My Tour of Unusual Churches Trivia Quiz

Answer: Grotto of St. Peter

Also known as the Cave Church of St. Peter, those who believe say that the Apostle Peter dug this cave himself and intended it as a secret meeting place for the early followers of Christ who regularly suffered from persecution.

The interior of the church is rather humble and contains just an altar, a single statue and a throne carved from the stone. However, there still remains faint evidence of frescoes on the walls and mosaics on the floor. Water trickles from the wall behind the altar and it is believed by both Christians and Muslims alike that this water has curative properties.

Between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries the grotto was discovered by the Crusaders who built a gothic styled decorative facade to the cave's entrance.

The Grotto of St. Peter was officially recognised by the Vatican and declared a holy site in 1983. It was still used for worship services, and usually saw a strong turnout on the Feast Day of St. Peter, until 2008 when parts of the cave began to collapse. It was closed by Turkish authorities in the interest of public safety.

Answer: Saint Sophia

It is no surprise that Saint Sophia Cathedral has a name similar to that of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, (formerly Constantinople). When the Grand Prince of Kiev, Yaroslav the Wise, defeated nomadic Asian tribes in the first half of the eleventh century, he wanted a building to commemorate his victory that would rival that of Justinian's famous church. Upon its completion, Saint Sophia became more than just a cathedral; it was both the political and cultural hub of Kiev. Diplomatic meetings were conducted there with foreign rulers, works of art were displayed and it was also the site of what is believed to be the first public library in the Russian region.

It is the thirteen vivid green and gold cupolas that top Saint Sophia which give it its distinct appearance. One large central cupola represents Christ while the twelve that surround it represent the Apostles. The interior walls and pillars are decorated with elaborate frescoes and mosaics, the largest of these standing six metres high and comprised of pieces of stone and glass depicting the Virgin Mary.

Answer: Rock-hewn Churches, Ethiopia

Originally known as Roha, the town was renamed in honour of King Lalibela of Ethiopia who, in order to gain support from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church against rivals to his throne, commissioned the building of these churches. His intention was to create a 'New Jerusalem' for people who were unable to undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Creating the Rock-hewn Churches was a painstaking process; they weren't merely carved out of exposed rocks already present at the site, but instead were created below ground level in ditches. The first step was for four trenches to be excavated on each side of the rock to expose a monolith that would then be carved to become the church. The roof of each church is on the same level as the ground that surrounds it. The deepest of these churches is the Church of St. George, (Bet Giorgis), which extends forty feet below ground level.

Local folklore claims the churches were completed within a little over twenty years and attribute the speed of this work to angels that came in the night and continued carving while the workers slept. The eleven churches are divided into two groups, Eastern and Northern, but all are connected by a series of narrow alleys. Dividing the two groups is a carved channel which was named the Jordan River in keeping with the idea of a 'New Jerusalem'.

The town of Axum, also in Ethiopia, is home to the Chapel of the Ark of the Covenant; one of a number of churches that claim to be in possession of this holy relic.

Answer: Whitewash

Locals on Mykonos lay claim to boasting 365 churches on their island; one for each day of the year. Paraportiani is perhaps the most well known and certainly the most visited. The shape of the church and the external whitewash finish does indeed give it the appearance of an iced wedding cake.

In all, Paraportiani Church comprises five chapels. Four of these are located on the ground level while the fifth is built on top of these four and forms the dome of the church. It is considered to be built in a classical Byzantine style. The first part was built in the fifteenth century and was added to in each of the two centuries that followed.

The name Paraportiani is derived from the fortress that used to stand on the same site. Translated from the Greek, 'para' meaning alongside and 'porta' meaning door, has led to the theory that the church was built right next to the entrance of the fortress.

Answer: Francis Greenway - Convict

Francis Greenway was an English architect of moderate success who, when he found himself bunkrupt, forged part of a building contract. His crime was discovered and in 1812 he was sentenced to death. This was later commuted to transportation to the penal colony of New South Wales for a period of fourteen years. Greenway arrived in Sydney in 1814.

When Lachlan Macquarie took over the governorship of New South Wales in 1810, he introduced changes that pleased some and angered others. His idea of a penal colony was that of a place where convicts could be reformed, not merely punished. He almost immediately introduced a 'ticket of leave' system whereby convicts who had proven themselves reliable, through their own good behaviour, where granted such tickets that enabled them to travel within certain boundaries for purposes of work and earning their own money. Francis Greenway was one who benefited from this system. Macquarie had heard of his abilities as an architect and so, in 1816, appointed him to the paid position of civil architect. Greenway's first design for the government was a lighthouse on Port Jackson, (Sydney Harbour), known as the Macquarie Tower. Governor Macquarie was so pleased with the result that he granted a conditional pardon to Greenway.

A courthouse was originally intended to be built on the site where St. James' Church now stands, but Governor Macquarie had been under fire for the rising costs of public works in the colony. Greenway's design for this courthouse was deemed too elaborate and so he made alterations to his plans and turned it into a church. It was built between 1820-1824 under the supervision of Greenway using convict labour and is considered to be one of the best examples of classic Georgian architecture of its kind. Although it is now nestled away amongst the urban sprawl of a modern city, the spire of St. James' once dominated the skyline of Sydney and was used as a landmark for ships entering the harbour.

Answer: Church of Bones

When looked at from the outside, the medieval gothic styled Church of All Saints is rather normal and unassuming. But further investigation below the church will reveal a chapel macabrely decorated with the bones of at least 40,000 deceased souls.

The grounds of this church originally housed the Sedlec Cistercian Monastery. In the late thirteenth century the King of Bohemia ordered the abbot of this monastery to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Whilst there, the abbot helped himself to a jar of soil from the supposed site of Christ's crucifixion. Upon returning to the monastery he sprinkled this soil throughout the cemetery that was also contained within the grounds. Word of his doing so travelled far and wide and it was not long before people were making known their desire to be buried in this sacred, holy soil.

The Church of All Saints was built on the burial ground in the fifteenth century. The remains of those who were buried there were exhumed in the following century and piled together in the ossuary below the main building. In the nineteenth century the grounds were purchased by the wealthy Schwarzenberg family who employed a local woodcarver to bring some sort of order to the piles of bones. The results of his labours are truly amazing. Not content with simply stacking the bones in a neat and orderly manner, he let his artistic abilities take over creating furnishings, wall decorations, a chandelier containing at least one of every bone in the human body, bell shaped mounds and a Schwarzenberg family coat of arms.

Answer: Antoni Gaudi

When construction of the Sagrada Familia began in 1882, it was intended to be a humble and modest building. But when the architect Antoni Gaudi took charge of the project the following year he decided to build on a much grander scale in his own unique style known as Catalan Modernism. After completing other projects, Gaudi devoted the last ten or so years of his life almost entirely to the Sagrada Familia, even building a workshop on the site where he tirelessly modified and adapted his plans. As well as drawing these plans, Gaudi made three dimensional scale models of his designs from plaster within his workshop. In 1926 he died from injuries sustained from being run over by a tram.

In 1936 during the Spanish Civil War, Gaudi's workshop was torched by anarchists and all of his plans and models were destroyed by the fire. This did not deter his fellow workers however. Familiar with Gaudi's designs and visions for the church, they continued construction remaining loyal and faithful to his unique style. Building of this church was still in progress at the beginning of the twenty-first century with an estimated finish date within the 2030's being given.

Answer: Spent cartridge shells

The creeping ivy covered building which is now known as Ruzica Church, (Rose Church), or the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God if you prefer, originally served as an arsenal to store gunpowder as it was built on the site of a fortress. It was converted into an army church in the second half of the nineteenth century.

The church suffered major structural damage during World War I and was rebuilt in 1925 from generous donations given by the women of Belgrade whose family members fought alongside the allied troops on the Macedonian Front. It was these soldiers who created the three chandeliers that adorn the church from spent cartridges, pistols, swords and cannon shells.

Answer: Liverpool

This Catholic church, whose name is usually shortened to Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, was built between 1962 and 1967 and serves as the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool. The architect behind the design was Frederick Gibberd who won a competition in 1959 to finish building a church on the site that was begun in the 1930's. This earlier design was the work of Sir Edwin Lutyens and would have been the world's second biggest church if it were completed. It was abandoned during World War II due to the rising costs of such a grand plan in troubled times.

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral is sometimes referred to by the locals as 'Paddy's Wigwam' and the 'Mersey Funnel' which are both accurate descriptions for its appearance. It really does look like a Native American tent or a funnel that has been upended so that its stem sticks up in the air.

Answer: Volcanic rock formations

Upon its completion in 1986, Hallgrimskirkja Church was the tallest building in the whole of Iceland but has since been surpassed. It was designed by former state architect of Iceland Guojonn Samuelsson and construction began in 1945. Contributing to such a lengthy building timeframe was that the local construction firm used comprised just one man and his son.

Hallgrimskirkja is a Lutheran church and is named in honour of the seventeenth century Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrimur Petursson. Concrete was chosen as the building medium so that the exterior would mirror the volcanic basalt rock formations that are readily found in Iceland. Housed inside the otherwise barely decorated church is a fifteen metre tall organ comprising 5,000 pipes.

Whilst making no claims to be a beautiful church, and opinion has been divided amongst the locals in this respect, Hallgrimskirkja dominates the Reykjavik skyline with its almost seventy-five metre tall steeple. Somewhat resembling a space shuttle preparing for take off, it has been suggested that the front of the church, including the steeple, is a representation of the geysers that are also a common feature of Iceland's landscape.