Museums with Religious Art and Artifacts
Below is an illustrated index of the 81 Museums with Religious Art and Artifacts profiled on Sacred Destinations so far. For photo credits, please see corresponding articles.
After decades of planning and years of construction, the Acropolis Museum reopened in an ultra-modern building in June 2009. It displays all artifacts discovered on the Acropolis.
Housed in a restored palace, this new museum contains three floors of chronologically-arranged artifacts from the Pharaonic period to the 19th century.
Built in 1938, this large museum displays Antioch's magnificent Roman mosaics as well as other important archaeological finds from Hittite to Byzantine times.
This ancient city features an exceptionally long Roman street and other classical ruins. In the Byzantine era, it was home to Evagrius the church historian, Theodoret the bishop, and Monophysitism.
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco is one of the largest museums devoted to Asian art in the western world. Its collection boasts over 17,000 artworks, including many religious images.
With a vast collection of art from Japan, China, Korea, India and the Himalayas, this museum is a great way to see beautiful religious artifacts without making a trip to Asia.
This large Franciscan church was almost completely destroyed by WWII bombs. The nave remains in ruins but the restored choir has its 13th-century stained glass windows of St. Francis and medieval artifacts.
Once a Prussian prison, this museum houses the outstanding art collection of the Diocese of Trier, including rare Roman frescoes and much early Christian art.
Founded in 1904, the Bode Museum contains a wealth of art and artifacts from the Byzantine and Medieval periods, primarily from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Spain.
This is currently the only museum in the world entirely devoted to Byzantine art and civilization. Its impressive collection includes many Byzantine and early Christian frescoes, icons and artifacts.
Established in 1988 and dedicated to peace, the Caen Memorial is regarded as the best World War II museum in France. It also includes exhibits on other failures and triumphs of peace, such as 9/11.
The most sacred of the seven hills in Rome, Capitoline Hill once hosted a great temple. Today it is home to the Capitoline Museum, with temple ruins and classical sculptures.
This excellent museum of medieval art is housed in an abbot's mansion. Beneath the museum are ruins of ancient Roman baths.
A glittering collection of crowns and croziers, plus the original wooden Shrine of the Magi and some ancient Roman artifacts.
This museum houses the world's largest collection of Coptic Christian artwork. Some of the Nag Hammadi manuscripts are here, as well as interesting art that combines pagan and Christian.
This world-class museum displays important finds from excavations throughout Syria, most notably the world's first alphabet (from Ugarit) and 2nd-century frescoes from the synagogue of Dura Europos.
This excellent museum displays some of the finest works of art in Greece as it chronicles the history and importance of Delphi from the 15th century BC to the 4th century AD.
This huge neoclassical building houses the largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts in the world, including artifacts from the tomb of King Tut.
This museum next to the Basilica of John displays religious sculptures and other artifacts from Ephesus. Most notable are two beautiful statues of the Ephesian Artemis.
The great humanist and reformer Erasmus of Rotterdam only lived here for less than a year, in 1521, but tourists have been visiting his house since the 17th century. It houses a museum and many early editions.
This large Orthodox synagogue dates from 1904 and includes an excellent Jewish museum.
Founded in 1892, the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria attractively displays a collection of classical artifacts from Alexandria and elsewhere in Egypt.
Geared towards tourists but run by Voodoo devotees, the Historic Voodoo Museum consists of two dark and musty rooms strewn with Voodoo artifacts.
Opened in 1965, this large museum includes art exhibits, a Judaica Wing, an Archaeological Wing, and the wonderful Shrine of the Book containing the Dead Sea Scrolls.
This huge museum has a world-class collection of Greek and Roman artifacts, including finds from Istanbul, Ephesus and Troy.
This museum contains an impressive collection of ancient and Roman artifacts recovered from area excavations, including Bergama, Iasos, Bayrakli (Izmir's original settlement), and Izmir's Agora.
The Jewish museum traces the history of Jewish communities in the area and includes a tour of Augsburg's main synagogue (1917), an Art Nouveau building with a gold dome.
In 1986, a wooden boat was pulled from the mud on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It has been dated to the 1st century AD, making it a very exciting find that brings many Gospel stories to life.
This is the area of Venice in which all Jews were forced to live from the 16th to the 18th century, as described in The Merchant of Venice. It is home to several synagogues and a Jewish museum.
This museum displays a collection of photographs and artifacts portraying the life of the once-influential Jewish community in Thessaloniki, which dates from the expulsion of Jews from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492.
Part of the Dohany Synagogue complex, this museum is devoted to the long history of the Jews in Hungary and contains many interesting artworks and religious artifacts that survived the war.
Opened in 2001, Berlin's Jüdisches Museum is housed in a striking modern building containing bizarre angles and open voids to evoke the Holocaust. It is the largest Jewish museum in Europe.
The Jewish Museum London provides a comprehensive history of the Jews in London from Norman times, especially since the end of the 17th century.
Founded in 1960 between two 19th-century synagogues, this award-winning museum tells the story of Jewish life in America with special attention on Judaism in Maryland.
Shanghai experienced several waves of Jewish immigration and there was once a large Jewish community here. You can visit the main synagogue, now a museum, and take a tour of Jewish Shanghai.
The Musée Jean Calvin is a museum dedicated to the French reformer John Calvin, located on the site of his birth house in Noyon, France.
This small structure from 1840 is the oldest undamaged synagogue left in Germany. It now houses an exhibition on Erfurt's Jewish community.
The archaeological museum in Konya has an excellent collection of ancient artifacts from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine Era. Among the displays are ancient Roman sarcophagi, Greek altars and pottery, important inscriptions in Latin and Greek, and Byzantine mosaics.
Housed in a grand palace stretching along the Seine River, the Musée du Louvre is one of the largest and most important museums in the world. Its 300,000+ objects include great treasures of religious art.
The house where Luther and his family lived is well-preserved and full of Reformation relics, including Luther's desk, his pulpit, and first editions of his books.
This is where Martin Luther lived as a schoolboy with the Cotta family from 1498 to 1501. The half-timbered house preserves the two rooms used by Luther and displays Reformation artifacts.
Martin Luther was born in this half-timbered house in 1483. Opened to the public in 1693, it was the first memorial museum in Germany.
Here Martin Luther spent the last weeks of his life after falling ill during a brief trip to his hometown. Luther's death mask and the gilded Communion cup he used as pastor are among the displays.
The Renaissance mansion of Philip Melanchthon, Luther's right-hand man and the main author of the Augsburg Confession. It is now a museum commemorating his life.
Located in the Duomo's crypt, Milan's treasury displays a magnificent collection of Early Christian and Romanesque artworks, including ivory book covers with biblical scenes, reliquaries, vestments and more.
A museum centered around the mosaic floor of Constantine's Great Palace discovered in 1933, which features images of hunting and the Four Seasons.
Housed in a Renaissance hotel, this museum displays Gallo-Roman and Romanesque artifacts and religious art. Most notable is Gislebertus' sensual Temptation of Eve, rescued from the cathedral's north door.
Housed in a former monastery, Palermo's Regional Archaeological Museum is one of the grandest archaeological museums in Italy. it is stuffed with artifacts from prehistoric times to the Roman era.
Housed in a former Benedictine convent and incorporating a Roman theater, this museum displays interesting Roman artifacts including an inscription warning against damaging a sacred forest.
Housed in an old convent near the Leaning Tower, the Cathedral Museum displays a variety of important religious art from Pisa and elsewhere.
The Diocesan Museum of Spoleto displays religious art from the Middle Ages to the Baroque period and includes admission to Sant'Eufemia Church.
Incorporating the Eldridge Street Synagogue, an Orthodox synagogue dating from 1887, this Jewish museum tells the story of Jewish immigrants to New York's Lower East Side.
This excellent modern museum has a huge collection of Roman sarcophagi, 4th-century Christian sarcophagi, and other artifacts up to the 6th century.
Opened in 1997, this uniquely designed building in Lower Manhattan commemorates the victims of the Holocaust. It includes a kosher café.
This excellent modern museum in Edinburgh's Old Town displays artifacts from across Scotland, including Viking brooches, Pictish carved stones, ancient chessmen, medieval oak carvings and more.
Housed in a Neoclassical building, the Museo Arqueológico Nacional in Madrid contains a wealth of exhibits from Spain and beyond, from prehistoric to Renaissance.
Home to the famous Aztec calendar stone, this excellent museum displays a vast array of artifacts from the indigenous cultures of Mexico.
The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden is the largest museum of antiquities in the Netherlands. The collection includes ancient Egyptian, Persian, Roman, medieval and other artifacts.
Located in the castle of Naxos Town, this excellent archaeological museum displays regional artifacts from the Late Neolithic period to the Early Christian era, including a large collection of Cycladic figurines.
This huge Hindu temple was constructed of marble on the outskirts of London in 1995. Full of intricate carvings of Hindu deities created entirely in India, it also houses an exhibition on India and Hinduism.
Built in 1859-66 and meticulously restored, the New Synagogue of Berlin is an exotic amalgam of styles with a Moorish feel. It is both an active synagogue and a museum.
Located next to the Greek temples, this excellent museum displays Greek and Roman artifacts from the Paestum area. Its most famous exhibits are rare Greek tomb frescoes from the 5th and 4th centuries BC.
This world-class museum showcases rare antiquities and religious art from such great cities as Pergamum, Miletus and Babylon, including the famous Ishtar Gate.
This museum has several interesting artifacts from ancient Pergamum that help bring the ruins to life. There is even a faithful replica of the Zeus Altar.
Famed for its magnificent collection of Spanish and European paintings, the Prado also houses Classical sculpture, medieval religious treasures and 11th-century frescoes.
One of the most important archaeological museums in southern Italy, this ultramodern building houses Sicilian artifacts from the Greek, Roman, and early Christian eras.
Reopened in 2003, this museum's collection includes a wondrous variety of religious treasures from the Rhineland, including Germanic, Roman, Christian (Late Antiquity to Renaissance) and Jewish art.
One of the finest museums of Roman artifacts north of the Alps, Trier's Rhineland Regional Museum displays ancient tombs, altars, mosaics and more.
This museum next to the cathedral displays vast collection of Roman artifacts from Cologne and the surrounding area, including the remarkably well-preserved Dionysus Mosaic.
Housed in a 19th-century Neo-Gothic castle, the Swiss National Museum is full of prehistoric artifacts and medieval religious art, including many altarpieces.
Founded in 1321 by Carmelite monks, this fine Gothic church went on play a role in the history of the Reformation. It is notable for its fine works of art and its Luther museum.
Built in 1130-60 as a house for noble canonesses, it later became an Augustinian convent. Today the church shelters the Schnütgen Museum, an excellent collection of medieval religious art.
Accommodating 2,500 worshippers, New York's Temple Emanu-El is the largest synagogue in the world. It also includes a small museum.
Housed in a small room within Trier Cathedral, the Cathedral Treasury (Schatzkammer) displays some of Europe's greatest relics along with important examples of religious art from a variety of periods.
If you're a scuba diver or snorkeler, you can't miss Caesarea's new "underwater museum," the first of its kind in the world.
The oldest and most richly decorated of Norway's 29 stave churches, Urnes also boasts a picturesque fjordside location.
The Vatican Museums are among the best in the world, with treasures including classical sculptures, early Christian artifacts, Egyptian mummies and Renaissance masterpieces.
This historical site includes John Wesley's 18th-century chapel, house and tomb, plus the interesting Museum of Methodism. The chapel is still a thriving place of worship.
The first Methodist chapel in the country, the New Room was built by John Wesley in 1739. The design is attractive in its simplicity and features the double pulpit from which Wesley preached.
Before World War II, Worms had one of the oldest Jewish communities in Germany. Today it is home to a rebuilt Romanesque synagogue, an old mikveh, and a Jewish museum.
A Shinto shrine honoring Japanese soldiers killed in combat, Yasakuni also functions as a Japanese war museum.
