The Church of Hallgrímur (ReykjavÃk, Iceland)
The Church of HallgrÃmur is a Lutheran parish church which is also a very tall one, reaching 74.5 meters (244 ft) height. It is the fourth tallest architectural structure in Iceland. It took an
incredibly long time to build it- 38 years. Construction work began in 1945 and ended in 1986. The architect was Guðjón Samúelsson.
Las Lajas Cathedral (Colombia, South America)
Las Lajas Cathedral was built in 1916 inside the canyon of the Guaitara river where, according to local legend, the Virgin Mary appeared. It is located in southern Colombian Department of Narino, municipality of Ipiales, near the border with Ecuador.
Device to Root Out Evil (Calgary, AB, Canada)
It was too controversial for New York City and for Stanford University. But, this imposing church sculpture by renowned international artist Dennis Oppenheim finally found a public home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A country church is seen balancing on its 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, Alberta, Canada.
The Chapel of St. Gildas (Brittany, France)
This chapel sits on the banks of the Canal du Blavet in Brittany, France. Built like a stone barn into 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 Corrwall, 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.
Shell Church (Huntington Beach, California, USA)
A Shell gasoline filling station has been converted into a church but it still retains the Shell gasoline sign.
Notre Dame du Haut (Ronchamp, France)
Informally known as Ronchamp, the chapel of Notre Dame du Haut was completed in 1954 and is considered one of the finest examples of architecture by the late French/Swiss architect Le Corbusier. Interesting fact: When it rains, water pours off the slanted roof onto a fountain, creating a dramatic waterfall.
St. Joseph Ukrainian Catholic Church (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
This church is massiveness and gray color looks like Soviet architecture. I was amazed when I read that it was actually in USA and not in Soviet Union. St. Joseph Ukrainian Catholic church is best known for its ultra-modern thirteen gold domed roof symbolizing the twelve apostles and Jesus Christ as the largest center dome. It was built in 1956.
Jubilee Church (Rome, Italy)
Jubilee Church has very distinctive curved walls which look like sails and serve the engineering purpose of minimizing thermal peak loads in the interior space. The walls are made from a special cement, which contain titanium dioxide, so it destroys air pollution. When the titanium dioxide absorbs ultraviolet light, it becomes powerfully reactive, breaking down pollutants that come in contact with the concrete. The architect was Richard Meier. The church was built in 1996.
Grace Fellowship Baptist Church (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
This unusual building is actually a church. Once it was famous for being Detroit’s most beautiful Chinese-American restaurant. Later it closed down and became the Omega Baptist Church and then the Grace Fellowship Baptist Church..
Basilica de Higuey (Dominican Republic)
The Catholic Basilica de Higuey, inaugurated on January 21, 1971, is one of the most respected monuments of the Dominican Republic. It was built by French architects, and is located in the city of Higuey, Dominican Republic.