Much of the history of the world is also religious history since religion is so much a part of most cultures. Many of the bloodiest wars were fought for religious reasons as well. Since religion is an integral part of the life of many citizens of the world, it’s no wonder that there are so many amazing religious structures and religious sites around the world. My extensive, but by no means exhaustive, list follows.
Ajanta Caves — Near Aurangabad, India
Basilica of Notre Dame* — Montreal, Canada
Basilica of St Francis* — Assisi, Italy
Basilica of St Mark* — Venice, Italy
Basilica of St Peter* — Vatican City, Rome, Italy
Basilica of the Holy Blood* — Bruges, Belgium
Bath Abbey* — Bath, England
Blue Mosque* — Istanbul, Turkey
Buddha of Po Lin* — Hong Kong, China
Cathedral of St Eulalia — Barcelona, Spain
Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See* — Seville, Spain
Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo* — Toledo, Spain
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela — Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Chartres Cathedral* — Chartres, France
Church of the Holy Sepulcher — Jerusalem, Israel
Church of the Nativity — Bethlehem, Israel
Cristo Redentor — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Dome of the Rock — Jerusalem, Israel
Duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore)* — Florence, Italy
Duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria Nascente)* — Milan, Italy
Duomo (Santa Maria Assunta)* — Siena, Italy
Ellora Caves — Near Aurangabad, India
Ettal Monastery* — Ettal, Germany
Frauenkirchen* — Munich, Germany
Giant Buddha of Leshan — Leshan City, China
Ginkaku-ji Temple — Kyoto, Japan
Golden Temple, Amritsar, India
Great Buddha of Kamakura — Kamakura, Japan
Hagia Sophia* — Istanbul, Turkey
High Cathedral of Saints Peter and Mary — Cologne, Germany
Hofkirche* — Innsbruck, Austria
Kings College Chapel* — Cambridge, England
La Mezquita* — Cordoba, Spain
Man Mo Temple* — Hong Kong, China
Melk Abbey* — Melk, Austria
Meteora Monasteries — Near Kalambaka, Greece
Monastery of St John the Theologian* — Patmos, Greece
Montserrat Monastery — North of Barcelona, Spain
Mont-St-Michel Abbey* — Mont-St-Michel, France
Munster of Bern* — Bern, Switzerland
Niewe Kerk* — Delft, Netherlands
Notre Dame Cathedral* — Paris, France
Palais des Papes — Avignon, France
Piazza dei Miracoli* — Pisa, Italy
Potala Palace — Lhasa, Tibet
Rock Churches — Lalibela, Ethiopia
Sacre Coeur Church* — Paris, France
Sagrada Familia — Barcelona, Spain
Santa Croce Church* — Florence, Italy
Santa Maria della Grazie Church — Milan, Italy
Shwedagon Pagoda — Yangon, Myanmar
Stephansdom* — Vienna, Austria
St Basil’s Cathedral — Moscow, Russia
St Giles Cathedral* — Edinburgh, Scotland
St Isaac’s Cathedral — St Petersburg, Russia
St Mary’s Church* — Krakow, Poland
St Patrick’s Cathedral — Dublin, Ireland
St Paul’s Cathedral* — London, England
St Vitus’ Cathedral* — Prague, Czech Republic
Temple of Karnak — Luxor, Egypt
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic — Kandy, Sri Lanka
Todaiji Temple Complex — Nara, Japan
Wat Pho* — Bangkok, Thailand
Wat Phra Kaew* — Bangkok, Thailand
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep — Chiang Mai, Thailand
Westminster Abbey* — London, England
Wieskirche* — Wies, Germany
York Minster* — York, England
Total = 68 (I have been to 40 -satisfactory but not wonderful!).
