Bkerké

Bkerke is a monastery in the Lebanese town of Jounieh, about ten kilometers north of the capital Beirut. Bkerke is the seat of the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East and the winter residence of the Patriarch, the middle of the Maronite Church, the largest Christian group in Lebanon.

The monastery was built in 1703 and acquired in 1730 by Antoniterorden. From 1750 it belonged to the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 1779 it was handed over to the Maronite Church, which in 1786 declared to the residence. 1890, the building complex by architect and Lazaristenbruder Leonhard was remodeled and expanded. Minor modifications followed in 1970 and 1982. 1995 additional buildings for the Patriarchate archive and an exhibition built, as well as a cemetery grave lay the Maronite Patriarch.

Near the monastery ( about two kilometers to the north) is the famous pilgrimage church Harissa ( Notre Dame du Liban ).