Washington National Cathedral, Washington DC, USA
Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul known as the Washington National Cathedral is an Episcopalian Cathedral and the US national house of prayer located on Mt. St. Alban at Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues in Washington, DC. Washington National Cathedral was built by the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation which was granted a charter from the United States Congress to establish the cathedral on January 6, 1893. The construction of the cathedral began in 1907 when the US President Theodore Roosevelt laid the foundation stone and was finished with completion of the west towers in 1990 in the presence of President George H. W. Bush.
Design for the cathedral was made by architect Frederick Bodley. Philip Hubert Frohman was appointed as the chief architect after World War I. The cathedral is built in various Gothic architectural styles with a modern touch. With its 92 meter (301 feet) hight tower Washington National Cathedral is the sixth largest cathedral in the world and the second largest in the United States.
Washington National Cathedral housed many major events including the State funerals of Dwight Eisenhower in 1969, Ronald Reagan in 2004, Gerald Ford in 2007, presidential burial in the cathedral mausoleum for Woodrow Wilson and a memorial service for Harry Truman. Its pulpit was one of the last pulpits from which Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke before his assassination in 1968. The 9/11 memorial service was also held in Washington National Cathedral.
Lund Cathedral, Sweden
Lund Cathedral is a Lutheran Cathedral located in the center of Lund, Scania, Sweden. The construction of the cathedral began in 1085. The high altar of the crypt was consecrated in 1123 by its first Archbishop Ascer, while the main cathedral building was consecrated in 1145.
Among other treasures Lund Cathedral also houses an astronomical clock - the Horologium mirabile Lundense from 1424 which is still working, one of the biggest organs in Sweden, Gothic choir stalls from the 1370s, Gothic winged-altarpiece from 1398 and almost untouched crypt since its consecration in 1123.
Lund Cathedral is an excellent example of Nordic Romanesque architecture and one of the most impressive Swedish cathedrals.
Church of Hallgrímur, Reykjavík, Iceland
The Hallgrímskirkja or Church of Hallgrímur greatly resembling the rugged mountains and icecaps which dominate Iceland's landscapes is a Lutheran Church located on the hill Skolavorduholt in Reykjavík. The church is named after the Reverent Hallgrimur Petursson (1614-1674), Iceland's most beloved poet and author of the Passion Hymns.
