Few medieval orders have inspired as much fascination as the Knights Templar.
Founded in the early 12th century, they began as a small brotherhood of warrior-monks sworn to protect Christian pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land. Over time, they became one of the most powerful religious military orders in medieval Europe, owning land, castles, churches, farms, and commanderies across the continent.
Their story is often surrounded by mystery, legend, and speculation.
Yet behind the myths lies a remarkable historical truth: the Templars left a lasting mark on Europe's religious landscape.
From round churches inspired by Jerusalem to fortified chapels and rural commanderies, the Knights Templar helped shape the sacred architecture of the medieval world.
Warrior-Monks of the Middle Ages
The Knights Templar were founded around 1119, after the First Crusade and the capture of Jerusalem by Christian forces.
Their original mission was to protect pilgrims travelling through dangerous routes in the Holy Land. Unlike ordinary knights, the Templars took religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, living under a monastic rule while also serving as trained soldiers.
This combination made them unusual.
They were both monks and warriors.
Their churches reflected this identity, combining prayer, discipline, military purpose, and devotion within a single religious order.
Churches Built for Prayer and Power
Across Europe, the Templars established commanderies, which served as local centres of administration, worship, farming, finance, and recruitment.
Many included chapels or churches where brothers gathered for prayer and where local communities sometimes worshipped alongside them. These buildings were usually practical rather than extravagant, reflecting the order's disciplined religious life.
Yet some Templar churches were highly symbolic.
Their architecture often drew inspiration from sacred sites in Jerusalem, especially the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed to stand near the site of Christ's tomb. This connection gave Templar buildings a powerful spiritual meaning, linking even distant European churches to the Holy Land.
The Mystery of Round Churches
One of the most distinctive features associated with the Templars is the round church.
Several Templar churches were built with circular or polygonal plans, echoing the form of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. These designs reminded worshippers of pilgrimage, crusade, resurrection, and the sacred geography of the Holy Land.
The most famous example in England is the Temple Church in London, consecrated in the 12th century. Its round nave reflects the Templars' connection to Jerusalem and remains one of the most important surviving Templar churches in Europe.
Round churches were never the only type of Templar architecture, but they became one of the order's most memorable visual signatures.
Templar Churches Across Europe
The influence of the Knights Templar can still be seen in several churches and former commanderies across Europe.
In London, Temple Church preserves the memory of the order's English headquarters. In Tomar, Portugal, the Convent of Christ grew from a former Templar stronghold and later became one of Portugal's most important religious monuments. In Laon, France, the Templar chapel survives as a rare example of the order's religious architecture.
Other Templar sites remain more fragmentary.
Some churches were rebuilt after the order's suppression, while others were absorbed into later religious or secular estates. Even when the original buildings have changed, place names, records, and surviving chapels continue to reveal the extent of the Templars' presence across medieval Europe.
The Fall of the Templars
The power of the Knights Templar eventually made them vulnerable.
By the early 14th century, the order had accumulated enormous wealth and influence. In 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of Templars throughout his kingdom, accusing them of heresy, corruption, and other crimes.
Under intense pressure, Pope Clement V formally dissolved the order in 1312.
Many Templar properties were transferred to the Knights Hospitaller, another military religious order. Others passed into royal or private hands. Their churches, chapels, and commanderies were reused, altered, abandoned, or absorbed into new institutions.
The Templars disappeared as an order, but their buildings did not vanish entirely.
Legend and Reality
The fall of the Templars gave rise to centuries of legend.
Stories about hidden treasure, secret rituals, lost relics, and mysterious symbols have surrounded the order ever since. While these tales remain popular, they often obscure the more interesting historical reality.
The Templars were not simply a secretive medieval brotherhood.
They were a powerful religious institution deeply woven into the political, economic, and architectural life of Europe. Their churches reveal how crusading ideals shaped sacred space, how medieval worship connected Europe to Jerusalem, and how religious orders could influence both local communities and international politics.
The real history is already extraordinary.
Could You Still See Templar Churches Today?
Yes!
Visitors can still experience surviving Templar architecture across Europe, although many sites have been altered over the centuries. Temple Church in London remains one of the clearest examples, with its round nave and medieval effigies recalling the order's presence in England.
In Portugal, the Convent of Christ in Tomar preserves one of the most important former Templar sites in Europe. Its famous Charola, a round church inspired by the Holy Sepulchre, reflects the order's spiritual connection to Jerusalem.
Elsewhere, former Templar chapels, commanderies, and ruins can still be found in France, Spain, Italy, and beyond. Some are modest, others magnificent, but together they preserve the architectural traces of one of the Middle Ages' most famous religious orders.
Why the Templars Still Matter
The Knights Templar continue to fascinate because they stand at the meeting point of faith, warfare, pilgrimage, and power.
Their churches remind us that medieval architecture was never only about beauty. It was also about identity, belief, and connection to sacred history. A small chapel in Europe could echo Jerusalem. A round nave could symbolise resurrection. A commandery could serve as both a place of prayer and a centre of military organisation.
Beyond the myths, the Templars left behind something more enduring than legend.
They left churches, chapels, and sacred spaces that still reveal how deeply the medieval world connected architecture with faith, memory, and the idea of holy purpose.
Sources & Further Reading
Temple Church London - Official Website
Convent of Christ, Tomar - Official Information
UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Convent of Christ in Tomar
Barber, Malcolm. The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple.
Barber, Malcolm. The Trial of the Templars.
Nicholson, Helen. The Knights Templar: A New History.
The British Library – Medieval History
Wikimedia Commons – Knights Templar
