Cardinaal on Yellow Aconite. Huis Cardinaal, Martinikerkhof, Groningen, The Netherlands
Prominent over this bed of bright yellow winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) is Huis Cardinaal in Groningen, The Netherlands. Better said: the facade of what was once called Huis Cardinaal. Until 1893 the house which sported this light gray face stood to my back across the busy Kwinkenplein, through the Rode Weeshuisstraat, and past the Academia of the University in what is today the Oude Kijk in 't Jatstraat. It is regarded as one of the best examples of Renaissance architecture in The Netherlands. The house was razed in 1893, but it was clear that its facade was something special indeed. So it was saved and rebuilt as part of the renewed and renovated Provinciehuis (1915) - seat of the provincial government - of the province of Groningen.
The 1024 resolution which flickr allows doesn't make things in the distance as clear as one might wish. But if you look carefully you might just see these golden letters: (bottom left:) ALLIXCANDER MAGNUS; (right:) CAROLUS MAGNUS; (above:) KOENINCK DAVIDS. ANNO DNI. 1559). The top inscription is: CAROLVS. QUINTUS. ROMANORUM. IMPERATOR. SEMPER AUGUSTUS. The first three names - those of Alexander the Great, King David of Israel, and Charlemagne - are a shorthand for the Nine Worthies (Neuf Preux) of the Middle Ages. In this kind of architecture they were used to symbolize good and just government. The topmost inscription describes the sandstone statue (now preserved in a museum elsewhere) which once crowned this facade: that of Habsburg Emperor Charles V, under whose jurisdiction Groningen fell (at least until his death in 1558; but then his reign was delegated to his son Philip II). The orignal house - that is: its facade - had been commissioned by one Pauwel Cornelis, a no doubt wealthy town official. He fell on bad times when he converted to Protestantism. Although he was banished from the city and his goods confiscated in 1570 by order of the so-called Blood Council (Conseil des troubles ) at Brussels, not long afterwards they were restored to his family.
The house is named for the family of Jacobus Cardinaal (1793-1884), who owned it in the nineteenth century until it was demolished. The family had nothing to do with cardinals of the Church; they were staunch Baptists/Mennonites ('Doopsgezind').
The mid-morning slanting sun rays through slighly misty air, cast everything in a golden hue...
Cardinaal on Yellow Aconite. Huis Cardinaal, Martinikerkhof, Groningen, The Netherlands
Prominent over this bed of bright yellow winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) is Huis Cardinaal in Groningen, The Netherlands. Better said: the facade of what was once called Huis Cardinaal. Until 1893 the house which sported this light gray face stood to my back across the busy Kwinkenplein, through the Rode Weeshuisstraat, and past the Academia of the University in what is today the Oude Kijk in 't Jatstraat. It is regarded as one of the best examples of Renaissance architecture in The Netherlands. The house was razed in 1893, but it was clear that its facade was something special indeed. So it was saved and rebuilt as part of the renewed and renovated Provinciehuis (1915) - seat of the provincial government - of the province of Groningen.
The 1024 resolution which flickr allows doesn't make things in the distance as clear as one might wish. But if you look carefully you might just see these golden letters: (bottom left:) ALLIXCANDER MAGNUS; (right:) CAROLUS MAGNUS; (above:) KOENINCK DAVIDS. ANNO DNI. 1559). The top inscription is: CAROLVS. QUINTUS. ROMANORUM. IMPERATOR. SEMPER AUGUSTUS. The first three names - those of Alexander the Great, King David of Israel, and Charlemagne - are a shorthand for the Nine Worthies (Neuf Preux) of the Middle Ages. In this kind of architecture they were used to symbolize good and just government. The topmost inscription describes the sandstone statue (now preserved in a museum elsewhere) which once crowned this facade: that of Habsburg Emperor Charles V, under whose jurisdiction Groningen fell (at least until his death in 1558; but then his reign was delegated to his son Philip II). The orignal house - that is: its facade - had been commissioned by one Pauwel Cornelis, a no doubt wealthy town official. He fell on bad times when he converted to Protestantism. Although he was banished from the city and his goods confiscated in 1570 by order of the so-called Blood Council (Conseil des troubles ) at Brussels, not long afterwards they were restored to his family.
The house is named for the family of Jacobus Cardinaal (1793-1884), who owned it in the nineteenth century until it was demolished. The family had nothing to do with cardinals of the Church; they were staunch Baptists/Mennonites ('Doopsgezind').
The mid-morning slanting sun rays through slighly misty air, cast everything in a golden hue...