Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

Ribe Cathedral is one of the few single-nave churches in Denmark whose construction began around 1150. The church is built in Romanesque style and is today considered to be the best-preserved Romanesque cathedral in Denmark. The cathedral is known for its three towers: the equestrian tower above the choir, the Maria tower and the tower in the northwest corner, called the citizens' tower.

The Evangelic church in Richiş is a special appearance in the landscape of Transylvanian fortified churches, maybe also due to the fact that for a long time a monastic order resided here. During the Protestant reformation, the monks were banished by the villagers, thus being forced to leave the church to the community. The three aisles tower-less basilica was built in the 14th century and was protected with a curtain wall with two defensive towers and battlement walk. It stands out from other similar village churches due to its rich decorations: the funnel-shaped western portal, the pillars and columns with capitals supporting the ribs of the vaults, the keystones decorated with masks, the tracery of the mullioned windows. The doubled triumphal arch testifies that a tower was initially planned to be erected here.

The church of Ridala, dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene, was built in the 13th century, around 1270. Inside there are remains of wall paintings and a 17th-century Baroque altar by Berent Lorentz.

Riddagshausen Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey founded in 1145, with the mother abbey of Cîteaux in Burgundy as a natural model. After a good sixty years of construction, the monastery church was consecrated in 1275. The guardhouse (which today houses the Cistercian museum) was already built at the end of the 12th century, while the small chapel for foreigners next door was completed shortly before the monastery church. A century after the dissolution of the congregation with the rise of Protestantism, a preaching seminary was founded in the monastery in 1690. With the secularisation of Riddagshausen Monastery in 1809 during the Napoleonic occupation, the preaching seminary was closed. From 1856 to 1883, the abbey church was renovated, and from 1962 to 1975 further improvements and repaints were carried out.

The Riddarholm Church is a church founded around 1300. It was originally built as a Catholic monastery for the Gråbrödrakloster, founded in 1270 and belonging to the Franciscan Order, after being given by King Magnus Ladulås.

Riga Dome is the cathedral of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church. Built in the 13th century, it is the largest medieval church in the Baltic states and a national architectural monument. The former Dome Monastery now houses the Riga History and Navigation Museum (founded in 1773).

The Islamic Centre and Mosque of Rijke opened in 2013. The building was designed by Croatian sculptor Dušan Džamonja in cooperation with Branko Vučinović and Darko Vlahović. The mosque has been described as a masterpiece of contemporary mosque architecture.

Neo-Romanesque church without tower. Demolished in 1975. Replaced.

People believe that The Monastery of Sain Ivan of Rila (better known as the Rila Monastery) was founded by hermit Ivan of Rila in the first half of the 10th century. He lived in a cave not far from the monastery’s current location. From the beginning on, the monastery has been supported and respected by Bulgarian rulers who made large donations. From 1334 until 1335, a protective tower, monastic cells and a temple were built. Unfortunately, the monastery underwent numerous raids and destruction by Ottomans from the end of the 14th century until the middle of the 15th century. The monastery got rebuilt at the end of the 15th century. In 1833, the monastery was destroyed by fire and reconstructed between 1834 and 1862. Today it is seen as the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria.

The Rindal church is a long church completed in 1874 by the architect Johan Martin Helgesen, modified in 1935 by Sivert Glærum and Ola Sæter. On 26 September 2014, the church was hit by a fire in the bell tower which was quickly extinguished.