Great photography is more than pressing a button—transforming ordinary into extraordinary is an art. Timing, composition, and instinct must all harmonize at singular moments in time. Split-second decisions must be made to adjust focus and angle, all while maintaining the patience needed to capture the right light.
Donatas Dabravolskas, the winner of this year’s Wiki Loves Monuments photo contest, put all the pieces together early one morning last April. Although clouds threatened his chance to shoot Rio de Janeiro’s world-famous Christ the Redeemer, he ignored his doubts and hailed a car. When the clouds subsided, Dabravolskas and his drone were ready; he snapshotted a remarkable view of the statue lit by a rising sun reflecting off the-now low rolling clouds.
One contest judge said that Dabravolskas’s work brought together “the landscape, the backlight and the open frame in dialogue” in a way that conveyed “the concept of redemption”—just like the name of the statue. Dabravolskas was also the winner of Wiki Loves Monuments 2021, making him the first two-time winner of the contest.
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Wiki Loves Monuments is best known for being the world’s largest photo contest. It highlights and documents humanity’s cultural heritage through the buildings, structures, and other assets that have gained importance due to their artistic, historic, political, technical, or architectural significance.
This mission and its goals have “brought together people from literally all over the world,” their organizing team said. One of them is this year’s ninth-place winner Hadi Dehghanpour, who said that they submit photos to the contest each year because they “consider it a reference and source for introducing and archiving the world’s sights.”
In 2024, over 4,500 participants in 56 countries submitted nearly 240,000 photos to Wiki Loves Monuments. These photos were first judged in individual nation-level contests, each organized by teams within those countries, before 55 finalists were forwarded to a nine-person expert jury, who took several months to closely examine and identify 25 winners.
Over its fifteen years in existence, Wiki Loves Monuments photographers have collectively donated over three million 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.*
Check out all of the winners from the 2024 Wiki Love Monuments contest below.
Second place
Photo by Oleksandr Ryzhkov, CC BY-SA 4.0
A symbol of Ukrainian education, Kyiv’s Red University Building was photographed on this cold evening by Oleksandr Ryzhkov. Although he is more likely to be found photographing natural beauty, Ryzhkov was motivated to turn his camera on Kyiv due to the destruction wrought by Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia. “I want the whole world to see how beautiful it is here and remember that it can be destroyed,” he said.
Third place
Photo by Ioannis Ioannidis, CC BY 4.0
Ioannis Ioannidis had only taken up photography a year before capturing this shot of birds flying around Greece’s Monastery of Rousanou. They and a friend were already going to travel south for a business trip, so they woke up early to take a detour to this religious building that is precariously perched on a rock outcropping. In the words of Wiki Loves Monument’s judges, Ioannidis’ photo “vividly captured both natural and human history in a single frame.” They commended the photo’s color, noting that the pinks “created a fantastic atmosphere that feels almost mythical.”
Fourth place
Photo by Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0
This is Serbia’s Museum of Contemporary Art as seen through the lens of long-time Wikipedia editor and Wikimedia Commons photographer Petar Milošević. Milošević’s motivation was simple: he wanted to demonstrate that Brutalist socialist architecture is “not just poor concrete”. The contest judges certainly believed that Milošević was successful in this quest, as they commended his compositional choices. These included the use of height to convey the museum’s architecture in a way “that cannot be appreciated from any other angle”, as well as Milošević’s decision to photograph the building when lit by its own lighting to best see its sharp lines.
Fifth place
Photo by Filipe Salgado, CC BY-SA 4.0
A prolific black and white photographer, Filipe Salgado’s haunting portrait of a single individual in Porto’s typically bustling Bolhão Market looks like it could have been taken in a different century. The contest judges called out the photo’s clever and symmetrical perspective, while Afsalgado themselves thought that it portrayed “a unique moment in a powerful way”. Their skills managed to place two photos in the top 25 of this year’s Wiki Loves Monuments; you can find their other winner at #11
Sixth place
Photo by Marika Caruana, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photographer Marika Caruana narrated the story behind this photo from Malta for the contest organizers:
“The moment I took this shot was a crazy moment. My partner and I were on our way back home feeling disappointed after an unsuccessful attempt to photograph moonrise at a low elevation. Due to the haze on the horizon, the moon was not visible. However, as the moon rose out of the haze, it shone nice and bright. My partner was driving, so I took the opportunity to seek some interesting photographic composition with the full moon and a prominent building. And as we neared the Mellieha Church, I realised that this was possible. I asked my partner to stop the car in the middle of the road, ran out camera in hand and raced along the sidewalk (fortunately there is a promenade which permitted these antics) until I got the moon aligned with the dome.”
Seventh place
Photo by Gilad Topaz, CC BY-SA 4.0
This dragon-style Norwegian church in the Lofoten island chain stood out to the judges for its composition. The red of the church pops against the surrounding snow-covered land, but the size of the building does not overwhelm the rest of the image. Photographer Gilad Topaz’s winter trip to these Norwegian islands involved three flights and an additional four hours of driving, and it paid off: three photos Gilad took on this trip won international awards in Wiki Loves Monuments 2024 and appear on this list (#12 and #17).
Eighth place
Photo by User:Ivanbuki, CC BY-SA 4.0
Serbia’s Monument to the Unknown Hero commemorates all the unidentified soldiers that perished in Serbian service during the First World War. The contest judges loved User:Ivanbuki’s photo of the site, with one saying that they chose an ideal day: “the cover of the snow and the fog makes the scene more dramatic, making the analogy of the harsh climate with the roughness of life in wartime.”
Ninth place
Photo by Hadi Dehghanpour, CC BY 4.0
This photo of a ribat in Seyyedabad, Chenaran, Iran, used a top-down perspective to create an unusual perspective of this centuries-old structure. One of the contest judges thought that it was “one of the most original in the contest.” Photographer Hadi Dehghanpour, a long-time participant in Wiki Loves Monuments, found this view while traveling with an archaeologist friend. “The area was deserted and the weather was sunny and warm,” they recalled.
Tenth place
Photo by Domenico Ianaro, CC BY-SA 4.0
Domenico Ianaro used the hilltop location of Italy’s Basilica of Superga to frame the building against the hulking Monte Rosa massif behind it. Although the basilica is the subject of many photographs, the contest judges loved the unusual soft glow brought on by the setting sun, which made for a contrast between the warm building and cold mountain range.
Eleventh place
Photo by Filipe Salgado, CC BY-SA 4.0
Much like Filipe Salgado’s other contest-winning photo at #5, this photo of Livraria Lello—known as the bookshop from the Harry Potter film series—finds a famed and often crowded location devoid of people. The judges were impressed by Salgado’s capture of an often photographed monument in an unusual way with their framing of Livraria Lello’s famous staircase alongside the shop’s books.
Twelfth place
Photo by Gilad Topaz, CC BY-SA 4.0
This photo of the fishing village of Henningsvær in the Lofoten archipelago was the second of three photos from Gilad Topaz’s winter trip to Norway to make this list (#7 and #17). The contest judges hailed this photo for its contrasts between humanity and the natural landscape. One thought that the perspective provided a reminder of “how communities living in tough and remote places establish and organize themselves”, while another remarked that it was “a unique picture that few people can take.”
Thirteenth place
Photo by Vaido Otsar, CC BY-SA 4.0
This exquisite example of ruins photography comes from a former Kreenholm Manufacturing Company building in Estonia. According to Wikipedia, the company held what were at one point the largest cotton spinning and manufacturing mills in the world. As of 2021, however, only 31 people were working at the site. Photographer Vaido Otsar was on a tour of the building when he happily discovered what they called the “rhythm” of the pillars of this section.
Fourteenth place
Photo by Matteo Pappadopoli, CC BY-SA 4.0
Matteo Pappadopoli traveled over 900 km from home for the Carnival of Venice. The carnival is famed for its attendees’ intricate costumes and masks, and so Pappadopoli brought their camera to snapshot to snapshot the best of them. Pappadopoli’s plans changed when they realized that a change in the weather could present an opportunity (translated from the Italian):
“I saw fog descending at the same time the sun was setting. Sensing the atmosphere that was being created, favorable for photography, I positioned myself for the photo, looking for the best composition and waiting for the most favorable moment.”
One of the contest judges remarked that the photo found “an almost poetic perspective that transmits the beauty of the space and the melancholy at the same time.”
Fifteenth place
Photo by User:Arseniog, CC BY-SA 4.0
The definition of a photo that tells a story, User:Arseniog’s timelapse in this photo of Santia Castle in Zaragoza, Spain, vividly illustrates the passage of time. “This image not only represents the medieval castle of Santia,” one contest judge said, “but also the essential idea about the meaning of monuments as those creations of culture that stubbornly persist over time and survive the harshness of the elements.”
Sixteenth place
Photo by Emman A. Foronda, CC BY-SA 4.0
At a brief glance, you might think that this is an unusual example of a metaphysical painting from Giorgio de Chirico. In fact, it is a photo of Christ the King Parish in Quezon City, the Philippines. The building is “often admired for its architecture and the serene atmosphere it provides,” according to photographer Emman A. Foronda, and “the way it stands out while still being part of the local community speaks to its significance in the area.”
Seventeenth place
Photo by Gilad Topaz, CC BY-SA 4.0
The final of three award-winning photos submitted by Gilad Topaz (#7, #12), this shot of a wharf and seaside buildings in Henningsvær, Norway, showcases the village’s traditional fishing architecture. “It is a very original perspective of these buildings,” one contest judge wrote. They added that it was not just the reflection in the water that contributed to their assessment, but the “deformed lines and color management that make it even look like a painting.”
Eighteenth place
Photo by Mohamed Ali Yahmed, CC BY-SA 4.0
This fortified structure located in the western Libyan city of Nalut is about a thousand years old. It was originally intended to store harvested grains in war-stricken times. Photographer Mohamed Ali Yahmed knew of the archaeologically significant ruins because they live nearby, and their work was commended by the contest judges for its human-leveled perspective and the composition’s inclusion of various building materials.
Nineteenth place
Photo by Agon Nimani, CC BY-SA 4.0
Agon Nimani’s airborne photo of the National Library of Kosovo was a spur of the moment decision; they were driving by the building and recognized that the weather would lend itself to a spectacular shot. The contest judges agreed. One noted that it could be a demonstration piece on the continuing importance of black and white photography, while another said:
“The photographer […] understood profoundly the essence of the design of the library by reducing the image of the building to its fundamental features. The photograph here is transformed into a carbon sketch of the library, like the architects may have sketched it with a pencil on a white piece of paper when having a moment of inspiration before the library was even constructed.”
Twentieth place
Photo by User:Alhotmane, CC BY-SA 4.0
The oasis settlement of Ghadames has been around for thousands of years, and its old town was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. This aerial photo of the old town was praised by the judges as it “showed the beautifully imperfect squares of each house and how the whole group comes together to form this beautiful organic pattern,” in the words of one judge.
Twenty-first place
Photo by Aneza Paliou, CC BY-SA 4.0
Aneza Paliou prefers to photograph her subjects around dawn, and the early morning light provided the perfect soft lighting for this shot of medieval buildings lining a street in Rhodes, Greece. Aneza was motivated to submit photos of Rhodes to expand knowledge about the island she lives on, which in her words is a rare example of a “medieval residential complex that has survived almost intact with its fortifications, urban planning, public buildings, temples and houses.”
Twenty-second place
Photo by User:Athichitra/@artie__garden__, CC BY-SA .0
Each element within this photo from User:Athichitra was an intentional choice. The Great Buddha of Thailand is framed here by rice fields and the sky, “just like a symbol of Thailand’s spiritual land,” they said. They added:
“I had traveled several hours from home to reach Muang temple and arrived at just the right time when the light was soft. I set up my shot low in the rice field to frame the statue rising behind the traditional wooden hut to highlight the connection to the land. What made the moment magical was the flock of birds flying across the sky, adding movement and life. Together, these elements created a balanced, serene scene that felt both powerful and peaceful.”
Twenty-third place
Photo by User:Hamed.gisoo, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Jameh Mosque in Varamin, Iran, was completed in 1322. User:Hamed.gisoo’s photograph of its central courtyard won praise from one judge for the variety of stories it told, the composition that created depth, the lighting that illuminated the brickwork, and the birds that added life.
Twenty-fourth place
Photo by Basavaraj M, CC BY-SA 4.0
“Capturing monuments is my passion,” says Basavaraj M, the photographer behind this shot of Vitthala Temple within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi, India. Basavaraj was part of a group of photographers that visited the site during monsoon season, which provided the water visible throughout the image. They knew immediately that it was one of the best photos they had ever taken.
Twenty-fifth place
Photo by Oussama Hamama, CC BY-SA 4.0
On a boiling afternoon in mid-July, photographer Oussama Hamama was moving around the Hassan Towner in Rabat, Morocco, looking for that perfect shot. They found it with a couple of tourists walking towards the incomplete mosque. “The presence of the couple served as a means to ‘humanise’ the picture and to put emphasis on the majestic aspect of the monument,” Oussama said. Even though they had to hurry to get the photo before the couple moved too far, the symmetry and balance in the photo led to its twenty-fifth place finish in this year’s Wiki Loves Monuments.
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To see more images like this, have a look at all the national Wiki Loves Monuments 2024 winners. You can also check out 2024’s winners of Wiki Loves Earth, a contest focused on our planet’s natural areas.
By Ed Erhart, Communications Specialist at the Wikimedia Foundation
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*Note: Please make sure to follow each image’s copyright tag. Most of the images above, for instance, are available under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license, meaning that 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.
The post “Redemption”: The winners of Wiki Loves Monuments 2024 appeared first on Wikimedia Foundation.