20 Unusual Churches

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20 Unusual Churches

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Most extraordinary, strange, odd, you name it, churches of our planet. Look at those spectacular churches built on the tip of the mountain, carved out of stone or built deep inside underground

1. Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe chapel (Le Puy-en-Velay, France)

20 Unusual Churches

(image credits: Sacred Destinations)

Perhaps one of the most remarkable sights in France, a chapel perched on a volcanic plug. This is the Rock of Aiguilhe, on the edge of the town of Puy en Velay, in the Auvergne. The Chapelle Saint-Michel has stood there for 1042 years, since Bishop Gothescalk had it built in 962 on his return from a pilgrimage to Santiago del Compostella in Galicia. In 1955 workers found relics under the alter that had been there since it was built.

2. The Wireman Chapel at Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, Florida, USA)

20 Unusual Churches

(image credits: Eckwriter)

A kid on the tour to Eckerd College once said it looked like a “Jesus spider from outer space.” Inspired by 20th-century architectEero Saarinen, the Chapel was designed by the highly respected Chicago architectural firm of Perkins and Will. Its key design features are its octagonal shape and in-the-round seating, the oculus at the center of the roof that directs sunlight to the center of the sanctuary, the lower glass panels which reflect light from the water outside to the interior, and the girders which recall the flying buttresses of the medieval cathedral, instilling a sense of timelessness in a contemporary structure.

3. Chapel in the Rock (Arizona, USA)

20 Unusual Churches

(image credits: santanartist)

This facinating Roman Catholic church is literally built into the rock. The views from outside are unbelievable but the serenity inside is awesomeSome say, that Chapel in the Rock can move even the non-religious.
,br> 4. Device to Root Out Evil (Calgary, AB, Canada)

20 Unusual Churches

(image credits: ms_cwang)

It was too hot for New York City; too hot for Stanford University. But a controversial, imposing sculpture by renowned international artist Dennis Oppenheim finally found a public home in laid-back Vancouver. A country church is seen balancing on it’s steeple, as if it had been lifted by a terrific force and brought to the site as a device or method of rooting out evil forces. In 2008 it was moved from Vancouver to Calgary, AB, Canada.

5. Trendsetters Church (Phoenix, AZ, USA)

20 Unusual Churches

(image credits: Scott Bruce)

Trendsetters Church in Phoenix, AZ, built in 1973 by Neil Frisby as Capstone Cathedral. I’m sure Neil Frisby visited Egypt just before designing this church.

6. Church of St. George(Lalibela, Ethiopia)
br> 20 Unusual Churches

(image credits: Dylan Cerling)
br> 20 Unusual Churches

(image credits: Dylan Cerling)
br> Possibly the most famous of Lalibeli’s churches, the Church of St. George is completely carved out of stone in the shape of a cross.

7. Written Stone (Monastery, Romania)

20 Unusual Churches

(image credits: Daria Xenopo)

Local tradition confesses that,during the construction of a railway , at the opening of the a tunnel, it was found an icon painted in stone representing the Holy Trinity. The monastery was built at the opening of the tunnel The monastery was built at the opening of the tunnel on the rock.

8. Bruder Klaus Chapel (Mechernich, southern Germany)

20 Unusual Churches

(image credits: Florian Seiffert (F*))

20 Unusual Churches

(image credits: Florian Seiffert (F*))

A concrete chapel on the edge of a field in Mechernich, southern Germany, built by local farmers in honor of their patron saint, the 15th-century hermit Bruder Klaus,” according to icon.

9. Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira, (Cundinamarca, Colombia)

20 Unusual Churches

(Photography by Nidya Rincón [email protected])

20 Unusual Churches

(Photography by Nidya Rincón [email protected])

Catedral de Sal (Salt Cathedral) in Zipaquirá, about 25 miles north of Bogotá, is an underground church built in a tunnel of salt mines deep inside a salt mountain. It is built into a space left by salt mining; everything you see here is salt. As you descend into the church, you pass 14 small chapels representing the stations of the suffering of Christ. The sanctuary at the bottom has three sections, representing the birth, life, and death of Jesus.The first Salt Cathedral was consecrated in 1954, but structural problems and safety concerns led the authorities to shut down the sanctuary in 1990. The current church was built between 1991 and 1996 about 200 feet below the old sanctuary, again using caves left behind by previous mining operations.

10. Cathedral of Maringa (Parana, Brazil)

20 Unusual Churches

(image credits: carlosoliveirareis)

20 Unusual Churches

(image credits: carlosoliveirareis)

This is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in downtown Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, measuring 124 m high. It was completed in 1972 and is the tallest church in South America and the 16th tallest in the world.Architect José Augusto Bellucci was inspired by the Soviet sputnik satellites when he projected the modern design with conical shape of the cathedral, which was idealized by the archbishop Dom Jaime Luiz Coelho.

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