The World's Most Beautiful Churches

Las Lajas Sanctuary, Colombia
Las Lajas Sanctuary is a basilica church located in the southern Colombian Department of Nariño, municipality of Ipiales and built inside the canyon of the Guáitara River. The present church was built in Gothic Revival style between 1916 and 1949.

Borgund Stave Church, Norway

Borgund Stave Church is a stave church located in the village of Borgund in the municipality of Lærdal in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is classified as a triple nave stave church of the so-called Sogn-type.

Notre Dame du Haut chapel, France

The chapel of Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp completed in 1954, is one of the finest examples of the architecture of Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier and one of the most important examples of twentieth-century religious architecture. The chapel is a working religious building and is under the guardianship of the private foundation Association de l’Oeuvre de Notre-Dame du Haut. It attracts 80,000 visitors each year.

The Church of the Transfiguration, Kizhi Island, Russia

The Church of the Transfiguration built in the early 18th century on a dry stone wall foundation on Kizhi Island in Russia. It is an octagonal spruce and pine log framework with 22 domes (cupolas) covered with birch bark under some 30,000 ornately carved aspen shingles. The shape and size of the domes vary from tier to tier. Depending on the light, the shingles shimmer like silver.

King’s College Chapel, Cambridge

King's College Chapel is the chapel to King's College of the University of Cambridge, and it is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture. The chapel was built in phases by a succession of kings of England from 1446 to 1515, a period which spanned the Wars of the Roses. The chapel is an active house of worship, and home of the King's College Choir. The chapel is a significant tourist site and commonly used symbol of the city of Cambridge.

Hallgrímskirkja, Iceland

Hallgrímskirkja is a Lutheran (Church of Iceland) parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. At 73 metres (244 ft), it is the largest church in Iceland and the sixth tallest architectural structure in Iceland after Longwave radio mast Hellissandur, the radio masts of the US Navy at Grindavík, Eiðar longwave transmitter and Smáratorg tower. The church is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 to 1674), author of the Passion Hymns.

Sagrada Familia, Spain

The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain), designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 Pope Benedict XVI consecrated and proclaimed it a minor basilica, as distinct from a cathedral which must be the seat of a bishop.

Matthias Church, Hungary

Matthias Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Budapest, Hungary, in front of the Fisherman's Bastion at the heart of Buda's Castle District. According to church tradition, it was originally built in Romanesque style in 1015, although no archaeological remains exist. The current building was constructed in the florid late Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century and was extensively restored in the late 19th century. It was the second largest church of medieval Buda and the seventh largest church of medieval Hungarian Kingdom.

Felsenkirche, Germany

The Felsenkirche, a church built into a natural niche in the rocks, rises high above the houses of Oberstein. Wyrich IV. of Daun-Oberstein had it constructed in the years 1482-1484. Behind it, a wall of rocks rises steeply upwards; and under it, the houses of Oberstein nestle into the slope. On account of its prominent location, the church has become a symbol of the city. Where else is there a church that can only be entered through a tunnel which was dug into the rocks (1980-1981).

Palatine chapel, Sicily

The Palatine Chapel is the royal chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily situated on the ground floor at the center of the Palazzo Reale in Palermo, southern Italy. Also referred to as a Palace church or Palace chapel, it was commissioned by Roger II of Sicily in 1132 to be built upon an older chapel (now the crypt) constructed around 1080. It took eight years to build, receiving a royal charter the same year, with the mosaics being only partially finished by 1143.The sanctuary, dedicated to Saint Peter, is reminiscent of a domed basilica. It has three apses, as is usual in Byzantine architecture, with six pointed arches (three on each side of the central nave) resting on recycled classical columns.