10 best unusual churches from the world

Posted by SOTTO Friday, January 18, 2013

1. Church Ruins in Goreme, Turkey
              
The rock cut ruins of a church by persecuted Christians. Not sure when it was built, but definitely look very ancient. How did those guys carved the inside of these rocks? The Cappadocia valley, where this church stands, is very popular for its rocks that the people of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia Region carved out to form houses, churches, monasteries. There are an estimated 150 churches and several monasteries in the canyon between the villages of Ihlara and Selime. Those rocks are volcanic deposits, so that means they are soft rocks, making it possible to carve such structures.source via


2..Green church, Buenos Aires, Argentina
                 

Michael: “a parish church in Buenos Aires, Argentina known as the “Huerto de Olivos”, or “Garden of Olives,” most likely a reference Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives” link

3..St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow, Russia
             
Cathedral of Saint Basil the Blessed , is a multi-tented church which stands on the Red Square in Moscow. This church looks really cool, because It has very unusual onion domes which look playful and colorful. Sometimes people even say, that they remind them of lollypops. The cathedral was built in 1555 -1561 by Ivan IV (a.k.a Ivan the Terrible) to celebrate the capture of the Khanate of Kazan. A legend says that Ivan had the architect, Postnik Yakovlev, blinded to prevent him from building a more magnificent building for anyone else. In fact, Postnik Yakovlev built a number of churches after Saint Basil’s. image via:::source via

4.Borgund Stave Church, Lærdal, Norway
            
Stave churches may have been very usual all over medieval northwestern Europe but now you can only find them in Norway. Well ok, there is one one in Sweden, but nowhere else. Borgund stave church located in Borgund, Lærdal, Norway is the best preserved of Norway’s 28 extant stave churches. This wooden church, probably built in the end of the 12th century, has not changed structure or had a major reconstruction since the date it was built. Interesting fact: the church is also featured as a Wonder for the Viking civilization in the video game Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. link

5.Paraportiani Church, Mykonos, Greece


Paraportianí Church (Παναγία η Παραπορτιανή) is one of the most famous architectural structures in Greece. Its name means secondary gate, because it was built on the site of one of the gates of the Medieval stone walls. Some parts of this beautiful church date from 1425 and the rest was built during the 16th and 17th centuries. link

6.Las Lajas Cathedral in Colombia

Las Lajas Cathedral looks unusual to me because one side of it seems to be a part of a bridge across the river and the other side rests on the hill. The overall look is really fascinating. Built in 1916 inside the canyon of the Guaitara river where, according to local legend, the Virgin Mary appeared. You can find this church in southern Colombian Department of Nariño, municipality of Ipiales, near the border with Ecuador. link

7.Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, France


Informally known as Ronchamp, the chapel of Notre Dame du Haut was completed in 1954 and is considered one of the finest examples of architecture by the late French/Swiss architect Le Corbusier. Most interesting fact to me is that, when it rains, water pours off the slanted roof onto a fountain, creating a dramatic waterfall. link

8.Paoay Church (St. Augustine Parish) in Philippines


Paoay is probably one of the best known churches in the Philippines. Constuction for this church started in the early 1700s, and was completed before 1900. The walls are more than 1 meter thick -- made of coral stones. The design of the church is a mixture of Gothic, Oriental and Baroque influence. No one mentioned though how many Filipinos died in building this church, and how many were forced to by Spanish conquerors bringing their religion with them -- to oppress and scare the people. link

9.The Church of Hallgrímur, Reykjavík, Iceland

This Lutheran parish church is also a very tall one, reaching 74.5 metres (244 ft) height. It is the fourth tallest architectural structure in Iceland. It took  long to build it (38 years!) Construction work began in 1945 and ended in 1986. The Architect of this building is Guðjón Samúelssondesign.link

10.Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
             
a Sagrada Família is a massive Roman Catholic basilica under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Construction began in 1882 and its formal title is Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família. Antoni Gaudí worked on the project for over 40 years, devoting the last 15 years of his life entirely to this endeavour. On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to have joked, "My client is not in a hurry." After Gaudí's death in 1926, work continued under the direction of Domènech Sugranyes until interrupted by the Spanish Civil War in 1935. link

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