Subject: 10 Most Unusual Churches in the World
Harajuku: Japanese Futuristic Church
This futuristic non-Catholic church is located in Tokyo and it was first unveiled by the design firm of Ciel Rouge Creation in 2005. The ceiling is specially made to reverberate natural sound for 2 seconds to provide a unique listening experience for worshipers and tourists.
Saint Basil's Cathedral: The Red Square 's Colorful Church
The St. Basil's Cathedral is located on the Red Square in Moscow , Russia .
A Russian Orthodox church, the Cathedral sports a series of colorful bulbous domes that taper to a point,
aptly named onion domes, that are part of Moscow 's Kremlin skyline.
The cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible to commemorate the capture of the Khanate of Kazan.
In 1588 Tsar Fedor Ivanovich had a chapel added on the eastern side above the grave
of Basil Fool for Christ, a Russian Orthodox saint after whom
the cathedral was popularly named.
Hallgrímskirkja: Iceland 's Most Amazing Church
At 74.5 metres (244 ft), it is the fourth tallest architectural structure in Iceland .
The church is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 to 1674), author of the Passion Hymns.
State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson's design of the church was commissioned in 1937; it took 38 years to build it.
Temppeliaukio Kirkko: The Rock Church
The Temppeliaukio Kirkko (Rock Church) is a thrilling work of modern architecture in Helsinki.
Completed in 1952, it is built entirely underground and has a ceiling made of copper wire.
It was designed by architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and completed in 1969.
They chose a rocky outcrop rising about 40 feet above street level, and blasted out the walls from the inside.
It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Helsinki and frequently full of visitors.
Cathedral of Brasília: The Modern Church
of architect Oscar Niemeyer
This concrete-framed hyperboloid structure, seems with its glass roof to be reaching up,
open, to heaven. On 31 May 1970, the Cathedral's structure was finished,
and only the 70 m diameter of the circular area were visible.
Niemeyer's project of Cathedral of Brasília is based in the hyperboloid of revolution which sections are asymmetric.
The hyperboloid structure itself is a result of 16 identical assembled concrete columns.
These columns, having hyperbolic section and weighing 90 t, represent two hands moving upwards to heaven.
The Cathedral was dedicated on 31 May 1970.
Borgund Church: Best Preserved Stave Church
The Borgund Stave Church in Lærdal is the best preserved of Norway's 28 extant stave churches.
This wooden church, probably built in the end of the 12th century, has not changed structure
or had a major reconstruction since the date it was built.
The church is also featured as a Wonder for the Viking civilization in the video game Age of Empires II:
The Age of Kings.
Las Lajas Cathedral:
A Gothic Church Worthy of a Fairy Tale
According to the legend, this was the place where an indian woman named María Mueses de Quiñones
was carrying her deaf-mute daughter Rosa on her back near Las Lajas ("The Rocks").
Weary of the climb, the María sat down on a rock when Rosa spoke (for the first time) about an apparition in a cave.
Later on, a mysterious painting of the Virgin Mary carrying a baby was discovered on the wall of the cave.
Supposedly, studies of the painting showed no proof of paint or pigments on the rock – instead,
when a core sample was taken, it was found that the colors were impregnated in the rock itself to a depth of several feet.
Whether true or not, the legend spurred the building of this amazing church.
St. Joseph Church:
Known for its Thirteen Gold Domed Roof
The St. Joseph The Betrothed is an Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in Chicago.
Built in 1956, it is most known for its ultra-modern thirteen gold domed roof symbolizing the twelve
apostles and Jesus Christ as the largest center dome.
The interior of the church is completely adorned with byzantine style icons (frescoes).
Unfortunately the iconographer was deported back to his homeland before he was able to
write the names of all the saints as prescribed by iconographic traditions.
Ruzica Church: Where Chandeliers
are made of Bullet Shells
Located over the Kalemegdan Fortress in Belgrade, Serbia, the Ruzica Church is a small chapel decorated with… with trench art!
Chapel of St-Gildas:
Built into the base of a bare rocky cliff
the base of a bare rocky cliff, this was once a holy place of the Druids.
Gildas appears to have travelled widely throughout the Celtic world of Corwall, Wales , Ireland and Scotland .
He arrived in Brittany in about AD 540 and is said to have preached Christianity
to the people from a rough pulpit, now contained within the chapel.
sources : Adrienne Sagherian , http://blog.dartagnans.fr/2016/02/une-selection-des-eglises-les-plus.html
