Churches and cathedrals
Churches, chapels, cathedrals and abbeys, inside and out. 58 photos
About this gallery
From great cathedrals to small village chapels, this gallery looks at churches both outside and in, through stone, stained glass and light.
In Niort, the neo-Gothic spires of Saint-André church rise above the town, seen from a park or from the river; in Anjou, the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires church in Angers shows its Romano-Byzantine architecture, in bands of white tuffeau and dark schist. The gallery also includes the arches and stained glass of Mont-Saint-Michel abbey, the basilica of Nancy, Poitiers cathedral and a small Romanesque church tucked into greenery at Buzy. In Galicia, the baroque facade of Santiago de Compostela Cathedral and its bell towers rise above the rooftops of the city. Inside, the mood changes: candles glowing in the dark, round or blue-and-pink stained-glass windows, gilded baroque altarpieces between two windows, a statue of Christ set in a stone niche. Several of these images, shot with long exposures, use blur to convey quiet contemplation rather than decoration.
These royalty-free photos suit stories about religious heritage, pilgrimage, a travel piece or an art history course; they are freely downloadable on Pexels.