Rosslyn Chapel – Scotland
Standing just a few miles out of Edinburgh lies a chapel.
A chapel that, from the outside, looks much like many other stunning buildings of its kind across the country.
But, step inside, and you’re transported into a world of mystery and intrigue.
Secret treasures, a chilling murder and even predictions of the future have all been linked to the legendary Rosslyn Chapel.
It’s no wonder Dan Brown made it one of the focal points of his world-famous The Da Vinci Code.
The story follows the long-standing conspiracy that the Knights Templar stashed biblical treasures beneath the chapel.
Some believe that the Holy Grail, the cross of Jesus Christ or even his blood were hidden there.
The chapel’s enormous underground vault, which has been sealed since 1690, has helped fuel the theory.
Templar symbols are also dotted throughout its interior while Sir William St Clair, who founded the building in 1446, had links to the warrior monks.
Much like Dan Brown’s world of secret languages, there’s even said to be a secret code running through many of the designs.
A father and son duo spent 27 years cracking the “code” of 213 geometric cubes in the arches of the Lady Chapel.
They discovered they formed a giant musical score, which you can listen to here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy2Dg-ncWoY&ab_channel=StuartMitchellMusic
And the mysteries don’t stop there.
Beautiful pillars line the pews but one, just behind the altar, stands out.
A vine twirls around the elaborately decorated ‘Apprentice Pillar’, which is said to have a dark story behind it.
As the chapel was being built, an apprentice was left in charge of design while the master mason was away.
The apprentice decided to create the pillar with his own improvements.
But its beauty enraged the returning mason so much he struck him down and killed him.
Today, visitors can see a carving of a young man with a mysterious cut on his forehead on the structure – possibly showing his death.
The pillar also looks suspiciously like the modern-day representation of the structure of DNA.
Yet the structure wasn’t discovered until 500 years after the chapel was built.
Coincidentally, two miles down the road at the Roslin Institute, Dolly the Sheep became the world’s first animal to be cloned.
Did the ancient architects somehow predict the future?
And it’s not the only carving inside the building that seems to defy reality.
One simply shows a cob of corn, which seems innocuous at first.
But the food source was not discovered until 50 years after the chapel was built, when Christopher Columbus stumbled upon North America.
Some visitors to Rosslyn Chapel even claim to feel a “tingling” or a “vibration” within the building.
They believe an invisible line of energy – known as a Ley line – passes directly through the site.
It’s also led to encounters with “ghosts”.
A knight on horseback has supposedly been seen galloping past the nearby College Hill House.
Grey lady spirits have also been reported to have walked around the Chapel.
While the many conspiracies and mysteries surrounding Rosslyn Chapel have never been proven, they have also never gone away.
So why not visit for yourself and decide whether any of these tales could be true.
