Religious Relics

Connected Sites: 48

Definition
WHS where notable religious relics are preserved. A "relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial." (wiki)

Map

Connected Sites

  • Santiago de Compostela
    Inscribed: 1985
    3.56
    230
    7
    bodies of Saints James, Theodorus and Athanasius
  • Vatican City
    Inscribed: 1984
    4.30
    617
    9
    St Peters eg Part of the "True Cross"
  • Venice and its Lagoon
    Inscribed: 1987
    4.52
    618
    19
    Relics of St Mark in the Basilica
  • Costiera Amalfitana
    Inscribed: 1997
    3.90
    295
    7
    Saint Andrew's relics
  • Naples
    Naples
    Italy
    Inscribed: 1995
    3.48
    440
    9
    Blood of St.Januarius
  • Brugge
    Brugge
    Belgium
    Inscribed: 2000
    3.96
    507
    21
    Holy Blood at Heilige Bloed Basiliek
  • Echmiatsin and Zvartnots
    Inscribed: 2000
    3.04
    146
    6
    Echmiatsin: The Holy Lance that pierced our Lord?s side by the Roman soldier during His crucifixion is among them. According to the tradition it was brought to Armenia by Apostle Thaddeus when he came to evangelize. The Lance is kept in the Cathedral Museum. The greatest relic of Armenian Church is the Right Hand of St. Grigor Lusavorich (St. Gregory the Illuminator). The relic is housed in a gold artwork depicting the sufferings of the saint. The third major relic is the piece of Noah?s Ark (kept in the Cathedral Museum). According to the tradition, it was given to St. Hakob (Jacob), Patriarch
  • Incense Route of the Negev
    Inscribed: 2005
    2.92
    82
    7
    Some human remains were found in one of Mamshit's churches. It is assumed they were connected to a Christian ritual.
  • Trier
    Trier
    Germany
    Inscribed: 1986
    3.48
    326
    9
    The Seamless Robe of Jesus, kept in the dom of Trier
  • Monastery of Geghard
    Inscribed: 2000
    3.39
    155
    4
    The monastery was famous because of the relics that it housed, the most celebrated the spear that wounded Christ on the Cross. Relics of the Apostles Andrew and John were donated in the 12th century (AB ev)
  • Mantua and Sabbioneta
    Inscribed: 2008
    3.16
    199
    7
    Basilica di Sant'Andrea: relic, called Preziosissimo Sangue di Cristo ("Most Precious Blood of Christ"), is preserved in the Sacred Vessels, according to the tradition was brought to Mantua by the Roman centurion Longinus. It was highly venerated during the Renaissance. The shrines are displayed only on the Good Friday, to the faithful and then brought out along the streets of Mantua in a procession. (wiki)
  • Reims
    Reims
    France
    Inscribed: 1991
    3.40
    299
    9
    In the Abbey: the remains of St. Remi (died 553), the Bishop of Reims who converted Clovis, King of the Franks, to Christianity
  • Reichenau
    Reichenau
    Germany
    Inscribed: 2000
    2.61
    186
    10
    Head of St. George, the relics of St Mark the Evangelist, and many others
  • Piazza del Duomo (Pisa)
    Inscribed: 1987
    3.80
    504
    14
    "The church (...) contains the bones of St. Ranieri, Pisa's patron saint".
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Siena
    Siena
    Italy
    Inscribed: 1995
    4.05
    382
    10
    The Basilica of San Domenico "contains several relics of St. Catherine of Siena, whose family house is nearby."
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Ravenna
    Ravenna
    Italy
    Inscribed: 1996
    4.13
    275
    8
    "The relics of Saint Apollinaris were transferred from the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe" to the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo "because of the threat posed by frequent raids of pirates from the Adriatic Sea."
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Val di Noto
    Inscribed: 2002
    3.35
    212
    11
    San Giacomo, Caltagirone: "the interior houses a relic, putatively the arm of St James, inside a silver box engraved with reliefs depicting the life of the saint".
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Nalanda
    Nalanda
    India
    Inscribed: 2016
    2.84
    31
    3
    "In Nalanda there is only one relic stupa which is the core of site no. 03. It was constructed by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC to consecrate the bodily remains of Sariputta." (AB ev)
  • Champagne
    Inscribed: 2015
    3.13
    226
    9
    Hautvillers Abbey: "In 841 a priest from Reims stole the relic of the body of Saint Helena from Rome and the reliquary was transferred to the abbey. (...) The remaining relics of St. Helena stayed in the monastery until the French Revolution broke out. The monastery was destroyed but the cellarer was able to hide the relics until they could be safely transported to Paris for public veneration again. They were then entrusted to the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and installed in their church, Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles de Paris, in 1819."
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Rome
    Rome
    Holy See, Italy
    Inscribed: 1980
    4.58
    667
    13
    Basilica of st John Lateran - Table from thre Last supper
  • Vézelay
    Vézelay
    France
    Inscribed: 1979
    3.07
    144
    8
    relics of St Mary Magdalene
  • Chartres Cathedral
    Inscribed: 1979
    3.50
    270
    9
    Since 876 the cathedral's site has housed a tunic that was said to have belonged to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Sancta Camisa. The relic had supposedly been given to the Cathedral by Charlemagne who received it as a gift during a crusade in Jerusalem.
  • Aachen Cathedral
    Inscribed: 1978
    3.73
    343
    19
    Since 1349 the Aachen Pilgrimage has attracted pilgrims from all over the world every seven years, to come and visit the city of Charlemagne, which has been Episcopal residence since 1930. Shown are the Aachen cloth relics, which according to tradition have been worshiped as baby Jesus’ diaper, John the Baptist’s decapitation cloth and Christ’s loin cloth.
    See www.aachen.de
  • Provins
    Provins
    France
    Inscribed: 2001
    2.88
    196
    13
    The Empress Galla Placidia is said to have presented Ancona with the relics of Judas Cyriacus. However, the saint's head was situated at Provins, which was brought over from Jerusalem by Henry I of Champagne, who built a church in this town to display it.
  • Quedlinburg
    Inscribed: 1994
    3.25
    212
    9
    One of Mary's hair is kept at Quedlinburg Abbey.
  • Polonnaruva
    Polonnaruva
    Sri Lanka
    Inscribed: 1982
    3.37
    155
    6
    When it was capital, it housed the tooth of Buddha (which now is in Kandy)
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Churches and Convents of Goa
    Inscribed: 1986
    3.27
    94
    10
    St Francis Xavier
  • Bordeaux
    Bordeaux
    France
    Inscribed: 2007
    3.26
    261
    7
    The crypt of the Basilica of Saint Severinus houses the sarcophagi of the saints Severinus, Delphin, Amandus of Bordeaux, Veronica and Bénédicte.
    See fr.wikipedia.org
  • Amiens Cathedral
    Inscribed: 1981
    3.41
    230
    12
    Apart from the head of John the Baptist, the cathedral also holds the relics of the saints Fermin, Honoratus of Amiens, Ulphia, Theudosia of Amiens and Marie-Nicolas-Antoine Daveluy, one of the Korean Martyrs. (wiki fr)
  • Syracuse
    Inscribed: 2005
    3.59
    251
    8
    "As of 2015 the cathedral holds a number of relics of St. Lucy, the patroness of the city: a number of bone fragments, a robe, a veil, and a pair of shoes." (wiki)
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Silk Roads: Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor
    Silk Roads: Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor
    China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
    Inscribed: 2014
    3.01
    200
    9
    The relics of Xuanzang are preserved at Xingjiao Temple
  • Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries
    Inscribed: 2018
    2.99
    76
    4
    "Tongdosa Temple does not enshrine an image of the Buddha, because there are relics of the Buddha enshrined in the Diamond Precept Platform." - ICOMOS
  • San Marino and Mount Titano
    Inscribed: 2008
    3.45
    298
    8
    The Basilica di San Marino houses the relics of Saint Marinus, the founder and patron of the Republic.
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
    Inscribed: 1998
    2.81
    306
    14
    "From the 11th to the 13th century "staging post" churches developed along the pilgrimage route, and in particular in France. Each of these was proud to house holy relics; indeed, the cult of relics was the mainstay of medieval pilgrimage." (Ab Ev) - The cult of relics is jointly linked to characteristic architectural creations, so much so that the term "pilgrimage church" is always used, even if by tradition and convenience, to designate buildings constructed from the end of the 12th century and which can be grouped by common architectural characteristics. (Nomination file, p. 5) Examples are the relics of Saint Foy in Conques, Saint Leonard in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, Saint Giles in Saint-Gilles du Gard, Saint Severin of Cologne in the Basilica of Saint Severinus in Bordeaux, Saint Quitterie in Sainte-Quitterie Church, Saint Bertrand in the Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges Cathedral, Saint Saturnin in the Basilica of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, Saint Amadour in the Saint-Sauveur Basilica of Rocamadour.
  • Paris, Banks of the Seine
    Inscribed: 1991
    4.20
    686
    20
  • Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles
    Inscribed: 2021
    3.92
    261
    12
    St. Anthony's chin and tongue at the Basilica of St. Anthony
  • Nikko
    Nikko
    Japan
    Inscribed: 1999
    3.74
    183
    10
    Okusha Hoto enshrines the remains of Tokugawa Ieyasu
  • Longobards in Italy
    Inscribed: 2011
    2.80
    232
    14
    Benevento - The church of S. Sophia: " The building was probably completed by May 760, when in the course of a most solemn ceremony, the relics of the twelve Holy martyr Brothers were moved to the apse from various cities around Italy. In 768 the temple, symbol of longobard spirituality, became the resting place for the relics of St. Mercurius and later for a further thirty-one martyr saints and confessors." (Nomination file, p. 199)
  • Kandy
    Kandy
    Sri Lanka
    Inscribed: 1988
    2.97
    195
    5
    Tooth of the Buddha
  • Istanbul
    Istanbul
    Turkiye
    Inscribed: 1985
    4.37
    493
    12
    (Topkapi) The Sacred Trusts (inc a Hair from the beard of Mohammed)
  • Florence
    Inscribed: 1982
    4.45
    592
    15
    San Miniato al Monte: "The crypt is the oldest part of the church and the high altar supposedly contains the bones of St Minias himself".
  • Ferrara
    Ferrara
    Italy
    Inscribed: 1995
    3.28
    238
    10
    The relics of San Leo are preserved in the right nave of the church of Santo Stefano.
    See it.wikipedia.org
  • Ferapontov Monastery
    Inscribed: 2000
    3.01
    25
    3
    "Securing the relics of Martinian and his subsequent canonization made it a place of pilgrimage and attracted many gifts and endowments." (AB Ev)
  • Assisi
    Assisi
    Italy
    Inscribed: 2000
    3.75
    253
    8
    At Santa Chiara: "Against the back wall of the crypt are some holy relics, including tunics worn by Francis and Clare, a shirt she embroidered, and some locks of hair Francis sheared from her head." – The Basilica of San Francesco holds the remains of Saint Francis in the crypt in the Lower Church.
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Arles
    Arles
    France
    Inscribed: 1981
    3.43
    288
    8
    Some parts of St. Anthony, in the Church of St. Trophime
    See findingsaintsrome.blogspot.nl
  • Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch
    Inscribed: 1991
    2.29
    221
    11
    A relic of St. Lazarus was stored in the church until a fire in 1090 which destroyed it
  • Anuradhapura
    Anuradhapura
    Sri Lanka
    Inscribed: 1982
    3.36
    141
    7
    Ruwanwelisaya - Lord Buddha relic
  • Ohrid Region
    Ohrid Region
    Albania, North Macedonia
    Inscribed: 1979
    3.41
    206
    7
    Saint Clement's relics can be found in the Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon in Ohrid.
    See en.wikipedia.org