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MYSTICAL AND SACRED SITES IN EUROPE
Altamira, Spain
The paintings in this cave date from approx 32,000 years ago, caves such as this could be the earliest of human sacred sites.
Assist and the Basilica of St Francis, Italy
For over 500 hundred years pilgrims have flocked to this site and is perhaps one of the most visited shrines of the Christian faith.
Avila, Spain
The church in this town is where St Teresa had her visions & ecstatic experiences.
Carnac, France
Is famous for it’s thousands of megalithic monuments but the origins & purpose of these Neolithic stones remains a mystery.
Cathedral Nuestra Senora del Pilar, Saragossa, Spain
Zaragoza (Saragossa) houses the cathedral which is dedicated ti the Virgin of the Pillar, patron of all Spain and is the site of many documented visitations & apparitions.
Church of Saints Geremia and Lucia, Venice, Italy
This church contains the tomb of St Lucy, the patron saint of eyesight.
Church of the Megolohari, Greece
The island of Tinos has more than 600 churches & monasteries, and is well known for its miraculous healing icon of the Virgin Mary.
Cologne Cathedral, Germany
This cathedral is built on the site of a stone chapel built in the 6th century, on a flat top hill that had been a sacred site of worship for centuries.
Cordoba Great Mosque, Spain
The Romans built a pagan temple on this site and, after the fall of the Roman empire, the Visigoths built the Christian church of St Vincent which was destroyed in the 18th century by Arabs who built a mosque on the site. After the Christians reconquered in 1236 the building was converted and then later, in the 16th century, a catherdral was built around this.
Cumae, Italy
Below the ruins of this ancient city are several caverns, one of which was the seat of the oracular Cumaean Sibyl.
Delphi, Greece
Delphi was once considered the most sacred site in Greece and housed the most highly respected Oracle in the ancient world. At the centre of this site was the Temple of Apollo.
Einsiedeln, Switzerland
Einsiedeln is the site of a huge monastery, the most important pilgrimage site in Switzerland.
Epidaurus Sanctuary, Greece
This sanctuary, known for its healing waters, was built on the site of the original Sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas.
Fatima, Portugal
This is the site of the famous visitation of the Virgin Mary experienced by 3 shepherd children in 1917.
The Field of the Burned, France
This site is where, on the 16th of March 1243, 216 Cathars were burned for not renouncing their faith & returning to the Catholic Church.
Lascaux Caves, France
These caves are considered to be one of the most important and extraordinary sacred sites of Prehistoric man.
Lindholm Hoje, Denmark
Lindholm Hoje is the site of over 700 Viking graves and is one of the most significant ancient monuments of the late prehistoric period in Denmark.
Lourdes, France
Renown for it’s curative waters and miracles, Lourdes is probably the most famous site where visions of the Virgin Mary have been reported and arguably the most popular Christian site of pilgrimage.
Medjugorje, Bosnia-Hercegovina
A site of reported healings and miracles. The Virgin Mary appeared to 6 children on the 2 of June, 1981 and since then the site has been visited by laiy people and clergy alike.
Mount Athos, Greece
Mount Athos is said to have been the home of Apollo and Zeus before they went to Mount Olympus. Today there are 17 Greek monasteries, 1 Russian, 1 Bulgarian and 1 Serbian on Mount Athos, also known as the Holy Mount. Since the 17th century, no female (human or animal) has been allowed on the peninsula.
Mount Olympus, Greece
According to ancient Greek mythology, Mount Olympus was the home of the 12 main deities that ruled Greece – Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Heista, Athena, Aries, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hermes and Hephaestus.
Mycenae, Greece
This is an ancient city (now surrounded by the modern town of Minaiki) was founded in the 16th BCE and occupies a natural citadel in the mountains. Evidence has led to the belief that the citadel once housed an important shrine, probably to Apollo and Electra.
Notre Dame, Le Puy, France
The Angelic Cathedral of Notre Dame on Mount Corneille acquired the title ‘Angelic’ because St Vosy was allegedly told in a vision that the angels themselves had dedicated the cathedral to the Blessed Virgin Mary but, because of a huge prehistoric standing stone, it is believed that the site was originally a pagan sacred site.
Nuraghe Su Nuraxi, Sardinia
The most significant complex of the Nuraghe people who are believed to have arrived on the island of Sardinia around 1500 BCE, is Nuraghe Su Nuraxi (in Barumini), a 3 storey tower built approx. 3,500 years ago in which burial ceremonies are believed to have taken place.
Parthenon, Greece
The Parthenon stands atop the Acropolis, a natural outcrop of rock. The Greeks considered a temple was less a place of worship and more a house of a god or goddess. The Acropolis is a ‘temple’ to Athena but had been the site of temples dedicated to Athena and other patron deities for centuries.
St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Italy
This is probably the best-known Roman Catholic church.
San Galgano Abbey and Hermitage, Italy
This Gothic building was built in the 12th & 13th centuries, one of the tow largest Cistercian foundations.
Saint' Agnese Fuori Le Mura, Italy
This church is dedicated to St Agnes, the virgin martyr.
Santiago de Compostela, Spain
In the Middle Ages, Santiago de Compostela was one of the three holiest cities of Christian pilgrimage and houses the grave of the apostle St James.
Sourced from “The Encyclopaedia of the World’s Mystical and Sacred Sites” by John and Anne Spencer; Headline Book Publishing. 2002. |
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