This over a hundred years old unfinished project is the expression of the dream to present Serbia as the exponent of Orthodox Christianity in central Europe, or even Serbian exceptionalism. It is no surprise that Hagia Sophia was taken as a model, as that is the archetype of Eastern Christian architecture, but also the emblem […]

The story of the landmark church of Vienna starts almost nine hundred years ago, with what was started as a Romanesque edifice. From the very beginning it was dedicated to probably the first martyr of Christianity. St Stephen was killed with stones by the Jews that considered his faith a heresy against the law of […]

The works for this immense edifice, the fourth church in the world, began in 1386, by dismantling an older church. Ever since, the entire town was shaped around this dome. Gothic is not a popular style in Italy, but this church was influenced by two French architects who were employed at the beginning of the […]

Questioned online by a popular newspaper, the dwellers of Timişoara chose this cathedral as the most representative place in their town. And this is not without a reason, as the cathedral took part in city’s history. Timişoara is the most western town of Romania, reason for some of its inhabitants to joke about them feeling […]

Though the place was assigned to Italians, the name Minoritenkirche does not signify the church of minorities, but is reminiscent of a Latin expression with which Francis of Assisi called his followers. „Fratres minores” meant „the little brothers”, or even the modest brothers, as the order emphasized poverty, humility and social involvement. The French Gothic […]

The small town of Antequera is a living museum, with it beautiful white houses covered with crimson tile. When taking a closer look, one notices the Arab decorations on painted sandstone tiles, most of them with exuberant blue flowers painted over white shining background. You rarely find an old Spanish city so well preserved and […]

Moldavia (Moldova) is for the time being separated in two countries. The larger, eastern part, belongs to Romania, and the territory west of river Prut forms the independent republic of Moldova. As this historic region was split up shortly after the secret pact between the communists and the nazis in 1939, this makes Romania the […]

Studenica is placed in a beautiful mountainous scenery on the national road that links Raska (Rashka) (and further to the south, Novi Pazar) to Ivanjca (Ivanitza). The place is populated with some scarce villages, is very green, clean and has in itself a religious calm. It was here that the legendary Stefan Namanja gave up […]

The birth of Serbia is tied to a royal family with religious inclinations, therefore some monasteries in the country are crucial not only from spiritual, but also from historic standpoint. The founder of Serbian dynasty was Stefan Nemanja, a warrior and ruler who abdicated to become a monk together with his wife (in different convents). […]

Carinthia is the southern region of Austria, famous for its ski resorts in the Alps, for its splendid lakes and for the numerous hiking paths in the surrounding mountains. The region has a long border with the north of Italy, which is crossed by excellent highways that break through the Alps with many long tunnels. […]

This cathedral is the pride of Bulgarian capital and a hallmark of Sofia, next to the lion statue nearby. Surprisingly, the national cathedral of Bulgarians is dedicated to a Russian king, canonized after his remains were unburied intact. Alexander Nevsky is considered one of the key figures in Russian history, but churches dedicated to him […]

Built by price Constantin Brancoveanu between 1690 and 1693 at Romanii de Jos, Horezu Monastery may not look as spectacular on the outside as the painted monasteries of Bukovina. But on the inside it displays one of the most elegant and mature Byzantine fresco on the Romanian territory, surpassing even its Moldavian predecessors. The martyr […]

Like all the nations of the Balkans, Bulgaria has its historic memories from the glory days. For Bulgaria, that period of might was the time of 13-14th century, when their empire stretched over the Danube in today Romania and conquered large parts of Greece, till the outskirts of Constantinople. Such an impressive empire had to […]

When entering the Votive Church in Szeged in a sunny day you get the lovely feeling of being surrounded by colors and light that is filtered through the large stained glass windows. The interior is painted almost entirely, maybe an Orthodox influence from over the Tisza river and without the excessive decorations of baroque. The […]

Though it is one of the iconic and imposing churches in Naples, the Basilica is dedicated to one of the most humble saints of Italian Middle Ages. Francesco di Paola followed on the steps of modesty of his model Francisc of Assisi and of several recluse monks of the Oriental Christianity. Francis of Paola was […]

Though it is a recent work, the Anglican Church on Via Nazionale in Rome was included on the Italian national monuments’ list, thanks to the work of three artists, two English and one American. The mosaics they created manage to give the church of St Paul’s Within Walls the convincing appearance of a centuries old […]

The largest cathedral in Naples resembles on the outside with the more famous and more grandiose dome of Milan. It is this facade, remade in the XX century by Errico Alvino that is the most valuable architectural element of it, and numerous sculptors contributed with statues for this exterior. The liberty of individual artists and […]

This church, found in Piazza de la Repubblica, was incorporated into the baths of Diocletian by two great architects. The first one was Michelangelo Buonarroti and the second one was Luigi Vanvitelli, the architect of Caserta Palace, near Naples. So the entrance of the church maintains the unsuspected shape of a ruin wall from an […]

The Ulloi Street is the longest boulevard in Budapest, going from the neighborhood that is famous for the Ferencvaros football stadium to the center. The catholic church dedicated to the Perpetual Adoration is eclipsed by other more famous churches in town, but is worth paying a visit to. It is built in the neo-Gothic style, […]

Pamporovo is one of the finest ski resorts in Bulgaria, found in the southern part of the country, in the Rhodope mountains, next to the border with Greece. It is a long way coming from capital Sofia, to Plovdiv, but the road gets spectacular when going to the smaller town of Chepelare and going higher […]