In Catholic Belgium there are many monasteries that are well worth visiting. Here we say abbey, and how to explain the difference between that and a monastery would take far too long. Most of our abbeys welcome visitors, have guided tours and beautiful hiking trails around them.
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Church ruins in Sweden, or monastery ruins as they may once have been, can be found here. On Gotland alone there are 92 medieval churches and several island churches, many of which are very beautiful ruins.
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There are plenty of churches in Sweden! In fact, there are around 3500 church buildings in our country. Some are almost a thousand years old, and others are special because of their design. We have listed 25 churches in Sweden that we think are particularly beautiful, both inside and out.
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Riddarholm Church is Stockholm's only surviving medieval monastery church. This magnificent building, built at the end of the 13th century, has long served as the burial place of the Swedish kings. Almost all Swedish rulers, from Gustav II Adolf to Gustaf V, are buried here.
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The Selime Monastery in Cappadocia is the largest religious structure in the area, with a large cathedral carved directly into the rock. The site has also served as a stop for caravans along the Silk Road, and today it is an exciting destination for tourists.
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Hagia Sofia in Istanbul is a powerful and impressive historical building, dating back almost 1500 years. When the building was constructed, it was an Orthodox church. Later, Hagia Sofia became a mosque, and then a museum. Today, it is once again an active mosque.
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Habo Church and Bottnaryd Church are two fantastically beautiful wooden churches in Västergötland and Småland respectively. Both churches are from the 17th century and both are richly decorated with fantastic paintings. These churches are well worth a visit, whether you are interested in church history or not.
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The Aladzha Monastery in Bulgaria is a cave monastery where monks once lived an ascetic life in silence. Today it is an interesting historical site, beautifully situated in the Golden Sands Nature Park.
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Granhult Church in Småland is Sweden's oldest wooden church. This fine little wooden church, dating from the 1220s, survived against all odds and is today a fascinating attraction. Not least, it is fantastic to see all the old paintings and decorations in wood.
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Located in Västergötland, Gudhem Abbey ruins tell the story of one of Sweden's first monasteries. You may also recognise the monastery in Gudhem from Jan Guillou's stories about Arn, where it plays an important role.
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