Religious structure, Christian

Aachen Cathedral
The Aachen Cathedral with its Palatine Chapel is the oldest in Northern Europe and has high symbolic value.
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Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch
The Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch are rare surviving monuments of the era of Charlemagne. The abbey was founded in 764 by the Frankish Count Cancor as a proprietary church and monastery on his estate.
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Abu Mena
Abu Mena was a town, monastery complex and Christian pilgrimage center in Late Antique Egypt. It was built in remembrance of the martyr Menas of Alexandria, who died in 296 A.
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Amiens Cathedral
Amiens Cathedral has played an important role in the development of gothic architecture. It dates from the 13th century.
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Aquileia
The Archaeological Area of Aquileia covers one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the Early Roman Empire, and is considered the most complete example of an Early Roman city.
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Armenian Monastic Ensembles
The Armenian Monastic Ensembles in Iran are the only important vestiges of the diffusion of Armenian culture in this region.
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Assisi
Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites is an eclectic site that was inscribed on 5 cultural criteria.
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Asturian Monuments
The Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias are six pre-Romanesque constructions all dating from the 9th century.
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Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery
Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery are the distinctive expressions of the flowering of feudal monarchy in medieval Georgia.
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Baroque Churches
The Baroque Churches of the Phillipines represent a fusion of European church design (baroque) and local construction techniques and decorations.
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Belem
The Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belem are two early 16th century historical buildings in the port of Lisbon.
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Benedictine Convent of St. John
The Benedictine Convent of St. John at Müstair is an ancient monastery with an exceptionally well-preserved heritage of Carolingian art.
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Bethlehem
“Birthplace of Jesus: the Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage route, Bethlehem” is a major Christian pilgrimage destination and the center of the Christmas celebration.
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Bourges Cathedral
Bourges Cathedral is considered a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, with beautiful decoration. It is also notable for the simplicity of its plan, which did without transepts.
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Boyana Church
Boyana Church owes its world fame to the frescoes from 1259. They form a second layer over the paintings from the earlier centuries.
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Burgos Cathedral
The Burgos Cathedral is a masterwork of Gothic Architecture. Its layout resembles that of contemporary cathedrals in the north of France.
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Canterbury
Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church represent the introduction of Christianity to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
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Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik
The Cathedral of Saint James in Sibenik is a Gothic-Renaissance construction built entirely from stone.
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Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral is considered the finest example in France of the Gothic style of architecture. The current cathedral was mostly constructed between 1193 and 1250.
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Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye
Kolomenskoye is a former royal estate situated several miles to the south-east of Moscow downtown, on the ancient road leading to the town of Kolomna (hence the name).
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Churches and Convents of Goa
The Churches and Convents of Goa are a group of Catholic religious buildings that have been influential for spreading both the faith and their Portuguese style of art and architecture around Asia.
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Churches of Chiloé
The Churches of Chiloé were placed on the list because of their unique form of wooden architecture and the mestizo culture they represent.
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Churches of Moldavia
The Churches of Moldavia are Byzantine churches with painted exterior walls. They were built between ca.
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Churches of Peace
The Churches of Peace in Jawor and Swidnica are the largest timber-framed religious buildings in Europe and a symbol of religious tolerance from the 17th century.
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Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay
The Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay is an early Cistercian monastery based on the ideal of self-sufficiency.
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Cologne Cathedral
The Cologne Cathedral is the highest expression of the Gothic Cathedral architectonic form that developed over the 12th and 13th centuries in Europe.
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Congonhas
The Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas is an ensemble of Catholic religous art, executed in rococo and baroque style.
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Convent of Christ in Tomar
The Convent of Christ in Tomar is a combination of a castle and a convent, used by the Knights Templar.
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Convent of St. Gall
The Convent of St. Gall was inscribed because of its great influence on the development of monastic architecture and is considered to be a typical example of the large Benedictine monastery.
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Durham Castle and Cathedral
Durham Castle and Cathedral are the largest and most impressive examples of Norman architecture in England.
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Echmiatsin and Zvartnots
The Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots are two prime examples of Armenian church design.
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Euphrasian Basilica in Porec
The Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica in the Historic Centre of Porec is one of the best examples of early Byzantine architecture and art (mosaics).
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Ferapontov Monastery
The Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery is a Russian-Orthodox monastic complex dating from the 15th-17th centuries, and its interior is considered one of the purest examples of Russian medieval art.
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Flemish Béguinages
The Flemish Béguinages are secluded compounds made by a religious movement. The Beguines were women who entered into a life dedicated to God without retiring from the world.
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Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda
The Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro are examples of the mid-18th century second phase of evangelization of Mexico.
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Haghpat and Sanahin
The Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin represent a fusion of vernacular and Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture.
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Hildesheim Cathedral and Church
St. Mary's Cathedral and St. Michael's Church at Hildesheim are two inseparable monuments that are an exceptional testimony to the religious art of the Holy Roman Empire.
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Holy Trinity Column
The Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc is a work of art celebrating the power and glory of the Roman Catholic Church.
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Island of Patmos
The Historic Centre (Chorá) with the Monastery of Saint John "the Theologian" and the Cave of the Apocalypse on the Island of Pátmos represent a traditional Greek Orthodox pilgrimage centre.
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Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba
The Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba are religious, educational and agricultural developments by the Society of Jesus between 1604 and 1767.
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Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos
The Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos are a group of six churches that represent the living heritage of the reductions: ideal, theocratic settlements.
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Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis
The Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis are the archeological remains of towns created by the Jesuit Order.
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Jesuit Missions of Trinidad and Jesus
The Jesuit Missions of La Santisima Trinidad de Parana and Jesus de Tavarangue are two examples of small colonies established by Jesuit missionaries in Paraguay throughout the 17th and 18th century.
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Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, south of Krakow, is a landscape park and a pilgrimage site. The layout was designed by Feliks Zebrowski in 1604.
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Kiev
Kiev: Saint Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra consists of a group of monuments known for their art, architecture and the spread of the Orthodox faith.
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Kizhi Pogost
The Kizhi Pogost is an enclosure that holds two 18th-century wooden churches and an octagonal bell tower.
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Lalibela
The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are exceptionally fine examples of a long-established Ethiopian building tradition.
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León Cathedral
The León Cathedral is a typical colonial baroque building. It is one of the largest in Central America and, since 1531, one of the oldest dioceses in the Americas.
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Luther Memorials
The Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg bear testimony to the Protestant Reformation. These two towns in former Eastern Germany are closely related to the lives of Martin Luther and his fellow-reformer Melanchthon.
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Maulbronn Monastery
Maulbronn Monastery Complex is the most complete surviving Cistercian monastic structure in Europe. It includes an extensive water-management system of reservoirs and channels.
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Medieval Monuments in Kosovo
Medieval Monuments in Kosovo consists of four Serbian Orthodox Christian churches and monasteries built in the 13th and 14th centuries.
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Meteora
The Meteora or 'columns of the sky' are a group of monasteries built on spectacular natural sandstone rock pillars in central Greece.
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Modena
The Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande in Modena are a group of romanesque structures from the 12th century.
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Monasteries of Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios
The Monasteries of Daphni, Hossios Luckas and Nea Moni of Chios are masterpieces of the 'second golden age of Byzantine art'.
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Monastery of Alcobaca
The Monastery of Alcobaça is a unique monastic establishment and a masterpiece of Gothic Cistercian art.
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Monastery of Batalha
The Monastery of Batalha is a Dominican convent and a masterpiece of Gothic art. Its late Gothic architecture is intermingled with the Manueline style.
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Monastery of Geghard
The Monastery of Geghard and the Upper Azat Valley has been named a WHS for the influence it had on Armenian monastic architecture.
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Monastery of Horezu
The Monastery of Horezu is considered the masterpiece of the Brancovan style that influenced art across the region in the 18th and 19th century.
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Mont-Saint-Michel
Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island which holds a monastery. The first monastic establishment was created here in the 8th century.
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Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a holy mountain that has been the spiritual centre of the orthodox world since 1054, and combines natural beauty with architectural creation.
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Mtskheta
Mtskheta was a capital of the Georgian Kingdom of Iberia during the 3rd century BC - 5th century AD. Here Georgians accepted Christianity in 317 and Mtskheta still remains the headquarters of the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church.
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Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai
The Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai is seen as a precursor of the vast Gothic cathedrals, constructed in the school that developed north of the Seine.
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Novodevichy Convent
The Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent is a monastic complex and the best-preserved representative example of "Moscow Baroque".
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Painted Churches in the Troödos Region
The Painted Churches in the Troödos Region are 9 Byzantine churches and monasteries in the Troödos Mountains.
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Pannonhalma
The Millenary Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma and its Natural Environment was the first Hungarian Christian monastery and has been influential for the spread of Christianity over Central Europe.
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Petäjävesi Old Church
The cruciform church of Petäjävesi is an impressive example of northern wooden architecture, like the other WHS Urnes Stave Church and Kizhi Pogost.
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Piazza del Duomo (Pisa)
The Piazza del Duomo, Pisa, is a square that contains four artistically important medieval monuments.
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Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk
The Pilgrimage Church at Zelena Hora was designed by the Czech-Italian architect Jan Blazej Santini Aichl, who delivered a masterpiece out of a combination of gothic and baroque styles.
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Pilgrimage Church of Wies
The Pilgrimage Church of Wies is considered a masterpiece of Bavarian Rococo. It was constructed between 1745 and 1754 by the brothers Johann Baptist und Dominikus Zimmermann.
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Poblet Monastery
Poblet Monastery is one of the largest and most complete Cistercian abbeys in the world. It dates from the 12th century.
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Popocatepetl monasteries
The Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl are 14 monasteries near the Popocatépetl volcano in central Mexico which were built in the 16th century by members of the Franciscan, Dominican and Augustinian orders.
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Qadisha Valley
The Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab) is a cultural landscape encompassing one of the most important early Christian monastic settlements in the world.
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Ravenna
The Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna are a unique collection of mosaics and monuments from the 5th and 6th centuries.
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Reichenau
The Monastic Island of Reichenau holds the influential Benedictine Abbey, which was founded in 724 by the itinerant Saint Pirmin.
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Reims
The Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims are renowned for their Gothic art and – as part of the coronation ceremony - are directly linked to the history of the French monarchy.
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Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans
The Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans is a masterpiece of European 19th century architecture and a symbol of Orthodox Church presence.
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Rila Monastery
The Rila Monastery is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. At the heart of this monastery's history is the story of the medieval hermit Ivan.
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Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo
The Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo are a group of monolithic churches, chapels and monasteries hewn out of solid rock.
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Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral is made of red brick in the Gothic style, and dates from about 1280. Since then each century has added its own extensions in various styles.
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Route of Santiago de Compostela
The Route of Santiago de Compostela comprises over 1800 historic buildings on the Christian pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
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Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
The Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France represent several sites related to the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
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Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
The Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy are groups of chapels and other architectural features created in the late 16th and 17th centuries and dedicated to different aspects of the Christian faith.
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Saint Catherine Area
Saint Catherine's Monastery at the mouth of an inaccessible gorge at the foot of Mount Sinai is one of the oldest continuously functioning Christian monasteries.
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Saint-Savin sur Gartempe
The Abbey Church of Saint-Savin sur Gartempe is an 11th century Romanesque church noted for its well-preserved mural paintings.
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Santa Maria de Guadelupe
The Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe was the most important monastery in Spain for more than four centuries.
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Santa Maria delle Grazie
The Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci is a Renaissance ensemble in Milan.
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Sceilg Mhichíl
Sceilg Mhichíl (Skellig Michael) is an early monastic complex on a difficult to access, steep rocky island.
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Solovetsky Islands
The Cultural and Historic Ensemble of the Solovetsky Islands is a medieval Russian Orthodox monastic settlement in an inhospitable environment.
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Speyer Cathedral
Speyer Cathedral is one of the most important Romanesque monuments from the time of the Holy Roman Empire.
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Stari Ras and Sopocani
Stari Ras and Sopocani are medieval Serbian monuments. Stari Ras was one of the first capitals of the medieval Serbian state of Raška.
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Studenica Monastery
The Studenica monastery is one of the largest and richest Serb Orthodox monasteries. The monastery is best known for its collection of 13th- and 14th century Byzantine-style fresco painting.
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Trinity Sergius Lavra
The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church.
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Urnes Stave Church
The Urnes Stave Church (ca 1050) is the oldest of its kind in Norway. Between the 11th and 14th century about 1200 Stav-churches arose in Scandinavia.
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Vall de Boi
The Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí are nine Early Romanesque churches, making it the site of the densest concentration of Romanesque architecture in Europe.
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Vatican City
Vatican City is an important site in the history of Christianity that is also known for its Renaissance and Baroque artistic creations.
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Vezelay
Vézelay is principally noted for Vézelay Abbey (Basilica of St. Magdalene), sited here since the 9th century.
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Villages with Fortified Churches
The Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania are examples of defensive vernacular architecture made by Saxon settlers.
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Westminster
Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church are representations of English Gothic art, and symbols of parliamentary monarchy.
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White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal
The White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal embraces eight medieval limestone monuments of Zalesye. They are: - Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir (1158-60, 1185-89); - The Golden Gate in Vladimir (1158-64, with later modifications); - The Cathedral of Saint Demetrius in Vladimir (1194-97); - The castle of Andrew the Pious in Bogolyubovo (1158-65, with later modifications); - The Church of the Intercession on the Nerl in Bogolyubovo (1165); - The Suzdal Kremlin with the Nativity Cathedral (1222-25, built up in the 16th century); - The Monastery of Saint Euthymius in Suzdal (mostly 16th century); - The Church of Boris and Gleb in Kideksha (1152, with later mofifications).
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Wooden Churches of Maramures
The Wooden Churches of Maramures are a selection of eight examples of traditional wooden architecture.
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Wooden Churches of Southern Little Poland
The Wooden Churches of Southern Little Poland are medieval Roman Catholic Gothic churches built in the horizontal log technique.
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Wooden Churches of the Slovak Carpathians
The Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of Carpathian Mountain Area are examples of local religious architecture.
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Yuso and Suso Monasteries
The San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries are known for their role in the development of the Spanish language.
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