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Franciscan monastery in Washington, D.C. is a National Historic Site that is a popular destination as a place of worship and pilgrimage for thousands of visitors to the capital of the United States.
This is a four panel HDR composed of 28 separate images....stitched together in Photomatix. Color adjusted in Nik Color Efex Pro and Topaz Adjust.
Labrang Monastery (Tibetan: བླ་བྲང་བཀྲ་ཤིས་འཁྱིལ་, Wylie: bla-brang bkra-shis-'khyil) is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Its formal name is Genden Shédrup Dargyé Trashi Gyésu khyilwé Ling (Tibetan: དགེ་ལྡན་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་དར་རྒྱས་བཀྲ་ཤིས་གྱས་སུ་འཁྱིལ་བའི་གླིང༌།, Wylie: dge ldan bshad sgrub dar rgyas bkra shis gyas su 'khyil ba'i gling).
Labrang is located in Xiahe County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu, in the traditional Tibetan area of Amdo. Labrang Monastery is home to the largest number of monks outside the Tibet Autonomous Region. Xiahe is about four hours by car from the provincial capital Lanzhou.
In the early part of the 20th century, Labrang was by far the largest and most influential monastery in Amdo. It is located on the Daxia River, a tributary of the Yellow River.
The monastery was founded in 1709 by the first Jamyang Zhépa, Ngawang Tsöndrü.It is Tibetan Buddhism's most important monastery town outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
Labrang Monastery is situated at the strategic intersection of two major Asian cultures—Tibetan and Mongolian — and was one of the largest Buddhist monastic universities. In the early 20th century, it housed several thousand monks. Labrang was also a gathering point for numerous annual religious festivals and was the seat of a Tibetan power base that strove to maintain regional autonomy through the shifting alliances and bloody conflicts that took place between 1700 and 1950.[5]
In April 1985 the Assembly Hall burned down. It was replaced and the new building was consecrated in 1990
The monastery complex dominates the western part of the village. The white walls and gilded roofs feature a blend of Tibetan and Indian Vihara architectural styles. The monastery contains 18 halls, six institutes of learning, a gilded stupa, a sutra debate area, and houses nearly 60,000 sutras.
At its height the monastery housed 4,000 monks. Like so many religious institutions, it suffered during the Cultural Revolution; and the monks were sent to their villages to work. After it was reopened in 1980, many of the monks returned; but the government restricted enrolment to around 1,500.[7]
It has a Buddhist museum with a large collection of Buddha statues, sutras and murals. In addition, a large amount of Tibetan language books, including books on history is available for purchase, together with medicines, calendars, music and art objects.
There used to be a great gold-painted statue of the Buddha, more than 50 feet high, which was surrounded by rows of surrounding Buddhas in niches.[8]
The monastery today is an important place for Buddhist ceremonies and activities. From January 4 to 17 and June 26, to July 15, (these dates may change according to the lunar calendar), the great Buddhist ceremony will be held with Buddha-unfolding, sutra enchanting, praying, sutra debates, etc.
The Cistercian Maulbronn Monastery (1147) is the most complete and best-preserved medieval monastic complex north of the Alps. Surrounded by fortified walls, the main buildings date between the 12th and 16th centuries. The monastery's church, mainly in Transitional Gothic style, had a major influence in the spread of Gothic architecture over much of northern and central Europe. Its water-management system with an elaborate network of drains, irrigation canals and reservoirs, is of exceptional interest. UNESCO WHS description.
This beautiful monastery was built in the 17th century. In 1880 is was used as an children’s asylum and was only used to treat girls. Around 1920 St. Anna was used to treat mentally ill people and currently it is abandoned and left with only memories…
There are a lot of stories going around that children have been abused in there. A lot of things happened behind these walls…
These pictures were taken in 2010.
Please visit www.preciousdecay.com for more pictures
The Shwenandaw Monastery is a marvel of traditional Burmese art and one of the sights of Mandalay. Teak monasteries can be found at many locations in Myanmar, but few as beautifully adorned as this one.
The present building was originally part of the former royal palace at Amarapura but was moved to it's present location in Mandalay in the 1870s to form a prayer hall for the adjoining monastery.
Today it is a popular visitor attraction for the wealth of beautiful wood carvings adorning it's exterior.
Mega Spileo monastery
"One of the most important and wonderful places of Greek Orthodoxy in Peloponnese is the Holy Monastery of Mega Spileo (Grand Cave) which is located under the shadow of great rock at 940 m height. The Monastery was established in 4th century by two monks. During its history it was destroyed five times by fires, Turks and in the last one in 1943 by German invaders. The name of the Monastery derivates from rocky complex of Chelmos mountain on which it is built above. Today, the renovated 8 floors built in rock monastery is rising on the mountains amazing the visitors."
Source: www.https//:megaspileo.gr/en
Malaybalay City dubbed as the "South Summer Capital of the Philippines" and "City in the Forest", is a first class component city and the capital and administrative center of the province of Bukidnon, Philippines.
The City's 25 years Monastery of Transfiguration on San Jose hill, is made of heavy lime blocks, designed by National Artist for architecture Leandro Locsin. The first Filipino Abbott, Fr. Eduardo Africa and former Malaybalay bishop Gaudencio Rosales inaugurated it on August 6, 1983. Today, 10 monks had its 7 hectares planted to rice, 25 hectares to corn, and the rest for planting the world-famous Monk’s Blend Premium coffee. It's 2-story Museum of Transfiguration Monastery (MTM) houses Dom Martin’s famous 50-piece vestment collection included in Philippines' 1998 centennial celebration. “Worship and Weave” book on the vestments won the 2001 National Book Award (art category). [Wikipedia]
The monastery of Ridzong is the only nun monastery and one of the most beautiful monasteries of Ladakh. It is pictorial highly above a mountain-slope.
Das Kloster Ridzong ist das einzige Nonnenkloster Ladakhs und eines der schönsten Klöster Ladakhs. Es liegt malerisch hoch oben an einem Berghang.
Kumbum Monastery, also known as Ta'er Temple, is a historic site of great significance located in Qinghai, China. Founded in 1583, this Tibetan Buddhist monastery is renowned for its intricate architecture and religious importance.
It is the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, and houses the famous "Tree of Great Merit," which is associated with his birth. The monastery is a spiritual hub that attracts pilgrims and tourists alike, offering a unique glimpse into the rich cultural and religious tapestry of the region.
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A favorite thing to do on a Sunday afternoon was to walk up the hill through the park to Strahov Monastery. It’s a real working monestary. It overlooks Prague Castle, Mala-Strana, the Charles Bridge and the Vlatava River. The Library and Museum should not be missed
The Monastery of Sv. Jovan (St. John) Bigorski lies along the road between Gostivar and Debar. As we looked for it, we found a man in the middle of the wilderness who turned out to be an Albanian, and offered to show us the way. He accompanied us up the mountain to see the monastery church. According to the monastery's 1833 chronicle, it was built in 1020 by Archbishop Jovan. There were some Macedonian tourists from Skopje wandering around, and also bizarre noises coming periodically from a loudspeaker. Our Albanian friend could not explain.
REPKONG - Qinghai Province - Gomari Monastery - China
Haghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavank (Armenian: Հաղպատավանք), is a medieval monastery complex in Haghpat, Armenia.
The monastery was founded by Queen Khosrovanuysh, wife of the Bagratid king Ashot III, probably in 976. The nearby monastery at Sanahin was built around the same time.
The location of Haghpat Monastery was chosen so that it overlooks the Debed River in northern Armenia's Lori region. It was built, not on a peak, but halfway up a hillside on a site chosen to afford protection and concealment from prying eyes and also in response to a kind of monastic humility. It is built on a verdant promontory located in the middle of a mountain cirque, which is often wreathed in clouds. A peak on the opposite side of the river is over 2,500 meters high. The monasteries of northern Armenia are not isolated, unlike their counterparts in the country's arid regions. They were built in a village environment and Haghpat is surrounded by many hamlets.
The largest church in the complex, the Cathedral of Surb Nishan, probably begun in 976, was completed in 991 by king Smbat. It is a typical example of tenth century Armenian architecture, its central dome rests on the four imposing pillars of the lateral walls. The outside walls are dotted with triangular recesses. A fresco in the apse depicts Christ Pantocrator. Its donor, the Armenian Prince Khutulukhaga, is depicted in the south transept (a transversal nave intersecting the main nave). The sons of the church's founder, Princes Smbat and Kurike, are shown with Queen Khosravanuysh in a bas-relief on the east gable. Apart from one or two minor restorations carried out in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the church has retained its original character.
There are several other structures at the site as well. There is the small domed Church of Sourb Grigor (St. Gregory ) from 1005. Two side chapels were added to the original church; the larger one built in the beginning of the 13th century and the smaller, known as "Hamazasp House", built in 1257. In 1245, a three-story tall free-standing belltower was constructed. Other 13th century additions include the chapel of Sourb Astvatsatsin, the scriptorium, and a large refectory which is outside the monastery limits.
There are also a number of splendid khachkars (cross-stones) of the 11th-13th centuries standing on the territory of the monastery, the best known among them is the "Amenaprkich" (All-Savior) khachkar which has been standing since 1273.
The monastery has been damaged many times. Sometime around 1130, an earthquake destroyed parts of Haghpat Monastery and it was not restored until fifty years later. It also suffered numerous attacks by armed forces in the many centuries of its existence and from a major earthquake in 1988. Nevertheless, much of the complex is still intact and stands today without substantial alterations.
Rila Monastery, Bulgaria
The monastery is located in the steep valley of the Rila river. St John of Rila, a hermit lived in a nearby cave and disciples built the first structures in the valley. Rulers of Bulgaria made numerous donations to the monastery, transforming it into a spiritual center.
The oldest standing buildings are from the 14th century, but much of the building were destroyed during the Turkish wars.
The monastery burned to the ground in 1833 and it was reconstructed almost immediately.
Since 1976 it has been a UNESCO world heritage site.
We arrived at the monastery early in the afternoon and we spent the day wandering around. The monastery offers some cells for tourist and we slept there. It was very nice by night and very quiet until the early morning mass.