Solovetsky Monastery (Russian: Соловецкий монастырь) was the greatest citadel of Christianity in the Russian North before being turned into a special Soviet prison and labor camp (1926–1939), which served as a prototype for the GULAG system. Situated on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea, the monastery braved many changes of fortune and military sieges. Its most important structures date from the 16th century, when Filip Kolychev was its hegumen.

near Mawlamyine, Myanmar

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A snowy day at the Gompa in Litang. The large Monastery is situated at around 4'100m in Litang / Kham / Eastern Tibet.

The Monastery of Ostrog (Serbian: Манастир Острог/Manastir Ostrog, pronounced [ǒstroɡ]) is a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church situated against an almost vertical background, high up in the large rock of Ostroška Greda, in Montenegro. It is dedicated to Saint Basil of Ostrog (Sveti Vasilije Ostroški), who was buried here. From the monastery, a superb view of the Bjelopavlići plain can be seen. The monastery is located in Danilovgrad Municipality, 50 km from Podgorica and 15 km from Nikšić. Ostrog monastery is the most popular pilgrimage place in Montenegro.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrog_monastery

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Humor Monastery

An abandoned monastery on a cliff face at Meteora.

Aceasta manastire, construita in 1688, a fost camin de batrani din 1960 pana in 2007 cand a fost retrocedata arhiepiscopiei Ramnicului ca manastire. Am lucrat si eu ca muncitor in acest camin timp de trei ani

www.valceaturistica.ro/manastiri/manastirea-saracinesti-v...

www.ochiuratiunii.ro/turistinromania/turist-in-romania-ma...

www.crestinortodox.ro/biserici-manastiri/manastirea-sarac...

This monastery, built in 1688, was abusively converted by the Communist regime in a hospital for the elderly from 1960 till 2007, when it returned to its original use as a monastery. I used to work there for about three years, as a worker, while it was a hostel and hospital for the elderly

Armenia

Kleurrijke bloemen in het Pandhof van de Dom, de kloostertuin van de Domkerk.

Utrecht, Nederland

Colorful flowers in the 'Dom's Pandhof', the cloister garden of the Dom Church.

Utrecht, The Netherlands

Monastery Immaculate Conception is located in Ferdinand, Indiana and home to one of the largest communities of Benedictine women in the United States. Built in 1867, this stunning structure is beautifully maintained and well worth a visit.

Church of the monastery

an inside view of st. Georgios monastery

Courtyard of the monastery of St John the Theologian

The Stauropegic Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery is one of the most famous monasteries in the Moscow Region. It is a unique and sacred place, marvellous in its design, having been crafted by architects from several epochs. It reproduces the layout of key religious sites in Ierusalem – the Resurrection Cathedral is the counterpart of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with its side chapels and the underground Sts Constantine and Helena Church is the counterpart of the cavernous Palestinian church. The natural landscape around the monastery bears Biblical names: Mounts (or, rather, hills) Tabor, Hermon, Sinai, Mount of Olives, the Jordan river (Istra), and the Garden of Gethsemane.

Известен и под другим названием – Воскресенский Новоиерусалимский монастырь. Мужская православная обитель была основана в 1656 г. рядом с городом Истра в Подмосковье. Своим появлением она обязана патриарху Никону, пожелавшему разбить в этом месте резиденцию патриархов. Сам Никон многократно останавливался здесь на ночлег, ведь ему часто приходилось посещать Иверский монастырь (ездил он по старой Волоколамской дороге). Строительством нового монастыря патриарх желал добиться обустройства центра православного мира на московской земле. При этом планировалось, что грандиозное сооружение станет топографически передавать храм Гроба Господня, расположенный в Иерусалиме. Закладка монастыря производилась на холме с палестинским названием Сион. С восточной стороны к обители прилегал Елеонский холм, ее северным «соседом» был холм Фавор, а местная река Истра получила новое название – Иордан.

Rila monastery.

Importance

One of Romania’s most ancient churches features well-preserved frescoes, is egarded as a national treasure. The Monastery was built by Mircea the Old in 1388. Outstanding not just because Cozia is one of Romania’s oldest churche, but also has a spectacular architecture, which combines Byzantine motifs with attractive local influences. Also, it is important for the relics of worship (what we call moaste) and its history.

Location

Very picturesque by itself: the Cozia Monastery is located on the banks of the Olt River, about 20 kilometers north from the city of Râmnicu Vâlcea.

The twin settlements of Călimănesti–Căciulata mark the entrance to the Olt valley, a deep twisting gorge of great beauty and the site of several monasteries, the most notable of which is Cozia. While the main road runs along the Olt’s west bank, a lesser road (as far as Cozia) and the rail line follow the other side of the defile.

Călimănesti–Căciulata

Calimanesti and Caciulata are “twin” resorts, in the north of Valcea county, Romania, close to the Southern Carpathians, on both of the shores of the river Olt, which more or less form together a city, Calimanesti-Caciulata.

In Caciulata, there is a spa center, with a surface of around 2 ha, in which around 6,000 procedures are performed daily. Ailments and afflictions treatable here include renal, metabolic, respiratory, nervous, gynecological, rheumatic and digestive disorders.

Călimăne?ti, often known as Călimănesti-Căciulata, is a small town in Vâlcea County, southern Romania.

It is situated in the historical region of Oltenia and the northern part of the county, on the traditional route connecting the region to Transylvania, and at the southern end of the Olt River valley crossing the Southern Carpathians. Its population was about 2,876 and increased to some 9,131 inhabitants in 1992.

The location of several thermal springs, Călimănesti-Căciulata is known as a spa town.

During the 20th century, many hotels and treatment facilities were built in Căciulata, a northern area of the town which is close to Cozia Monastery. which is also the day of the city Călimăne?ti and Râmnicu Vâlcea (just south on DN7).

The Arutela Roman fort also located here – what is left of it.

The area around the Spa Resort - Calimanesti is full of fresh water springs and spa waters that are not in use. Before river management, the old town was a bit smaller, and the island (Ostrov) that you see on river Olt was bigger and the road was on what is now the river bed.

Calimanesti-Caciulata is situated between the mountains Capatanii and Cozia, on the bank of Olt River, at an altitude of 300 m. The resort is known from the time of Mircea the Elder (1355-1418)] who came here for treatment, also in 1600, came for treatment the ruler Matei Basarab.

In 1850, Dr. Carol Davila recommends to the Emperor Napoleon III (suffering from a liver disease), to use water from fountain no. 1 of Caciulata. The Water was transported with the stagecoach to Paris. Franz Joseph, King of Austria-Hungary has benefited of the mineral waters treatment from Caciulata.

Spa treatment consists of warm baths with mineral water, paraffin packing, electrotherapy, aerosol therapy, hydrotherapy, and physiotherapy.

Name

The name of the monastery is of Cuman origin and it means "walnut grove", from Turkic word koz, meaning walnut. The original name of the place was the Romanian equivalent, Nucetul, but already in 1387, a document of Mircea cel Bătrân uses the current name of Cozia.

History

The fortified cloister dates from the foundation (1388) and is the only in Byzantine style preserved in Romania. Two chapels are incorporated in the side toward the Olt River and their Byzantine cupolas are reflected in the water, creating one of the most iconic cultural - natural landmarks in Romania. The aspect of the church was modified under Neagoe Basarab (1517), Şerban Cantacuzino and Constantin Brâncoveanu (1707), who added a veranda, a new fountain, a chapel and a watch tower, adding to its architecture the 'brâncovenesc style'.

The wall facets' decorations with stone rosettes, horizontal Byzantine-style rows of brick and stone and vertical frames are unprecedented in Wallachian architecture. The resemblance with Lazarica church indicates that Mircea cel Bătrân has employed Serbian craftsmen from the Morava School.

Of great value is the hospital church, 'Bolni?a' (1543) on the other side of the road, with original well-preserved indoor frescoes like the votive portrait of ruler Mircea cel Bătrân and his sons.

Cozia was painted between 1390 and 1391. Some of the original frescoes (1390) are still well preserved, while the rest of mural paintings are the result of the restoration work performed in 1719. The church of the monastery was put on a Romanian stamp in 1968.

Near the Cozia Monastery is the beautiful protected area of the Cozia National Park, in the central sector of the Southern Carpathians, lying on the approaches to the higher Fagaras Mt range. Its 17,000 hectares are dominated by forests whose character is influenced by the area’s somewhat milder climate: oak woodland attains an unusually high altitude here.

Cozia National Park is also called the Mount of Flowers, due to the rich plant life that includes edelweiss and martagon lily.

The founders portrait, can be seen in all its majesty on the wall at the right of the narthex of the big church of Cozia Monastery, clothed in Medieval costume, holding the miniature of the monastery in his hand and, standing beside him, his son whom he later associated to the throne. This portrait is also painted also in the northern chapel. Mircea died at the beginning of 1418, at the princely residence of Argeş, and his remains were brought to Cozia Monastery and buried in a sarcophagus. Next to the tomb of the great Voievode, there is the tomb of the mother of Michael the Brave, who took the veil in 1601 at Cozia Monastery under the name of nun Teofana and died in 1605.

Cozia Monastery is one of the most valuable examples of medieval architecture in Romania. At the beginning the big church – most important of all the monuments in Mircea Voievode’s foundation – was set in the middle of a quadrangle and is divided into three parts: narthex, nave and sanctuary. The church of Cozia Monastery has been built out of massive stone blocks, alternating with apparent bricks. The style of the church with its monumental tower, impresses the visitors as well as the specialists being an alliance between lines and Chapel on the southern side which belong to the Serbian architecture of that time and the Byzantine and local elements, a combination which resulted in a peculiar formula of church architecture. Embellishing effect is enhanced by the framing of the actual character of great historical monument, when the Cozia Monastery has been restored. Conditions of monastic life have been modernized and provided with the proper equipment when collections have been set up for the benefit on the visitors.

In 1707, the open portico was added to the front, the entire painting from the narthex has conserved the original 14th century character. The great hermits of Christianity, with their deeply furrowed ascetic features, are painted on the lowest zone, higher up are the seven ecumenical synods and a series if images representing the calendar and the Acathist Hymn of the Virgin are depicted on the wall between narthex and nave. The altar screen with its sacred images completes this precious ensemble of icons and sculptured wood of the Cozia Monastery, dominated by the large chandeliers and endowed with remarkable sacred objects.

Over time the monastery was repaired and renovated many times by rulers. During the time of Neagoe Basarab the fountain was built, and between 1512 and 1521 the painting was restored. Constantin Brâncoveanu built the porch in the 1706-1707 in the well-known Brâncoveanu style. During the Austrian occupation of Oltenia, the monastery was a mighty fortress in the way of the invaders.

Sevenavank Monastery, Lake Sevan, Armenia

An important building in the history of Belem, Lisbon, Portugal.

"In the 14th century, the small Lisbon chapel, Santa Maria de Belém, was presided over by monks of the military-religious Order of Christ. Originally built by Prince Henry the Navigator, the duty of the monks there was to assist Portuguese sailors and ships leaving port for long journeys. Seamen and crew would spend their last night in Portugal within the church, often praying for safe travel and confessing their sins to the monks there in case they did not return to land.

Of the most famous was the great Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama, who was the first European to reach the Far East by sea and who credited the night of prayer in the church with his success. Upon the triumphant return of de Gama and the new found riches, King Manuel I began construction of a new monastery on the location, one to showcase the glorious wealth that the age of exploration brought to the Portuguese empire.

The monastery and church were built over the next 100 years with taxes from imported goods from Africa and the far east. Unsurprisingly, several architects and numerous sculptors worked on the building, together achieving a level of cohesive realization in creating one of the most majestic examples of Late Gothic Manueline style of architecture.

The King donated the construction to the monks of the Hieronymite order, who were tasked with praying for the soul of the King and his family— likely no small task when considering the atrocities of Portuguese explorers and traders among plundered lands all in the name and with approval of their King. Regardless, for the next several hundred years the monks continued in their duties until the order was dissolved and the monastery abandoned in 1833. For a time it was a children’s school, but it gradually fell from its grandeur into disrepair thanks to earthquakes and neglect.

It has seen several restoration projects and cleanings since the mid-1800s, where it once again became the pride of the capital city. In 2007, the Treaty of Lisbon was signed at Jerónimos. Today, the monastery is a UNESCO world heritage site. Inside are the tombs of the royal family, Vasco de Gama, and Luís de Camões among other notable Portuguese notables from the age of its construction."

At an altitude of nearly 1,900ft, this monastery is the highest point in the island and you can feel the moisture from clouds which gentle brush against the peak as they wend their way across the Mediterranean sea. It feels truly zenlike - a very appropriate location for practising monks! This garden is closed off to the public and situated behind some lofty stone walls, but I couldn't stop myself from climbing up to have a little peek in there.

Greek Monastery detail

The Lepavina Monastery is a Serb Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Presentation of Mary and located in Croatia. Established in 1550.

This picture was taken in my trip to armenia in 2004

Prague skyline from the Strahov Monastery

Moldova - Hancu monastery.

Hancu Monastery was raised up on a nuns’ hermitage in 1678 by the Great High Steward Mihail Hancu due to the wish of one of his daughters, who accepted monasticism under the name of Parascheva. The hermitage had the name of Viadica until the 17th century.

Because of the Tartars invasion, the nuns left the hermitage for another place approximately at the half of the 18th century. After the Russian army arrived in Basarabia under the command of Field Marshall Rumeantev in 1770-1772, the first Hancu family successors asked the hieromonah Varlaam from the Varzaresti Monastery to take care of the abandoned hermitage. Varlaam together with a group of monks, who came with him, took care of the household, and repaired the cells and in time the monastery became a living place for the monks.

In 1817 all the monks at the monastery were Moldovans, who took the habit being hallowed by the Husi bishops and the Metropolitan Bishop of Moldova. They all had good connections with the hermitages and the monasteries from all over Moldova and the Athos mountain. There were three Russian hieromonks in the monastery as well, who ran away from the liberal stream of Queen Catherine the Second. The books for the church and the manuscripts were written in Romanian.

Back in 1817 the church was built of wood, fenced, glued with clay and whitewashed. The roof of the church was made of shingle. Also, it had a belfry attached to the church. The church had an iconostasis of wood with delving flowers gilt with gold. The walls inside of the church were fashioned with many beautiful icons, 8 of which were painted on planks of wood and gilt with gold.

Hancu was the first monastic settlement of Basarabia, where the community life was introduced approximately in 1820-1822.

Both, the inner life of the hermitage, and its community household, developed significantly during the supervision of abbot Dosoftei, Bulgarian by origin.

Since its existence, more precisely at the beginning of 1836, the hermitage is considered to be a monastery. On the place where the wooden church was standing, he raised up in 1835 a church built in stone with the festival Saint Pious Parascheva, but in 1841 he had built another one dedicated to the Holy Virgin Dormition festival. He built cells for the monks as well, brought water into the monastery and took care of the administration bettering.

At the end of the 19th century, the monastery was known under the name of Hancul-Parascheva.

The lands, the fortune and the buildings of the monastery were nationalized in 1944, but in 1965 the monastery had been closed and the monks were chased away.

In 1978 the monastic ensemble was distributed to the Institute of Medicine from Chisinau that set working a sanatorium for people suffering of tuberculosis and opened a leisure station for students and employees. Saint Pious Parascheva summer church was later turned into a club.

Hancu Monastery was re-established as a place for monks in 1990. There is no information about the activity of the monks during those two years they have spent in the monastery. In 1992 the community of monks was abolished.

In the spring of 1992 the monastery for nuns is being established at Hancu. On the 10th of September, 1992, the reconstruction of the monastery was started. In 1993 the reparation of Holy Virgin Dormition winter church had been finished.

The church was framed within the body of the priory, which was built in 1841. It was painted provisionally and hallowed in the same year. In 1998 the interior of the church was repainted.

Saint Pious Parascheva summer church was erected in 1835 and repaired not earlier than 1996.

Three old buildings raised up in 1841 remain untouched on the monastery’s territory. Nuns and sisters started living there after a major overhaul. The number of the ones living there estimates 58 in 1995.

The Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, better known as the Rila Monastery is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains, 117 km (73 mi) south of the capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River at an elevation of 1,147 m (3,763 ft) above sea level, inside of the Rila Monastery Nature Park. The monastery is named after its founder, the hermit Ivan of Rila (876 - 946 AD).

the St Jean Baptiste Monastery, Joffreville, Diego Suarez (Antsiranana), Madagascar

more pics and journeys in colloidfarl.blogspot.com/

Avalokiteshvara

Thiksay is a village in the Indus Valley, famous for the Thiksay Monastery (Gompa) located at an altitude of 3,600 m (11,800 ft) in the Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is a twelve-story complex and houses many items of Buddhist art such as stupas, statues, thangkas and wall paintings.

Images of India

Nikitskiy Monastery at Pereslavl Zalesskiy, Russia

From the web...

Considered to be E. W. Pugin’s great architectural masterpiece and known as ‘Manchester’s Taj Mahal’, The Monastery will blow your mind with the principles of geometry on which it was designed, its significance as a beloved heritage site of great historical importance and the incredible restoration project which breathed new life into its previously tragic ruins.

Wide angle Olympus 9mm F8 body cap lens with free keystone effect.

Thikse, India

Lainici Monastery is an Christian-Orthodox church on the Jiu Valley in Romania.

Best viewed large.

...with traditional sash

Thegtse Sang-ngag Choekhorling Monastery

In 1106 Ailbertus put, along with Embrico of Mayschoss, the foundations of the monastery of Rolduc. The crypt of the church was completed in 1108. After disagreements over the continuation construction Ailbertus decided in 1111 to go away and left the construction of the church still almost 20 years. He died in the year 1122 to Sechtem in Bonn. After Ailbertus Richard Benignas Richer of the monastery of Rottenbuch in Bavaria became abbot of Rolduc. Under his leadership building construction of the church continued again from 1130. Under the reign of abbot Erpo the roof could be completed in 1153 and in 1224 the church was, after a new building campaign, re-consecrated.

Photo taken by Anthony on 25 April 2012.

Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.

Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.

Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarbayasgalant_Monastery

Inside Gerhard monastery in armenia

Monastery Beach, Carmel, CA

The monastery of Agia Triada of Tzagarolon is one of the richest and most beautiful monasteries in Crete. It is built near the airport of Chania, in the position Tzobomylos of the Cape Melecha and at the foothills of Stavros Mount. The distance from Chania is only 15km.

The monastery was built by the Venetian nobles Jeremiah and Lawrence Tzagarolo. Jeremiah was a famous scholar of his era with rich education and was a friend of the Patriarch of Alexandria, Meletios Pigas. Jeremiah himself was a candidate for Patriarch of Constantinople. Moreover, Jeremiah designed and built the monastery complex of the monastery, being affected by the architect Sebastiano Serlio from Verona, Italy.

is a walled stauropegic Russian Orthodox monastery of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker located in a suburb of Moscow formerly known as Ugreshi and now called Dzerzhinsky.

The monastery is a large complex of buildings of a religious and economic nature. The highlight is the location on the Stolobensky Island of Lake Seliger and the Svetlica peninsula, which extends towards the monastery with a cape. The monastery was founded in honor of St. Nil Stolobensky, whose name it is named after. In 1594, with the permission of Patriarch Job, a monastic monastery was opened.

Монастырь представляет собой большой комплекс зданий религиозного и хозяйственного характера. Изюминка – расположение на Столобенском острове озера Селигер и полуострове Светлице, который мысом выдвигается в сторону монастыря. Монастырь основан в честь преподобного Нила Столобенского, чьим именем и назван. В 1594 году с разрешения патриарха Иова была открыта монашеская обитель.