ArtWay

Aesthetic life is as integral to being human as building sandcastles on the beach and giving your children names. Calvin Seerveld

Art and the Church

Europe websites about churches

 Websites about churches

 
PAN-EUROPEAN
 
Ars et fides. Ars et Fides is an international federation of associations of volunteer guides which, at present, numbers some forty groups in different European countries, serving tens of thousands of visitors every year in cathedrals and abbeys, pilgrimage sanctuaries and small village churches. This is an ecumenical organisation which provides free guided tours to visitors in European churches and cathedrals during the summer months. Its mission it is to inform contemporary visitors viewing historic Christian art and architecture about the Christian history, theology and biblical understanding linked to these monuments. There are 50 of these associations in seven European countries. www.arsetfides.eu (E, D, F, I, Sp, NL)
 
 
BELGIUM
 
ARC Netherlands/Belgium is an ecumenical organisation which provides free guided tours to visitors in European churches and cathedrals during the summer months. www.arcnederlandvlaanderen.eu  (NL)
 
Open kerken. Information about church buildings in Belgium and links to comparable organizations and websites in the rest of Europe. www.openkerken.be (NL,E,F,D)
 
Religieus Erfgoed Vlaanderen. An online databank for the religious heritage of Flanders consisting of convents, abbeys and churches. Gives information and advice for the preservation of these. www.religieuserfgoed.be (NL)
 
TOPA. Practical information, photo’s and descriptions of the monumental churches of Antwerp. www.topa.be (NL,F,E,D,I,Sp)
 
 
DENMARK
 
Kirkefondet. Website with information about churches. www.vejkirker.dk (Da)
 
Kirker i Danmark. With links to many churches. http://danmarkskirker.natmus.dk (Da)
 
 
ENGLAND
 
ARC UK is an ecumenical organisation which provides free guided tours to visitors in European churches and cathedrals during the summer months. Our participants are volunteers aged between 18 and 30. In return for giving up three or four weeks of their summer, they learn to live and work as part of a community, appreciate other cultures and make the stones speak. www.encounterarc.org.uk (E)
ESTONIA 
 
Teelistekirikud. www.teelistekirikud.ekn.ee/2012/en.php (Est, E, D, Fi, Ru, Sw, F)
 
 
FINLAND
 
Nettika. Website with information about churches. www.netikka.net/hans.bjorknas/yikire.htm (E, Fi, Sw)
 
Nordkirker. Info about churches in the arctic area of Norway, Sweden and Finland. www.nordkirker.net (No, Sw, Fi, E, D)
 
 
FRANCE
 
ARC France is an ecumenical organisation which provides free guided tours to visitors in European churches and cathedrals during the summer months. http://arcfrance.free.fr/pages/board_indexpag.html (F)
 
CASA. A Christian guild of volunteers welcomes visitors to religious sites in France every summer. Everyone who is prepared to share the aims of the organisation and is interested in the Christian tradition of such monuments is welcome to participate. www.guidecasa.com (F, E, D, NL)
 
Info about churches:
About the windows in Chartres cathedral:
 
 
GERMANY
 
ARC Germany is an ecumenical organisation which provides free guided tours to visitors in European churches and cathedrals during the summer months. www.arc-deutschland.org (D)
 
Info about churches:
 
 
ITALY
 
ARC Italy is an ecumenical organisation which provides free guided tours to visitors in European churches and cathedrals during the summer months. http://xoomer.virgilio.it/arc_italia  (It)
 
Ars et Fides Firenze. Ars et Fides is an international federation of associations of volunteer guides which, at present, numbers some forty groups in different European countries, serving tens of thousands of visitors every year in cathedrals and abbeys, pilgrimage sanctuaries and small village churches. This is an ecumenical organisation which provides free guided tours to visitors in European churches and cathedrals during the summer months. www.arsetfidesfirenze.it (It)
 
L'Associazione "Guarino Guarini" per l’Arte Cristiana, Torino. Promotes understanding of and studies the liturgical and theological content of Christian art, especially below the Alps. Linked to Ars et Fides. Organises lectures, guided tours of churches etc. www.associazioneguarini.org/index.php (It)
 
 
THE NETHERLANDS
 
ARC Netherlands/Belgium is an ecumenical organisation which provides free guided tours to visitors in European churches and cathedrals during the summer months. www.arcnederlandvlaanderen.eu  (NL)
 
Instituut voor Christelijk Cultureel Erfgoed van de RU Groningen. Has an archive of ca. 3000 old and contemporary, Protestant and Catholic churches in the Netherlands. http://kerken.eldoc.ub.rug.nl  (NL)
 
Websites about churches:
 
 
NORWAY
 
Kirkesøk. Church of Norway database of churches. Read about the 1623 Churches belonging to the Church of Norway, among them Norway’s most important cultural heritage sites. On the website you can also find information about which churches are open for visitors. www.kirkesok.no/eng (No, E)
 
Den Norske Kirke: Kirke – Kunst – Kultur. Pages on the website of the Norwegian (Lutheran) Church about church architecture, visual art, music and the cultural department.  
 
Nordkirker. Info about churches in the arctic area of Norway, Sweden and Finland.
www.nordkirker.net (No, Sw, Fi, E, D)
 
Veikirker. Links to a lot of Norwegian churches. http://veikirker.kirken.no  (No)
 
 
SCOTLAND
 
ARC UK is an ecumenical organisation which provides free guided tours to visitors in European churches and cathedrals during the summer months. Our participants are volunteers aged between 18 and 30. In return for giving up three or four weeks of their summer, they learn to live and work as part of a community, appreciate other cultures and make the stones speak. www.encounterarc.org.uk (E)
 
Websites about churches:
 
 
SWEDEN
 
Nordkirker. Info about churches in the arctic area of Norway, Sweden and Finland. www.nordkirker.net (No, Sw, Fi, E, D)