Meteora
This property was added to the UNESCO list in 1988 and is located in Thessaly, Greece. This region’s rock formations are home to the largest Eastern Orthodox monastery in the region. Six monasteries that make up the Meteora UNESCO site—all of them are built on hill-like, rounded boulders and pillars that overlook the local region.
The World Heritage inscription for Meteora details more about why the monasteries represent such a fascinating and unique contribution to the world:
‘Suspended in the air’ (the meaning of Meteora in Greek), these monasteries represent a unique artistic achievement and are one of the most powerful examples of the architectural transformation of a site into a place of retreat, meditation, and prayer. The Meteora provide an outstanding example of the types of monastic construction which illustrate a significant stage in history, that of the 14th and 15th centuries when the eremitic ideals of early Christianity were restored to a place of honor by monastic communities, both in the Western world (in Tuscany, for example) and in the Orthodox Church. …
The monasteries are built on rock pinnacles of deltaic origin, known as Meteora, which rise starkly over 400 m above the Peneas valley and the small town of Kalambaka on the Thessalian plain. Chemical analysis suggests that the pinnacles were created some 60 million years ago in the Tertiary period, emerging from the cone of a river and further transformed by earthquakes. The Meteora are enormous residual masses of sandstone and conglomerate which appeared through fluvial erosion. Seismic activity increased the number of fault lines and fissures and hewed the shapeless masses into individual sheer rock columns. Hermits and ascetics probably began settling in this extraordinary area in the 11th century. In the late 12th century a small church called the Panaghia Doupiani or Skete was built at the foot of one of these ‘heavenly columns’, where monks had already taken up residence.
Meteora is a nearly inaccessible UNESCO site that was built in the 11th century. These sandstone peaks are home to one of Greece’s most recognizable features and cultural sites. Monks have lived in the so-called “columns of the sky” since the 11th century, and 24 monasteries in total make up the site of Meteora. The geological difficulties of these rock columns are part of the indescribable challenge of building these monasteries.
Prior to the building of monasteries in Meteora, the caves were inhabited about 50,000 to 5,000 years ago. A stone wall that served to block the entrance to Theopetra Cave was the first known man-made structure in the region, constructed about 23,000 years ago. Many believed that the stone wall was built to protect the cave settlers from the cold winds.
The monks first made their way to Meteora in the 11th century and they occupied the caverns in Meteora during this time. The 24 monasteries that stood at the current UNESCO site were not built until in the 14th century. The monks needed a place to hide and live in in the face of the Turkish attacks in Greece. During this time, the monks were able to access the monasteries through windlass or removable ladders. Today, steps make access to the monasteries a bit easier—the steps were built in the 1920s.
METEORA.pptx