Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The Westend Synagogue was built from 1908 to 1910 in the Art Nouveau style. It was the only one of the four former large synagogues to survive the November 1938 pogroms and World War II bombings. In 1950, the synagogue was reopened after a temporary renovation and then faithfully restored from 1989 to 1994.

The Westkerk was one of the four Reformed Protestant churches in Utrecht at the end of the 19th century. In 2008, the church was converted into a hostel, with its main hall now serving as the reception and restaurant.

The Amsterdam Westerkerk is a Calvinist church built between 1620 and 1631 in a Baroque style.

The church of Westernijtsjerk was probably built at the end of the thirteenth century with remnants of a former estate houd: Jeppema Estate. In the fifteenth century the church was renewed and enlarged. The interior of the church is of great beauty.

The Abbey of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart or "Westmalle Abbey" is the oldest of the Trappist monasteries still in activity. It was founded in 1794 by French Cistercians fleeing the ban on monastic life in France. The priory was elevated to abbey status in the first half of the 19th century and began its brewing activities in 1836.

An architectural masterpiece of the 13th to 16th centuries, Westminster Abbey also presents a unique pageant of British history; the shrine of St Edward the Confessor, the tombs of kings and queens, and countless memorials to the famous and the great. It has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066 and for numerous other royal occasions, including sixteen royal weddings.

Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey was built in 1227 by Ulrich X, Count of Bregenz. During the Thirty Years' War, the abbey was devastated by the Swedes and was in great need of repair. In 1738 the reconstruction of the church was completed and the monastic buildings were built between 1774 and 1781. In February 1807, the church was closed and the remaining buildings were auctioned off. Between 1808 and 1809 the church was demolished.

Wetzlar Cathedral, which is not the seat of a bishop, was built from the 13th to the 15th century on a Romanesque church, but its construction remained unfinished. As the number of canons and vicars of the church declined throughout the 16th century, an agreement was reached in 1561 for the joint use of the church by the Catholic canons and the increasingly Lutheran inhabitants of Wetzlar. In the following years, however, there were repeated disputes: the canons prohibited Lutherans from entering the church. In return, the Protestant community occupied the nave in 1567. From 1571, the canons no longer celebrated mass in the choir of St. Mary's Church. Nevertheless, the church choir remained a Catholic institution upon the intervention of the Archbishop of Trier. At the end of the 16th century an agreement was finally reached.

Whitby Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery founded in 657 by the Anglo-Saxon King of Northumbria Oswiu (642-670). In 867 the abbey was ruined by the Vikings and then abandoned. William of Percy, a feudal baron, ordered the refoundation of the abbey in 1078, which was done by Regenfrith, a soldier monk who dedicated it to St Peter and St Hilda. This second monastery was destroyed by Henry VIII of England in 1540 and the abbey buildings fell into ruins, serving as a stone quarry and a landmark for sailors.

The White Church of Daugavgriva is a Lutheran church built between 1786 and 1788. It has long been regarded as the "fishermen's church" because local tradition suggests that the church tower was built to serve as a lighthouse as well.