Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

Greåker church is a wooden church built in 1974. The architect of this modernist church is Aksel Fronth.

This synagogue is considered to be the first synagogue in the Netherlands which was recognizable as such by its exterior. It was constructed in 1670/71 and its design is attributed to the architect Elias Bouman. The plan of the building is almost square-shaped. The wooden vaulted roof and the women's gallery were supported by four large columns. The bimah was located at the center of the interior which faced the monumental Torah ark. The small rectangular building at the corner of the street originally a mikveh. A neoclassical entrance with its triangular pediments was later added to this building around the year 1822/23. During the Second World War, the synagogue was closed down in 1943 and was subsequently looted. The municipality of Amsterdam bought the complex, including the New Synagogue, Obbene Shul, and Dritt Shul in 1954. After several renovations of the synagogue complex (1966, 1976/87), the buildings were redeveloped as the Joods Historisch Museum (Jewish Historical Museum).

The Great Basilica of Pliska is a ruined early Christian church from the 9th century, in northeastern Bulgaria. It was built by order of Boris I, knyaz (ruler) of the First Bulgarian Empire, of which Pliska was the capital. Today it is part of the Pliska National Historical and Archeological Reserve. Boris I was also responsilbe for the conversion of Bulgaria to Christianity.

The Great Beguinage of Sint-Amandsberg was built in 1873-1874 when the former Great Beguinage of Sint-Elisabeth in the centre of Ghent was abandoned. The new beguinage was designed by architect Arthur Verhaegen. Baron Jean-Baptiste de Bethune designed the church of the beguinage. It was built in two years at a fast pace. It is the only neo-gothic beguinage in Flanders.

The Great Choral Synagogue of Riga is an Ashkenazi synagogue built between 1868 and 1871 by the architect Paul von Hardenak. The stone synagogue, now used as a memorial, displays a romantic historicist style.

The Great Choral Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in Kyiv, built in 1895 in a Moorish revival style. Its construction was financed by Gabriel Yakob Rozenberg, a merchant.

The Große Kirche (Big Church) was built after the demolition of the previous church in 1785-1787. The construction of the highest tower finished in 1805. A ship can be seen on top of the tower: this is an old symbol of the community and remembers the bible story of the disciples at the lake of Galilea (Mat. 8, 23-27). The church underwent a thorough renovation in 2011-2012. Today, the church is the largest church building in the area.

The Great Khan Mosque was built in 1532 by Khan Sahib I Giray (1501–1551) in the Ottoman architectural style. It is part of the Khan's Palace, which was the seat of the Crimean Khanate. The mosque bore the name of Sahib I Giraj until the 17th century. The mosque was damaged by fire in 1736 but was restored under Khan Selamet Giraj. To the east, a madrasa built in 1750 under Arslan Giraj was probably attached. Some scholars also suspect that the mosque originally had a domed roof with several domes of different shapes.

The Great Maharsha Synagogue in Ostroh was built in 1627 under a restriction “prohibiting the erection of synagogues taller than churches”. The synagogue was damaged during the Holocaust and afterwards abandoned. The synagogue was named after Rabbi Schmuel Eliezer Ha-Levi Edels (the Maharsha), the author of one of the most authoritative Talmudic commentaries. The building is currently being restored and transferred back to the Jewish community.

The Great Medieval Synagogue in Buda was built in the 15th century, destroyed in 1686. The building is now abandoned.