Pace yourself—you"ll need to climb 268 stone steps to reach the entrance of Chapel St-Michel d"Aiguilhe (Chapel of St. Michael of the Needle). This historic church near Le Puy-en-Velay, France, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that attracts visitors from around the world. It was constructed in 969 by a local bishop and dedicated to the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of mountaintops. Even before the chapel was built, the site had spiritual significance, as it was home to prehistoric dolmens (stone tombs) built by the Romans to honor their god Mercury.
Chapel on the rock
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Surfer s paradise
-
A tribute to the ancestors
-
Groundhog Day
-
Banggai cardinalfish with sea anemone
-
International Day for Biosphere Reserves
-
Dancers perform ‘Revelations’
-
Islands that turned the tide
-
National Bird Day
-
A day to celebrate the sun
-
Glowworm caves in Australia
-
America s Playground by Derrick Adams
-
Sailing across the ice
-
Festival of British Archaeology
-
Point Reyes National Seashore
-
Happy birthday, Saguaro National Park
-
AAPI Heritage Month & Lei Day
-
Kings of the Kalahari
-
Tulips, Netherlands
-
Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, Australia
-
The Aomori Nebuta Festival parade, Japan
-
Wake up, it s Darwin Day
-
Sky island views
-
Go climb a tree
-
A day for our oceans
-
Splashes of color for Watercolor Month
-
Meet our fuzzy Earth Day mascot
-
National Napping Day
-
A ‘circus of chaos’ for Stravinsky
-
‘Stepping’ into Black History Month
-
National Fossil Day