Meteora

Rare card · No. 60415

Meteora (; Greek: Μετέωρα, pronounced [meˈteora]) is a rock formation in the regional unit of Trikala, in Thessaly, in northwestern Greece, hosting one of the most prominent complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, viewed locally as second in importance only to Mount Athos. Their height is more than 20 metres (66 ft). Twenty-four monasteries were established atop the giant natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area, mainly from the second half of the 14th century under the local rule of self-proclaimed Emperor of Serbs, Greeks and Albanians, Simeon Uroš. As of December 2025, four of the original monasteries were occupied, in active use as monasteries that are managed by monks, and open to visitors: the monasteries of Great Meteoron (est. 1356), Varlaam, Holy Trinity, and Saint Stephen – the latter became a convent run by a community of nuns in 1961. Two other former monasteries are extant, yet no longer in active use as monasteries: the Saint Nicholas...

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