Holy Sites 601–650

The principal church of the world's oldest republic, housing the relics of its saintly founder.

An early medieval monastic city on the River Shannon, once a great center of Irish learning.

UNESCO World Heritage royal complex of the powerful Dahomey kingdom.

A 12th-century minaret in Bukhara so magnificent that Genghis Khan spared it from destruction.

The legendary mosques of Timbuktu, once the center of Islamic learning in West Africa.

Home to the 'world's largest book' — 729 marble slabs inscribed with Buddhist scriptures.

A gilded stupa in Bagan believed to enshrine a bone and tooth of the Buddha.

Kraków's royal cathedral where Polish monarchs were crowned and buried for centuries.

The largest Orthodox church in Western Europe, a red-brick Byzantine-Russian cathedral overlooking Helsinki's harbor.

The largest church in Hungary, seat of the Hungarian Catholic Primate on the Danube.

Sofia's iconic cathedral, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world, built to honor Russian liberators.

A Gothic masterpiece in Umbria, built to house the Eucharistic miracle of Bolsena.

A grand 15th-century Ottoman mosque in the old bazaar quarter of Skopje.

The Romanesque church in Zurich from which Huldrych Zwingli launched the Swiss Reformation.

A Russian Orthodox cathedral with striking onion domes on Tallinn's Toompea Hill.

The wealthiest and most famous monastery in Cyprus, housing a miraculous icon.

Home of the Shroud of Turin, the most studied and debated relic in the world.

Iceland's tallest church, an Expressionist landmark whose facade evokes basalt lava columns.

A beautifully preserved Romanesque church from the 11th century nestled in the Pyrenees mountains.

A 9th-century church built over the tomb of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead.

The reconstructed royal residence of Rwandan kings preserving sacred traditions.

The 'Fortress of the Glorious Religion,' seat of Bhutan's government and chief abbot.

A Baroque church in Copenhagen famous for its external spiral staircase winding to the top of the spire.

The colorful cathedral of one of the oldest colonial cities in the Americas.

The best-preserved Jesuit mission ruins in South America, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The best-preserved Jesuit mission ruins in South America, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One of the largest Orthodox churches in the world, built on the site where the Ottomans burned St. Sava's relics.

Canada's national Marian shrine, site of a famous miracle where a statue opened its eyes.

A 13th-century Franciscan monastery in Slovenia's oldest town.

A fairytale church on a tiny island in glacial Lake Bled, reached by traditional wooden boats.

A sacred island off Scotland's west coast where St. Columba established a monastery that helped Christianize Britain.

The northernmost medieval Gothic cathedral in the world, built over the burial site of St. Olav.

The main mosque of Mali's capital, a center of Islamic worship and community life.

The principal Roman Catholic cathedral of Lithuania, built on the site of a pagan temple.

The largest known Inca temple, dedicated to the supreme creator god Wiracocha.

A UNESCO-listed royal burial ground of the Buganda kings in Kampala, a living spiritual site.

The iconic yellow cathedral of Granada, rebuilt multiple times but standing as a symbol of this colonial city.

The largest mosque in the Maldives, with its iconic golden dome dominating the Malé skyline.

Bavaria's holiest pilgrimage site, home of the 'Black Madonna' and Germany's spiritual heart.

A 9th-century monastery on a basalt plateau, accessible by the world's longest aerial tramway.

One of the three great Imperial Cathedrals of the Rhine, seat of the powerful Archbishops of Mainz.

Chapel within the UNESCO-listed Brimstone Hill Fortress, serving garrison and enslaved workers alike.

The tallest church in the world, with a spire soaring 161.5 meters above the Danube.

The largest monastery in the Pirin Mountains, housing a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary.

A magnificent 15th-century Ottoman mosque dominating the old fortress area of Skopje.

A dazzling contemporary Buddhist temple in Chiang Rai, entirely white and adorned with mirrors.

UNESCO-listed palaces of the Dahomey kings, centers of Vodun spiritual practices and royal ceremony.

The 'Cradle of Mankind' in the Serengeti, where some of the oldest human ancestors were found.

Sedona's most iconic red rock formation and one of the strongest energy vortex sites.

Historic mosques on the Island of Mozambique dating to the Swahili trading era.