Churches and other religious/spiritual sites are some of the world’s most important attractions for travelers. The are typically the focal point of a city or village and reflect the culture and values of the region. Churches, especially, are significant architecturally and represent the best efforts of a community to express itself. Lee & I have been to hundreds of churches in our travels. Many of these have become unforgettable memories of a particular place. To actually rank these sites is virtually impossible. How can you choose between amazing sights such as Hagia Sophia, the Pantheon, and Mont-St-Michel? Therefore, I will present my favorite 150 spiritual places in installments of five (5), listed alphabetically. Many of my choices are World Heritage Sites and deserve to be preserved forever. Many are simply charming or may hold some special historical significance. Peruse the list and compare your list to mine. Obviously I have not been to all the spiritual places on Earth, but most of these would probably make the all-time list of the majority of world travelers.

Installment 11 — #’s 51-55

51. Holy Spirit Church, Tallinn, Estonia — This popular attraction in the Old City of Tallinn has a beautiful, carved, triptych altarpiece which was made in Germany.

Holy Spirit Altar

Joan of Arc Chapel

53. Kazan Cathedral, St Petersburg, Russia — This Russian Orthodox church on Nevsky Prospekt in St Petersburg was modeled after St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

Kazan Cathedral

54. King David’s Tomb, Jerusalem, Israel — This burial vault of King David is located in a room of a former Byzantine church, in the center of the walled city of Jerusalem. Jewish pilgrims and tourists file by the tomb daily.

King David’s TOmb

55. Kings College Chapel, Cambridge, England — This example of late Gothic architecture in England was erected beginning in 1446.

Kings College Chapel