You can tell a lot about a city by the nickname it’s received. Many call Charleston “The Holy City.” But why? We dove into our local history to figure that out!

Founded by the English in 1670, Charleston is the oldest city in South Carolina. Many immigrants soon followed and brought their rich cultures and religions with them. French Huguenots & Presbyterians from Scotland were some of the first immigrants to join the English, and Catholicism and even Judaism eventually took roots in our beautiful city. Over time, many other religions would call Charleston home, as it grew into one of the most infamously religiously-tolerant cities in the world. Many of these religions came together and built beautiful and grand churches that can still be seen on our historic cobblestone street corners today. One of the city’s most infamous churches, The Circular Congressional Church, was founded in this manner in 1804. It is famous for many things, including speaking about religious and political freedoms in the late 1700s and their local activism in their pursuit of interdependence. It is also home to the oldest graveyard in Charleston, with some monuments dating back to the late 1600s. Eventually, Charleston became home to over 400 churches, and their steeples dot the skyline.

Any direction you turn, dozens of steeples can be seen poking through the trees, giving rise to the nickname, “The Holy City.”