Site type guide
Monastery
Monasteries are sacred places of discipline, retreat, learning, hospitality, and pilgrimage, often set within landscapes chosen for solitude or spiritual power.
388 monastery sacred sites. Use the country and tradition filters to narrow in.
Atlas summary
Monastery sacred sites overview
Monastery sacred sites span countries, traditions, pilgrimage routes, and sacred landscapes represented in the Pilgrim Map atlas.
Use this guide to compare major country clusters, represented traditions, UNESCO-tagged places, and the map distribution before opening individual site pages.
| Coverage | 388 monastery sacred sites across the current atlas. |
|---|---|
| Major countries | |
| Traditions | |
| UNESCO heritage | 38 UNESCO-tagged monastery sites appear in this browse view. |
All sites
388
Showing 1-48 of 388 sites in this site-type guide
Abbaye Saint-Martin de Ligugé (Ligugé Abbey)
Ligugé, Vienne, France
South of Poitiers, a community of Benedictine monks lives today on the ground where Martin of Tours laid down his soldier's life around 361 CE to found what is widely...
Abbazia di Casamari
Veroli, Frosinone, Italy
Casamari has held a near-continuous Cistercian monastic presence for roughly a thousand years, its 1203-1217 church and cloister considered one of the two finest examples...
Abbazia di Montecassino
Cassino, Frosinone, Italy
Montecassino is the mother house of Western monasticism, founded around 529 CE by Saint Benedict of Nursia, who is entombed here beside his twin sister Scholastica....
Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani
Trappist, Kentucky, United States
Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky, belongs within Christian monastic tradition....
Abbey of Saint-Martin-du-Canigou
Casteil, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
In 1005, a father haunted by the murder of his son began building a monastery on a cliff face 1,094 meters above the Pyrenees....
Abhayagiri Vihara
Anuradhapura, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
Founded around 89 BCE by a king fulfilling a vow of vengeance and restoration, Abhayagiri grew into one of the ancient world's most cosmopolitan Buddhist institutions — a...
Abu Mena
Izbat Muhammad Farid, Alexandria, Egypt
In the desert southwest of Alexandria, a Roman soldier's martyrdom gave rise to one of Christianity's earliest and greatest pilgrimage centers....
Agia Triada Monastery
Chania, Crete, Greece
Agia Triada Monastery rises from the Akrotiri Peninsula near Chania, a 17th-century complex where Renaissance proportions serve Orthodox devotion....
Agiou Panteleimonos Monastery
Mount Athos, Mount Athos, Chalkidiki, Central Macedonia, Greece
Its inclusion on Monastic Resident body of Mount Athos is supported by the reviewed route, religious, heritage, and structured-canonical subject consulted records....
Agiou Pavlou Monastery
Mount Athos, Mount Athos, Chalkidiki, Central Macedonia, Greece
Agiou Pavlou Monastery is treated here as the exact whole-site entity in Mount Athos, Mount Athos, Chalkidiki, Central Macedonia, Greece, not as a route label or nearby...
Aglag Buteel Monastery
Bornuur, Töv, Mongolia
Aglag Buteel Monastery is a monastery in Bornuur, Töv. For Aglag Buteel Monastery, the reviewed sources place it within Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia....
Ajina-Tepa Buddhist Monastery
Kizilsoy / Vakhsh District, Khatlon Region, Tajikistan
Ajina-Tepa Buddhist Monastery is a documented monastery in Kizilsoy / Vakhsh District, Khatlon Region, Tajikistan, connected with Buddhism....
Akhali Shuamta Monastery
Telavi, Kakheti, Georgia
Akhali Shuamta Monastery is part of the sacred and cultural geography of Telavi, Georgia....
Akhtala Monastery
Akhtala, Lori, Armenia
Akhtala Monastery is a documented monastery in Akhtala, Lori, Armenia, connected with Armenian Apostolic Christianity....
Aladzha Monastery
Golden Sands / Varna, Varna Province, Bulgaria
Aladzha Monastery is a documented monastery in Golden Sands / Varna, Varna Province, Bulgaria, connected with Bulgarian Orthodox Christianity....
Alchi Gompa, Ladakh
Alchi, Ladakh, India
On the valley floor by the Indus in western Ladakh, Alchi preserves the finest surviving early western-Himalayan Buddhist art....
Alcobaça Monastery
Alcobaça, Leiria, Portugal
Founded in 1153 by King Afonso Henriques as the mother house of the Cistercian order in Portugal, Alcobaça is the largest church in the country and the burial site of King...
Alvastra Abbey
Västra Tollstad, Östergötland, Sweden
At the foot of Mount Omberg beside Lake Vattern, the ruins of Sweden's oldest and most important monastery stand open to the sky....
Amarbayasgalant Monastery
Baruunbüren, Selenge, Mongolia
At Baruunbüren, Amarbayasgalant Monastery marks a monastery documented in relation to Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia....
Arapovo Monastery
Zlatovrah / Asenovgrad, Plovdiv Province, Bulgaria
In Zlatovrah / Asenovgrad, Arapovo Monastery belongs to the documented landscape of Bulgarian Orthodox Christianity....
Arbroath Abbey
Arbroath, Scotland, United Kingdom
Arbroath Abbey stands in Scotland as a major monastic site. At Arbroath Abbey, Christian monastic tradition provides the public sacred context....
Ardfert Cathedral
Ardfert, Kerry, Ireland
Ardfert Cathedral is a nationally or regionally important monastic place in Republic of Ireland. Ardfert Cathedral is interpreted here through Christian monastic tradition....
Ardvi Monastery
Ardvi, Lori, Armenia
Ardvi Monastery is a documented monastery in Ardvi, Lori, Armenia, connected with Armenian Apostolic Christianity....
Bachkovo Monastery, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Bachkovo, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Bachkovo Monastery has held its ground for nearly a thousand years in the Rhodope Mountains, founded by a Georgian commander serving Byzantium and sustained through...
Bakonybél Saint Maurice Monastery
Bakonybél, Bakonybél, Veszprém County, Hungary
Bakonybél Saint Maurice Monastery is a documented monastery in Bakonybél, Hungary, held within Roman Catholic Christianity....
Baldan Bereeven Monastery
Ömnödelger, Khentii, Mongolia
In Ömnödelger, Baldan Bereeven Monastery belongs to the documented landscape of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia....
Ballintubber Abbey
County Mayo, Mayo, Ireland
Ballintubber Abbey belongs among the significant monastic places of Republic of Ireland. The sacred frame at Ballintubber Abbey comes from Christian monastic tradition....
BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham
Robbinsville, New Jersey, United States
BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, belongs within Hinduism....
Bardzrakash Saint Gregory Monastery
Dsegh, Lori, Armenia
Bardzrakash Saint Gregory Monastery is a documented monastery in Dsegh, Lori, Armenia, connected with Armenian Apostolic Christianity....
Barsana Monastery, Romania
Bârsana, Maramureș, Romania
Barsana Monastery rises from a plateau above the Iza River in Maramures, northwestern Romania....
Basarbovo Monastery
Basarbovo, Ruse, Bulgaria
Basarbovo Monastery is carved into limestone cliffs above the Rusenski Lom river in northeastern Bulgaria. It is the only active cave monastery in the country....
Basgo Gompa, Ladakh
Nimo, Ladakh, India
On a hill above the Indus, the eroded ramparts of the Namgyal kings' citadel hold three temples to Maitreya, the future Buddha....
Basingwerk Abbey
Greenfield, Wales, United Kingdom
Basingwerk Abbey is a nationally or regionally important monastic place in Wales. Basingwerk Abbey is interpreted here through Christian monastic tradition....
Batalha Monastery
Batalha, Leiria, Portugal
King João I vowed a monastery to the Virgin Mary before the 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota, and construction of Batalha continued, on and off, for more than a century...
Battle Abbey
Battle, England, United Kingdom
Battle Abbey belongs among the significant monastic places of England. The sacred frame at Battle Abbey comes from Christian monastic tradition....
Bective Abbey
County Meath, Meath, Ireland
Bective Abbey belongs among the significant monastic places of Republic of Ireland. The sacred frame at Bective Abbey comes from Christian monastic tradition....
Bektashi Sufi Tekke monastery, Blagaj
Dračevice, Herzegovina-Neretva, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Built into a cliff face at the source of the Buna River, the Blagaj Tekke has held continuous prayer for over five centuries....
Bélapátfalva Cistercian Abbey Church
Bélapátfalva, Bélapátfalva, Heves County, Hungary
Bélapátfalva Cistercian Abbey Church is a documented monastery in Bélapátfalva, Hungary, held within Roman Catholic Christianity....
Beočin Monastery
Beočin, Beočin, South Bačka District, Serbia
Beočin Monastery is a documented monastery in Beočin, Serbia, held within Eastern Orthodox Christianity....
Betania Monastery
Kojori / Tbilisi area, Kvemo Kartli / Tbilisi, Georgia
Betania Monastery is a documented monastery in Kojori / Tbilisi area, Kvemo Kartli / Tbilisi, Georgia, connected with Georgian Orthodox Christianity....
Bgheno-Noravank Monastery
Bardzravan, Syunik, Armenia
Bgheno-Noravank Monastery is a documented monastery in Bardzravan, Syunik, Armenia, connected with Armenian Apostolic Christianity....
Bigorski Monastery of Saint John the Baptist
Rostuše, Rostuše, Mavrovo and Rostuša Municipality, Polog Region, North Macedonia
Bigorski Monastery of Saint John the Baptist is a documented monastery in Rostuše, North Macedonia, held within Eastern Orthodox Christianity....
Blagoveštenje Monastery
Ovčar Banja, Ovčar Banja / Čačak, Moravica District, Serbia
Blagoveštenje Monastery is a documented monastery in Ovčar Banja, Serbia, held within Eastern Orthodox Christianity....
Bodbe Monastery
Sighnaghi, Kakheti, Georgia
Bodbe Monastery stands in Kakheti, Georgia, as a documented monastery associated with Georgian Orthodox Christianity....
Bomdila Monastery, Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh
Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh, India
High in the West Kameng hills of Arunachal Pradesh, Bomdila Monastery is a Gelugpa Buddhist centre built as a faithful replica of the Tsona Gontse monastery of southern...
Bonamargy Friary
Ballycastle, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Bonamargy Friary belongs among the significant monastic places of Northern Ireland. The sacred frame at Bonamargy Friary comes from Christian monastic tradition....
Bonneval Abbey
Aveyron, France
Founded in 1147 as a Cistercian house in a secluded Aveyron valley, Bonneval was ruined by plague, war, and revolution, then raised again in 1875 by Trappistine nuns who...
Boyle Abbey
Boyle, Roscommon, Ireland
Boyle Abbey is a nationally or regionally important monastic place in Republic of Ireland. Boyle Abbey is interpreted here through Christian monastic tradition....
Showing 1-48 of 388 sites
Key questions
Monastery sacred-site questions
- What monastery sacred sites are included?
- Monastery sacred sites are places where this site type carries religious, ritual, cultural, or pilgrimage significance. This guide lists 388 in the current Pilgrim Map atlas.
- Where are these monastery sites located?
- Major country clusters include Armenia, Georgia, Greece, Serbia, United Kingdom, Bulgaria.
- Which traditions are represented?
- Traditions represented here include Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christianity, Christian monastic tradition, Armenian Apostolic Christianity, Georgian Orthodox Christianity, Buddhism.
- Can I view monastery sacred sites on a map?
- Yes. Compare the country and tradition clusters, switch to map view for geography, then use site pages for practical context and related places.