Chronography of Christian Buildings
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modified 22 September 2023
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Here for history of Christianity
Map of Christian areas of Europe, 11th
Century.
The growth
of monasticism in the early Church was a lay reaction to the perceived
departure from original Christian ideals that the Church had undergone in the
first few centuries after Christ�s death. However monasticism itself soon became
subservient to the Catholic Church.
1415, By the time of the Council
of Constance, this year, some 15,070 Benedictine abbeys
alone had been established across western Europe.
Austria
1707, The Kollegienkirche, Salzburg, was completed after 13 years construction.
1702,
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Salzburg, was finished after 8 years
construction.
1614, Salzburg Cathedral was founded.
698,
The Monastery of St Peters,
Salzburg, Austria, was founded.
Belgium
1500,
Antwerp Cathedral was
completed (begun 1352).
651,
The Benedictine
Monastery at Stavelot, Belgium, was founded.
Cyprus
327, The Monastery
of Stavrovouni, Cyprus, was built by order of St Helena, mother of Constantine the
Great.
Denmark
1135, The Monastery of St Peter
was founded at Naestved.
France
18 October� 1937, Rheims
Cathedral was re-consecrated.
1879, The Cathedral of St
Stephen at Limoges was finished aftef 603 years construction.
1411, The Celestine monastery at
Vichy was founded by Charles VI of France.
1380, The Cathedral
of St Etienne, Metz, was completed after 130 years construction.
1345, The Cathedral
of Notre Dame, Paris, was completed after 182 years under
construction.
1334, Construction of the Palace of the Popes, Avignon, began (completed 1362).
1311, Notre Dame Cathedral, Reims, was
completed after 99 years construction.
1268, The Cathedral of Notre Dame,
Amiens, was completed after 49 years under construction.
24 October� 1260, Chartres Cathedral, France, was
dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX. It had been under construction
for 66 years.
1227, Construction of the Saint Pierre
Cathedral, Beauvais, began.
1212, Construction work began on
Rheims Cathedral (completed 1311).
1204, The Cistercian Abbey of Port
Royal, SW of Paris, was founded by Mahaut de Garlande.
1163, Construction began on Notre Dame
Cathedral, Paris (completed 1235).
1155, Senlis Cathedral was
founded.
25
October� 1130, Pope Innocent III dedicated the
Abbey Church of Cluny.
1115, Clairvaux Abbey was founded.
21 March� 1098, C�teaux
Abbey was founded; the origin of the Cistercian Order. See 21
March� 1098 in main section above.
1096, Toulon
Cathedral was founded.
1084, The first Carthusian
monastery was founded by St Bruno� at
Chartreuse, in the mountains near Grenoble.
1 July 1067, William the Conqueror dedicated a new abbey
church at Jumieges.
1015, Building of Strasbourg
Cathedral began.
910,
Benedictine
Abbey of Cluny founded. It became the largest of its Order in
Europe.
660,
The Abbey of |Notre Dame at
Soissons, 110 km NE of Paris, was founded.
625,
Abbey of St Denis founded.
600,
Building work commenced on Arles Cathedral,
511,
The Convent of St Cesaire, Arles,
France, was founded.
430,
St Claud Monastery, Jura, was
founded.
Germany
14 August 1880. Cologne Cathedral
was completed; it was begun in 1248 (or 1270/5)
1628, Salzburg
Cathedral was completed (begun 1614).
1488,
Munich Cathedral founded.
1275,
Essen Benedictine monastery
was founded.
1137, Mainz Cathedral was completed.
1116,
The Cistercian monastery
of Eberbach was founded.
1059, Bonn
Cathedral begun.
1050,
The Benedictine
convent at Friedrichshafen was founded.
980,
Building of Mainz Cathedral began.
904,
Tbe Benedictine
Monastery of Luneberg was founded.
873,
Essen Benedictine nunnery
was founded.
853,
Essen Minster founded.
802,
The monastery at Munster was
founded. St Ludger
was the first Bishop (died 809).
796,
Aachen Cathedral wasd
founded by Charlemagne.
792,
Construction of Fulda Cathedral, Germany,began.
764,
Benedictine
monastery at Ottobeuren, Bavaria, founded.
763,
Benedictine
monastery at Lorsch, Hesse, founded.
736, The Benedictine Abbey of Hersfeld, Hesse,
was founded.
Greece
963,
The first monastery at Mount Athos
was established.
Ireland
1142, Mellifont Abbey, Drogheda, was founded; the
first Cistercians
establishment in Ireland.
Italy
1460, The Church of St
Sebastian, Mantua, was completed.
1450, The Vatican Library was
founded.
1434, The Duomo Cathedral
Cathedral, Florence, w\as completed after 140 years construction.
1428, The Church of San Lorenzo,
Florence, was completed by Filippo Bruneschelli, after 7 years
construction.
1386, Milan
Cathedral was begun.
1296, Construction of Florence Cathedral began.
1253, The Franciscan Monastery of
Assisi was completed.
1187, Verona
Cathedral was completed after 48 years of construction.
1184, Modena
Cathedral was consecrated after 85 years of construction.
1157, Aderno
Monastery, Sicily, was founded.
8 October� 1094, St
Marks Basilica in Venice was
consecrated.
8 October� 1085, The Cathedral
of St Marks in Venice was consecrated.
828,
St Marks, Venice, founded.
614,
Columban
founded the Monastery of Bobbio, northern
Italy.
13 May 609, The Pantheon in Rome was consecrated as
"St. Mary and the Martyrs" (informally known as "Santa Maria
Rotonda") by Pope
Boniface IV.
529, The Monastery of Monte Casino
was founded by St Benedict,
founder of the Benedictine
Order.
378, Ravenna
Cathedral was begun by St Ursus.
330, The first Basilica of St Peter was erected in Rome.It
was demolished in 1506 to make way for the present structure.
Portugal
1147, Lisbon
Cathedral built
Russia/USSR
1561, St
Basils Cathedral, Moscow, was completed after 27 years under
construction.
1393, Konevetz
Monastery, Lake Ladoga, was founded.
960, Valaam
Monastery, Lake Ladoga, was founded.
Spain
1401, The Cathedral
of Seville was founded (completed 1519). It stands on the site of a
mosque.
1350, The Cathedrals
of Palma (Majorca),was
completed.
1324, Burgos
Cathedral was consecrated.
1227, Construction work on Toledo Cathedral began.
781, Oviedo
Cathedral was first founded (rebuilt 1388-1528).
Sweden
1289, Uppsala Cathedral, Sweden, was founded.
1264, The oldest
church in Stockholm was founded, and dedicated to St Nicholas.
Switzerland
1275, The Cathedral of Notre
Dame, Lausanne, was consecrated by Pope Gregory X.
1220, Geneva
Cathedral was completed after 60 years of construction.
1027, The Benedictine monastery of Muri
was founded (suppressed 1841).
740, St
Leodegar monastery, Switzerland, founded.
714,
Benedictine
Abbey of Reichenau, Lake Contsance, founded.
United Kingdom
1 March� 1986, Ely Cathedral became the first cathedral in Britain to levy an
admission charge.
1895, Construction of the Catholic Cathedral at Westminister began.
14 May 1967. Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of
Christ the King was consecrated.
28 December 1966, Westminster Abbey celebrated its 900th
anniversary.
30 May 1962, Coventry�s new Cathedral was inaugurated. The
original mediaeval building had been destroyed by German bombers in November
1940.
25 May 1962. Coventry�s new cathedral, designed by Sir Basil
Spence, was consecrated.
17 May 1961. Guildford Cathedral was consecrated.
19 July 1924. Liverpool Cathedral was consecrated, although
it was not yet finished. Construction had begun in 1904.
28 June 1910. Westminster
Cathedral, Catholic, was consecrated.
17 July 1904. The foundation stone of the Anglican
Liverpool Cathedral was laid by King Edward VII.
1899, St
Annes, Belfast Cathedral, was begun.
29 June 1895, The foundation stone of Westminster
Cathedral, London, was laid.
20 May 1840. York Minster was badly damaged by fire.
5 December 1697. The first Sunday service was held in Sir
Christopher Wren�s new St Paul�s Cathedral (consecrated 2 December 1697), London;
the foundation stone had been laid on 22 June 1675.
23 March�
1540.
The Crown seized Waltham Abbey. It was the last of the great
monasteries to be seized by Henry VIII,
bringing to an end a four-year campaign
that had seen some 550 church properties, with their gold and jewels, pass to
the King. The total income from these properties was around �132,000 a year and
Henry VIII
gave some of this to his supporters.
11/1539, By now, in England, some 550
monastic institutions had been dissolved. Their lands, with an estimated income
of �132,000 per annum, had been accrued by the Court of Augmentation to the
Crown. Henry
VIII had also profited from the sale of former Church gold, silver
and lead to the value of �75,000.
30 November 1538, In England, Byland Abbey
was dissolved.
1536, The smaller monasteries of
England were now being dissolved, with the larger ones following by 1538.
16 October� 1536, York was occupied by
rebels against the takeover of the Church by King Henry VIII. This was the Pilgrimage of Grace (see also Britain)
Much of northern England, from Lincolnshire to north Yorkshire, was in uproar
at this takeover, the valuation of Church property, the suppression of smaller
monasteries, and the cancellation of some Saints day holidays. Led by Robert Aske,
rebels seized northern towns. Henry VIII made peace with the rebels and
issued a pardon, only to go back on this on a pretext in January 1537 and
execute the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace, including Aske.
21/1/1535, Henry VIII appointed Cromwell as vice-regent in
spiritual or vicar-general. Cromwell now
set about assessing the value of England�s monasteries.
See also Great Britain
for religious conflicts during 16th century
1460, Winchester Cathedral was
completed.
1405, Construction work on Bath Abbey began (completed 1499).
1378, St
Machar Cathedral, Aberdeen, founded.
13 February 1322, The central tower of Ely Cathedral in England fell.
1316, England had some 900
religious houses with 17,500 members; in 1216 the total was 700 houses with 13,000
members, and in 1066 just 50 houses with 1,000 monks and nuns. Over this period
the population of England had tripled.
1307, The towers of Lincoln Cathedral were completed.
1296, The Priory
of Friars of the Holy Trinity was established on Hounslow Heath,
Middlesex.
1293, An order of St Clare nuns
was established in London, the �Sorores Minores�. Set up by Edmund, Earl of
Lancaster, this gave its name to The
Minories today.
Westminister
Abbey London
19 June 1285. Westminster Abbey completed.
6 July 1245, King Henry III
laid the foundation sone for Westminister
Abbey, London. The Abbey, first founded two centuries earlier, would
be cmploetely rebuilt.
28 December 1065, Westminster Abbey
was consecrated.
1273, Sweetheart
Abbey (Cistercian), near Dumfries, Scotland, was
founded by Devorgilla,
Lady of Dumfries,in memory of her late husband, John Balliol.
13 October� 1269, King Hentry III of England
dedicated the Abbey Church at Westminster.
1258, Richmond
Friary, Yorkshire (Franciscan), was founded.
29 September 1258. Salisbury Cathedral was consecrated.
Construction had begun on 28/4/1220 when the foundation stone was laid..
1238, Inchmahome Priory
(Augustinian), Perthshire, was founded.
6 October� 1238, Peterborough
Cathedral was consecrated.
1232, The Augustinian
Priory of Selthorne, Hampshire, was founded.
19 June 1224, The foundation stone of Elgin
Cathedral was laid.
1204, Beaulieu
Abbey (Cistercian), Hampshire, was founded by King John.
1204, Medmenham
Abbey, (Cistercian),� Buckinghamshire was founded.
1197, Construction work began on
Glasgow Cathedral. This replaced an
earlier church built in 1136 by Bishop John Achaius, which had burnt down.
1196, Tor
Abbey, Torquay, was founded.
1184, A new Cathedral at
Canterbury, Kent, was completed after 5 years contruction, replacing the
structure in which Thomas a Becket was murdered in, 1170
1182, Bicester
Priory (Augustinian) was founded by Gilbert de Basset.
1181, The first Carthusian
Monastery in England was founded, at Witham.
1180, The Cathedralof St Davids,
Pembrokeshire, was founded.
1178, Lesnes Abbey, Bexley,
London, was founded by Richard de Lucy. See London, 1936.
1177, The Augustinian Waltham Abbey
was founded.
1170, Newstead Abbey (north of
Nottingham) was founded by the Augustinians.
1158, Construction of Oxford Cathedral
began.
1161, Dudley Priory (Cluniac) was
founded.
1154, Chicksand Priory,
Bedfordshire, (Gilbertine) was founded.
1153, Faversham Priory, Kent Benedictine
was founded.
1152, Kirkstall Abbey, near Leeds,
was founded; originally founded at Barnoldswick in 1147, moved to Kirkstall 5
years later.
1150, A Benedictine Priory was founded at Birkenhead.
1150, The Augustinian priory at Christchurch
(Bournemouth) was founded,
1147, Faversham Abbey (Cluniac)
founded.
1145, Woburn Abbey (Cistercian)
was founded.
1144, St Andrews Priory
(Augustinian) was founded.
1142, CoggeshallAbbey (Cistercian)
was founded.
1140, Forde Abbey, Dorset, (Cistercian)
was founded.
1137, St Magnus Cathedral,
Kirkwall, Orkneys, was founded.
1136, The Cistercian Abbey of Melrose
was founded by King
David I of Scotland.
1134, The Cistercian Abbey of Stratford
(east London) was founded. By 1134 there were over 30 Cistercians houses across Europe; by 1154,
over 280; and by 1200, over 500. By the 1400s, at their peak, there were some
750 Cistercians houses in existence.
They came to exercise a significant influence over Church affairs.
1132. Fountains
Abbey, Yorkshire, was
founded.
9 May 1131, Tintern Abbey was founded.
1130, Neath Abbey, south Wales,
was founded by the Cistercians.
1128, Holyrood Abbey was founded
by King David I of Scotland.
1128, Waverley Abbey, near
Farnham, was founded; the first Cistercian Abbey in England.
1127, Furness Abbey, originally Benedictine
was founded. It became a very wealthy Cistercian house.
1124, Rochester Cathedral, Kent,
was completed.
1122. Kenilworth Augustinian monastery, Warwickshire, was
founded; it later became an abbey.
18 June 1121, King Henry I of
England founded a Benedictine Abbey at Reading, Berkshire.
1119, Guisborough
Priory was founded by Robert de Brus. At the time of the reformation
this was one of the wealthiest monastic institutions in England.
1212, Southwark Cathedral begun.
1112, Exeter
Cathedral was founded.
1106, The Augustinian
Priory of St Mary was founded at Southwark (London).
1108, Chichester
Cathedral was founded. Built in wood, it burned down in 1114 and was
rebuilt in stone in the 1100s. It fell down in 1861 and was again rebuilt, 1865-66.
1104, The Cluniac Priory at
Thetford was founded by Bigod.
1103, The Augustinian
Priory at Worksop was founded.
1093, Hugh le Gros founded the Benedictine monastery of
Chester.
11 August 1093, Construction of Durham
Cathedral in England began. It was completed in 1133.
6 May 1092, Lincoln Cathedral
was consecrated (begun 1075).
1089, Bermondsey
Abbey founded.
1083, The foundations of the
present-day Ely Cathedral were laid by
its first Norman Abbot, Simeon..
1079, Work began on Hereford
Cathedral.
1077, St
Albans Abbey rebuilt (see 793). The first Cluniac
monastery in England built, at Lewes.
1070, Work began on York Cathedral.
1069, Selby
Abbey (Benedictine) was founded.
1066, England now hosted about
10 nunneries and 35 monasteries.
1022, Gloucester
Abbey (Benedictine) was founded. Earlier, a
nunnery (681) and a monastery (821) had been established in the city.
1018, Buckfast
Abbey was founded.
974, A Benedictine monastery was founded at Eynesbury, near St
Neots.
970, Ely
Abbey refounded (first founded 670), by the Benedictines.
See also Great Britain
966, Worcester
Cathedral was founded by St Oswald.
961, Tavistock
Abbey (Benedictine) was founded by Ordgar, Eoldorman
of Devon.
938, Aethelstan
founded Milton Abbey, Dorset.
932, Aethelstan
founded Exeter Monastery (Benedictine).
888, Athelney
Abbey (Benedictine), Somerset, was founded by King Alfred.
793, St
Albans Abbey (Benedictine) was founded by Offa, King of Mercia.
This Abbey was rebuilt in 1077.
715, Tewkesbury
monastery was founded.
709, Evesham
Benedictine
Abbey was founded.
705, Wells
Cathedral founded by Pope John VII (died 707).
705, Frome
monastery was founded by Aldhelm.
685, Winchester
Cathedral founded.
682, Jarrow
monastery was founded by Benedict Biscop.
681, Gloucester
Abbey founded.
678, Ripon Abbey
founded by St Wilfrid.
Pope Donus
died, succeeded by Pope Agatho (died 681).
674, Monkwearmouth
Abbey (Sunderland) was founded by Benedict Biscop.
674, Hexham
Monastery was founded by St Wilfrid.
673, Ely
Abbey founded by St Etheldreda (but burnt by the Danes in
870, refounded 970). Malmesbury Abbey
founded.
670, Barking
Abbey, east London, founded.
666, Chertsey
Monsatery was founded; refounded by Edgar as a Benedictine
monastery in 964.
660, Ripley
Monastery, Yorkshire, was founded.
657.
Whitby Abbey
founded by Abbess Hilda.
658, Leominster
Convent was founded by Merewald, King of Mercia.
655, The Benedictine
monastery at Peterborough was founded by the Mercian, Thane Saxulf.
650, Dereham
Abbey, Norfolk, was founded by St Withberga.
635, Lindisfarne
Abbey, Holy Island, was founded by Oswald, King of Northumbria.
627, The first York
Minster, made of wood, was replaced by a stone strcture by King Edwin of Northumbria.
604, Rochester
Cathedral, Kent, was founded on land donated by King Ethelbert.
The present building dates back to 1083.
603, The first Church
of St Pauls, London, was built. St Andrews Church,
Rochester, was built.
601, The first York Minster was
built. Made of wood, it was replaced bya stone edifice in 627.
597, St Augustine
founded a Benedictine
monastery in Canterbury.
558, The Abbey
of Bangor, Wales, was founded by St Comgall.
525, Bangor
Cathedral was founded.
Asia
1877, Saigon
Cathedral was built.
1654, Manila
Cathedral, Philippines, was begun (completed 1672).
590,
St Elijahs, the
oldest monastery in Iraq, was founded, on a hiil above Mosul. It was destroyed
by ISIS in 2015,
27 December 537. Emperor Justinian of Constantinople
opened the Church of St Sophia, five
years after building started. It was hailed as the finest church in
Christendom. It replaced an original church to St Sophia built by Constantine
in 330 but burnt down in the rebellion of 532. However this church
collapsed� on 7 May 558, severely
weakened by an earthquake in December 557. A third St Sophia was built, and
completed on 24 December 562. The dome was designed by the mathematician
Anthemius of Tralles, who is also said to have invented a device that used steam
power to produce artificial earthquakes.
30 May 383, St
Isaac of Dalmatia died in the monastery at
Constantinople which he founded.
15 February 342, The original Hagia Sophia was dedicated in Constantinople
17 December 335. The Emperor Constantine�s construction, the
Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem, opened. �Christ�s tomb on Golgotha was discovered
in 328 and Constantine
ordered the building of this place of worship here.
325, Erection of the first Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem.
Oceania
1873, Anglican
Cathedral of St David, Hobart, Tasmania, completed (foundations laid
1817).
Africa
10 September 1990, The Basilica of Our
Lady of Peace, Yamoussoukro, Cote d�Ivoire, was consecrated by Pope John Paul
II. It is thye largest church in Africa and the tallest church on
Earth.
1817, The Anglican Cathedral of St George, Freetown,
Liberia, was founded.
527, The Monastery
of St Catherine, Sinai, was founded by Emperor Justinian.
4.4. North
America
1650, The French
Cathedral, Quebec, was dedicated.
4.5. South
America
1724, Havana
Cathedral, Cuba, was founded.
1598, Cuzco Cathedral,
Peru, was completed by Spanish architect Francisco Becerra, aged 53.
1573, Construction of Mexico City Cathedral began (completed 1813).
1563, Bogota
Cathedral, Colombia, was founded.
