St Matthew's is a Grade II* de-consecrated church in Normanton, Rutland, now on the shore of Rutland Water.

 

The church was built in classical style for the Normanton Hall estate on the site of a 14th-century building. Except for the tower, the medieval church was rebuilt in 1764 by Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 3rd Baronet. A new classical tower and the western portico were built by Thomas Cundy junior between 1826 and 1829, based on the design of St John's, Smith Square, Westminster; the nave and apse were constructed in 1911, by J. B. Gridley of London.

 

The church was de-consecrated in 1970, and was to have been demolished as part of the reservoir construction, as its floor was below the proposed water level. Following a public outcry, the lower half was filled with stone and rubble, and a concrete cap constructed just below the level of the windows. An embankment was built around the church leaving it a prominent feature on the water's edge.

Consecrated in 1905 having been built the year before by villagers. It is a Grade ll Listed Building.

The parish church is consecrated to a local female saint by the name of Cywair. Very little is known about her, but it is believed that an image of her appears in the stained-glass east window of the church.

There is a record of this church in the Taxatio Ecclesiastica of 1291.

It is recorded that John Wynne visited the place in 1729. According to Cadw, the correct name is "St Gwawr", but this is disputed. The pillars of the church date back at least to the 15th century. Its doors were closed for the last time in 2003 as the church then only had three members. The church of Llangywer dates from the 13th century, but was rebuilt in 1871.

 

Candid at St Bavos Cathedral Gent

  

( be careful madam , theres a broken glass at your feet !)

  

The Saint Bavo Cathedral (also known as Sint-Baafs Cathedral, or in Dutch Sint Baafskathedraal) is the seat of the diocese of Ghent. It is named for Saint Bavo of Ghent.

  

The building is based upon the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, a primarily wooden construction; it was consecrated in 942 byTransmarus, Bishop of Tournai and Noyon. Traces of this original structure are evident in the cathedral's crypt.

  

The chapel was subsequently expanded in the Romanesque style in 1038. Some traces of this phase of expansion are still evident in the present day crypt.

  

In the subsequent period from the 14th through 16th centuries, nearly continuous expansion projects in the Gothic style were executed on the structure. A new choir, radiating chapels, expansions of the transepts, a Chapterhouse, nave aisles and a single tower western section were all added during this period. Construction was considered complete June 7, 1569.

  

In 1539, as a result of the rebellion against Charles V, the old Abbey of St. Bavo was dissolved. Its abbot and monks went on to become canons in a Chapter that was attached to what then became the Church of Saint Bavo. When the Diocese of Ghentwas founded in 1559, the church became its Cathedral. The church of Saint Bavo was also the site of the baptism of Charles V.

  

More candids here

  

www.flickr.com/photos/23502939@N02/sets/72157622769131641/

  

More Ghent here

   

Please do note fave my photos without commenting ( what do people do with thousands of faves, look at them every morning ?)

 

East window.

 

The first church built on this site was consecrated by the Bishop of St Asaph in 1295.

No feature of this building remains except possibly the crucifixion panel on the north external wall of the porch.

It was replaced by the existing perpendicular building in 1470 and formed part of the conventual buildings of Evesham Abbey which was then the fifth richest in England.

The church was erected for the use of the multitude of pilgrims who piously came to worship at the Abbey shrines throughout many years of storm and calm alike.

Many diseases being prevalent in these times made it necessary to isolate them from the townsfolk, who exclusively used the adjoining parish Church of All Saints. The bodily needs of the pilgrims were catered for at the Abbey Almonry nearby which is still standing. The church had become sadly dilapidated and in 1730 an extensive and, as it proved, disastrous reconstruction took place because owing to faulty construction and poor materials, the new roof collapsed before 1800.

The church remained in ruins until 1837 when it was restored and reopened for divine worship. In 1957 a further minor restoration took place.

In 1978 the church was declared redundant and came under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust the following year.

   

Consecrated in 1849, Mariners’ Church serves the maritime community and the people of Detroit without regard for their background or circumstance. In 1955 the stone church was moved 900 feet east to its current location to make way for a new civic center. I took this photo on January 26, 2018 while visiting the Detroit Auto Show at the nearby Cobo Center. Mariner's history

 

View my collections on flickr here: Collections

 

Press L for a larger image on black.

Palatine Chapel, Aachen, begun c. 792, consecrated 805 (thought to have been designed by Odo of Metz), significant changes to the architectural fabric 14–17th centuries (Gothic apse, c. 1355; dome rebuilt and raised in the 17th century, etc), mosaics and revetment scream 19th century, and are indeed 19th century, columns were looted by French troops in the 18th century though many were later returned, they were added back without knowledge as to their original locations in the 19th century. Finally, the structure was also heavily damaged by allied bombing during WWII and significantly restored again in the second half of the twentieth century.

Learn More on Smarthistory

Originally consecrated on September 10, 1751, it occupied the eastern block of the Grand palace, crowned, at the request of Elizabeth Petrovna, with five gilded domes, "as per our faith". This originally was the Palace Church. Today it functions as the Royal Church Museum.

The rising sun burning off the mist behind an old dead tree on the edge of Chapel Wood, Nr Spreacombe, North Devon. Chapel Wood is an RSPB reserve with an Iron age hill fort on the top and a 1270 ruined chapel down the bottom. The remains of the chapel are an ancient monument and is still consecrated ground.

Grade II listed, this church was consecrated in 1855 replacing an earlier wooden building.

La catedral de Santiago de Compostela (A Coruña) – Spain, es una de las grandes joyas del románico de Europa. Su construcción se inició en el año 1075 siendo consagrada en el 1211, y es una de las iglesias consideradas de peregrinación europea.

La fachada denominada de Platerías consta de dos puertas del siglo XII, con sus respectivos tímpanos, dos ventanas con arcos polilobulados, y un sinfín de esculturas a veces con aspecto de rompecabezas por las restauraciones y traslados de otros lugares, pero que constituyen un lugar icónico del románico compostelano.

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The cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (A Coruña) – Spain, is one of the great Romanesque jewels of Europe. Its construction began in the year 1075 and was consecrated in 1211, and it is one of the churches considered to be of European pilgrimage.

The so-called Platerías facade consists of two doors from the 12th century, with their respective tympanums, two windows with multi-lobed arches, and endless sculptures that sometimes look like puzzles due to restorations and transfers from other places, but which constitute an iconic place of Compostela Romanesque.

 

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.

 

I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.

 

I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants.

 

Amen.

The church of Sainte-Marie de Léoncel is all that is left of the Cistercian abbey that was founded in this valley of northern Drôme (southeastern France) in 1137. The church was quickly built, as it was consecrated in 1188. However, some remodeling and alterations took place until around 1230. Most of the church is pure Romanesque, but as you will see, the roofing of the nave features a budding form of rib vaulting which announces the age of the Gothic.

 

The abbey was ravaged during the Hundred Years War; only the church was left standing. The cloister and other abbey buildings were never rebuilt. Monastic life endured (albeit down to a substantially degraded degree) until the French Revolution, when the church became parochial —hence the opening of a door in the western façade, and the walling up of some lateral doors. Since 1974, a community of Dominican sisters has taken over what is left of the abbey and thus monastic life has begun anew.

 

The western wall.

 

In der Antike war das Veilchen sogar eine heilige Blume. Es war dem Gott Pan geweiht und zu Ehren des Saturn wurden Veilchenkränze auf dem Kopf getragen.

In der heutigen Naturheilkunde wird das Veilchen vorwiegend bei Beschwerden der Atemwege, z.B. Husten und Bronchitis eingesetzt.

In antiquity the violet was even a sacred flower. It was consecrated to the god Pan and, in honor of Saturn, violet wreaths were worn on the head.

In today's naturopathy, the violet is predominantly associated with ailments of the respiratory tract, e.g. Cough and bronchitis.

 

Notre-Dame de Paris, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral was consecrated to the Virgin Mary and is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Its pioneering use of the rib vault and flying buttress, its enormous and colourful rose windows, as well as the naturalism and abundance of its sculptural decoration set it apart from the earlier Romanesque style. Major musical components that make Notre Dame stand out include its three pipe organs, one of which is historic; and its immense church bells.

The cathedral's construction began in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely complete by 1260, though it was modified frequently in the following centuries. In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration during the French Revolution; much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. In the 19th century, the cathedral was the site of the coronation of Napoleon I and the funerals of many presidents of the French Republic.

Popular interest in the cathedral blossomed soon after the 1831 publication of Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame de Paris (better known in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame). This led to a major restoration project between 1844 and 1864, supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. The Allied liberation of Paris in 1944 was celebrated within Notre-Dame with the singing of the Magnificat. Beginning in 1963, the cathedral's façade was cleaned of centuries of soot and grime. Another cleaning and restoration project was carried out between 1991 and 2000.

The cathedral is one of the most widely recognized symbols of the city of Paris and the French nation. As the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame contains the cathedra of the archbishop of Paris (Michel Aupetit). In 1805, Notre-Dame was given the honorary status of a minor basilica. Approximately 12 million people visit Notre-Dame annually, making it the most visited monument in Paris. The cathedral was renowned for its Lent sermons, founded by the Dominican Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire in the 1830s. In recent years, an increasing number have been given by leading public figures and state-employed academics.

The cathedral has been progressively stripped of its original decoration and works of art. Several noteworthy examples of Gothic, Baroque, and 19th-century sculptures and a group of 17th- and early 18th-century altarpieces remain in the cathedral's collection. Some of the most important relics in Christendom, including the Crown of Thorns, a sliver of the true cross and a nail from the true cross, are preserved at Notre-Dame.

While undergoing renovation and restoration, the roof of Notre-Dame caught fire on the evening of 15 April 2019. Burning for around 15 hours, the cathedral sustained serious damage, including the destruction of the flèche (the timber spirelet over the crossing) and most of the lead-covered wooden roof above the stone vaulted ceiling. Contamination of the site and the nearby environment resulted. Following the fire, many proposals were made for modernizing the cathedral's design. However, on 29 July 2019, the French National Assembly enacted a law requiring that the restoration must preserve the cathedral's 'historic, artistic and architectural interest'. Stabilizing the structure against possible collapse was completed in November 2020, and the reconstruction began in 2021. The government of France hopes the reconstruction can be completed by Spring 2024, in time for the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on 14 April 2021 that the cathedral site will be formally returned to the church on 15 April 2024, and the first mass will be held in the cathedral nave on that day, even if the reconstruction is not finished by then.

The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin June 2019

nougpg.ru/church_home/church_history/

 

Camera: Olympus OM-1n;

Lens: Zuiko Auto-W 28mm f/2.8;

Film: Agfa Aviphot Pan 400;

Filter: No filter;

Exposure: as ISO 400;

Developer: Agfa-12 (Стандартный № 2), dilution (1+2), 20 degrees Celsius, time 25 minutes as ISO 400;

Scanned: Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400 by VueScan.

  

Церковь Рождества Богородицы — православный храм Конаковского благочинного округа Тверской епархии Русской православной церкви, расположенный в селе Городня Конаковского района Тверской области.

Основана в 1290-х годах (в крепости Городня).

Строительство дошедшего до нашего времени храма (в существующем ныне виде) - начало XIV века (до 1318 г.).

В советское время церковь Рождества Богородицы оставалась действующей.

В годы Великой Отечественной войны храм был сильно повреждён и начал разрушаться. В 1966 году начата тщательная реставрация церкви. В 1980 году работы окончились и храм был торжественно освящён.

 

The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin is an Orthodox church in the Konakovsky Deanery District of the Tver Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, located in the village of Gorodnya, Konakovsky District, Tver Region.

Founded in the 1290s (in the Gorodnya fortress).

The construction of the temple that has survived to our time (in its present form) - the beginning of the XIV century (until 1318).

In Soviet times, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin remained active.

During the Great Patriotic War, the temple was badly damaged and began to collapse. In 1966, a thorough restoration of the church began. In 1980, the work was completed and the temple was solemnly consecrated.

 

Church consecrated in 2016

The Royal Monastery of St. Jerome is a Roman Catholic Hieronymite monastery in Granada, Spain. Architecturally, it is in the Renaissance style. The church, famous for its architecture, was the first in the world consecrated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

The monastery was founded by the Catholic Monarchs Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon in Santa Fe outside the city of Granada, during the siege of the latter city, the last stage of the Reconquista. The construction of the current buildings in Granada properly began in 1504, and the monastery relocated at that time. The principal architect and sculptor was Diego de Siloé; others involved as architects or sculptors included Jacopo Torni (from Florence), Juan de Aragón, Juan Bautista Vázquez the Younger (Vázquez el Mozo), Pedro de Orea, and Pablo de Rojas, the last three associated with the Granadan school of sculpture.

The Hieronymites are an Augustinian order. The monastery church follows the usual plan for churches of this order, a Latin Cross with an elevated choir at the foot and the altar behind a wide staircase. The mannerist altarpiece of the main chapel is considered the point of departure of Andalusian sculpture as such; it is mainly the work of Pablo de Rojas. The richly decorated Renaissance interior features coffering, scalloping and sculptures, and is a late work of Renaissance humanism. The iconographic program highlights the military and the heroic grandeur of the Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, known as the Gran Capitán ("Great Captain"), who is buried in the crossing with his wife, Doña Maria de Manrique.

As of 1513, the church was under construction under the leadership of Jacopo Torni 1513. Upon his death in 1526, the task devolved to Diego de Siloé. The main chapel was completed in 1522 and the bodies of the Great Captain and his wife were moved from the Casa Grande of the Convent of Saint Francis.

Although occupied again today by the same order of monks as at the time of its founding, the monastery has undergone many vicissitudes, including invasion by the French in the Napoleonic era during the Peninsular War. The Hieronymites were expelled and the monastery eventually became a near-ruin. The State undertook a restoration of the building in 1916–1920, hiring the architect Fernando Wihelmi for the job. The slender tower of the church had been demolished by the French, who used its stones to build the bridge known as the Puente Verde, which crosses the River Genil, linking the Paseo de la Bomba to the Avenida de Cervantes. Only in the 1980s was the tower re-erected; the project was completed in 1989.

On 1 November 2022, their venerated image of "Our Lady of Solitude" was canonically crowned by Pope Francis through a decree dated 18 October 2022.

The monastery has two cloisters, each built around a garden. The older of the two has more genuinely Renaissance decoration: seven arcosolia in the style of chapels, richly adorned in classical style, configure a funerary space that was originally intended to receive the Great Captain's remains into the monastery. The second cloister, now the enclosure of the monastery's community of monks, was the residence of the Empress Isabella of Portugal on her wedding voyage after her marriage to Charles I of Spain (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V).

The gateway that separates the grounds of the monastery from the Calle Rector López Argueta is, indeed, original to the monastery, but had disappeared in the 19th century and was only returned to its position in the 1960s after being found abandoned in a courtyard of in the Vega de Granada. The sculpture of the Virgin of Sorrows on the gate is not original.

From the beginning of 2004 until March 2005, the main altarpiece underwent restoration work under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture; during this time, the altarpiece was covered by a giant blow-up photo of itself.

The Cathedral of Saint Domnius, consecrated at the turn of the 7th century AD, is regarded as the oldest Catholic cathedral in the world that remains in use in its original structure, without near-complete renovation at a later date (though the bell tower dates from the 12th century). The structure itself, built in AD 305 as the Mausoleum of Diocletian, is the second oldest structure used by any Christian Cathedral.

 

The old town is an UNESCO world heritage site.

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Saint_Domnius

The newly consecrated National Cathedral of the Romanian Orthodox Church, still under construction in Bucharest

 

youtu.be/R-i2hzc1L4I

Orthodox Patriarchs of Constantinople and Bucharest consecrate Cathedral

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_People%27s_Salvation_Cathe...

catedralaneamului.ro/

  

The Cathedral was consecrated on 25 November 2018 by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, Patriarch Daniel of Romania and Metropolitan Chrysostomos (gr) of Patras from the Greek Orthodox Church.

Explore - July 16th #495

 

The Church is situated on the seafront and is consecrated to Saint Nicholas, patron of sailors, ship-owners and all those involved in maritime trade. Following the split between Serbian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox communities over which language to use during the service, the Greeks purchased the building and consecrated it in 1787. The Neoclassical façade is flanked by two bell towers and a gateway. The single nave interior was inspired by the Chiesa di San Spiridione (Church of Saint Spyridon), the community’s first place of worship.

Superb wooden iconography glistening with golden inserts and paintings on a gold background, depicting Evangelist scenes. Two balconies overlook the nave: the lower one was once set aside for women, and the upper one reserved for the choir.

 

For more information please visit www.promotrieste.it/en/visiting-trieste/christian-orthodo...

 

Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city. Trieste is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste and throughout history it has been influenced by its location at the crossroads of Germanic, Latin and Slavic cultures. In 2009, it had a population of about 205,000 and it is the capital of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trieste province.

 

Trieste was one of the oldest parts of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1382 until 1918. In the 19th century, it was the most important port of one of the Great Powers of Europe. As a prosperous seaport in the Mediterranean region, Trieste became the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (after Vienna, Budapest, and Prague). In the fin-de-siecle period, it emerged as an important hub for literature and music. However, the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Trieste's union to Italy after World War I led to some decline of its "Mittel-European" cultural and commercial importance. Enjoying an economic revival during the 1930s and throughout the Cold War, Trieste was an important spot in the struggle between the Eastern and Western blocs. Today, the city is in one of the richest regions of Italy, and has been a great centre for shipping, through its port (Port of Trieste), shipbuilding and financial services.

 

For further information on this fascinating city please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trieste

The consecrated chalice containing the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ is elevated at the altar for the Faithful to behold and adore.

The newly consecrated National Cathedral of the Romanian Orthodox Church, still under construction in Bucharest

 

youtu.be/R-i2hzc1L4I

Orthodox Patriarchs of Constantinople and Bucharest consecrate Cathedral

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_People%27s_Salvation_Cathe...

catedralaneamului.ro/

  

The Cathedral was consecrated on 25 November 2018 by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, Patriarch Daniel of Romania and Metropolitan Chrysostomos (gr) of Patras from the Greek Orthodox Church.

First consecrated in 324, the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran is one of four Papal Basilicas, and contains the Cathedra of the pope. It takes precedence over all other churches in Catholicism, even St Peter's in the Vatican. Massive four metre high statues of the Twelve Apostles line the nave.

The Sainte-Chapelle (French pronunciation: ​[sɛ̃t ʃapɛl], Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.

Construction began sometime after 1238 and the chapel was consecrated on 26 April 1248. The Sainte-Chapelle is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion relics, including Christ's Crown of Thorns – one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom, later hosted in the nearby Notre-Dame Cathedral until the 2019 fire, which it survived.

Along with the Conciergerie, the Sainte-Chapelle is one of the earliest surviving buildings of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité. Although damaged during the French Revolution and restored in the 19th century, it has one of the most extensive 13th-century stained glass collections anywhere in the world.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte-Chapelle

St Michaels & All Angels, Bussage

The Lala Mustafa Paşa Mosque, originally known as the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas and later as the Saint Sophia Mosque of Mağusa, is the largest medieval building in Famagusta. Built between 1298 and 1400, it was consecrated as a Catholic cathedral in 1328.

 

The cathedral was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman Empire captured Famagusta in 1571 and it remains a mosque to this day. From 1954 the building has taken its name from Lala Mustafa Pasha, the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from Sokolovići in Bosnia, who served Murat III and led Ottoman forces against the Venetians in Cyprus.

 

The building originally had twin towers but earthquakes and the Ottoman bombardments of Famagusta in 1571 destroyed them.

Norsjö church was consecrated in 1917. Already in 1915 a church was built here, but it burned down just before the inauguration. They decided to rebuild and this one is soon to be 100 years old. The very first church in Norsjö was built in 1811.

The parish church of Calasetta was built between 1837 and 1839, when it was consecrated and opened to worship, designed by the architect Pinna. The church has a centralized plan and is surmounted by a dome and two bell towers that still today give the whole an oriental appearance, the church was initially decorated with marble material from the ancient church of the tonnara of Calasapone and with a Roman mosaic found in a location near the town. Enlarged in 1956 by breaking the apse and extending the side walls. today it is made up of three naves separated by pillars and arches. The paintings on the internal walls, realized at the time of enlargement, are by the German expressionist painter Jorg Schrayogg. The church is dedicated to San Maurizio Martire in memory of the Mauritian order that had led and supported the work of colonization of the territory of Calasetta. The Feast of the Patron is celebrated on September 22nd.

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La chiesa parrocchiale di Calasetta fu costruita tra il 1837 ed il 1839 anno in cui fu consacrata ed aperta al culto, su progetto dell’architetto Pinna. La chiesa si presenta a pianta accentrata e sormontata da una cupola e da due torrette campanarie che ancor oggi nell’insieme le conferiscono un aspetto orientaleggiante, la chiesa inizialmente fu ornata all’interno con materiale marmoreo proveniente dall’antica chiesetta della tonnara di Calasapone e con un mosaico romano rinvenuto in una località prossima all’abitato. Ampliata nel 1956 mediante sfondamento dell’abside e prolungamento delle pareti laterali,. oggi risulta costituita da tre navate separate da pilastri e arcate Le pitture sulle pareti interne, realizzate all’epoca dell’ampliamento sono del pittore espressionista tedesco Jorg Schrayogg. La chiesa è dedicata a San Maurizio Martire in ricordo dell’ordine Mauriziano che aveva guidato e sostenuto l’opera di colonizzazione del territorio calasettano. La festa del Patrono si celebra il 22 settembre.

The Basílica de la Sagrada Família, Basilica of the Holy Family'), also known as the Sagrada Família, is a large unfinished Roman Catholic minor basilica in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by Spanish/Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), his work on the building is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On 7 November 2010, Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the church and proclaimed it a minor basilica.

 

On 19 March 1882, construction of the Sagrada Família began under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. In 1883, when Villar resigned, Gaudí took over as chief architect, transforming the project with his architectural and engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. Gaudí devoted the remainder of his life to the project, and he is buried in the crypt. At the time of his death in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete.

 

Relying solely on private donations, the Sagrada Família's construction progressed slowly and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War. In July 1936, revolutionaries set fire to the crypt and broke their way into the workshop, partially destroying Gaudí's original plans, drawings and plaster models, which led to 16 years of work to piece together the fragments of the master model. Construction resumed to intermittent progress in the 1950s. Advancements in technologies such as computer aided design and computerised numerical control (CNC) have since enabled faster progress and construction passed the midpoint in 2010. However, some of the project's greatest challenges remain, including the construction of ten more spires, each symbolising an important Biblical figure in the New Testament. It is anticipated that the building can be completed by 2026, the centenary of Gaudí's death.

 

The basilica has a long history of splitting opinion among the residents of Barcelona: over the initial possibility it might compete with Barcelona's cathedral, over Gaudí's design itself, over the possibility that work after Gaudí's death disregarded his design, and the 2007 proposal to build a tunnel of Spain's high-speed rail link to France which could disturb its stability. Describing the Sagrada Família, art critic Rainer Zerbst said "it is probably impossible to find a church building anything like it in the entire history of art", and Paul Goldberger describes it as "the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages". The basilica is not the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Barcelona, as that title belongs to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia.

Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral), "is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP. Its current Romanesque and Gothic form seen today, situated at the heart of Vienna, Austria in the Stephansplatz, was largely initiated by Rudolf IV and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first being a parish church consecrated in 1147. As the most important religious building in Austria's capital, the cathedral has borne witness to many important events in that nation's history and has, with its multi-colored tile roof, become one of the city's most recognizable symbols." Wiki.

   

We spent 24 days travelling through the Czech Republic and Austria. This set is Vienna, Austria. Photos are tagged as to which day.

Tradition considers it the oldest church in Venice, consecrated on March 25, 421. It was begun thanks to the vow of a carpenter, a certain Candioto or Eutinopo, who turned to the titular saint to put out a serious fire. According to the chronicle of the doge Andrea Dandolo, the Paduan community participated in the construction in large numbers and one of the bishops present at the consecration rite, the bishop Severiano dei Dauli, was Paduan. Tradition has it that the people of Rivoalto, to thank Padua, in turn donated the church of San Clemente Papa. Studies have shown, however, that the building is much later: for example, in the donation of the Orio family, a document from 1097, the land on which it stands is described, without mentioning the church. The first certain mention dates back to May 1152, when it speaks of a Henricum Navigaiosum plebanum sancti Johannis et sancti Jacobi de Rivoalto. The construction would therefore date back to the 11th century with the solemn consecration by Pope Alexander III on 25 July 1177, as evidenced by the plaque affixed to the facade of the church with which plenary indulgence is granted.

 

In 1513 it escaped the serious fire that devastated the adjacent commercial area. It was restored in 1531, as evidenced by the plaque placed next to the portal; in 1601 the doge Marino Grimani ordered a new restoration, during which the floor was raised to face the high water and the original Latin plan was transformed into the current Greek cross plan

The Gothic church of St. Peter, consecrated in 1198. It was built over a pre-existing 5th century Palaeo-Christian church, which had rectangular plan and semicircular apse. The new part, from the 13th century, is marked externally by white and black stripes. (Wikipedia)

 

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Consecrated in 1869 St John Anglican Church, Ross, Tasmania, was built using sandstone from the original church which was built in 1835.

 

Ross, Tasmania, Australia.

 

Carved front door into St. Alban's church. In 1899 the first Redemptorists arrived from Austria and started collecting funds for the building of a permanent church, receiving considerable contributions from Austria and Germany. The foundation for the new church was placed on October 21, 1906, and on October 25, 1908, the unfinished building was consecrated and dedicated to Our Lady, Saint Alban, and Saint Canute.

The church was consecrated by Dr. C.T. Longley, Bishop of Ripon, on 28th November 1845 and it aquired its own Chapelry District the following year. St James’ was built of Roundhay Stone at a cost of £3174.

 

It was built by Benjamin Russell of Leeds. The spire is 94 feet high and the clock was original in 1845. Three bells were donated in 1865 by Martha Wilson, who died in 1869. They were given in thanksgiving for her 90th birthday. In 1984, the bells were taken down and recast by John Taylor and Co. of Loughborough to provide the present lightweight ring of five.

In 1761 a “Virgo Lactans” icon was brought from Venice to Anthousa (one of the Aspropotamos villages in Trikala County, Greece). In 1799 a monastery (abbey) was erected to house the icon; it was built of stone in the woods close to the village Anthousa. The monastery bears the name “Galaktotrophousa,” Greek for “Nursing Madonna,” i.e. Virgin Mary breast-feeding the infant Jesus (Madonna del Latte in Italian, Mlekopitatelnitsa in Russian).

 

On October 22, 1943 the monastery was burned along with its icons by the German Nazi “Gruppe Feser,” Operation Panther; it has remained deserted ever since. No-one knows for sure whether or not the Venetian icon had been stolen (plundered) by the Nazis prior to setting fire to the whole place. Some repairs have already been made; major restoration has been planned to begin soon.

 

In 1454 the historic village Anthousa was listed as Lepanica (in Turkish) in Ottoman tax records (aka Lepanice or Lepeniça), with a population of 170 approximately. Aspropótamos is a toponym for the 2nd largest Greek river, Achelōos or Achelöos with a length of 220 km (137 mi).

The newly consecrated National Cathedral of the Romanian Orthodox Church, still under construction in Bucharest

 

youtu.be/R-i2hzc1L4I

Orthodox Patriarchs of Constantinople and Bucharest consecrate Cathedral

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_People%27s_Salvation_Cathe...

catedralaneamului.ro/

  

The Cathedral was consecrated on 25 November 2018 by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, Patriarch Daniel of Romania and Metropolitan Chrysostomos (gr) of Patras from the Greek Orthodox Church.

ⓒRebecca Bugge, All Rights Reserved

Do not use without permission.

  

The church (in Swedish Lunds Domkyrka) was originally built in the beginning of the 12th century in the Romanesque style - the high altar, dedicated to St Lawrence (Sankt Laurentius), was consecrated in 1145. But the church has been altered several times after this, leaving only the apse in its original form. The first of these alterations came as early as after a fire in 1234 in which the church suffered severely. There were also some major renovations made in the 1510s by German artist Adam van Düren. But the most substantial alterations were made by Carl Georg Brunius and Helgo Zettervall in the 19th century when the church was given what they thought was a more clean, medieval look - ignoring later additions to the church, but also ignoring how the church originally had looked like (most notable of these changes being the two western towers seen here where the original towers were torn down and replaced by completely different looking towers of the '19th century gone medieval'-type).

One of the nicest Baroque churches in Europe

Saint Anthony of Padua church is considered one of the nicest buildings of Baroque church architecture, it is mostly named Minorite church. It was consecrated in honour of Saint Anthony in 1771. Its designer was Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, the architect of prince-archbishop of Vienna.

 

The official date of the construction is 1771, but the interior was decorated until 1792 by the artists of the time. The main entrance is surrounded by pairs of Corinthian columns. The keystone of the gate is decorated by inscription: "For God nothing is enough". The building is unique among the Baroque churches in Hungary, since the facade between the two towers is not flat, but makes a lightly arched semicircle.

 

The picture of the main altar depicts the vision of Saint Anthony: Virgin Mary floating on clouds, holding little Jesus in her arms. When looking up the ceiling frescoes you can see scenes from the life of Saint Anthony. On the eastern side of the church can be found Saint Hedvig Secondary Girl Hostel, on the western side the Town Hall. Dobó square is dominated by the monument of István Dobó, the heroic captain of the castle. If you are on Dobó square and you are interested in churches and architecture, you will hardly find a nicer Baroque construction nearby.

Considered one of the masterpieces of religious architecture of Andrea Palladio, was built by the Senate in 1577, as a votive temple consecrated to the Redeemer for the cessation of the plague in 1576.

 

The work represents one of the greatest architectural masterpieces of the Renaissance and was finished in 1592, after the death of famous architect (1580), from Proto Antonio da Ponte, who faithfully respected Palladio's design.

 

Redeemer is also the center of one of festivals from deepest Venice: The Feast of the Redeemer, which is held the third Sunday of July. The church, located on the island of Giudecca, was conceived as the final station for the solemn procession of the Redeemer, which crosses the Giudecca Canal over a pontoon bridge, built for the occasion.

 

The facade, which radiates away the charm of a relief, has the typical system with Palladian columns and broken pediments from the horizontal element that contains it and geometrizes.

The interior is whitewashed, has the majestic simplicity of the classical temple. The plant is improperly called a Latin cross, rather ingeniously developed in a series of linked spaces and functionally different uses (the classroom, the presbytery, the choir), related to each other as if it were laid out at the last place of the ceremony processional. The colonnade running along the walls of the nave and the chancel, surmounted by a dome. Altars, paintings of the Venetian school of the century. XVI-XVII. XVI-XVII.

 

The church and the sacristy are rich in works of great importance, which include the counter in a beautiful lunette depicting Old Peter La Vergine presenta a Gesù il Beato Felice da Cantalice. The Virgin presents Jesus in the Blessed Felix of Canterbury. The large hall and presbytery preserve significant works of Paolo Veronese and his workshop, Jacopo Tintoretto, Francesco Bassano, Paolo Piazza and Jacopo Palma the Younger.

 

The sacristy, besides the famous altarpiece of the Baptism of Christ (1560) by Paolo Veronese, also preserves precious reliquaries and devotional works related to the history of the church, including a table of Alvise Vivarini, works by Jacopo Palma il Giovane, Jacopo Francesco Bassano and Bissolo.

 

For more information, please visit www.veneziasi.it/content/view/?id=82%E2%8C%A9=it&lang=it

 

Venice (Italian: Venezia [veˈnɛttsja] ( listen), Venetian: Venexia [veˈnɛsja]) is a city in northeast Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region. In 2009, there were 270,098 people residing in Venice's comune (the population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 60,000 in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in Terraferma (the Mainland), mostly in the large frazioni of Mestre and Marghera; 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon). Together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area (PATREVE) (population 1,600,000).

 

The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century B.C. The city historically was the capital of the Venetian Republic. Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals". Luigi Barzini described it in The New York Times as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man". Venice has also been described by the Times Online as being one of Europe's most romantic cities.

 

The city stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers.

 

The Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as a very important center of commerce (especially silk, grain, and spice) and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century. This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period. Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi.

 

Please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice for further information...

St George, Ham, Kent.

 

The first church of the year is no longer a church, and has not been consecrated since about 1971.

 

Thanks to friends and friends of friends, I met with the owner who was very open about me visiting and taking shots.

 

So, on this the second day of 2020 and the last day of Christmas holiday, I returned to take them.

 

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There really is a hamlet called Ham, and it is near the town of Sandwich, and nearby there is a signpost pointing the way to Ham and Sandwich.

 

Were it not for that sign, most of us wouldn't know of Ham. Even for rural Kent it is off the beaten track, and ten down a less beaten one.

 

And by the sole crossroads there is the lychgate, and almost out of view is the church.

 

I saw it out on a Ramble many years ago, and forgot about it, but a conversation with John, whose daughter now lives in Ham brought it to mind.

 

I hope to visit the church, now a house, in the near future.

 

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HAM.

THE parish of Ham, in the hundred of Eastry, lies the next to that of Northborne, described before in the hundred of Cornilo, north-westward. It is written in the survey of Domesday, Hama, and in several records, Kings Ham. There was no borsholder chosen for this parish or Betshanger, till within these few years, when one was appointed at the petty sessions to act for both parishes jointly, which they have continued to do ever since. The constable for the lower half hundred of Eastry always acted in that capacity before.

 

THIS PARISH lies at the northern boundary of the uplands of East Kent, so far it is both pleasant and healthy, having beautiful views of the adjoining open country, the town of Deal, and beyond, the Downs, and the rest of the channel as far as the coast of France. The village, having the church adjoining to it, contains only four houses. It is pleasantly situated on high ground, the hill sloping towards the north-east. There are about five hundred acres of land in this parish; the soil of it is in general fertile, consisting partly of chalk and partly of a rich loamy earth. The grounds, which are mostly arable, are open and uniclosed, at the extremity of which, towards the east, is the high road to Deal. Northward of the village, the ground falls towards Ham bridge, over the south stream, which directs its course from hence towards Hackling, Worth chapel, and so on to Sandwich, through which town it runs into the river Stour. In this part of the parish the lands are marshes and pasture, and the country becomes damp in a foggy unwholesome air. About three quarters of a mile southward from the village is the hamlet of Updowne. This parish is about a mile and an half from north to south, and not much more than half a mile the other way. There is no fair.

 

THE MANOR OF HAM, at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, in the 15th year of the Conqueror's reign, was part of the possessions of Odo, bishop of Baieux, his half-brother, under the general title of whose lands it is thus entered in it:

 

In Estrei hundred. Osbern, son of Letard, holds of the bishop, Hama. It was taxed at one suling. The arable land is . . . . . In demesne there is one carucate, with one villein, and two borderers, and two servants. In demesne there is one carucate, with one villein, and two borderers, and two servants. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth fifty shillings, and afterwards twenty shillings, now sixty shillings. Three thanes held it of king Edward.

 

Four years after which the bishop was disgraced, and this, among the rest of his estates, was confiscated to the crown; and the king having put Dover castle under a new order of government, his manor was granted, among other lands, to Hugh de Port, for his assistance under John de Fienes, in the defence of it. These lands together made up the barony of Port, and were held by barony, by the service of performing ward there for the defence of it. In king Henry III.'s reign this manor was held by knight's service of his descendant John de St. John, (fn. 1) by John Fitzbernard; soon after which, it appears to have been separated into moieties, ONE OF WHICH was held by Henry de Sandwich, heir of Ralph Fitzbernard, in king Edward I. 's reign, in manner as above mentioned, as it was by Ralph de Sandwich afterwards; soon after which it passed into the family of Leyborne, in which it continued till Juliana, daughter of Thomas de Leyborne, usually stiled the Infanta of Kent, died possessed of it in the 41st year of king Edward III. leaving no issue by either of her husbands, when it escheated to the crown for want of heirs, among the rest of her estates, (fn. 2) where this manor remained till king Richard II. granted it to Sir Simon de Burley, knight-banneret, warden of the cinque ports, and knight of the garter, but he being attainted in parliament in the 10th year of that reign, and afterwards beheaded, it became again vested in the crown, and the king, in his 11th and 22d years, settled it on the priory of canons, aliasChiltern Langley, in Hertfordshire, where it remained till the suppression of that house, anno 30 Henry VIII. when it came into the king's hands, and was next year granted, with the scite of the priory and other estates and lands belonging to it, to Richard, bishop suffragan of Dover, to hold for his life, or until he should be promoted unto some ecclesiastical benefice of 100l. yearly value, which happened before the 36th year of that reign, in which this moiety of the manor was granted by the king to Sir Thomas Moyle, to hold in capite, who alienated it in the 2d year of king Edward VI. to Sir Robert Oxenbridge, who becoming possessed of the other moiety in right of his wife Alice, daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Fogge, enjoyed the whole of this manor, which his descendant passed away at the latter end of of queen Elizabeth's reign, to Edward Boys, esq. of Betshanger.

 

THE OTHER MOIETY of this manor, which in the 20th year of king Edward III. was held by Richard, son of John Fitzbernard, passed from him into the family of Criol, and Sir Nicholas de Cryell, or Keriell, died possessed of it in the 2d year of king Richard II. and from him it devolved at length by succession to Sir Thomas Keriell, who was slain in the 38th year of king Henry VI. in asserting the cause of the house of York; on whose death, his two daughters became his coheirs, and on the division of their inheritance, this moiety of the manor was allotted to Alice, married to John Fogge, esq. of Repton, afterwards knighted, and he in her right became possessed of it, and by his will devised it to his son Sir Thomas Fogge, sergeantporter of Calais, both under king Henry VII. and VIII. one of whose two daughters and coheirs Alice, upon the division of their inheritance, first carried it to her husband Edward Scott, esq. of the Moat, in Suffex, and afterwards to her second husband Sir Robert Oxenbridge who having purchased the other moiety of this manor of Sir Thomas Moyle became entitled to the whole of it. The family of Oxenbridge was seated near Winchelsea, in Sussex; in the church of which, Camden says, there were the effigies on tombs of three knights templars lying cross-legged, one of which, he supposes, was for one of the family of Oxenbridge. His descendant passed away this manor as above-mentioned, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, to Edward Boys, esq. of Betshanger, whose descendant, Edward Grotius Boys, dying s. p. in 1706, gave it by will to his kinsman, Thomas Brett, LL. D. rector of this parish, being the son of Thomas Brett, gent. of Wye, by Letitia, the only surviving sister of Jeffray Boys, esq. of Betshanger, the father of Edward Grotius Boys, esq. above-mentioned. He not long afterwards alienated it to Sir Henry Furnese, bart. of Waldershare, whose son Sir Robert Furnese, bart. of the same place, died possessed of it in 1733. After which it became, with his other estates, at length vested in his three daughters and coheirs, and on a partition of them, anno 9 George II. this manor was wholly allotted, among others, to Anne, the eldest sister, wife of John, viscount St. John, which partition was confirmed by an act passed next year. After which it descended down to their grandson George, viscount Bolingbroke, (fn. 3) who in 1790 sold it to Mr. Thomas Petman, of Eastry, and he is the present owner of it.

 

A court baron is held for this manor, which claims over some few lands of trifling extent in Chillenden.

 

UPDOWNE PLACE is a seat in this parish, situated in the hamlet of Updowne, in the north-west boundary of it, adjoining to Eastry. This seat, for beauty of situation, for healthiness of country, and extent of prospect, stands almost unrivalled, even in these parts, where pleasantness and beauties of situation are entitled to constant admiration. The prospect from it commands a delightful view over the adjacent country, the North Foreland, Ramsgate, the town of Deal, the Downs, and the adjoining channel.

 

The estate formerly belonged to Mr. Rich. Thompson, of Waldershare, who alienated it to Capt. Thomas Fagg, of Dover, who first fitted it up as a gentleman's residence. He died in 1748, and was buried in this church. After whose death it was sold, according to the direction of his will, to Sir George Oxenden, bart of Dean, and he conveyed it to his son Henry Oxenden, esq. who, as his father had before, resided here occasionally, and made some improvements to it; and afterwards passed it away to Matthew Collett, esq. who laid out much money in the further beautifying of it, making several plantations round it, and purchasing an adjoining farm, which he added to the grounds of it. He died possessed of it in 1777, and was buried in the nave of this church, after which his widow became entitled to it, and resided here, during which time she purchased of Sir Edward Dering, bart. another small farm, part of the Furnese estate, adjoining to the former in this hamlet; but she alienated the whole of her estate here in 1778, to John Minet Fector, esq. of Dover, banker and merchant, who in 1786 enlarged his property here by the purchase of an estate, called Updowne farm, in this hamlet; since which he has added considerably to the size and improvements of this seat, and has imparked the lands round it, and he is now the possessor of it, and resides here occasionally. (fn. 4)

 

There are no parochial charities. The poor constantly relieved are about four, casually two.

 

THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanryof Sandwich.

 

The church, which is dedicated to St. George, is but a small mean building. It consists of a nave and chancel, having a small wooden pointed turret at the west end, in which is one bell. In the chancel are several memorials for the Bunces, of this parish. In the nave, a memorial for Thomas Fagg, esq. obt. 1748, æt. 65. Also for Lydia his daughter, obt. 1737, æt. two months. She was murdered by her maid, who was hanged for the fact. A memorial for Matthew Collet, esq. of Updowne-place, obt. 1777.

 

The church of Ham was granted by archbishop Baldwin, about the latter end of king Henry II.'s reign, at the petition and presentation of Sir William de Norfolk, lord of the soil, to the prior and convent of Ledes, to hold to them in pure and perpetual alms. After which, archbishop Edmund, in 1235, granted to them, in the name of a perpetual benefice, forty shillings yearly from this church. At the time of the dissolution of the priory there seems to have been only a pen sion of twenty shillings yearly paid by this church to it, which pension was granted by the king, in his 33d year, among other premises, to his new-founded dean and chapter of Rochester, where it now continues.

 

With the priory, this church continued till the dissolution of it in the 31st year of king Henry VIII. since which the advowson of this rectory has continued in the crown, the king being at this time patron of it.

 

This rectory is valued in the king's books at 5l. 6s. 5½d. and the yearly tenths at 10s. 7¼d. In 1588 here were communicants twenty nine, and it was valued at fifty pounds. In 1640 only twenty communicants, and it was of the same value. It is now computed to be of the yearly value of sixty pounds. There is some glebe land, but no parsonage-house.

 

¶It seems not improper to remark here, that the value of church livings in the two divisions of East and West Kent are differently estimated by the respective courts of quarter sessions, viz. In East Kent, the court, in all valuations of church livings, as to parochial and other assessments, never allows the stipend of the curate as a reprise or out going, to be deducted in favour of the incumbent; whereas in West Kent, the court, on the contrary, always deducts it in his favour, and allows it to him as a reprise out of the yearly value of his living.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol10/pp37-44

St Albans Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, is a Church of England cathedral church within St Albans, England. At 84 metres (276 ft), its nave is the longest of any cathedral in England. With much of its present architecture dating from Norman times, it was formerly known as St Albans Abbey before it became a cathedral in 1877. It is the second longest cathedral in the United Kingdom (after Winchester). Local residents often call it "the abbey", although the present cathedral represents only the church of the old Benedictine abbey.

 

The abbey church, although legally a cathedral church, differs in certain particulars from most of the other cathedrals in England: it is also used as a parish church, of which the dean is rector. He has the same powers, responsibilities and duties as the rector of any other parish.

 

Alban was a pagan living in the Roman city of Verulamium, now Verulamium Park, in St Albans, in Hertfordshire, England, about 22 miles (35 km) north of London along Watling Street. Before Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, local Christians were being persecuted by the Romans. Alban sheltered their priest, Saint Amphibalus, in his home and was converted to the Christian faith by him. When the soldiers came to Alban's house looking for the priest, Alban exchanged cloaks with the priest and let himself be arrested in his place. Alban was taken before the magistrate, where he avowed his new Christian faith and was condemned for it. He was beheaded, according to legend, on the spot where the cathedral named after him now stands. The site is on a steep hill and legend has it that his head rolled down the hill after being cut off and that a well sprang up at the point where it stopped.

A well certainly exists today and the road up to the cathedral is named Holywell Hill. However the current well structure is no older than the late 19th century and it is thought that the name of the street derives from the "Halywell" river and "Halywell Bridge", not from the well.

 

The date of Alban's execution is a matter of some debate and is generally given as "circa 250"—scholars generally suggest dates of 209, 254 or 304.

 

History of the abbey and cathedral

 

A memoria over the execution point and holding the remains of Alban existed at the site from the mid-4th century (possibly earlier); Bedementions a church and Gildas a shrine. Bishop Germanus of Auxerre visited in 429 and took a portion of the apparently still bloody earth away. The style of this structure is unknown; the 13th century chronicler Matthew Paris (see below) claimed that the Saxons destroyed the building in 586.

 

Saxon buildings

Offa II of Mercia, who ruled in the 8th century, is said to have founded the Benedictine abbey and monastery at St Albans. All later religious structures are dated from the foundation of Offa's abbey in 793. The abbey was built on Holmhurst Hill—now Holywell Hill—across the River Ver from the ruins of Verulamium. Again there is no information to the form of the first abbey. The abbey was probably sacked by the Danes around 890 and, despite Paris's claims, the office of abbot remained empty from around 920 until the 970s when the efforts of Dunstanreached the town.

 

There was an intention to rebuild the abbey in 1005 when Abbot Ealdred was licensed to remove building material from Verulamium. With the town resting on clay and chalk the only tough stone is flint. This was used with a lime mortar and then either plastered over or left bare. With the great quantities of brick, tile and other stone in Verulamium the Roman site became a prime source of building material for the abbeys, and other projects in the area, up to the 18th century. Sections demanding worked stone used Lincolnshire limestone (Barnack stone) from Verulamium, later worked stones include Totternhoe freestone from Bedfordshire, Purbeck marble, and different limestones (Ancaster, Chilmark, Clipsham, etc.).

Renewed Viking raids from 1016 stalled the Saxon efforts and very little from the Saxon abbey was incorporated in the later forms.

 

The nave. The north wall (left) features a mix of Norman arches dating back to 1077 and arches in the Early English style of 1200.

 

Norman abbey

Much of the current layout and proportions of the structure date from the first Norman abbot, Paul of Caen (1077–1093). The 14th abbot, he was appointed by the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Lanfranc.

 

Building work started in the year of Abbot Paul's arrival. The design and construction was overseen by the Norman Robert the Mason. The plan has very limited Anglo-Saxon elements and is clearly influenced by the French work at Cluny, Bernay, and Caen and shares a similar floor plan to Saint-Étienne and Lanfranc's Canterbury—although the poorer quality building material was a new challenge for Robert and he clearly borrowed some Roman techniques, learned while gathering material in Verulamium. To take maximum use of the hilltop the abbey was oriented to the south-east. The cruciform abbey was the largest built in England at that time, it had a chancel of four bays, a transept containing seven apses, and a nave of ten bays—fifteen bays long overall. Robert gave particular attention to solid foundations, running a continuous wall of layered bricks, flints and mortar below and pushing the foundations down to twelve feet to hit bedrock. Below the crossing tower special large stones were used.

 

The tower was a particular triumph—it is the only 11th century great crossing tower still standing in England. Robert began with special thick supporting walls and four massive brick piers. The four-level tower tapers at each stage with clasping buttresses on the three lower levels and circular buttresses on the fourth stage. The entire structure masses 5,000 tons and is 144 feet high. The tower was probably topped with a Norman pyramidal roof; the current roof is flat. The original ringing chamber had five bells—two paid for by the Abbot, two by a wealthy townsman, and one donated by the rector of Hoddesdon. None of these bells has survived.

There was a widespread belief that the abbey had two additional, smaller towers at the west end. No remains have been found.

 

The monastic abbey was completed in 1089 but not consecrated until Holy Innocents' Day, 1115, (28 Dec) by the Archbishop of Rouen. King Henry I attended as did many bishops and nobles.

A nunnery (Sopwell Priory) was founded nearby in 1140.

 

Internally the abbey was bare of sculpture, almost stark. The plaster walls were coloured and patterned in parts, with extensive tapestries adding colour. Sculptural decoration was added, mainly ornaments, as it became more fashionable in the 12th century—especially after the Gothic style arrived in England around 1170.

 

In the current structure the original Norman arches survive principally under the central tower and on the north side of the nave. The arches in the rest of the building are Gothic, following medieval rebuilding and extensions, and Victorian era restoration.

 

The abbey was extended in the 1190s by Abbot John de Cella (also known as John of Wallingford) (1195–1214); as the number of monks grew from fifty to over a hundred, the abbey was extended westwards with three bays added to the nave. The severe Norman west front was also rebuilt by Hugh de Goldclif—although how is uncertain, it was very costly but its 'rapid' weathering and later alterations have erased all but fragments. A more prominent shrine and altar to Saint Amphibalus were also added. The work was very slow under de Cella and was not completed until the time of Abbot William de Trumpington (1214–35). The low Norman tower roof was demolished and a new, much higher, broached spire was raised, sheathed in lead.

The St Albans Psalter (ca. 1130–45) is the best known of a number of important Romanesque illuminated manuscripts produced in the Abbey scriptorium. Later, Matthew Paris, a monk at St Albans from 1217 until his death in 1259, was important both as a chronicler and an artist. Eighteen of his manuscripts survive and are a rich source of contemporary information for historians.

Nicholas Breakspear was born near St Albans and applied to be admitted to the abbey as a novice, but he was turned down. He eventually managed to be accepted into an abbey in France. In 1154 he was elected Pope Adrian IV, the only English Pope there has ever been. The head of the abbey was confirmed as the premier abbot in England also in 1154.

 

13th to 15th centuries

 

An earthquake shook the abbey in 1250 and damaged the eastern end of the church. In 1257 the dangerously cracked sections were knocked down—three apses and two bays. The thick Presbytery wall supporting the tower was left. The rebuilding and updating was completed during the rule of Abbot Roger de Norton (1263–90).

 

On 10 October 1323 two piers on the south side of the nave collapsed dragging down much of the roof and wrecking five bays. Mason Henry Wy undertook the rebuilding, matching the Early English style of the rest of the bays but adding distinctly 14th century detailing and ornaments. The shrine to St Amphibalus had also been damaged and was remade.

 

Abbey Gateway, now part of St. Albans School.

Richard of Wallingford, abbot from 1297 to 1336 and a mathematician and astronomer, designed a celebrated clock, which was completed by William of Walsham after his death, but apparently destroyed during the reformation.

 

A new gateway, now called the Abbey Gateway, was built to the abbey grounds in 1365, which was the only part of the monastery buildings (besides the church) to survive the dissolution, later being used as a prison and now part of St Albans School. The other monastic buildings were located to the south of the gateway and church.

 

In the 15th century a large west window of nine main lights and a deep traced head was commissioned by John of Wheathampstead. The spire was reduced to a 'Hertfordshire spike', the roof pitch greatly reduced and battlements liberally added. Further new windows, at £50 each, were put in the transept by Abbot Wallingford (also known as William of Wallingford), who also had a new high altar screen made.

 

Dissolution and after

After the death of Abbot Ramryge in 1521 the abbey fell into debt and slow decay under three weak abbots. At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries and its surrender on 5 December 1539 the income was £2,100 annually. The abbot and remaining forty monks were pensioned off and then the buildings were looted. All gold, silver and gilt objects were carted away with all other valuables; stonework was broken and defaced and graves opened to burn the contents.

 

The abbey became part of the diocese of Lincoln in 1542 and was moved to the diocese of London in 1550. The buildings suffered—neglect, second-rate repairs, even active damage. Richard Lee purchased all the buildings, except the church and chapel and some other Crown premises, in 1550. Lee then began the systematic demolition for building material to improve Lee Hall at Sopwell. In 1551, with the stone removed, Lee returned the land to the abbot. The area was named Abbey Ruins for the next 200 years or so.

 

In 1553 the Lady chapel became a school, the Great Gatehouse a town jail, some other buildings passed to the Crown, and the Abbey Church was sold to the town for £400 in 1553 by King Edward VI to be the church of the parish.

 

The cost of upkeep fell upon the town, although in 1596 and at irregular intervals later the Archdeacon was allowed to collect money for repairs by Brief in the diocese. After James I visited in 1612 he authorised another Brief, which collected around £2,000—most of which went on roof repairs. The English Civil War slashed the monies spent on repairs, while the abbey was used to hold prisoners of war and suffered from their vandalism, as well as that of their guards. Most of the metal objects that had survived the Dissolution were also removed and other ornamental parts were damaged in Puritan sternness. Another round of fund-raising in 1681–84 was again spent on the roof, repairing the Presbytery vault. A royal grant from William and Mary in 1689 went on general maintenance, 'repairs' to conceal some of the unfashionable Gothic features, and on new internal fittings. There was a second royal grant from William in 1698.

By the end of the 17th century the dilapidation was sufficient for a number of writers to comment upon it.

 

In 1703, from 26 November to 1 December, the Great Storm raged across southern England; the abbey lost the south transept window which was replaced in wood at a cost of £40. The window was clear glass with five lights and three transoms in an early Gothic Revival style by John Hawgood. Other windows, although not damaged in the storm, were a constant drain on the abbey budget in the 18th century.

 

A brief in 1723–24, seeking £5,775, notes a great crack in the south wall, that the north wall was eighteen inches from vertical, and that the roof timbers were decayed to the point of danger. The money raised was spent on the nave roof over ten bays.

 

Another brief was not issued until 1764. Again the roof was rotting, as was the south transept window, walls were cracked or shattered in part and the south wall had subsided and now leant outwards. Despite a target of £2,500 a mere £600 was raised.

In the 1770s the abbey came close to demolition; the expense of repairs meant a scheme to destroy the abbey and erect a smaller church almost succeeded.

 

A storm in 1797 caused some subsidence, cracking open graves, scattering pavement tiles, flooding the church interior and leaving a few more arches off-vertical.

 

19th century

 

The Wallingford Screen of c. 1480—the statues are Victorian replacements (1884–89) of the originals, destroyed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries, when the screen itself was also damaged. Statues of St Alban and St Amphibalus stand on either side of the altar.

 

This century was marked with a number of repair schemes. The abbey received some money from the 1818 "Million Act", and in 1820 £450 was raised to buy an organ—a second-hand example made in 1670.

 

The major efforts to revive the abbey church came under four men—L. N. Cottingham, Rector H. J. B. Nicholson, and, especially, George Gilbert Scott and Edmund Beckett, first Baron Grimthorpe.

 

In February 1832 a portion of the clerestory wall fell through the roof of the south aisle, leaving a hole almost thirty feet long. With the need for serious repair work evident the architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham was called in to survey the building. His Survey was presented in 1832 and was worrying reading: everywhere mortar was in a wretched condition and wooden beams were rotting and twisting. Cottingham recommended new beams throughout the roof and a new steeper pitch, removal of the spire and new timbers in the tower, new paving, ironwork to hold the west transept wall up, a new stone south transept window, new buttresses, a new drainage system for the roof, new ironwork on almost all the windows, and on and on. He estimated a cost of £14,000. A public subscription of £4,000 was raised, of which £1,700 vanished in expenses. With the limited funds the clerestory wall was rebuilt, the nave roof re-leaded, the tower spike removed, some forty blocked windows reopened and glazed, and the south window remade in stone.

 

Henry Nicholson, rector from 1835 to 1866, was also active in repairing the abbey church—as far as he could, and in uncovering lost or neglected Gothic features.

 

In 1856 repair efforts began again; £4,000 was raised and slow moves started to gain the abbey the status of cathedral. George Gilbert Scottwas appointed the project architect and oversaw a number of works from 1860 until his death in 1878.

Scott began by having the medieval floor restored, necessitating the removal of tons of earth, and fixing the north aisle roof. From 1872–77 the restored floors were re-tiled in matching stone and copies of old tile designs. A further 2,000 tons of earth were shifted in 1863 during work on the foundation and a new drainage system. In 1870 the tower piers were found to be badly weakened with many cracks and cavities. Huge timbers were inserted and the arches filled with brick as an emergency measure. Repair work took until May 1871 and cost over £2,000. The south wall of the nave was now far from straight; Scott reinforced the north wall and put in scaffolding to take the weight of the roof off the wall, then had it jacked straight in under three hours. The wall was then buttressed with five huge new masses and set right. Scott was lauded as "saviour of the Abbey." From 1870–75 around £20,000 was spent on the abbey.

In 1845 St Albans was transferred from the Diocese of Lincoln to the Diocese of Rochester. Then, in 1875, the Bishopric of St Albans Act was passed and on 30 April 1877 the See of St Albans was created, which comprises about 300 churches in the counties of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. The then Bishop of Rochester, the Right Revd Dr Thomas Legh Claughton, elected to take the northern division of his old diocese and on 12 June 1877 was enthroned first Bishop of St Albans, a position he held until 1890. He is buried in the churchyard on the north side of the nave.

George Gilbert Scott was working on the nave roof, vaulting and west bay when he died on 27 March 1878. His plans were partially completed by his son, John Oldrid Scott, but the remaining work fell into the hands of Lord Grimthorpe, whose efforts have attracted much controversy—Nikolaus Pevsner calling him a "pompous, righteous bully." However, he donated much of the immense sum of £130,000 the work cost.

 

Whereas Scott's work had clearly been in sympathy with the existing building, Grimthorpe's plans reflected the Victorian ideal. Indeed, he spent considerable time dismissing and criticising the work of Scott and the efforts of his son.

Grimthorpe first reinstated the original pitch of the roof, although the battlements added for the lower roof were retained. Completed in 1879, the roof was leaded, following on Scott's desires.

 

1805 engraving of the west front of the abbey showing the lost Wheathampstead window.

His second major project was the most controversial. The west front, with the great Wheathampstead window, was cracked and leaning, and Grimthorpe, never more than an amateur architect, designed the new front himself—attacked as dense, misproportioned and unsympathetic: "His impoverishment as a designer ... [is] evident"; "this man, so practical and ingenious, was utterly devoid of taste ... his great qualities were marred by arrogance ... and a lack of historic sense". Counter proposals were deliberately substituted by Grimthorpe for poorly drawn versions and Grimthorpe's design was accepted?. During building it was considerably reworked in order to fit the actual frontage and is not improved by the poor quality sculpture. Work began in 1880 and was completed in April 1883, having cost £20,000.

 

The Lady Chapel at the east end of the cathedral.

Grimthorpe was noted for his aversion to the Perpendicular—to the extent that he would have sections he disliked demolished as "too rotten" rather than remade. In his reconstruction, especially of windows, he commonly mixed architectural styles carelessly (see the south aisle, the south choir screen and vaulting). He spent £50,000 remaking the nave. Elsewhere he completely rebuilt the south wall cloisters, with new heavy buttresses, and removed the arcading of the east cloisters during rebuilding the south transept walls. In the south transept he completely remade the south face, completed in 1885, including the huge lancet window group—his proudest achievement—and the flanking turrets; a weighty new tiled roof was also made. In the north transept Grimthorpe had the Perpendicular window demolished and his design inserted—a rose window of circles, cusped circles and lozenges arrayed in five rings around the central light, sixty-four lights in total, each circle with a different glazing pattern.

 

Grimthorpe continued through the Presbytery in his own style, adapting the antechapel for Consistory Courts, and into the Lady Chapel. After a pointed lawsuit with Henry Hucks Gibbs, first Baron Aldenham over who should direct the restoration, Grimthorpe had the vault remade and reproportioned in stone, made the floor in black and white marble (1893), and had new Victorian arcading and sculpture put below the canopy work. Externally the buttresses were expanded to support the new roof, and the walls were refaced.

As early as 1897, Grimthorpe was having to return to previously renovated sections to make repairs. His use of over-strong cement led to cracking, while his fondness for ironwork in windows led to corrosion and damage to the surrounding stone.

Grimthorpe died in 1905 and was interred in the churchyard. He left a bequest for continuing work on the buildings.

 

During this century the name St Albans Abbey was given to one of the town's railway stations.

 

20th century

John Oldrid Scott (died 1913) (George Gilbert Scott's son), despite frequent clashes with Grimthorpe, had continued working within the cathedral. Scott was a steadfast supporter of the Gothic revival and designed the tomb of the first bishop; he had a new bishop's throne built (1903), together with commemorative stalls for Bishop Festing and two Archdeacons, and new choir stalls. He also repositioned and rebuilt the organ (1907). Further work was interrupted by the war.

A number of memorials to the war were added to the cathedral, notably the painting The Passing of Eleanor by Frank Salisbury (stolen 1973) and the reglazing of the main west window, dedicated in 1925.

 

Following the Enabling Act of 1919 control of the buildings passed to a Parochial Church Council (replaced by the Cathedral Council in 1968), who appointed the woodwork specialist John Rogers as Architect and Surveyor of the Fabric. He uncovered extensive death watch beetledamage in the presbytery vault and oversaw the repair (1930–31). He had four tons of rubbish removed from the crossing tower and the main timbers reinforced (1931–32), and invested in the extensive use of insecticide throughout the wood structures. In 1934, the eight bells were overhauled and four new bells added to be used in the celebration of George V's jubilee.

 

Cecil Brown was architect and surveyor from 1939 to 1962. At first he merely oversaw the lowering of the bells for the war and established a fire watch, with the pump in the slype. After the war, in the 1950s, the organ was removed, rebuilt and reinstalled and new pews added. His major work was on the crossing tower. Grimthorpe's cement was found to be damaging the Roman bricks: every brick in the tower was replaced as needed and reset in proper mortar by one man, Walter Barrett. The tower ceiling was renovated as were the nave murals. Brown established the Muniments Room to gather and hold all the church documents.

In 1972, to encourage a closer link between celebrant and congregation, the massive nine-ton pulpit along with the choir stalls and permanent pews was dismantled and removed. The altar space was enlarged and improved. New 'lighter' wood (limed oak) choir stalls were put in, and chairs replaced the pews. A new wooden pulpit was acquired from a Norfolk church and installed in 1974. External floodlighting was added in 1975.

A major survey in 1974 revealed new leaks, decay and other deterioration, and a ten-year restoration plan was agreed. Again the roofing required much work. The nave and clerestory roofs were repaired in four stages with new leading. The nave project was completed in 1984 at a total cost of £1.75 million. The clerestory windows were repaired with the corroded iron replaced with delta bronze and other Grimthorpe work on the clerestory was replaced. Seventy-two new heads for the corbel table were made. Grimthorpe's west front was cracking, again due to the use originally of too strong a mortar, and was repaired.

 

A new visitors' centre was proposed in 1970. Planning permission was sought in 1973; there was a public inquiry and approval was granted in 1977. Constructed to the south side of the cathedral close to the site of the original chapter house of the abbey, the new 'Chapter House' cost around £1 million and was officially opened on 8 June 1982 by Queen Elizabeth. The main building material was 500,000 replica Roman bricks.

 

Other late 20th-century works include the restoration of Alban's shrine, with a new embroidered canopy, and the stained glass designed by Alan Younger for Grimthorpe's north transept rose window, unveiled in 1989 by Diana, Princess of Wales.

 

Modern times

The Bishop is the Right Reverend Alan Smith, installed in September 2009. The Venerable Jonathan Smith is Archdeacon of St Albans, installed in October 2008. On 2 July 2004, the Very Reverend Canon Dr Jeffrey John became the ninth Dean of the Cathedral.

 

Robert Runcie, later Archbishop of Canterbury, was bishop of St Albans from 1970 to 1980 and returned to live in the city after his retirement; he is commemorated by a gargoyle on the Cathedral as well as being buried in the graveyard. Colin Slee, former Dean of Southwark Cathedral, was sub-dean at St Albans under Runcie and then Dean, Peter Moore. The bishop's house is in Abbey Mill Lane, St Albans, as is the house of the Bishop of Hertford. The Reverend Canon Eric James, Chaplain Extraordinary to HM the Queen, was Canon at St Albans for many years.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Albans_Cathedral

 

Motorcycles - British - The Magnificent Triumph Thruxton - Special 2010 Edition.

Like on all their Modern Classics, Triumph uses the consecrated air-cooled, 865cc, DOHC, parallel-twin motor which is fuel-injected for those same models, including the Thruxton. What’s the best of this bike is the racing heritage that comes with the name. That same heritage determined British engineers to get the most out of the engine – 68bhp at 7,400 rpm and 51ft.lbf at 5,800 rpm – and call this their sportiest timeless machine.

 

The engine carries on being mated to the five-speed gearbox while the right rider side X-ring chain is no only one of the manufacturer’s characteristics, but also the appropriate type for a motorcycle claimed to perform as good as it looks.

Both the frame and the swingarm are made out of tubular steel so at least we have what to blame for the 506 lbs wet weight of this piece of history. The standard spoked 18-inch front, 17-inch rear wheels remain faithful to the 1960s style, but the braking system featuring a 320mm floating disc and two piston calipers and a single 255mm disc with two piston caliper is as modern as they get.

 

We could just say that about the suspension package as the 41mm preload adjustable forks are anyway but vintage, while the chromed spring twin shocks with adjustable preload sure look like total opposite, but still get the job done. Thruxton’s sporty handling is ensured by a 27 degree rake and 97mm trail, but the bike’s low center of gravity and the 84.6 inches overall length are no disadvantages either.

 

What’s the best of this bike is that it has been looking and performing like this for decades, the only things that Triumph took care of through years being easily called details.

While maintaining the standard Thruxton on the production line, Triumph’s 2010 lineup features a Thruxton SE limited edition model that the British motorcycle manufacturer has also created with the café racer style in mind.

 

Already an attractive motorcycle reminiscent of the classic sportbike style, the standard Thruxton is powered by an 865cc air-cooled parallel twin and it is based on a steel tubular frame. While these will also be the main features behind the 2010 Triumph Thruxton SE, the exclusive new bike comes in Triumph’s new Crystal White paint scheme with a red stripe. The sportier look is also enhanced by the presence of the new headlight cowl and red powdercoated frame but let’s not forget about the black engine cases, which contribute as well.

Consecrated in 1948, the Church of the Holy Cross on the campus of St. Leo University near Dade City, Pasco County, was designed in an Italian Romanesque style by Tampa architect, Frank Parziole.

The newly consecrated National Cathedral of the Romanian Orthodox Church, still under construction in Bucharest

 

youtu.be/R-i2hzc1L4I

Orthodox Patriarchs of Constantinople and Bucharest consecrate Cathedral

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_People%27s_Salvation_Cathe...

catedralaneamului.ro/

  

The Cathedral was consecrated on 25 November 2018 by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, Patriarch Daniel of Romania and Metropolitan Chrysostomos (gr) of Patras from the Greek Orthodox Church.

The present neo-Gothic church, consecrated to St. Martin, was built in 1905 on the site of the previous Gothic church dating from the 15th century, although the very first chapel was erected here before the year 1000.

 

The new church was built following the plans of Prof. Friedrich von Schmidt (the architect of the Vienna City Hall), but these were consequently changed by architect Josip Vancaš – namely in their design of the interior. The majority of sculptures were made by restoration specialist Ivan Vurnik from Radovljica and were produced from the best Carrera marble.

 

The church was adorned with frescoes by painter Slavko Pengov between 1932 and 1937. In front of the church there is a garden signpost which was designed by the great Slovenian architect, Jože Plečnik, in the years before World War II. The well-preserved walls from the 15th century remind us of the periods of Turkish invasions to these lands.

  

The Sainte-Chapelle (French pronunciation: ​[sɛ̃t ʃapɛl], Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.

Construction began sometime after 1238 and the chapel was consecrated on 26 April 1248. The Sainte-Chapelle is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion relics, including Christ's Crown of Thorns – one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom, later hosted in the nearby Notre-Dame Cathedral until the 2019 fire, which it survived.

Along with the Conciergerie, the Sainte-Chapelle is one of the earliest surviving buildings of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité. Although damaged during the French Revolution and restored in the 19th century, it has one of the most extensive 13th-century stained glass collections anywhere in the world.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte-Chapelle

Consecrated by Ramiro I and his wife Paterna in the year 848

Church in Venice that was begun in its original form in 829 (consecrated in 832) as an ecclesiastical structure to house and honour the remains of St. Markthat had been brought from Alexandria. St. Mark thereupon replaced St. Theodore as the patron saint of Venice, and his attribute of a winged lion later became the official symbol of the Venetian Republic. San Marco Basilica, built beside the Palazzo Ducale, or Doges’ Palace, also served as the doge’s. It did not become the cathedral church of Venice until 1807. The first basilica was burned in 976 during a popular revolt against the doge Pietro Candiano IV but was restored under his successor, Doge Domenico Contarini (died about 1070); the present basilica was completed in 1071. The plan is a Greek cross, and the building is surmounted by five domes. The design is distinctly Byzantine, and it is likely that both Byzantine and Italian architects and craftsmen were employed in the construction and decoration. Over the centuries, additions of sculpture, mosaics, and ceremonial objects have increased the church’s richness.

 

Строительство церкви началось в 829 году. На возведение собора Сан-Марко ушло всего лишь три года. К сожалению, первоначальный вид здания не сохранился — постройка сильно пострадала во время пожара. Современный же храм был построен в 1063 году. В последующие годы собор становился все больше и красивее. Архитекторы использовали для постройки базилики несколько десятков тысяч свай из лиственницы. Кстати, прототипом храма считается церковь Двенадцати апостолов в Константинополе. Базилика играла важную роль в жизни Венеции. В соборе короновали дожей, отправляли в дальние странствия известных мореходов, здесь собирались жители города в праздники и дни народных бедствий.