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Time Out
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The 8 European buildings named among the world's most beautiful
What would you say are humanity's most impressive creations? Sure, there are exquisite paintings and genius musical compositions, but the best of human creativity can also come in the form of some seriously impressive (and beautiful) architecture. To showcase the most show-stopping pieces of architecture and design on the planet, Time Out has just produced a list of the world's most beautiful buildings. Our 24-strong list celebrates beautiful buildings the world over, while exploring the moving inspiration behind them and the mind-boggling engineering that made constructing them possible. Claiming first place was the Taj Mahal, which was built as a mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal, the late wife of Emperor Shah Jahan and took 22 years to construct (talk about grand gestures, eh?). However, eight buildings from all over Europe were included in our ranking. The first European entry went to Hallgrímskirkja, a modernist and expressionist Evangelical-Lutheran church in Iceland, which claimed second place on the worldwide list. While its appearance is rocket-like, designer Guðjón Samúelsson took inspiration from Iceland's moody, rugged landscape, with the sloping edges to the church's façade mimicking cooled lava, and its white concrete finishing nodding to the snow-capped peaks behind Reykjavik. At number 10 is The Twist in Norway, a remarkably striking feat of engineering where a 90-degree-rotated bridge doubles as an art gallery, right in the heart of Kistefos Sculpture Park. Maggie's Centre in the UK comes in at number 19 – an innovatively designed space full of nods to nature, which was designed for cancer patients. The oldest entry for Europe is Rome 's legendary Pantheon, which dates back to 118-128 AD and features the largest unreinforced concrete dome on the planet. But it's not just the engineering that makes this facet so impressive. Every year on April 21, the 'oculus' of the Pantheon (that's the hole in its summit) casts light on a grill above the entrance and illuminates the entire courtyard. Pretty cool, right? These are the most beautiful buildings in Europe, according to Time Out Hallgrímskirkja, Iceland Fondation Louis Vuitton, France Trinity College Library, Ireland The Twist, Norway Sagrada Familia, Spain Pantheon, Italy Palmenhaus at Schonbrunn Palace, Austria Maggie's Centre, St James's Hospital, UK Did you see that Italy has been named the 'ultimate' solo adventure destination for 2025? Plus: .
Time Out
20-06-2025
- Time Out
The 24 most beautiful buildings in the world
1. Taj Mahal, India When was it built? 1632-1653 You might think you've made some romantic gestures in your time, but few acts of love can compete with those of Shah Jahan. After the death of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the Mughal Emperor commissioned the building of an appropriate mausoleum for her, and what it resulted in, 22 years later, was the Taj Mahal. It's thought the building's beauty was inspired by hers, and English poet Sir Edwin Arnold reportedly said that the palace was 'not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passion of an emperor's love wrought in living stones.' 2. Hallgrímskirkja, Iceland When was it built? 1945-1986 Reykjavik's Hallgrimskirkja might look like a rocket, but it is in fact a striking Evangelical-Lutheran church, and the largest place of worship in Iceland. Its façade nods to both modernist and expressionist architectural styles, but Guðjón Samúelsson, the building's lead designer, was inspired by the country's robust landscape. The sloping sides of Hallgrímskirkja's face resemble cooled lava, and its white concrete finishing enables it to blend with the mountainous backdrop. 3. The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt When was it built? 2550-2490 BC We couldn't curate a credible list of the world's most beautiful buildings without including some of the oldest, most stoic structures of all. Built (presumably) using a system of rams, sledges, ropes, leavers and rollers, the Pyramids of Giza were tombs for the pharaohs of Egypt's Old Kingdom to prepare them for life as gods after their death, and given construction began on the Great Pyramid more than four millennia ago, they've certainly stood the test of time. 4. Fallingwater, USA When was it built? 1936-1939 Surrounding ourselves even with just little hints of nature is good for our wellbeing, but Fallingwater, an extraordinarily-designed 1930s house, takes that to a whole 'nother level. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the building to be a weekend home for the Kaufman family. Featuring cantilevered terraces that protrude into the lush greenery, Fallingwater intertwines with the stunning surroundings of Bear Run Nature Reserve, cleverly built over a babbling waterfall (hence the name). The interior, built around a fireplace, features rocks cutting in from the outside. The entirety of the house is enveloped in the constant sound of ever-falling water. 5. Ad-Dayr in Petra, Jordan When was it built? First century AD Also known as the 'Rose City' because of the rose-red hue of the surrounding sandstone, Petra's outstanding beauty and unique architecture (buildings are half-built and half-carved into the rock face, with an innovative water management system enabling a population to settle) have earned it a worthy place as one of the eight wonders of the world. Ad-Dayr, the Monastery, is one of the ancient city's most-visited and most famous monuments. At 48 metres high, it's Petra's tallest stone façade. 6. Fondation Louis Vuitton, France When was it built? 2007- 2014 You might not think it at first glance, but Frank Gehry's 2014 masterpiece is inspired by classic, late nineteenth-century greenhouses – the kind that appear elsewhere on this list. The building's shape resembles a futuristic-looking ship ornamented with twelve glass sails – a structure Gehry apparently imagined as a 'magnificent vessel that symbolizes France's cultural vocation'. The sails are interspersed with white blocks known as 'icebergs' and its fragmented appearance is a nod to Gehry's signature deconstructivist architectural style. 7. Trinity College Library, Ireland When was it built? 1712-1732 Ireland 's largest library is so much more than a massive collection of books (though there are around 6 million printed volumes shelved here). Its 65-metre main chamber, called the Long Room, is an imposing, handsome space which has gradually been added to throughout the decades to house more and more books. It started as a single-story, plaster-ceilinged space and has since been built up to feature barrel-vaulted ceilings and an upper gallery, resulting in this famously moody, gothic reading room. 8. Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali When was it built? Thirteenth century, rebuilt in 1907 If you've never seen a mud-brick building before, start off strong with this majestic mosque, which is the largest example of this kind of architecture on the planet (and a UNESCO World Heritage Site). It's made of sun-baked earthen bricks which have been coated in sand, earth-based mortar and a coat of plaster. However, Mali's climate isn't kind to this kind of material, so every year the Crépissage de la Grand Mosquée takes place, an annual event where the local community come together to replaster the building – typically the women gather river water and the men gather clay and make plaster. 9. Nasir Ol Molk Mosque, Iran When was it built? 1876-1888 If you're looking for beauty in the minute details, seek out a mosque. Shiraz's Nasir Ol Molk Mosque, appropriately nicknamed the 'Pink Mosque', is a stellar example. Its crowning jewel is the prayer room, which is flooded with kaleidoscopic colour at sunrise, dreamily illuminating the walls' many intricate mosaics. But the mosque's exterior is just as impressive, with beautifully decorated pastel-hued tiles embellishing the entire building. 10. The Twist, Norway When was it built? 2016-2019 Ever been to an art gallery that doubles as a bridge? Well, head to Kistefos Sculpture Park in Norway, and you can. This stunning feat of infrastructure and architecture is appropriately named The Twist, and consists of a beam that rotates 90 degrees to connect the banks of the Ranselva River. Inside, the innovative use of light creates three different galleries: visitors are greeted by floor-to-ceiling glass on the north side, which offers panoramic views; a sculptural section with a slice of ceiling light in the middle; and a tall, moody space on the south side. 11. Sagrada Famila, Spain When was it built? 1882-today (due to be completed in 2026) They say good things take time, and more than 140 years after construction began, the work on Antoni Gaudí's masterpiece is nearly (like really nearly) done. The Sagrada Familia is scheduled to be finally complete by spring 2026, which would mark 100 years since its architect's passing, and it looks like all the waiting will be worth it. From the building's strange, Gothic-slash-Art Nouveau stylings to the intensely vibrant stained glass windows, the tree-like columns to the 'magic square', it's a unique melange of texture, colour, light and detail. 12. Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, Bangladesh When was it built? 1961-1982 Bangladesh's National Parliament House isn't beautiful in the dainty, romantic, classical sense, but you can't deny its impact. It was designed by world-famous architect Louis Kahn, originally to house the governmental quarters of East Pakistan until Bangladesh gained independence in 1971 while the building was still being constructed. Now, it stands as a symbol of democracy. A trademark of Kahn's designs is the manipulation of light – he believed natural light could transform a buildings' interior in a way no material means could – which is why the modernist façade features vast geometric holes. 13. Pantheon, Italy When was it built? 118-128 AD Whether you ponder the Roman Empire occasionally or daily, the Pantheon, which translates from Greek to mean 'honour all gods', stands as a monumental example of the ancient realm's engineering and design prowess. Its unreinforced concrete dome remains the largest of its kind on the planet, on top of being perfectly proportioned – the 43.3 metre diameter is the exact same distance as from the ceiling to the floor. Oh, and the hole in its summit – the 'oculus' or 'eye of the Pantheon' – casts a striking lighting effect on April 21 every year, when the midday sun hits a metal grill above the doorway and completely illuminates the courtyard outside. Stunning, eh? 14. Palmenhaus at Schonbrunn Palace, Austria When was it built? 1880-1882 A whole load of steel and glass might not sound like a particularly elegant mix of materials, but in Vienna, that combo has resulted in this exquisite greenhouse which dates back to the nineteenth century. Palmenhaus sits in Schonbrunn Palace's Dutch Botanical Gardens, and, despite its dainty-looking structure, it houses three different climates and 4,500 different plants. The central pavilion has a Mediterranean climate, the north side caters to cold-weather species and the southern one is tropical, and they're all connected by tunnels. 15. Bát Tràng Ceramic Community House, Vietnam When was it built? 2021 Bát Tràng, an ancient village nestled in the Gia Lâm district of Hanoi, has always been known for its pottery – the name literally translates to bowl workshop, after all. However, despite the village's age (it's been around since the eleventh century), one of its newest buildings is one of its most striking – the Bát Tràng Ceramic Community House. Insight from villagers, local artisans and pottery experts informed the design of this place, a bold, tiered structure which references the shape of potters' wheels. 16. Museum at Eldridge Street, USA When was it built? 1887 This building isn't only beautiful thanks to its Moorish, Gothic and Romanesque features, its striking windows and its grand façade, but also because of all its history. Originally built in 1887, when the US was experiencing a window of mass immigration and New York 's Lower East Side became the most densely populated Jewish community in the world, Eldridge Street Synagogue was the first in America to be purpose-built by eastern European immigrants. It was a proud display of their newly-found religious freedom, and though the population using it gradually declined, a generous restoration project, under which it became Museum at Eldridge Street, has restored it to its former magnificence. 17. Santuario de Las Lajas, Colombia When was it built? 1916-1949 Plenty of buildings come about out of necessity, but others are built in order to honour or remember, and it's the latter that led to the creation of this imposing Colombian Basilica. Perched on a 40-metre-high bridge over the Guáitara River, the site has been a pilgrimage destination since the eighteenth century, when it's thought a woman and her daughter witnessed an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Between 1916 and 1949, flying buttresses, pointy arches and ribbed vaults were constructed to replace the previous smaller shrine, giving the site a refreshed neo-gothic grandeur. 18. Museum of Old and New Art, Australia When was it built? 2011 If you want a building that's not just going to welcome you, but will actually take you on a journey, look no further than MONA. It's nestled into Triassic-period sandstone cliffs, around a 40 minute ferry ride from Hobart along Australia 's Derwent River, and its design is peculiar, but pretty darn cool. The whole idea was to not detract from existing properties in the area, so lots of the museum's exhibition spaces are dimly-lit, subterranean rooms, and there's also an art conservation area and theatre on site. Pharos is the newest part of the building, which was opened back in 2017, and it's accessible via two different tunnels. 19. Maggie's Centre, St James's Hospital, UK When was it built? 2020 Hospitals tend to be uncomfortable places characterised by too-bright strip lighting and unnervingly squeaky surfaces, but not at this Maggie's Centre. The charity has striven to build personal environments to support cancer sufferers and their families, and this space is comforting and stunning. Enormous, mushroom-shaped forms grow from the floors to form the tiered roofs, and the stems are deep enough to contain loos and lifts. The space is decorated with mostly natural materials – think cork-topped tables, resin floors and cascading potted plants. 20. Baháʼí Temple of South America, Chile When was it built? 2007-2016 Forget what you know about temples – this stunning place of worship in Chile is a striking deviation from tradition. The Baháʼí Community is a religion based on unity among all people, and this temple, with its nine gleaming glass veils, frames an airy, accessible place for worship that can accommodate 600 individuals. From inside, the dome's peak lets in light that's captured between the glass and translucent Portuguese marble on the building's interior. At sunset, the light fades from white to silver to ochre to purple. 21. Futuna Chapel, New Zealand When was it built? 1959-1961 Hidden away in the Wellington suburb of Karori is what is widely considered by the architecture community to be the most significant of New Zealand 's twentieth-century buildings. Futuna Chapel is a beautiful little space, originally commissioned by the Society of Mary, a Catholic religious group. Inside, you'll find marvellous displays of light over the floor and walls through the pretty stained-glass windows, wood, layers, a load of texture and plenty of sharp angles. 22. Komera Leadership Centre, Rwanda When was it built? 2022 This community and education hub near Lake Ihema in eastern Rwanda is a stunning recent build that thoughtfully incorporates its environment (known as vernacular architecture). Its name means 'to stand strong, and to have courage', and there are woven eucalyptus screens and brick patterns throughout the building, which are inspired by local 'Imigongo' artwork – a style thought to have originated in Rwanda several centuries ago. 23. National Holocaust Monument, Canada When was it built? 2017 It's our collective duty to learn from the past, and commemorating dark chapters in our history with such stark monuments is one way to encourage that vital introspection. Technically entitled 'Landscape of Loss, Memory and Survival', the details in Canada 's National Holocaust Monument have been thoughtfully designed to ensure it lives up to its name. The building's structure centres around six triangular volumes that form the Star of David, and it's organised around two planes – one ascends, pointing to the future, and the other descends into a space which features murals and photographs of the Holocaust to ensure it's not forgotten. 24. Enryaku-ji, Japan When was it built? 788 Kyoto has its fair share of temples, but Enryaku-ji is one of its prettiest. It's perched on top of Mount Hieizan in Kyoto's eastern mountain range, and the wider complex at one time comprised nearly 3,000 subtemples. It was founded by Saicho, a monk who introduced Tendai Buddhism to the region way back in 778, but after an attack by Japanese daimyō Oda Nobunaga in 1571 (who was trying to unite Japan), most of the original buildings were destroyed. Now, the majority of the ones left date from the Endo period, and they're clustered in three main areas: Todo; Saito and Tokawa.
Hans India
18-06-2025
- General
- Hans India
Denmark's tiny church celebrates community within 12 walls - one for each apostle
Copenhagen (Denmark): The latest addition to the Copenhagen skyline is a tall, 12-sided wooden building proudly bearing the sign 'Denmark's First Tiny Church.' The 76-square-metre construction was unveiled in the Nordhavn — 'North Harbor' — district on the outskirts of Copenhagen. After months of construction, it's now an outpost of the local Evangelical-Lutheran Hans Egedes Church. The parish's leaders saw a need for extra spiritual space as the Danish capital is expected to grow by 20 per cent over the next decade. 'At the old days, you build a church, and the church will make a community, and then you build the city. Today, it's the opposite,' project manager Johanne Dal-Lewkovitch said. 'You build the city, and then there's a need for a church. So it's a little bit strange.'
Toronto Star
17-06-2025
- General
- Toronto Star
A tiny church in Denmark celebrates community and coziness within 12 walls — one for each apostle
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The latest addition to the Copenhagen skyline is a tall, 12-sided wooden building proudly bearing the sign 'Denmark's First Tiny Church.' The 76-square-meter (818-square-foot) construction was unveiled Sunday in the Nordhavn — 'North Harbor' — district on the outskirts of Copenhagen. After months of construction, it's now an outpost of the local Evangelical-Lutheran Hans Egedes Church.
San Francisco Chronicle
17-06-2025
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
A tiny church in Denmark celebrates community and coziness within 12 walls — one for each apostle
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The latest addition to the Copenhagen skyline is a tall, 12-sided wooden building proudly bearing the sign 'Denmark's First Tiny Church.' The 76-square-meter (818-square-foot) construction was unveiled Sunday in the Nordhavn — 'North Harbor' — district on the outskirts of Copenhagen. After months of construction, it's now an outpost of the local Evangelical-Lutheran Hans Egedes Church. The parish's leaders saw a need for extra spiritual space as the Danish capital is expected to grow by 20% over the next decade. In Nordhavn alone, the former fishing port is already seeing an influx of new housing projects, bringing with them an estimated 40,000 new residents over the next four decades. 'At the old days, you build a church, and the church will make a community, and then you build the city. Today, it's the opposite,' project manager Johanne Dal-Lewkovitch said. 'You build the city, and then there's a need for a church. So it's a little bit strange.' In Denmark, a nation of 6 million people, more than 70% of the population are registered members of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church, but few Danes go to church on a regular basis. In fact, many go just once a year, on Christmas Eve. But this tiny church is expected to be popular for weddings, baptisms, funerals and other more intimate services because of its cozy interior. Only 40 to 50 people can fit inside its 12 walls — one wall for each apostle — beneath a skylight. 'One of the important things is that we also are different compared to other churches,' parish priest Christian Bro said. 'Here, we have a very, very small church and that creates a different room, another feeling.' 'It's one of the first in maybe a new modern church world, you can say,' Bro said. The 'Tiny Church' concept was first seen in Amsterdam suburb Almere Poort, where Dutch church leaders saw the need for a new location where believers could meet, talk and worship together. Echoing early Viking churches once seen across this Scandinavian nation, the new church is built almost entirely from wood, including recycled timber donated by a local flooring factory. It's insulated with newspapers, and the interior has been painted white to match the matte white rock surfaces seen in more traditional Danish churches. While its home is in Nordhavn for now, its metal stilts mean that it can be easily picked up and moved elsewhere. It can be 'put it up some other place where there's another need in another parish, maybe in Denmark," Dal-Lewkovitch said. 'I love the sun and the sky connecting to the ground inside the church,' she said. ___
