Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The "Western Church" is a modern religious building, the highest on the island at 40.9 metres. The church was consecrated in 1975. It rises above the city as a landmark and its shape seems to be inspired by a ship with a sail. The tower is shaped like a pointed pyramid cut in two vertically. In 2006, a monument by the sculptor Hans Pauli Olsen was erected in front of the church in memory of Sigmundur Brestisson (961-1005), who initiated the Christianisation of the Faroes.

Vestvik church is a long church that was inaugurated in 1905, on the site of an older church that was built in 1589. The church was designed by architect Jon Rostad.

The present church building in Vetlanda, built in the last years of the 18th century, is the third on this site. It was built according to plans by the architect Per Wilhelm Palmroth, but after several radical changes, very little of the original church building remains today. In 1800, the tower was damaged by lightning. In 1871, the church was given a new spire and tower. In 1903-1904, following a proposal by the architect Ludwig Peterson, the church was given its present appearance.

Built in 1041, its construction continued in the 12th and 13th centuries, placing it in a pivotal period between Romanesque and Gothic.

The Veum church is a long church dating from 1863. Veumsteinen, a runic stone which is now in the Museum of Cultural History, used to stand on a burial mound in the courtyard of the farmhouse of Veum, just south of the church of Veum.

The Vevelstad church is a long wooden church whose first phase of construction dates back to 1796. The original church was donated to the parish by two wealthy men from the village. The altarpiece is from 1796 and was made by the Italian Joseph Pisani. The church was enlarged in height and length in 1871 and then took on its present appearance inside and out. The last restoration took place in 1981.

The church in Vevring, which dates from 1846, is a wooden church with a long plan. The design of the church was inspired by the drawings of the architect Linstow.

The Basilica of Vézelay was originally an abbey church, a place where the roads of Compostelle passed through. While a monastic community has been documented on the site since the 9th century, and the original building was destroyed by fire in 1120, the current building was built in the years 1120-1150 for the Romanesque state. The choir was rebuilt in the second half of the 12th century in a style of the first Burgundian Gothic style.

The Veøy church was built in 1907 and designed by the architect Karl Martin Norum. The church has the characteristics of Dragestil's churches. Most of the churches that were built at that time are white, but this one is red with white windows and doors. Inside, the church is painted with a combination of shades of brown. The same ochre colours are found in much of the interior. Sometimes a slightly cooler colour is used for decorative details, blue, red, green and gold.

Viborg Cathedral was originally built in the 11th century, while the present church is a 19th-century building inspired by Lund Cathedral in Sweden, with no architectural links to the previous one. A fire caused by lightning in 1501 destroyed the western part of the old church as well as the ceiling. Another fire destroyed the church in 1567. In 1726 another fire burned large parts of Viborg to ashes. Of the cathedral, only the walls remained. The high spires that adorned the towers at that time fell and crushed the vaults. The church was rebuilt in the Baroque style, but in the following years it turned out that the masonry had suffered more damage than expected. After decades of denial, it was finally decided to demolish the old church. Demolition began in 1863.