Christian Sites: Explore Cathedrals, Monasteries, Chapels and Baptisteries
Explore more than 5,000 Christian sites, including basilicas, baptisteries, cathedrals, chapels, fortified churches and monasteries. The examples range from Italy and western Europe to Ireland, Romania and Armenia. Stone arcades, stained-glass interiors, vaulted communal rooms and defensive enclosures preserve the spaces used for worship, baptism, teaching, burial and monastic life.
Primary Function: All
Type: All
Civilization: All
Country: All
Popularity: All
Rating: All
The Oratory of San Giacomo della Marina in Genoa preserves a long history of pilgrimage, confraternal activity, Baroque decoration, and religious art…
Othem Church in northern Gotland preserves a medieval building developed from a 12th-century predecessor, with Romanesque and Gothic features,…
The Priory of Beaufays in Chaudfontaine developed from a mixed Augustinian foundation established in 1123 into a religious, agricultural, and…
Qirqbize is an abandoned Roman and early Byzantine settlement in northwestern Syria, notable for preserving an early fourth-century house church and…
Reinberg Village Church in Sundhagen developed from a 13th-century chancel into a medieval brick church with later furnishings, wall paintings, an…
Rone Church on Gotland is a largely preserved medieval Gothic church known for its tall navigational tower, carved portals, medieval paintings,…
Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Buk is a thirteenth-century granite church with a later tower, rare roof-edge stonework, an eighteenth-century…
Saint-Firmin Church in Vineuil-Saint-Firmin, France, was almost entirely rebuilt between 1540 and 1543 under the patronage of Constable Anne de…
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi in San Luca, Calabria, combines pre-Roman religious evidence, uncertain Byzantine and Norman-era origins, a…
Santi Lorenzo e Barbara is Seravezza’s principal church, built between 1422 and 1522 and later expanded with Renaissance and Baroque features,…
Schlosskirche in Ellingen is the medieval church of the Teutonic Order castle, rebuilt after wartime destruction and transformed into a richly…
St Clement Eastcheap is a Church of England parish church with medieval origins and a present building erected after the Great Fire of London. Its…
For details on how to use the maps, which sites are included, how popularity and ratings are determined, and how sites are classified, see the help page.
On this page6 sections
Basilicas and baptismal buildings
The Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio preserves a Romanesque church built on an early Christian foundation. An arcaded courtyard precedes its broad façade, while ribbed vaults cover the principal nave and galleries rise above the side aisles. The brickwork, carved capitals and repeated arches define both the enclosed church and the open space before it.
The Baptistery of San Giovanni alle Fonti, beneath Milan Cathedral, preserves the excavated outline of a separate building used for baptism. Its octagonal walls surround a central baptismal basin, with alternating rectangular and curved recesses around the perimeter. These remains belong to the late Roman episcopal complex, centuries before the present Gothic cathedral was built above it.
Gothic cathedrals and royal chapels
At Cologne Cathedral in Germany, the medieval choir and its surrounding chapels preserve the eastern part of a much longer building project. Tall windows rise above the arcades, while an ambulatory connects the chapels around the sanctuary. The nave and famous western towers were completed in the nineteenth century, so their date differs from that of the medieval choir.
Sainte-Chapelle in Paris was built as a royal chapel to house Passion relics. Its lower chapel supports a much taller upper space, where stained-glass windows occupy almost the whole area between the slender structural supports. The two-storey arrangement remains the building’s central feature. The present spire and much of the restored decorative finish belong to nineteenth-century work.
Monastic churches, halls and teaching rooms
At Glendalough in Ireland, stone churches, a double-arched gateway and a round tower preserve the layout of a monastic settlement. The tower has a raised entrance and openings at successive levels; its conical cap was rebuilt using original stones. The ruined cathedral combines an earlier nave with a later choir and sacristy, allowing different phases of the settlement’s church building to be traced.
Sanahin Monastery in Armenia brings domed churches, entrance halls, a library and teaching spaces into a closely grouped stone complex. The principal churches stand only a short distance apart, with later buildings occupying the intervening spaces. Vaults, arches and carved doorways distinguish rooms used for worship, assembly and study. The buildings developed chiefly between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, with later repairs to domes and roofs.
Fortified churches and refuge enclosures
The Fortified Church of Prejmer in Romania stands inside a high circular wall. Multiple levels of rooms line the enclosure, providing storage and refuge for the surrounding community. A long defended entrance passage controlled access to the interior.
The church itself has an early Gothic cross-shaped plan and retains a late medieval painted altarpiece. Church and enclosure served connected but distinct purposes: worship occupied the central building, while the perimeter accommodated supplies and people during attacks. Restoration has maintained the unusually complete arrangement of the complex.
Royal monasteries and religious residences
The Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in Spain extends across a large grid of courts and corridors. A central basilica stands between monastic and royal areas, with a library, school and burial spaces forming part of the wider foundation. Grey granite façades, regular windows and corner towers give the exterior a restrained appearance.
El Escorial was built for Philip II in the sixteenth century. Its scale and carefully divided plan preserve a religious institution designed together with the residence and burial place of a royal dynasty.
Explore the collection
Explore sites on the map or in the grid. Map icons indicate each site’s primary function, helping you identify different kinds of places at a glance. Narrow the results by country, site type, civilization or era, with additional filters for popularity and rating. Select a map marker to view the site’s details and open its article, or open the article from its grid entry.