Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The Prophet Elias Monastery, located at an altitude of 567 metres, was founded in 1711 by the hieromonks Gabriel and Ioakeim Bellonia. The monastery contains the mitre of Gregory V of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Romanian Orthodox Monastery of Putna was founded by the Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great after his victory over the fortress Kilia at the Danube delta and consecrated to the Virgen in 1470. Stephen himself was buried in the monastery, and his tomb is a lively pilgrimage site now.

The Rača monastery dates back to the 13th century. According to tradition, the monastery of Rača was built around 1275 by the Serbian king Stefan Dragutin (1276-1316). The monastery probably suffered during the fall of the Serbian Despotate in 1459, then immediately after the great migrations of Serbs into the Habsburg territories in 1690 and for the last time after the collapse of the first Serbian uprising in 1813. The monastery was restored between 1795 and 1799, and between 1816 and 1835.

The monastery of Radu Voda seems to have been built for the first time in the 16th century. But having been damaged by fires (1595) and earthquakes (1829, 1838), the monastery was completely redesigned until the 19th century.

The Benedictine monastery in Rajhrad was founded according to tradition in 1045, making it the oldest monastic-type foundation in Moravia. The present monastic complex dates back to the 18th century, it was built between 1721 and 1746 according to the plans of the architect Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel; however, its project was not completed. After being dissolved in 1950, the largely devastated monastery was taken over by the Benedictine order in 1990. Its entire complex with the Church of St. Peter and Paul is protected as a cultural monument and in 2005 the library became the basis of the new Memorial of Literature in Moravia.

Rakovac Monastery lies north of Fruška Gora mountain, near the village of the same name. It is one of the 16 surviving Orthodox monasteries built between the 15th and 18th centuries on the Fruška Gora mountain in Serbia (also known as the Serbian Mount Athos).

Rasca monastery is one of the famous painted monasteries of the Bucovina region due to the 16th-century frescos present on the exterior of its church. It was built between 1541 - 46 by Petru Rares, the prince of Moldavia. The Monastery suffered plundering by Turks and an earthquake in the 19th century, after which parts of it were renovated in a more contemporary style for the time.

Reichenstein Monastery is a 12th-century Premonstratensian monastery on a rocky plateau at the mouth of the Rur River. It is only 7 km away from the resort village of Monschau.

People believe that The Monastery of Sain Ivan of Rila (better known as the Rila Monastery) was founded by hermit Ivan of Rila in the first half of the 10th century. He lived in a cave not far from the monastery’s current location. From the beginning on, the monastery has been supported and respected by Bulgarian rulers who made large donations. From 1334 until 1335, a protective tower, monastic cells and a temple were built. Unfortunately, the monastery underwent numerous raids and destruction by Ottomans from the end of the 14th century until the middle of the 15th century. The monastery got rebuilt at the end of the 15th century. In 1833, the monastery was destroyed by fire and reconstructed between 1834 and 1862. Today it is seen as the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria.

The Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo is a complex of small medieval rock churches, chapels and cells, carved at different heights in the cliffs of the picturesque canyon of the river Rusenski Lom. These caves were dug as hermitages during a period running from the 10th century to the 15th century, turning the river valley and its tributaries into a Bulgarian spiritual centre. The Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo, with their extremely well-preserved murals, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.