Sacred architecture

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Religious buildings (from the Latin sacer, holy '), are buildings that are used for religious, ritual or ritual acts such as worship or sacrifice by religious communities. Sacred places are interpreted as the presence of a higher power, and are therefore commonly referred to as places of worship.

The term comes from the sacral Culture and the Arts and serves as an exclusion of secular building, a building for secular tasks. In particular for buildings and places from the pre- or early history, there is also the concept of worship ( place of worship ). The most important type of a sacred architecture is the "temple" (to which in general sense of the term as churches, mosques, and the like count ), and there are numerous more or less free-standing buildings ( shrines, altars ) and religiously motivated monuments. A special kind of sacred grave sites and tombs form.

There are a number of different religious buildings, some examples are:

Europe

• From the Neolithic circular enclosures of holy places have been preserved in Northern Europe. These walls were built either from wooden palisades or upright stone blocks such as at Stonehenge.

• The Germanic culture has left splendid tombs - as an example of the grand tombs of Lübsow be cited. On wooden temple is closed by foundation finds, preserved, none of these temples.

• In the Minoan civilization sacred premises were ( altar) architecturally integrated into the palaces. The best known example is the Palace of Knossos in Crete.

• In Greek culture, a distinct temple architecture, whose appearance has been primarily influenced by columns in rows developed. The best known examples are the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis ( Athens) and the Pergamon Altar.

• The Roman culture was based initially in their religious buildings to hellinistischer temple architecture, and later the Romans developed an independent sacral architecture, called here as examples of the rotunda of the Pantheon in Rome and the decagon of St. Gereon Cologne.

• In Christianity, are to be mentioned here, especially church building ( church or temple ) and chapels. The early Roman Christianity was directed for reasons of secrecy in the catacombs of Rome chapel-like prayer and meeting places a.

• Another Christian sanctuary form was developed for the glorification of the sacrament of baptism. Of the integral in the churches baptismal chapels of independent building complex of the Baptistery emerged. Increasingly, this sacred building type is to be found in Italy. It is available, however, sometimes north of the Alps, is all his own, that they have been erected as a central building.

• In Ordensburgen there is mostly dedicated to sacred purposes premises or chapel-like churches. The Templar castle Krak des Chevaliers is cited here as an example.

• Unclear is the sacred function of the built by Frederick II of Stauffen Castel del Monte, but which is interpreted by many sources as an architectural cross and summarizing important sacred monument and is therefore attributed to the sacred buildings.

• Masonry and other lodges celebrate their worship in temples.

• Free Churches sometimes convenient to use the concept of prayer, often parish hall or community center.

Orient Middle East Asia

• From the Tower of Babylon has been handed down to Babylon.
• In Mesopotamia, the Zikkuratkultur built pyramids and God tents.
• The Nabataeans carved in their capital Petra rock temples and monumental tombs in the sandstone walls, which included mural on naturally the capital.
• In Turkey, Syria but also in other places there are cave churches, these were also carved or formed from caves in the rock. As an example, the St. Peter 's Grotto is called in Turkey.
• The Temple in Jerusalem was to 70 AD. the spiritual center of Judaism, which also built the synagogues as places of worship since the Hellenistic period. Since the reform movement at the end of the 19th century, they are again referred to as " temple ." From the Temple of Jerusalem, the Wailing Wall is only preserved.

• The Armenian Church has left in the Middle East numerous sacred buildings, in their architecture, the Orient mixed with the Occident. Examples include the following:

• The Kaaba in Mecca, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the mosques and the Tekken mentioned are for Islam. The most famous Mosques are the 1236 umgeweihte to church Mezquitamoschee in Cordoba, the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the Al -Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem ( al -Quds in Arabic ).

• The Bahai build houses of worship and shrines ( tombs of saints ).

Asia

• The colonizing in Cambodia and Laos Khmer people built temples cities most famous example is Angkor Wat.
• In India, Hinduism has developed a Hindu temple architecture - in India is also the most famous mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
• In Buddhism, the pagoda, stupa or chorten is a symbol of Buddha.

• Also in Bangladesh, Ceylon, China, Bali, Burma, Bhutan, Indonesia, Japan, Ladakh, Mongolia, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet and Vietnam, there is a distinct monastery and temple culture.

• Bangladesh: The Dhakeshwari - temple complex
• Ceylon: The Buddhist monastery Mihintale
• China: Yungang Grottoes
• Bali: The Lakes temple of Pura Ulun Danu Bratan
• Burma: The Shwedagon - Pagoda
• Bhutan: The monastery Taktshang
• Indonesia: The Cathedral of Santa Maria Diangkat ke Surga in Jakarta
• Japan: The Nishi Hongan -ji Temple in Kyoto
• Ladakh: The Thiksey Monastery
• Mongolia: The monastery Erdene Dsuu
• Nepal: The Janaki Mandir in Janakpur
• Taiwan: Confucian temple in Kaohsiung,
• Thailand: Wat Phra Sri Mahathat meditation temple in Bang Khen
• Tibet: Jokhang Temple in Lhasa
• Vietnam: Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh

North Africa

• In ancient Egypt, in addition to its function as a tomb to be understood as sacred temples next to the pyramids of Egypt and the God tents.

• In Nubia also pyramids were built, but these differed architecturally from those in neighboring Egypt.
• In Ethiopia, several rock-hewn churches were carved out of the basalt lava out near Lalibela.
• At the African continental plate upstream Canary Islands, the Guanches have developed their own culture. On each island there has been a monastic life and also temple-like buildings are occupied with found foundations on Lanzarote is Queseras have received.

North America

• The Mississippian culture in Illinois has left many tumuli. Near the former capital Cahokia an earth pyramid has been preserved.

Central America

• In Central America, the Maya, Aztecs and other cultures also built pyramids for religious reasons on which temples were built. Here dominated ceremonial temple towns to city centers, see Tikal, Teotihuacan and Tenochtitlan. Both Mayans and Aztecs had a strong monastic culture.

South America

• The Moche culture left behind, built of mud bricks colossal pyramids plateau, which also served as burial sites.
• The Incas built Ältäre, temples and monasteries.
• The Nazca culture left behind large-scale scratching images that can only be detected from altitude, whose religious significance is scientifically yet unexplained.

Polynesia

• On some Pacific islands the people of the Polynesian religious buildings left ( altars ). On Easter Island, a large number of monumental sculptures were mostly built of tufa on religious grounds.

General information about monasticism

Commonly (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism ) are valid in the architectural and religious history of different religions and monasteries as sacred, even if here emerges the aspect of worship and back of the dwelling. In Asia, such systems are often referred to as the ashram (Sanskrit ).