Get ready to pick your jaw up off the floor, because these aren't your average neighborhood houses of worship. From a jaw-dropping Norwegian stave church that looks straight out of a fantasy novel to a Colombian sanctuary perched impossibly on a cliff, these 90 spectacular images show that churches have been redefining #ArchitectureGoals long before it was cool. We're talking about soaring Gothic arches that'll make your neck hurt, psychedelic Mexican facades that put modern art museums to shame, and minimalist modern designs that look like they were beamed down from heaven itself.
Whether carved into mountainsides, floating in lavender fields, or rising from misty Scottish lochs, these architectural masterpieces prove that when it comes to places of worship, humans have always gone big or gone home. So prepare for some serious wanderlust as we take you on a global tour of the most stunning, bizarre, and absolutely magnificent churches that'll make you say "Holy wow!"
#1 19th Century Gothic Revival Church Of St Mary & St Finnan On The Eastern Shores Of Loch Shiel, Highland, Scotland
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17points
#3 The 18th Century Gothic Revival Church Of St Mary And St Finnan Overlooking Loch Shiel, Glenfinnan, Scotland
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15points
#5 Borgund Stave Church In Norway, Built From Wood Without A Single Nail. From The Late 12th Century
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15points
#7 Grundtvig’s Church, Copenhagen, Denmark
A beautiful church built out of something like 5 million yellow bricks - all the houses surrounding the church are made out of these same bricks so it’s really ties the community together. I love visiting churches and cathedrals in Europe because they’re all are so old and beautifully built. You can’t find such amazing structures like this in America (obviously, the country is just not old enough). They’re engineering marvels but they also represent a fading belief in religious architecture that could awe and inspire. Basically, they just don’t build them like they used to.
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14points
#8 The Votivkirche, Vienna, Austria. Is A Neo-Gothic Style Church, Architect Heinrich Von Ferstel. At Night It Is Magic
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14points
#14 The World's Tallest Church. Finished In 1890, Ulm Minster In Germany Is The Fourth Tallest Structure Built Before 1900 At 161.5 Meters, And For A Short Period Of Time Was The Tallest Building In The World (Yes, Taller Than The Great Pyramid)
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13points
#16 Iglesia Matriz De San Juan Bautista (The Church Of San Juan Bautista) In Arucas, Spain
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13points
#18 1934 Wooden Olden Church Near The Mountains Of Stryn, Vestland County, Norway
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12points
