On a trip to Paris, a walk through the bohemian district of Montmartre or a flying visit to the Louvre Museum will be followed by a tour of Notre Dame Cathedral. Although fewer and fewer people practice religion in Europe, church buildings are extremely popular with tourists: around 13 million people visit the sacred building in the French capital every year.

But there are not only impressive buildings in the big cities. Even in small villages or even in the mountains there are architectural masterpieces of the Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches. The photographer Guillaume de Laubier shows in a illustrated book a selection of the most beautiful places of worship.

There are thousands of churches in Europe, de Laubier chose 40: from the Sagrada Família in Barcelona via the Ulm Minster to less well-known buildings such as the Convent in Éveux or the St. Moritz Church in Augsburg.

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Guillaume de Laubier, Jacques Bosser:
The most beautiful churches in Europe

Knesebeck Verlag; 240 pages, 50,00 €

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De Laubier gives insights into the buildings, shows glass windows, frescoes and sculptures, elaborate decors, draws attention to details and different perspectives, but also opens up exterior views of the parish churches, cathedrals, monasteries and cathedrals.

The churches are not only artistic highlights, but also historical testimonies: they tell of the spirit of their time of origin, the yearning for salvation and blessing, of power or wealth and provide an overview of the architecture of late antiquity, Romanticism, Gothic, Baroque to Modern ,

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11 pictures

From Norway to Romania: Impressive churches in Europe

Due to the increasing number of tourists in the most famous of the buildings often no quiet devotion is possible: visitors stroll through the nave, take selfies or listen to guided tours.

However, it is often the tourists who provide for the preservation of the churches and basilicas: through entrance fees or because of the popularity of the buildings, the buildings receive more public subsidies to be maintained.

With his illustrated book de Laubier wants to draw attention to the great value of the houses of worship, which were often built in decades or even centuries of work and represent an important cultural heritage of Europe.