Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The church of Kvernes is thought to have been completed between 1300 and 1500. In 1893 a new church was built next to the old one. In order to prevent the old stave church from being demolished, the inhabitants of Kristiansund collected money to buy the church. The long, low-ceilinged church hall is decorated with acanthus paintings on the red-painted walls and ceiling. Above the choir hangs a 17th-century crucifix and the monogram of Kristian VI. On the south side of the crossroads is the 17th-century pulpit in Baroque style. The beautifully carved closed pews are from the same period. The altarpiece from 1690 has a late medieval altar cabinet integrated into the main field.

The Kvikne church is a wooden church dating from 1764. Due to a large flood in 1789, the church was moved in 1790 from Sylte to its present location. In 1922 the pews were decorated with vines, animals and angels, painted by Ragnvald Einbu. The altarpiece is from 1764 with richly carved decoration by Estin Guttormson Kjørn.

Kvikne church is a wooden cruciform church consecrated in 1654 and replaced an earlier Stave church on the site. In the 18th century, a vestry was built behind the choir to the east and a bell tower to the west.

The church in Kvinesdal was built according to the plans of the castle architect Linstow in 1837. It replaced an earlier wooden church dating from 1623. The present church is designed in the classical style and is an octagonal wooden church with a tower to the west and a straight choir to the east. On the outside, it is panelled and painted white.

Kvinnherad Church is a whitewashed brick church dating from the mid 13th century. The church has a rectangular nave with an almost square base in the west and a narrower, lower rectangular chancel in the east. The church was probably the main church in Sunnhordland in the Middle Ages, but when Rosendal became a barony in 1678, it became a private church for the baron. The church remained in the ownership of the barony until 1910. The burial chapel to the north of the choir was built for the Rosenkrantz family in the 1670s. In 1913 a vestry was built next to the burial chamber.

Kviteseid Church is a long church built of brick and decorated with local red granite. The church was consecrated on 18 June 1916, the day before Fjågesund Church, which was built in parallel. It then took over from the former Kviteseid church as the main church of Kviteseid.

Kvitsøy church is a long wooden church with a porch to the west and a baptismal sacristy east of the choir. It is uncertain when the medieval church was replaced by a newer church, but the current church was probably built between 1560-1591. In 1797 the church was restored and got a new choir. In 1841, the church was restored and expanded with a porch to the west. In 1951 the baptismal sacristy was built. The interior was unveiled and restored in 1947-1951.

Kvæfjord Church was opened in 1867, designed by the architect Jacob Wilhelm Nordan. From the porch, stairs lead up on either side to the first hall of the tower, where there is an entrance to both sides of the gallery.

Kvævemoen chapel is a long church building from 1962. The architect for the chapel was Valdemar Scheel Hansteen.

Pechersk Lavra (Cave Monastery) is an Orthodox monastic complex in Kyiv. It was founded in 1051 as a cave monastery by monks from Mount Athos in Greece. In its early years, the monastery consisted of churches, chapels and cells built of wood, but as early as 1073, work began on the construction of a stone cathedral, the forerunner of the present Dormition Cathedral, which was completed in 1089. In the early modern period, the monastery became a centre of Orthodox pilgrimage for the entire Russian Empire. The 17th and 18th centuries were periods of great renewal for the monastery, which grew to its present size, including the most significant representations of Baroque and Rococo painting and architecture. In 1994, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.