The winners of the 2025 Wiki Loves Monuments photo contest

Now on its 16th edition, Wiki Loves Monuments still retains its crown as the world's largest photo contest. Each year since 2010, photographers from around the globe have come together to celebrate cultural heritage through their camera lens-and donate it all to benefit Wikimedia's freely shared knowledge.

Despite Wiki Loves Monuments' size and scope, it is primarily run by local organizers. For the most recent edition of the contest, 3,789 people submitted 227,918 photos to locally run national contests in September and October 2025. Each country then submitted its winners to a nine-person expert jury, who closely examined and identified the below 25 winners during a multi-month selection process.

This year's winner, shown above, captured a wall and gate near the Dayr-e Gachin Caravanserai in Iran. Dayr-e Gachin has been called the "mother of Iranian caravanserais" due to its size and importance. It is also a well-photographed UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of 54 caravanserai to share the honor. Hossein Pourakbarian's photograph nevertheless found extraordinary within ordinary by backdropping the location with a distant mountain.

Over all its years, Wiki Loves Monuments photographers have collectively donated millions of images to Wikimedia Commons, a freely licensed media repository that supports Wikipedia and other websites. Each photo adds another nugget of knowledge to the world's collection, and you (yes, you!) can use those images for just about any purpose with only a few stipulations.*

Second place

Photo by Darabad Andromeda, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Mehmāndust Tower in northern Iran was built by the Seljuk Empire in 1097 to serve as a tomb, but its dome and the names of the people interred there have long been lost to time. If you open this photo up and zoom in on the tower's top, you will be rewarded with a look at its intricate brickwork and carved decoration.

Third place

Photo by Arjunfotografer, CC BY-SA 4.0

Kusum Sarovar is "a place where beauty, history, and tranquility flow together," the photographer said. The reservoir in northern India is said to have been the place where Krishna clandestinely met with Radha.

Fourth place

Photo by Volcanicaaa, CC BY-SA 4.0

Construction on the Ishak Pasha Palace, located in eastern Turkey, started in 1685 and was not finished for about a hundred years. Its architectural style blended elements from Anatolian, Iranian, and North Mesopotamian styles. Today, it is a prospective UNESCO World Heritage Site and tourist attraction.

Fifth place

Photo by Dehghanpourpix, CC BY-SA 4.0

One of the first buildings constructed in Arak, Iran, was this bazaar, seen here on a cold February day. The bazaar held a public bath, a mosque, water reservoirs, and an inn, and is unusual in its straight symmetrical lines aligned with the four cardinal directions.

Sixth place

Photo by Mohamed Abdelzaher, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sometimes called the "world's greatest open air museum," Luxor contains or sits near a wealth of ancient Egyptian cultural heritage. It is also known for its tourist hot air balloons, giving this image a contrast between old and new.

Seventh place

Photo by Federico Milesi, CC BY-SA 4.0

Parts of Sacra di San Michele (Saint Michael's Abbey) have been around for around a thousand years. Standing atop a mountain in northwestern Italy, it is today an active Catholic abbey and tourist attraction. A much chillier image of the abbey took second place in Wiki Loves Monuments 2015.

Eighth place

Photo by Mikipons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sant Climent, Taüll is a Romanesque-style complex in Catalonia, Spain, with influences from Lombard and Byzantine architecture. The interior contained the primary work of the Master of Taüll, a 12th century painter who became an exemplar of Romanesque art; some of it has been moved to facilitate preservation efforts (such as the Apse of Sant Climent, Taüll). Along with eight other churches, Sant Climent became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

Ninth place

Photo by Yurii-mr, CC BY-SA 4.0

Summer is looming around this image of the Church of the Intercession, built in 1854 and located in a small village in western Ukraine.

Tenth place

Photo by Kcx36, CC BY-SA 4.0

Kcx36, a veteran member of the volunteer communities that keep Wikimedia projects updated, took this photo of an archway within a Confucius temple in Tonghai County, located in southwestern China.

Eleventh place

Photo by Mehmety11maz, CC BY-SA 4.0

Perhaps in the aftermath of a winter storm, this image snapshots the ruins of Perge or Perga in southwestern Turkey with an evening glow. The site contains remnants from Greek and Roman settlement; it includes an agora (a central public gathering space), a theater, a stadium, palaestra (wrestling school), a temple of Artemis, and two churches.

Twelfth place

Editor's note: We have omitted the 12th-place winner pending the conclusion of a discussion about its copyright status.

Thirteenth place

Photo by Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0

Giles Laurent, a six-year Wikimedia volunteer, visited Saint Peter's Church in Leuven, Belgium, late on a winter night to grab this photo of its facade with few people around. The church was designed to have a bell tower, but it was never completed. The building is a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside other churches on the Belfries of Belgium and France list.

Fourteenth place

Photo by Basavaraj M, CC BY-SA 4.0

Some buildings are designed to be viewed from the front only. Lakshminarayana Temple in Hosaholalu, India, is not one of them-this is actually a photograph of its backside. The temple is an estimated 800 years old and is an example of Hoysala architecture. Another image from photographer Basavaraj M placed at #22.

Fifteenth place

Photo by عدسة قوريني, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Extramural Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone in Cyrene, Libya, carries that first word because it was founded outside the city limits. The complex was in use by the late 7th century BCE. Archaeological excavations of its ruins, which include a temple and theater complex, started in 1969.

Sixteenth place

Photo by Hekmat Al-Ayashi, CC BY-SA 4.0

Khan al-Rubu' in Iraq was built by the Ottoman Empire along the Karbala-Najaf road to serve as a stopover point for traveling caravans. It is also known as Khan al-Nakhila.

Seventeenth place

Photo by Tournasol7, CC BY-SA 4.0

Long-time Wikimedia volunteer Tournasol7 (since 2008!) snapped this photo of the city hall in Novi Sad, Serbia, on a grey November day. Located in the heart of the city's Old Town, the neo-renaissance building was built in the 1890s to serve as a permanent seat of local government. Another image from Tournasol7 placed at #25.

Eighteenth place

Photo by Husky221, CC BY-SA 4.0

This theatrical stage stands as part of the Great Flower Hall in the Wufeng Lin Family Mansion and Garden in Taichung, Taiwan. After being completed in the 1890s, it was used for public banquets. Today, it is a tourist attraction and museum.

Nineteenth place

Photo by Rafael Lemieszek, CC BY-SA 4.0

France's Palais Longchamp houses two major museums in the city of Marseille (its Natural History Museum and Museum of Fine Arts), and the park that surrounds it is listed on the French government's list of remarkable parks. Rafael Lemieszek, who has been donating their time to Wikimedia initiatives for over a decade now, got this photo of it all on a bright February day.

Twentieth place

Photo by Athichitra, CC BY-SA 4.0

One of just 23 first-class royal temples in Thailand is Wat Phra Si Mahathat in Bangkok. It was built to commemorate the government's victory over a 1933 rebellion.

Twenty-first place

Photo by Wowan1978, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Havuts Tar monastery was constructed over the course of some two hundred years, but it was effectively abandoned due to damage suffered in a 1679 earthquake. Today, only ruins remain, but you can access them via a 30-minute hike.

Twenty-second place

Photo by Basavaraj M, CC BY-SA 4.0

The elaborate carvings on the sandstone walls of Sun Temple of Modhera can be readily seen on this clear January day. Although the temple no longer offers worshipping services, it is now a Monument of National Importance in India and a tentative candidate for a UNESCO World Heritage Site listing. Another image from photographer Basavaraj M placed at #14.

Twenty-third place

Photo by Siabanaei, CC BY-SA 4.0

Seyyed Mosque in Isfahan, Iran, is the location for this unusually lit photograph of a walkway's ceiling. Outside, the mosque unusually has a clock tower instead of a minaret.

Twenty-fourth place

Photo by Worldfootage, CC BY-SA 4.0

Wikipedia says that Kirby Hall is "one of the great Elizabethan houses of England." Construction began in 1570, but its condition declined in the 1800s after its owners moved into a newly constructed mansion. Today, it remains in a semi-ruined state with multiple rooms lacking a roof.

Twenty-fifth place

Photo by Tournasol7, CC BY-SA 4.0

This castle is a standout feature in the small commune of Onet-le-Château in southern France. According to them, it was constructed in the 13th century and rebuilt in the 16th to look like a castle. Another image from photographer Tournasol7 placed at #17.

Post by Ed Erhart, Communications Specialist, Wikimedia Foundation.

*Please be sure to follow each image's copyright tag. All of the images above, for instance, are available under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license-you are free to share them for any reason so long as you give credit to the photographer and release any derivative images under the same copyright license.