Religious Places, LON-WAS
Human beings tend to relate to their religious beliefs through symbolism. Religious and sacred placesâcommon destinations for pilgrimsârepresent a physical connection that helps believers express their devotion.
Religious Places Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Longmen caves
Longmen caves, series of Chinese cave temples carved into the rock of a high riverbank south of the city of Luoyang,......
Loreto
Loreto, town and episcopal see, Marche region, central Italy, on the Musone River just south of Ancona and near......
Lotus Temple
Lotus Temple, BahÄÊŸÄ« Faith house of worship, or mashriq al-adhkÄr (Arabic: âa place where the uttering of the name......
Lourdes
Lourdes, pilgrimage town, Hautes-Pyrénées département, Occitanie région, southwestern France, southwest of Toulouse.......
Lumbini
Lumbini, grove near the southern border of modern-day Nepal where, according to Buddhist legend, Queen Maha Maya......
Luxor
Luxor, city and capital of Al-UqáčŁur muáž„Äfaáșah (governorate), Upper Egypt. Luxor has given its name to the southern......
LĂ©rins, Abbey of
Abbey of LĂ©rins, Cistercian monastery, originally founded about 410 by St. Honoratus of Arles on a Mediterranean......
Madeleine
Madeleine, Paris church designed by Pierre-Alexandre Vignon in 1806. Together with the Arc de Triomphe (1806â08)......
Mahabodhi Temple
Mahabodhi Temple, one of the holiest sites of Buddhism, marking the spot of the Buddhaâs Enlightenment (Bodhi).......
Mahavihara
Mahavihara, Buddhist monastery founded in the late 3rd century bce in Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of Ceylon......
Maison-Carrée
Maison-Carrée, Roman temple at Nßmes, France, in remarkably good repair. According to an inscription, it was dedicated......
Masjed-e EmÄm
Masjed-e EmÄm, celebrated 17th-century mosque in EáčŁfahÄn, Iran. The mosque, part of the rebuilding effort of the......
Mecca
Mecca, city, western Saudi Arabia, located in the áčąirÄt Mountains, inland from the Red Sea coast. It is the holiest......
Medici Chapel
Medici Chapel, chapel housing monuments to members of the Medici family, in the New Sacristy of the Church of San......
Medina
Medina, city located in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, about 100 miles (160 km) inland from the Red......
Metéora
MetĂ©ora, group of monasteries on the summits of vertical rock formations in Thessaly (Modern Greek: ThessalĂa),......
Milan Cathedral
Milan Cathedral, cathedral in Milan whose construction began in 1386 and took five centuries to complete. Final......
Monasterboice
Monasterboice, ruins of an ancient monastic settlement founded by Buitre (died 521) 5 miles (8 km) north of Drogheda,......
Monte Cassino Abbey
Monte Cassino Abbey, the first monastery of the Benedictine order, located to the south of Rome, at the top of......
Nalanda
Nalanda, ancient university and Buddhist monastic center southwest of Bihar Sharif in central Bihar state, eastern......
Nazareth
Nazareth, historic city of Lower Galilee, in northern Israel; it is the largest Arab city of the country. In the......
Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris, cathedral church in Paris. It is the most famous of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages......
Old Saint Peterâs Basilica
Old Saint Peterâs Basilica, first basilica of St. Peterâs in Rome, a five-aisled basilican-plan church with apsed......
Olives, Mount of
Mount of Olives, multi-summit limestone ridge just east of the Old City of Jerusalem and separated from it by the......
Pachacamac
Pachacamac, large pre-Columbian ruin located in the Lurin Valley on the central coast of present-day Peru. The......
Pagan
Pagan, village, central Myanmar (Burma), situated on the left bank of the Irrawaddy River and approximately 90......
Pai-yĂŒn kuan
Pai-yĂŒn kuan, major Taoist temple in Beijing, which was traditionally the center of the Lung-men subsect of the......
Palatine Chapel
Palatine Chapel, private chapel associated with a residence, especially of an emperor. Many of the early Christian......
Pantheon
Pantheon, building in Rome that was begun in 27 bc by the statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, probably as a building......
Panthéon
Panthéon, building in Paris that was begun about 1757 by the architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot as the Church of......
Paradesi Synagogue
Paradesi Synagogue, oldest synagogue in India, located in Kochi (formerly Cochin), Keralam state. It was one of......
Parthenon
Parthenon, temple that dominates the hill of the Acropolis at Athens. It was built in the mid-5th century bce and......
Pashupatinath Temple
Pashupatinath Temple, place of worship in the Kathmandu Valley on the Baghmati River, on the eastern outskirts......
Port-Royal
Port-Royal, celebrated abbey of Cistercian nuns that was the centre of Jansenism and of literary activity in 17th-century......
Prambanan
Prambanan, village in the daerah istimewa (special district) of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, known for a large, nearby......
Prophetâs Mosque
Prophetâs Mosque, courtyard of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina, Arabian Peninsula, which was the model for later......
Puri
Puri, city, eastern Odisha (Orissa) state, eastern India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal, about 35 miles (55......
QalÄÊŸĆ«n complex
QalÄÊŸĆ«n complex, building complex, including a mausoleum, a madrasah, and a hospital, built in 1283â85 on the site......
Qarawiyyīn
QarawiyyÄ«n, mosque and Islamic university in FĂšs, Morocco. Founded in 859 ce by philanthropist FÄáčimah al-FihrÄ«,......
Ram Mandir, Ayodhya
Ram Mandir, Ayodhya, a grand Hindu temple inaugurated on January 22, 2024, at a site in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh,......
Ramesseum
Ramesseum, funerary temple of Ramses II (1279â13 bce), erected on the west bank of the Nile River at Thebes in......
Ramsey
Ramsey, town (parish), Huntingdonshire district, administrative county of Cambridgeshire, historic county of Huntingdonshire,......
Reims Cathedral
Reims Cathedral, cathedral located in the city of Reims, France, on the Vesle River east-northeast of Paris. Reims......
Rievaulx
Rievaulx, ruined Cistercian abbey, Ryedale district, administrative county of North Yorkshire, historic county......
Rila Monastery
Rila Monastery, historic monastery and cultural site in the Rhodope Mountains of southwestern Bulgaria. It is situated......
RyĆan Temple
RyĆan Temple, Japanese Buddhist temple in KyĆto, famous for its abstract meditation garden (c. 1500). An area approximately......
Saint Basil the Blessed
Saint Basil the Blessed, church constructed on Red Square in Moscow between 1554 and 1560 by Tsar Ivan IV (the......
Saint Catherineâs Monastery
Saint Catherineâs Monastery, Greek Orthodox monastery situated on Mount Sinai more than 5,000 feet (1,500 metres)......
Saint Francis of Assisi, Church of
Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, Roman Catholic church situated in the main square of Old Goa, 10 km (6 miles)......
Saint Isaacâs Cathedral
Saint Isaacâs Cathedral, iron-domed cathedral in St. Petersburg that was designed in Russian Empire style by Auguste......
Saint Margaretâs Church
Saint Margaretâs Church, church in the London borough of Westminster, since 1614 the official church of the House......
Sainte-Chapelle
Sainte-Chapelle, royal chapel in the Gothic Rayonnant style in the Ăle de la CitĂ© in Paris, France. Gothic architecture......
Salt Lake Temple
Salt Lake Temple, house of worship that occupies a central position within Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah,......
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, influential Baroque church in Rome that was designed by Francesco Borromini as......
San Giorgio Maggiore
San Giorgio Maggiore, architecturally influential church in Venice, designed in 1566 by Andrea Palladio and finished......
San Lorenzo
San Lorenzo, early Renaissance-style church designed by Brunelleschi and constructed in Florence from 1421 to the......
San Marco Basilica
San Marco Basilica, church in Venice that was begun in its original form in 829 (consecrated in 832) as an ecclesiastical......
San Miniato al Monte
San Miniato al Monte, three-aisled basilican church in Florence completed in 1062. It is considered one of the......
Sankt Michael
Sankt Michael, basilican church in Hildesheim, Ger., that was built between 1010 and 1033 under Bishop Bernward,......
Santa Croce
Santa Croce, church of the Franciscans in Florence, one of the finest examples of Italian Gothic architecture.......
Santa Maria dei Frari
Santa Maria dei Frari, Franciscan church in Venice, originally built in the mid-13th century but rebuilt in Gothic......
Santa Maria Maggiore
Santa Maria Maggiore, one of four papal basilicas in Rome and the largest of the Marian churches (dedicated to......
Santa Maria Novella
Santa Maria Novella, Italian Gothic-style church of the Dominicans in Florence. It was planned by two Dominican......
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela, city, A Coruña provincia (province), capital of the comunidad autonóma (autonomous community)......
SantâAmbrogio Basilica
SantâAmbrogio Basilica, basilica in Milan, Italy, that is an outstanding example of Lombard Romanesque architecture.......
Selim, Mosque of
Mosque of Selim, monumental mosque, Edirne, Turkey. It is considered to be the masterwork of the great Ottoman......
Seokguram
Seokguram, Buddhist artificial cave-temple on the crest of Mount Toham, near the Bulguk Temple, Gyeongju, South......
Serapeum
Serapeum, either of two temples of ancient Egypt, dedicated to the worship of the Greco-Egyptian god Serapis (Sarapis).......
Shah Cheragh Shrine
Shah Cheragh Shrine, mosque complex in Shiraz, Iran, built around the tombs of Aáž„mad ibn MĆ«sÄ and Muáž„ammad ibn......
Shaolin Temple
Shaolin Temple, Buddhist monastery in Henan province, China, that was founded in 495. In 464 an Indian monk named......
Shore Temple
Shore Temple, complex of elegant shrines (c. 700 ce), one among a number of Hindu monuments at Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram),......
Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel, private papal chapel in the Vatican Palace that also serves as the meeting place of the College......
Somapura Mahavira
Somapura Mahavira, 8th-century Buddhist monastery in the village of Paharpur, near Rajshahi, northwestern Bangladesh.......
Somnath
Somnath, ancient ruined city, southwestern Gujarat state, west-central India. It is the site of the temple of Shiva......
St. Georgeâs Chapel
St. Georgeâs Chapel, part of Windsor Castle, in the district of Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. This......
St. Peterâs Basilica
St. Peterâs Basilica, present basilica of St. Peter in Vatican City (an enclave in Rome), begun by Pope Julius......
St. Stephenâs Cathedral
St. Stephenâs Cathedral, Roman Catholic cathedral in Vienna that was burned out in the course of the Battle of......
Sun Temple
Sun Temple, temple in Konark, Odisha state, India, that is dedicated to the Hindu sun god Surya. It was built of......
Tabernacle
Tabernacle, (âdwellingâ), in Jewish history, the portable sanctuary constructed by Moses as a place of worship......
Takht-e SoleymÄn
Takht-e SoleymÄn, ancient city and Zoroastrian temple complex of Iranâs SÄsÄnian dynasty, subsequently occupied......
Tempietto
Tempietto, small circular chapel erected in the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio in Rome on the supposed site......
Tempio Malatestiano
Tempio Malatestiano, burial chapel in Rimini, Italy, for Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, the lord of the city, together......
Temple Mount
Temple Mount, site of the Temple of Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the Romans on the 9th/10th of Av in 70 ce......
Temple of Heaven
Temple of Heaven, large religious complex in the old outer city of Beijing, considered the supreme achievement......
Temple of the Tooth
Temple of the Tooth, Buddhist temple within the royal palace complex in Kandy, Sri Lanka, that is Sri Lankaâs most......
Temple, Le
Le Temple, in Paris, originally a fortified monastery of the Templars and later a royal prison. It was built in......
Templo Mayor
Templo Mayor, archaeological site, located just off Mexico Cityâs Plaza de la ConstituciĂłn, of the Templo Mayor,......
Theseum
Theseum, temple in Athens dedicated to Hephaestus and Athena as patrons of the arts and crafts. Its style indicates......
Tianlong Shan
Tianlong Shan, site in central Shanxi province in China containing a series of Buddhist cave temples dating from......
Tintern Abbey
Tintern Abbey, ecclesiastical ruin in Monmouthshire, Wales, on the west bank of the River Wye. Founded for Cistercian......
Tongsa
Tongsa, town, fortress, and monastery, central Bhutan. It lies in the Himalayas on the Tongsa (or Mangde) River,......
TĆdai Temple
TĆdai Temple, monumental Japanese temple and centre of the Kegon sect of Japanese Buddhism, located in Nara. The......
Udayagiri
Udayagiri, archaeological site, south-central Odisha state, eastern India. It is located just southwest of Bhubaneshwar,......
Varanasi
Varanasi, city, southeastern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is located on the left bank of the Ganges......
Vatican City
Vatican City, landlocked ecclesiastical state, seat of the Roman Catholic Church, and an enclave surrounded by......
Vecchio, Palazzo
Palazzo Vecchio, most important historic government building in Florence, having been the seat of the Signoria......
Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala
Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala, the most visited and wealthiest Hindu temple in India, dedicated to the deity Venkateswara......
Virupaksha Temple
Virupaksha Temple, Hindu temple located in Hampi, an ancient village in Karnataka state in southern India. The......
VĂ©zelay
Vézelay, village, Yonne département, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté région, north-central France. The village lies on......
Washington National Cathedral
Washington National Cathedral, in Washington, D.C., Episcopal cathedral chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1893......