Shrine is an object or place sacred to a religion. The term may also refer to a place of national or patriotic importance.
A shrine originally meant a box or chest that contained holy objects. It later came to mean the place where such a container is kept. A shrine is also any structure built on a place considered holy because some significant religious event happened there. In addition, shrines may be built to honor a saint or a virtue. National shrines, such as the Washington and Lincoln monuments or the Tomb of the Unknowns, honor the memory of national heroes. Many people travel to religious and national shrines to honor whomever or whatever the shrine memorializes.
