Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The Memorial Temple of the Birth of Christ, built between 1885 and 1902, is a cultural monument of national importance. It is dedicated to the fighters of the Russo-Turkish war (1877-1878). In its dungeons, there is an ossuary containing the bones of nearly 9,000 Russian and Bulgarian warriors who died in Bulgaria during the war of liberation.

Shkodër Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to St. Stephen, built between 1858 and 1867. It was not until 1890 that the bell tower was completed and equipped with three bells, bought in Venice by the philanthropists Filip Parruca and the brothers Mark and Pjetër Pema. With the Cultural Revolution of 1967, the Cathedral was transformed into a Sports Palace.

The Shomre Hadass Synagogue Bouwmeesters straat in Antwerpen is an Ashkenazi synagogue built between 1891 and 1893 by architects Ernest Stordiau and Joseph Hertogs. This Neo-Moorish brick building still serves as a synagogue.

The Shree Ghanapathy Temple in Wimbledon was founded in 1980 in a former Christian Presbyterian Church. It became in 1981 the first fully consecrated Hindu Temple in Europe.

This Hindu temple in the suburb of Wembley (London) opened its doors in 2010. It took 14 years of work to cut and carve all the pieces and figures that make up the temple, for which only Indian limestone was used. The pieces and figures were shipped and assembled in the United Kingdom.

The period of the cemetery’s establishment is not known. It first appears on a cadastral map of 1865, but the earliest preserved gravestone dates from the first half of the 20th century. The cemetery was fenced by ESJF in 2019.

St. James Cathedral in Šibenik was built in three phases from 1431 to 1536. The building mixes Gothic architecture, especially Tuscan Gothic, with Renaissance features, such as the dome, making it one of the most interesting buildings in Croatia from this period. Due to its outstanding features, the cathedral was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.

Today’s appearance of the impressive parish church in the medieval city is the result of several alterations of the original Romanesque church, which was built near the first city wall. After its demolition in the 14th century the dimensions of the following Gothic church accounted for the growing population and the significance of the city. Chancel, transept, and the lower part of the tower were completed in 1371, whereas the nave was finished only in 1445 after an interruption of the works. In 1448 the nave was enlarged to the west, thus surrounding the tower. At the end of the 15th century the nave was changed to a hall church at the south side. The newly built gallery was covered with a lierne vault. In 1494 the tower, measuring 73 m, including its distinctive spire was completed. Finally the northern part of the transept was extended by one bay and on the south side the entrance hall and the spiral staircase for the tower were added. The noticeable roofing made of colored glazed tiles dates back to the 16th century. The interior is dominated by the towering piers and the Gothic rib vault in the nave and the light-flooded chancel. Around 1900 during a general renovation the plaster of the interior walls was taken down completely leaving of the original decoration only a wall-painting showing the crucifixion on the northern wall of the chancel. There is a collection of renaissance epitaphs of distinguished Sibiu citizens.

The Siegerland motorway church, located on the B45, was inaugurated on 26 May 2013. The building, a multi-award-winning design by Frankfurt architects Schneider + Schumacher, is an example of post-modern religious architecture. The design of the church exterior is based on geometric triangular shapes. In the entrance area of the church, there is a typographic installation by Peter Zizka.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta was built in the 13th century in the Romanesque-Gothic Italian style. It is famous for its intensive use of marble marquetry. An enlargement of the church took place in the 14th century, but was abandoned with its failure. As part of Historic Centre of Siena, the cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.