin Metzinger.

Church of St. James





The Church of St. James (Cerkev sv. Jakoba) was built by Jesuits between 1613 and 1615 on the site next to the former Jesuit monastery (Ljubljana's first college of theology, philosophy, medicine and music), which was previously occupied by an old Gothic church.

St. Michael's Church






The Church of St. Michael in the Marshes, built by Jože Plečnik between 1937 and 1940, belongs among the architect's most original creations. It combines the features of Greek temples with those of the churches typical of the Slovenian region of Kras (an open belfry forming a part of the front façade).

Church of St. Florian



The Church of St. Florian (Cerkev sv. Florijana) was commissioned by the citizens of Ljubljana in memory of the great fire which devastated the Stari trg and Gornji trg squares in 1660. In 1774, the church burnt down. Since then it has undergone several reconstructions. It owes its present appearance to architect Jože Plečnik, who oversaw the reconstruction which took place between 1933 and 1934. Plečnik had the former door recess filled with the statue of St. John Nepomuk which Francesco Robba was commissioned to make for the chapel by the bridge over the Sava river in the Črnuče district in 1727. Plečnik also landscaped the church's surrounding area and built the nearby walking path to Ljubljana Castle.

Križanke Church



The Križanke Church (Križevniška cerkev), which has also been referred to as the Church of Our Lady of Mercy (Cerkev Marije Pomočnice), is located next to the Križanke Summer Theatre. The Order of Teutonic Knights, the so called Knights of the Cross, settled at the upper end of the Novi trg square and built a church there back in the 13th century. The only preserved part of the church is the famous relief depicting the Madonna of the Krakovo from the church's main entrance portal, which was created between the years 1265 and 1270. The relief is now kept at the National Gallery.

The Cathedral (Church of St. Nicholas)






The church which originally stood at the site of the present Cathedral (Stolnica), which is also referred to as the Church of St. Nicholas (Cerkev sv. Nikolaja), was a Romanic church with three naves, whose earliest mention was in 1262. After the fire of 1361 it was re-vaulted in Gothic style. When the Diocese of Ljubljana was established in 1461, the church underwent several alterations and a number of extensions were added to it. In 1469 it was probably burnt down by the Turks. In 1701 it was pulled down.

The Franciscan monastery and the Church of the Annunciation





The Franciscan Monastery (Frančiškanski samostan) and the Church of Annunciation (Cerkev Marijinega oznanenja) most decisively contribute to the appearance of the Prešernov trg square, the central square in Ljubljana. The monastery was until the end of the 18th century the home of Augustine monks. The church was built in the period from 1646 to 1660. Its façade, which was finished around the year 1700, reconstructed in the 19th century and renovated in 1993, features a copper statue of St. Mary, the largest Madonna statue in Ljubljana.

Church of the Holy Trinity





The Church of the Holy Trinity was built by architect Carlo Marinuzzi between the years 1718 and 1726. The Ursuline Monastery (Uršulinski samostan) with the Church of the Holy Trinity (Cerkev Sv. Trojice), which has also been referred to as the Ursuline Church (Uršulinska cerkev), is situated on the Slovenska cesta road, across the way from the Kongresni trg square. It was commissioned by Jakob Schell von Schellenburg, a wealthy merchant and financier from Ljubljana, and his wife Ana Katarina. During the construction of the Trg republike square, the monastery building underwent a thorough reconstruction and the monastery garden was completely destroyed.

[Sergius]

nevsky cathedral of sofia.

[Erasmus]

ROMANIAN CHURCHES




RUSSIAN CHURCHES





GREEK CHURCHES



Istambul


Monastery of Hossios Loucas


BYZANTINE ART

[svin]

Moscow region, Podolsk. Znamenskaya Church (1704):

[Menydh]

Temple de la Sagrada Família (Temple of the Holy Family)
Architect: Antoni Gaudí
Started: 1881
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

[Menydh]

Catedral de Santiago de Compostela
Started:
over a pre-Romanesque temple (VIIIth century?)
Romanesque temple (inside), 1072
Other styles in later years
Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain




Ritual do botafumeiro

[M.R.]

Sistine Chapel



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ire.500pix.jpg

[Theobald]

Most of our religious monuments are Catholic, and the main ones are :
- cathedrals of Paris (Notre-Dame), Strasbourg, Reims, Chartres, Bourges, Saint-Denis (la basilique royale), Amiens, Rouen
- the church of the Sacré-Coeur in Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris






Sacré Coeur (Paris)





Cathédrale de Strasbourg





Cathédrale de Reims



Cathédrale de Chartres




Cathédrale de Bourges





Cathédrale de Saint-Denis (where our kings are buried)




Cathédrale d'Amiens




Cathédrale de Rouen




Cathédrale de Beauvais

[Theobald]

Also in the South we have Notre-Dame de la Garde (Marseille) :





And I was about to forget the "Eglise Saint-Sulpice" in Paris :

[Theobald]

As for the Protestants, their important monuments are in Eastern France (Metz, Montbeliard, Strasbourg), due to evident reasons.
Here is the "Temple Saint-Martin" in Montbeliard (once a free Imperial Lutherian city in Franche-Comté) :





Here is the Temple Neuf, constructed in Metz by the Kaiser in 1904 for his officers :





In Strasbourg, the "Eglise Saint-Thomas" :




There is a lot of small and splendid small Protestant churches in Alsace and especially in Strasbourg, but I would need another thread to post all their pictures...

Also, Strasbourg's cathedral was a Protestant temple between 1521 (Reform) and 1681 (French annexation).

[Erasmus]

?

[Vincent]

Almost all of those posted churches are big, enormous monuments, in large, chaotic cities, where only one thing is important, for the most of its inhabitants... Money!

But I like the small, and simple ones. Because I think the real beauty lies within simplicity.
For me, the churches, chapels belowe, with their environment, have more beauty than any large church or cathedral.

[Menydh]

The monasteries at Mount Athos, the centre of Eastern Orthodoxy

[M.R.]

@lasuurcnis -- I have to agree with you that chapels with th