Still standing🛕 Temple & religious buildingMiddle Ages & early modern
Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela
Lalibela is an important pilgrimage site of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The complex unites a distinctive building tradition with the religious conception of a sacred landscape that refers to Jerusalem.
Photo: Sailko · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Facts
- Place
- Lalibela, Ethiopia
- Civilisation / patron
- Zagwe dynasty and Ethiopian Christian communities
- Built
- c. 1181 – 1221
- Status
- Still standing
- UNESCO World Heritage since
- 1978
- UNESCO World Heritage
History
The churches of Lalibela were carved from volcanic rock, some as free-standing monolithic buildings. Trenches, tunnels and processional routes connect the sanctuaries, including the cruciform Bete Giyorgis. Traditional attribution to King Lalibela accounts for the usual dating, although research points to multiple construction phases. The churches remain in religious use and require ongoing maintenance to counter erosion and water infiltration.
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Sources: Wikipedia — Rotskerken van Lalibela