People have always built places of worship in accordance with the style of the time and their culture, however, some buildings may seem very unusual and even strange to most of us. Here are 10 of these churches from around the world, which are probably very different from your usual perception of a religious place.
1. Ossuary in Sedlec
An ossuary (or ossuary) is a place to store bones. It can be the size of a wooden box or the size of an entire city. The catacombs near Paris, for example, contain the bones of about six million people. In the church in the Czech town of Sedlec, human bones have become part of the architecture, or rather the decoration of the chapel. This rather terrifying composition was created in 1870.
2. Basilica of St. Ursula
The largest mosaic made of bones is located in the Basilica of St. Ursula (Cologne), where her relics are located. In the Middle Ages, a pit with bones was discovered near the basilica, and they were considered the remains of 11 thousand virgins, according to legend, who accompanied St. Ursula and died with her. With these remains, the walls of the basilica were laid out. Alas, the bones of the supposed 11,000 virgins are actually the bones of men, babies and even large dogs.
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3. Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona
In the city of Sedona (Arizona), the Chapel of the Holy Cross is embedded in red rocks. It was built in the 1950s by a local who was inspired by the Empire State Building. The chapel seems to be jumping out of two rocks, and a magnificent landscape opens up from its huge windows. There is a belief that it is located at the site of the formation of an energy vortex, and this helps in spiritual healing.
4. Cathedral in Maringa
This is also a modern church in the form of a huge cone-shaped structure with a height of 124 m, and the tallest church in South America (Brazil). There are 598 steps between the inner and outer walls of the cathedral, leading to the observation deck. The first stone of the building was a piece of marble taken from St. Paul's Basilica in Rome and blessed by Pope Pius XII.
5. Reading between the lines
Architects Peter-Jan Gijs and Arnout Van Warenberg built another modern church in Borglon, Belgium, calling it Reading Between the Lines. It is built from 100 layers of thin steel and looks completely different from different angles. The church is not used for regular worship, but rather a work of art. Any person can pray in it, regardless of religion.
6. Saint-Michel d'Aiguille
They managed to build this church on the top of a volcanic rock in the town of Le Puy-en-Valais (France). The rock, by the way, has been used for worship for thousands of years. This chapel was built in 962. If you want to climb to it to a height of 82 meters, you will have to climb 268 steps carved into the rock.
7. Oak chapel
Another French attraction in the town of Allouville-Belfoss. The whole church is built inside a huge oak tree. A spiral staircase around the tree leads to two separate tiny chapels. The oak is at least 800 years old, and in the 17th century, after a lightning strike, it was converted into a church. However, according to local legend, the tree is as old as France, and William the Conqueror himself prayed under its branches before leaving for England.
8. Chapels in the salt mine
In the Polish Wieliczka Salt Mine, miners have hollowed out chapels right under the ground. The salt mine itself was dug back in the 13th century. Nobody knows exactly how many chapels were built there over the centuries as the miners moved deeper. There are now at least five main chapels in the mine. The newest of them is dedicated to Pope John Paul II.
9. Lalibela stone churches
In the Ethiopian city of Lalibela, there are 11 monolithic churches carved out of solid stone. Instead of building their churches up, people decided to bring them down. No one knows the exact age of these churches, but legend has it that they were created by King Lalibela in the 13th century. The largest of the 11 churches goes 10 meters underground and all have intricate doorways, windows, and drainage systems.
10. Katskhi Pillar
Christian monks have always tried to withdraw from society, going to the deserts, islands and other inaccessible places. In Georgia, they climbed a 40 m high limestone monolith called the Katskhi Pillar. In the 7th century, a small church was built on top of the pillar. However, by the 18th century, no one knew how to get there, and the destroyed church could only be seen from afar. In 1993, a lonely monk Maxim Kavtaradze climbed up and stayed there.