Although religion is playing a less prominent role in European civilization nowadays, churches, mosques, synagogues, cathedrals and basilicas still play a very important role in the city landscapes of most European cities, and tourism as a result of that.

Erik, the Europeish editor with the most spare time, got the assignment to select the most beautiful religious buildings in Europe. As Erik also has a difficult time making choices, the result is a list with 79 impressive (Wieskirche), unusually located (Santuario di San Besso, Meteora), or uniquely designed (Hallgrimur, Chiesa di Dio Padre Misericordioso) churches.

1. St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow (Russia)

2. Sagrada Familia, Barcelona (Spain)

3. Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (Turkey)









4. Kölner Dom, Cologne (Germany)

5. Catedral de Santa Maria de la Sede, Sevilla (Spain)

6. Borgund stavkirke, Borgund (Norway)

7. Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence (Italy)

8. St. Sava Cathedral, Belgrade (Serbia)

9. Winchester Cathedral, Winchester (England)

10. Notre Dame, Paris (France)

11. Duomo, Milan (Italy)

12. Pechersk Lavra, Kiev (Ukraine)

13. Basilica di San Marco, Venice (Italy)

14. St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna (Austria)

15. Chartres Cathedral, Chartres (France)

16. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn (Estonia)

17. Notre-Dame of Amiens, Amiens (France)

18. Cadiz Cathedral, Cadiz (Spain)

19. St. Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest (Hungary)

20. Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp (Belgium)

21. Basilica di Sant’Antonio, Padova (Italy)

22. Bruges Cathedral, Bruges (Belgium)

23. Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik (Iceland)

24. Notre-Dame de l’Immaculée-Conception, Lourdes (France)

25. Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican City

26. St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, Brussels (Belgium)

27. Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi, Assisi (Italy)

28. Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent (Belgium)

29. Duomo Santa Maria, Pisa (Italy)

30. Münster Unserer Lieben Frau, Freiburg (Germany)

31. Nagy Zsinagóga, Budapest (Hungary)



32. Speyer Dom, Speyer (Germany)



33. Catedral de Santa Eulàlia, Barcelona (Spain)



34. Santa María la Real de La Almudena, Madrid (Spain)



35. St Paul’s Cathedral, London (England)



36. Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow (Russia)



37. St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague (Czech Republic)



38. Echmiatsin Cathedral, Echmiatsin (Armenia)



39. Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Mtscheta (Georgia)



40. Cathédrale Notre-Dame-Immaculée, Monaco (Monaco)



41. Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, Saint Petersburg (Russia)



42. Oudenbosch Basilica, Oudenbosch (The Netherlands)



43. Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp (France)



44. Saint John’s Cathedral, Den Bosch (The Netherlands)



45. Beauvais Cathedral, Beauvais (France)



46. Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Metz, Metz (France)



47. St. Andrew’s Church, Kiev (Ukraine)



48. Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire (England)



49. Ulm Cathedral, Ulm (Germany)



50. Temppeliaukion Kirkko, Helsinki (Finland)



51. Utrecht Cathedral, Utrecht (The Netherlands)



52. Riga Cathedral, Riga (Latvia)



53. Santuario di San Besso, Ronco Canavese (Italy)



54. Basilica of Sts. Stanisław and Vaclav, Kraków (Poland)



55. Westminster Abbey, London (England)



56. Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre, Paris (France)



57. Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Lisbon (Portugal)



58. Aglona Basilica, Aglona (Latvia)



59. Meteora, Kalambaka (Greece)



60. Le Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy (France)



61. Chiesa di Dio Padre Misericordioso, Rome (Italy)



62. Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, Liverpool (England)



63. Catedral de León, León (Spain)



64. Taidekappeli, Turku (Finland)



65. Wieskirche, Wies (Germany)



66. Durham Cathedral, Durham (England)



67. St. Stephan’s Church, Istanbul (Turkey)



68. St. Mark’s Church, Belgrade (Serbia)



69. Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim (Norway)



70. Burgos Cathedral, Burgos (Spain)



71. St. Bavochurch, Haarlem (The Netherlands)



72. Bremilham church, Malmesbury (England)



73. Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kiev (Ukraine)



74. Sveti Jovan Kaneo, Ohrid (Macedonia)



75. Stavanger domkirke, Stavanger (Norway)



76. Kizhi Pogost, Kizhi (Russia)



77. Esztergomi Bazilika, Esztergom (Hungary)



78. Asamkirche, Munich (Germany)



79. Graun Tower, Lago di Resia (Italy)



Image sources: 1-25: Shutterstock.com, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79.

We probably missed at least a few wonderful churches, basilicas, cathedrals, mosques or synagogues. Feel free to share your favorite religious building in the comments, and maybe we’ll add it to the list!