Top 10 Most Famous Temples in the World – Top 10 Most Amazing Temples In The World -10 Most Beautiful Temples in the World
The spiritual world has always been a part of spiritual life in every country in the world. With adoration and gratitude to their gods, each country tries to build for itself the most sacred place of worship with the most unique architecture. Here are the Top 10 Most Famous Temples in the World that exist from ancient to recently built temples.
Angkor Wat Temple
- Name: Prasat Angkor Wat
- Architectural style: Khmer
- Area: 162.6 ha
- Year of construction: late 12th century
- Country: Cambodia
When it comes to Top 10 Most Famous Temples in the World, perhaps Angkor Wat is the first name that comes to mind. Prasat Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world, covering 162.6 hectares. It was originally built as a Hindu temple of the Khmer Empire, and gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple at the end of the 12th century. Khmer King Suryavarman II built Angkor Wat in the early 12th century at Yaśodharapura to worship Vishnu.
Angkor Wat is a combination of two basic features of Khmer architecture: temple-mountain architecture along with long and narrow corridors. This structure symbolizes Mount Meru, home of the gods in Hindu legend. Unlike other Angkor-style temples, Angkor Wat faces the west. The center of the temple is a complex of 5 towers with a central tower and four towers at four square corners. Located between a moat and 3.6 km long wall is a three-storey main hall with rectangular architecture, connected by rows of deep corridors.
The outer wall, 1,024 m long, 802 m wide and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m wide plot of land and a 190 m wide moat. The entrance to the temple is an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west. The main entrance to the west was added later, possibly to replace a wooden bridge. At each main direction there is an entry gate architecture. Angkor Wat temple uses sandstone as the main building material. Most of the visible areas are sandstone blocks, while laterite has been used for the exterior walls and for hidden structural parts.
The temple of Angkor Wat is admired by the grandeur and harmony of architecture, the richness of sculpture art. Characteristic elements of the style include: oval towers resembling lotus buds; small corridors to widen the passage; rooms along the axes to connect the courtyards; and cross-shaped steps appear along the main axes of the temple. Typical decorative elements are devata (or apsara), reliefs, and on the attic walls are large wreaths and narrative scenes. The statues of Angkor Wat are considered conservative, lifeless and unattractive. Other elements of the design have been destroyed by looting and time, including the gilded stucco on the tower, the gilding on some of the reliefs, and the wooden ceiling panels and doors.
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Karnak Temple
- Name: Karnak Temple Complex
- Architectural design: Ancient Egypt
- Area: 69.86 ha
- Year of construction: 1580-1160 years BC
- Country: Egypt
Karnak temple complex, is a famous monument located in the city of Thebes, the old capital of Egypt. This monument contains many ruins of temples, colossal statues, halls and towers, making it one of the Top 10 Most Famous Temples in the World.
Located east of the Nile, this temple was built between 1580 and 1160 BC. According to research, Karnak Temple is where the Egyptians worshiped the sun god Amun-Ree (the sun god), Montu (the god of war) and Mut (the wife of the sun god) and pharaoh kings for many centuries. The temple was built continuously by about 30 pharaohs in succession. Each Pharaoh wants to put his mark on Karnak temple with different architectural features.
With intricate architecture and many giant stone statues, the temple makes many visitors amazed. The first impression of the Karnak temple is the welcoming gate with two rows of massive sheep-headed lions – the symbol of the god Amun, the god of wisdom. With majestic grand gates, pavilions, great halls, many stone pillars, stone carvings and square pointed towers. The outermost door of the main temple is 43.6 m high, 113 m wide, the wall is 15 m thick, behind the door is a corridor with surrounding columns, which can connect to smaller temples. The most unique architecture of the temple is hundreds of stone columns with the original height of 16 m, the diameter of more than 1 m.
The special thing when visiting the temple is the inscriptions on the stone walls. It is quite interesting and special – because it is a prayer of the first Pharaoh. The inscriptions on it are symbols quite similar to the structure of the key, carved all around the Pharaoh. The walls of the temple are decorated with reliefs depicting the feats of the Pharaohs in a very vivid way.
After thousands of years of existence, Karnak is still considered by the Egyptians as the holiest temple in their country. The Karnak Temple in Egypt was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1979.
Borobudur Temple
- Name: Borobudur or Ba La Phu Do Temple
- Architectural design: Javanese Buddhist architecture
- Area: 0.25 ha
- Year of construction: VIII – IX centuries
- Country: Indonesia
Borobudur is a large temple complex in central Java, Indonesia, one of the largest Buddhist temples and monuments in the world. Located on the top of a hill in the middle of a fertile plain, Borobudur stands out in the middle of the basin, surrounded by mountains and forests. The temple was built between the 8th and 9th centuries under the Sailendra dynasty in the Javanese Buddhist architectural style. It is also one of the Top 10 Most Famous Temples in the World.
Borobudur temple has 12 floors, stacked including six square, three round and topped with a round roof. The temple is decorated with 2672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The top dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each of which is housed in a relief. The entire temple is built with 3000 stones arranged in a square plan of 2500 m^2. From the foot of the hill, guests have to climb more than 15 meters to reach the temple floor. The structure of the temple consists of 12 large, small, square and round open-air platforms, alternating, overlapping each other to form a 42-meter-high block. The length of each bottom base edge is 123 m. If you climb up each floor and walk along the circumference of all 12 floors, the total is 5 km.
The first floor (from the foot of the hill) has a square plan, each of the four sides is aligned in four directions: East, West, South, North.
About 7.38 m between each edge, there are large stone lions flanking both sides. Each animal statue is 1.7 m high including the pedestal, 1.26 m long, and 0.8 m wide. The lion’s mouth bared its teeth, the mane hair on the back, neck, and chest stood up looking very fierce. The tail of the beast bends backwards. Of the eight lions on the four sides, some have been completely cut and carved. Some are still in unfinished, unfinished form.
The second floor of Borobudur temple is 1.52 m from the first floor, not built in a square shape like the first floor, but a polygon with a total of 20 sides. However, there are still four large edges facing the 4 directions of the sky, between these 4 large edges there are 4 levels. The two sides of the level have curved railings that show great sophistication. At the end of the railing is a large elephant head, in the elephant’s mouth is a lion, and the other end of the railing is the image of a herd of lions, the snout is wide open, the back is leaning against the wall.
From the 3rd floor upwards, the tower is built in a square shape, but the top 3 floors are built in a circular shape. On each floor, there are many pictures carved outside depicting temples, Buddha statues, etc. The top of the tower is a round bell-shaped roof.
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All the steps from the 1st to the 9th floor are covered with elaborately carved reliefs depicting the life of Buddha Shakyamuni, bodhisattvas and other enlightened Buddhas. , and even scenes above nirvana or hell. Particularly, the top three floors are flat and smooth with 72 lattice-shaped bell towers.
Today, Borobudur is still used as a pilgrimage site. In addition, this is the most popular tourist attraction in Indonesia. The temple was recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage in 1991.
Akmshardham Temple
- Name: Akmshardham Temple Complex
- Architectural style: Hinduism
- Area: 0.75 ha
- Year of construction: 2005
- Country: India
Akshardham Temple – Top 10 Most Famous Temples in the World, is located on the banks of the Yamuna River, about 10km east of the center of New Delhi, India. Akshardham means eternal peace, the sacred abode of the Most High, the abode of eternal values.
Akshardham is the most magnificent stone Hindu temple complex in India, which started construction in 2001 and was completed in 2005. The main point of the complex is the Akshardham temple built of marble. of Carrara of Italy and sandstone of Rajasthani, absolutely no steel materials were used in the construction process. Sandstone (pink) symbolizes unchanging devotion and marble (white) symbolizes absolute purity and eternal peace.
The main temple is an architectural masterpiece 43 meters high; 96.5 meters wide; 108.5 meters long. Includes 234 intricately carved stone pillars; 9 domes; and over 20,000 images of perfectly sculpted hermits (sadhus), devotees and gurus (archaryas). The base of the temple is decorated with a series of bas-reliefs of 148 Gajendra (Heavenly Elephants) elephants, as big as life-size, weighing three thousand tons, showing the importance of elephants in culture and Hindu history, symbolizing peace, beauty and tenderness.
The main point in the complex of Akmshardha temple architecture. The architecture of this temple shows the nature and importance of ancient Indian architecture. In addition to the unique structure, inside the temple, there are many exquisite patterns, many statues, and many perfectly beautiful reliefs. Outside the four sides of the temple’s walls, there are many scenes, many elaborately and beautifully crafted images. Around the main hall are special altars to pay respect to other traditional Hindu deities such as Shri Sita-Rama; Shri Radha-Krishna; Shri Lakshmi-Naraya; and Shri Shiva-Parvati.
Akmshardha Temple is one of the important destinations for tourists when visiting New Delhi, India.
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Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple
- Name: Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple
- Architectural design: Dravidian architecture
- Area: 63 ha
- Year of construction: AD 894
- Country: India
Referring to religion, it is impossible to ignore India – the cradle of religious civilization. The most prominent is the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam which is an important temple, welcomes millions of visitors and pilgrims every year, it is also the temple named in the Top 10 Most Famous Temples in the World. It is the largest important Hindu temple in the world (Ankor being the second largest).
The overall temple is very massive: It surrounds an area of about 63 hectares with 7 concentric walls, the outer wall is about 4 km long. Sri Ranganathaswamy temple is very famous because the entrance is under the colorful pyramids. The temple has 21 overall aisles, the largest aisle has 15 floors and has a height of nearly 60 meters. This work includes 21 towers, the largest tower has a height of 73 m. Over the centuries, the temple grew larger and larger than its original size.
The Sri Ranganathaswamy temple was built for Vishnu, one of the three gods in Hinduism. The Hindu temple was completed in AD 967 and was built primarily of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to ornate wall carvings that are still clearly visible today.
Baalblek Temple
- Name: Baalblek Temple
- Area: 0.034 ha
- Architectural design: Roman architecture
- Year of construction: 1st century BC
- Country: Lebanon
As one of the Top 10 Most Famous Temples in the World, the name mentioned here is Baalblek Temple. If you are attracted by giant stone structures or Egyptian pyramids, the Baalbek temples will not disappoint you. Part of these ruins lies on the Litani River in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon during the Roman period, it is called the Temple of Jupiter.
From the 1st century BC and over the course of two centuries, the Romans built three temples here named after the stars: Jupiter, Mercury and Venus, forming a complex the largest temple in the Roman Empire. The Baalblek Temple of Jupiter is lined with 54 giant Granite columns, each face has a height of 21 m. Only 6 of these pillars are still standing today and they are extremely impressive. The best preserved temple on the site is that of Bacchus built in 150 AD. The ancient Roman temple was dedicated to Bacchus, also known as Dionysus, the Roman god of wine.
The Temple of Jupiter is truly one of the most impressive ancient temples in the world. Measuring 88 x 48 meters and standing on a platform or platform, leading up to it is a ladder. This platform is 13 meters higher than the surrounding terrain. There are a total of 24 such rocks next to each other in the temple complex, the smallest one is about 300 tons, measuring 20 x 5 x 5 m. The wonderful horizontal two-stone architecture consists of a row of three stones located on the west side of the Temple of Jupiter, each weighing no less than 750 tons. However, the lack of architectural mastery in the layout of the stones by the Romans made these rocks messy and the purpose of this massive stone construction still remains. is a mystery to this day.
The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
- Name: Cathedral Church of Christ the Savior
- Architectural design: Eastern Roman Cathedral
- Year of construction: 1883
- Country: Russia
Next in the Top 10 Most Famous Temples in the World is the The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Russia. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior, also known as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, is the tallest and largest Russian Orthodox church in the world. The church is located in Moscow (Russia), on the banks of the Moskva River. The church was originally built in 1883, demolished in 1931 under Stalin, and faithfully rebuilt according to the old model during 1995-2000.
Design and construction preparation work lasted for decades, and many structures for the Temple of Christ – the Savior have been launched. At first, Alexander I approved a Neoclassical architecture, bearing the seal and symbol of Freemason. But when the next tsar was Nicholas I, a patriot and extremely devout Orthodox, a new design was introduced, sampled from the Byzantine cathedral (the Hagia church). Sophia in Constantinople).
With a height of 103 m, the Temple of Christ – the Savior is the largest orthodox temple. The inner main hall of the church is surrounded by a two-story corridor, the walls of the church are paved with granite, marble and other precious stones. The ground floor of the onion is a memorial to Russia’s victory over Napoleon. The walls are paved with more than 1,000 square feet of white Carrara marble, on which are listed the main commanders, regiments, and battles of the Patriotic War of 1812. Second floor of the corridor. is for the church choir.
Every year, many tourists visit this place, they kneel for many hours to pray in the sanctuary, in the ringing of the largest bell cast in the twentieth century of Russia, making the temple even more sacred.
Church of Saint Sava
- Name: Church of St. Java
- Area: 0.035 ha/floor
- Architectural style: Serbia-Byzantine
- Year of construction: 1985
- Country: Serbia
Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, is home to the largest Orthodox Church of Saint Java in the world and among the largest in the world. The church is dedicated to Saint Sava, founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church and an important figure in medieval Serbia. Construction on this structure began in 1985, but most of the work was only completed in 2004.
The Church of Saint Java is shaped like a Greek cross. It has a large central dome supported on four pillars protruding on each side by a lower semi-dome over a memorial. Beneath each semi-arch is a collection supported on a scroll. The dome is 70 m high, while the main gilded cross is 12 m high, totaling 82 m with the height of the Church of Saint Sava. The highest peak is 134 m above sea level 64 m on the Sava River; Therefore, the cathedral holds a dominant position in the cityscape of Belgrade and is visible from all approaches to the city.
The church is 91 m long from East to West, and 81 m from North to South. It is 70 m high with the main gilded diagonal extending by 12 m. Its domes have 18 gilded crosses of various sizes, while the bell tower has 49 bells of the Foundry Grassmayr Austrian bell. It has a surface area of 3,500 m2 on the ground floor, with three 1,500 m2 galleries on the first floor, and a 120 m2 gallery on the second floor. The Church can accept 10,000 members at any time. The basement contains a crypt, the treasury of Saint Sava, and the cathedral of Saint Lazar with a total area of 1,800 square meters.
The total painted area of the dome is 1,230 m2. This is one of the largest curved areas decorated with mosaic technique. The total weight of the mosaic is 40 tons. The central fresco depicts the ascension of Jesus and represents the resurrected Christ, seated on a rainbow and right hand raised in blessing, surrounded by four angels, the Apostles and the Theotokos. This composition was inspired by the mosaic in the main dome of St Mark’s Cathedral in Venice.
Jetavanaramaya Tower
- Name: Jetavanaramaya Tower
- Architectural design: Buddhism
- Area: 5.6 ha
- Year of construction: III century
- Country: Sri Lanka
Coming to the ancient city of Anuradhapura, you cannot ignore the strange monument of Jetavanaramaya tower, which is a skyscraper stupa, located in the ruins of the giant Jetavana monastery. The tower is one of the tallest surviving structures in the ancient world and in the Top 10 Most Famous Temples in the World.
In the 3rd century, this Jetavanaramaya stupa was built by the king to accommodate up to 10,000 Mahayana Buddhist monks. This tower was built in an architectural complex of about 5.6 hectares. The height of the tower is 122 m, with an area of 233,000 m2. At the time of its completion, it was the third tallest structure in the world after the Pyramids of Giza. About 93,300,000 baked bricks were used to build the tower with the ingenious and sophisticated round roof technique.
The Jetavanaramaya stupa belongs to the Sagalika sect and it is estimated that 10,000 Buddhist monks practice here. Here is keeping a part of the belt the Buddha used to wear.
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The Temple of the Jaguar
- Name: The Temple of the Jaguar
- Area: 0.0006 ha
- Architectural design: Mayan architecture
- Year of construction: IV century BC
- Country: Guatemala – Central America
Last in the article Top 10 Most Famous Temples in the World is the Grand Jaguar Temple. The Grand Jaguar Temple is located in the Petén Basin area of Guatemala, the ruins of the ancient citadel of Tikal, an ancient city found in a rain forest in eastern Guatemala, about 60 square kilometers, is one of the great cities of civilization. Maya civilization and is one of the largest cities in the world. Here, archaeologists have discovered 3,000 structures on an area of 6 square miles, with more than 200 monuments of stone sculptures and altars. This is one of the largest Mayan pyramids.
The Grand Jaguar Temple was built in an ancient architecture, with a stairway in the middle, and the sides around the temple are also made in the form of stairs. At the top of the temple is an area with a dome structure, where there is a small door leading to the inside of the temple and the interior layout is the same. The temple is 47 m high, with very steep steps.
Grand Jaguar Temple is a very attractive destination for tourists with the nickname “City of Sound”. The architectural complexes here were declared by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 1979.
These temples are all masterpieces of temple architecture. It is not only a sacred place of worship but also an ideal tourist destination that attracts tourists from all over the world. Each temple is a symbol for that country, showing the lifestyle and culture of each different region in the world. Hopefully the article Top 10 Most Famous Temples in the World of top10theworld.com will bring useful information to readers.
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