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LEGOLAND Windsor a theme park dedicated to children aged 3-12 years old and of course big kid adults.
An inspirational land where the kids are the hero and adults relive their childhood.
The fun never stops and imagination knows no bounds, a family attraction like no other.
Set in 150 acres of beautiful parkland, LEGOLAND Windsor is a unique family theme park with over 55 interactive rides, live shows, building workshops, driving schools and attractions.
It's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!
From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park.
Fun Facts about LEGOLAND Windsor
There are 34 LEGO pieces in an average Miniland figure.
The largest model in Miniland is the Canary Wharf Tower which is 5.2 metres tall and took 3 model makers 850 hours to complete using 200,000 LEGO Bricks!
The smallest models are the pigeons in Trafalgar Square which contain 5 LEGO bricks each
New in 2011 - Atlantis Submarine Voyage
Take a deep breath and submerge yourself in an underwater adventure.
Plunge into the depths with this world-first LEGO® submarine ride and immerse yourself in a magical underwater adventure.
So what’s New in 2012
STAR WARS MINILAND EXPERIENCE - The Force has arrived at LEGOLAND
Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND®Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO®Star Wars experience.
LEGOLAND WINDSOR RESORT HOTEL - Now open
An exciting LEGO adventure awaits you, as the amazing 150 room, fully themed LEGOLAND Hotel opens at LEGOLAND Windsor RESORT!
Staying overnight at the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel is a must for all LEGO fans. From the spectacular dragon-guarded entrance and interactive LEGO features through to the brightly coloured pirate splash pool and fully themed bedrooms, the new hotel will inspire imaginations and create laugh-out loud memories. With dedicated indoor play areas, entertainment and a buffet-style restaurant serving child-friendly meals, it’s the perfect family treat.
Cropredy has ancient origins, a chapel in the church is dedicated to St Fremund, an anglo-saxon saint thought to be the son of King Offa. It's name combines the Old English croppe or hill and ridig, a small stream. The village is only a few miles from Banbury, in hilly country along the banks of the River Cherwell. Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries Cropredy belonged the Bishop of Lincoln. More recently Brasenose College, Oxford, has become a significant landlord giving it's name to the local pub.
Dramatic changes to centuries of agrarian life were heralded by the excavation of the Oxford canal which runs alongside the Cherwell south-east of the church. This busy waterway was superseded by the Great Western railway, the village even had it's own station until 1956.
Unusually Cropredy retains the ringing of the curfew bell, in Medieval times this was a signal to return home and 'cover their fires'. Roger Lupton local priest between 1487 and 1528 was so lost in dense fog that he could only find his way from nearby Chacombe by the ringing of Cropredy's bells. He founded a fund in gratitude which paid for the daily winding of the clock and tolling the bell morning, noon and night. The bell is still rung Tuesday and Thursday nights for five minutes after eight O'clock.
The village is best known for the Civil War 'Battle of Cropredy Bridge'. A rare Royalist victory at a time when the Parliamentary forces were in the ascendancy. In June 1644 the King slipped out of Oxford to avoid two Roundhead armies which were rapidly approaching. At this point the Earl of Essex chose to lead his army south and relieve the siege of Lyme Regis leaving Sir William Waller to pursue the King with half of the men. Waller shadowed the Royal army to Worcester only for the King to double back towards Banbury where the Parliamentary commander saw an opportunity to split the Royal forces which were strung out along the Daventry road. Waller's artillery crossed Cropredy bridge but were too far ahead of the infantry and were overrun. Fierce fighting followed but neither side achieved a significant advantage and a chance of capturing the King was lost. As children we were told stories of a phantom drummer boy.
Cropredy's most prominent claim to fame is their music festival founded when Fairport Convention played the village fete in 1976. Cropredy Music Festival grew from these modest beginnings and now attracts over 20,000 music fans every year.
St. Mary the Virgin is an impressive building constructed from the local rust-coloured ironstone. While part of the wall of the south aisle has been dated to c1050 the present church begins in the 13th century with significant 14th and 15th century additions. The south wall has two tomb recesses thought to be built for Simon de Cropredy and his son c1200. The church has an interesting 13th century parish chest and the chapel dedicated to the anglo-saxon saint Fremund has two 15th century screens, one of which has the initials AD which may stand for Alice Danvers. The nave arcading, tower and choir arches are Perpendicular in style with no capitals and continuous moulding from ground level. The tower is early 15th century with the belfry and parapets added 80 years later, There are eight bells, six from the late 17th century, two added in 2007 called Fairport and Villager. Fragments of a Doom survive above the chancel arch. The church has a 17th century pulpit and a rare pre-reformation eagle lectern which is said to have been hidden in the river before the Battle of Cropredy where it lost one of it's lion feet. The beak has a slot for collecting 'Peter's Pence'. There is a beautiful 15th century head of the Virgin Mary in stained glass which was found in the churchyard. There are two fonts, one Norman and one Victorian. In the tower is a magnificent clock by John Moore of Clerkenwell dated 1831.
Cropredy is just off the Daventry road a few miles from Banbury about an hour from Stratford-upon-Avon.
On Friday, September 5, 2014, the City of Marietta and the Marietta Fire Department honored the life and dedicated service of one of its own, Fire Fighter Engineer Lonnie Nutt who lost his life in the line of duty.
This city of Marietta photograph is being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, e-mails, products or promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the city of Marietta, its elected officials or staff. Publication of this photograph must include a credit: Photo courtesy of the city of Marietta.
Think of Abraham Lincoln, Frankiln D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Harry Truman and Gandhi, who used their influence to forge positive social change, proving that power and integrity are not mutually exclusive...
Dedicating a pretty little bloom to these men of INFLUENCE...
Hope your enjoying your Wednesday evening and Thursday morn...
Love ya
D
The U.S. National World War II Memorial is a National Memorial dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. Consisting of 56 pillars and a pair of arches surrounding a plaza and fountain, it is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
Das Second World War Memorial, auch World War II Memorial, ist eine Gedenkstätte in Washington D.C., welche an die im Zweiten Weltkrieg gefallenen US-Soldaten erinnert.
Das Projekt dieses Denkmals wurde bereits in den 1980er Jahren gestartet und am 29. Mai 2004 in Anwesenheit vieler Kriegsveteranen eingeweiht. Der Architekt war Leo A. Daly.
Das Denkmal liegt zwischen dem Washington Monument sowie dem Reflecting Pool an der Mall und besteht aus 56 in 2 Reihen, im Halbkreis angelegte Säulen, die einen grossen Springbrunnen, den Rainbow Pool, umrahmen. Jede Säule ist mit einer metallischen Krone bestückt (Eiche und Weizen), welche einen Staat oder ein Gebiet des Landes vertritt. Jede Reihe für sich stellt die atlantischen und die pazifischen Kriegsgebiete dar.
Von der 17th Strasse West führt eine Treppe bis zum Brunnen. Gemeisselte Tafeln stellen verschiedene Kriegsszenen dar. Diese wurden von Ray Kaskey realisiert. Eine Mauer mit 4000 Sternen ehrt die getöteten Soldaten.
The Frank Sinatra Starkey Hearing Technologies Celebrity Invitational is dedicated to the memory and music of Frank Sinatra and benefits the Barbara Sinatra Center for Abused Children. The Frank Sinatra Starkey Hearing Technologies Celebrity Invitational enjoys a rich history as one of the marquee golf and fundraising events in the Palm Springs, California desert. Each year, celebrities, amateur contestants, loyal sponsors and enthusiastic spectators from all over the country look forward to returning to this unique "celebrity friendly" event.
Known as "Frank's little party in the desert," Barbara and Frank Sinatra founded the Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational in 1988 to raise funds for the Barbara Sinatra Center for Abused Children at Eisenhower Medical Center, which opened in 1986. Through their efforts, and those of supporters throughout the world, the Frank Sinatra Starkey Hearing Technologies Celebrity Invitational is now one of the most successful events of it's kind.
The mission of the Barbara Sinatra Center for Abused Children is to provide counseling for victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and to focus on prevention, community education and breaking the generational cycle of abuse. Barbara Sinatra is quick to thank supporters of the "Frank Sinatra Starkey Hearing Technologies Celebrity Invitational, and she is proud to say "The children who come to us for help continue to receive the therapy they need and deserve; no child is turned away due to a family's inability to pay."
The Frank Sinatra Starkey Hearing Technologies Celebrity Invitational is a five (5) player team gross and net scramble golf tournament held at Eagle Falls Golf Course in Indio, California. The Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, also in Indio, is the tournament's hotel and venue for three nights of parties and a spectacular luncheon and fashion show.
One (1) celebrity and four (4) contestants are a team. The team of four (4) amateur players remains together for two (2) consecutive days. The celebrity contestant changes teams for the second day. Current USGA handicaps are verified and applied to all contestants.
From 1990 until an injury ended their stage careers on October 3, 2003, the duo formed the show "Siegfried & Roy at the The Mirage Resort and Casino", which was regarded as the most-visited show in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
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The church dedicated to Saint-Jacques le Mineur and St. Philip is a religious building in Paris.
Far from the fortifications made by the King Philip II Augustus to defend Paris, on a lonely hill in the middle of fields along an ancient road in 1180 "brothers" of the Diocese of Saint-Jacques Altopascio just moved. This order, from Tuscany (Italy) will base a hospital, a chapel, will build hostels and structures to help the poor and pilgrims in their travels. Their name will be given later to the neighborhood "Saint-Jacques du Haut-Pas" (Altopascio).
Pope Pius II (pontiff from 1458 to 1464) suppressed the order in 1459, their places in 1572 Catherine de Medici install the "Benedictines of Saint-Magloire" The area which over time becomes denser see the need to build a new church, they will acquire this right in 1584 when a church will be built. The church of small dimensions will be transformed from 1630 under the leadership of Gaston d'Orléans.
Gaston of Orleans was the brother of King Louis XIII, a rich man with a taste for the construction, it is also responsible for the construction of a new wing in the classic style at Blois Castle. Under him, the church is made until the current form, with the expansion of the central nave and the creation of the current entry on the Rue Saint-Jacques. The church is dedicated to St. Jacques le Mineur and St. Philip. Saint-Jacques le Mineur is not the Saint-Jacques patron of Compostela because at the time Paris already has a church dedicated to this saint. In our days, from that church remains only a bell tower called "Tour Saint-Jacques."
With the name, location (on the ancient Roman Cardo) and the fact that it is possible to stay there, the church become an important stop on the pilgrimage to Compostela. The pilgrimage to Compostela (after the Reconquista in 1492) is one of three pilgrimages enshrined in the church with Rome and Jerusalem.
Following the French Revolution the church was looted, Catholic worship forbidden, yet in 1795 it opens partially but it must be shared with another organization until 1810 when due to the Concordat of 1801 the Catholic Church takes possession of his property confiscated.
Architectural description
Daniel Gittard is the architect who prepared the plans of the main body, he made the entrance porch, narthex, nave, transept and the altar. Gittard was the architect of the king, founding member of the Royal Academy of Architecture in 1671, also worked at St. Sulpice.
The entrance is a porch with four doric columns surmounted by a fronton, a large rose window in the axis of the porch runs the central part of the facade, rigor and sobriety can be seen in the composition and the lack of decoration. The bell tower is divided into three stages, the first is the narthex and has an access door and a window, the two funds designed identically contains only windows with louvre.
Classical style building, notice by the asymmetry of the facade caused by the absence of a bell tower, due to lack of money. In the initial project was also planned decorations on the walls, the statues of two saints on the front and ornaments all over the facade.
En français
L'église consacrée aux Saint-Jacques le Mineur et saint Philippe est un édifice religieux à Paris.
Loin des fortifications du roi Philippe Auguste II faites pour défendre Paris, sur une colline déserte, au milieu des champs bordant une route antique, en 1180 des « frères » de la diocèse Saint-Jacques d'Altopascio vient de s'installer. Cet ordre, originaire de la Toscane (Italie) fondera un hôpital, une chapelle, bâtira des héberges et d'autres constructions pour aider les pauvres et les pèlerins dans leur voyages. Leur nom sera donné par la suite au quartier « Saint-Jacques du Haut-Pas » (Altopascio).
Le pape Pie II (pontificat 1458-1464) supprima l'ordre en 1459, sur leurs lieux en 1572 Cathérine de Médicis installera les « Bénédictins de Saint-Magloire » Le quartier qui au fil du temps se densifie vois la nécessité de construire une nouvelle église, ils vont acquérir ce droit en 1584 quand une petite église sera construite. L'église de petites dimensions sera transformé à partir de 1630 sous l'impulsion de Gaston d'Orléans.
Gaston d'Orléans était le frère du roi Louis XIII, un homme riche ayant le goût pour la construction, à lui on doit également la construction d'une nouvelle aile de style classique au château de Blois. Sous ses ordres, l'église est faite jusqu'à la forme actuelle, avec l'agrandissement de la nef centrale et la création de l'entrée actuelle sur la rue Saint-Jacques. L'église est consacré aux Saint-Jacques le Mineur et saint Philippe. Saint-Jacques le Mineur n'est par le Saint-Jacques patron de Compostelle car à l'époque Paris possède déjà une église consacré à ce saint. De cette église, aujourd'hui ne reste qu'une tour clocher nommée « la Tour Saint-Jacques ».
Grâce au nom, à son emplacement (sur l'ancien cardo romain) et au fait qu'il est possible de s'y loger, l'église deviens une halte importante dans le chemin du pèlerinage à Compostelle. Le pèlerinage à Compostelle (après la Reconquista en 1492) étant l'un des trois pèlerinages consacrés par l’Église à coté de Rome et Jérusalem.
A la suite de la Révolution Française l'église est pillé, le culte catholique interdit, pourtant en 1795 elle ouvre partiellement, en plus elle dois partager son siège avec une autre organisation jusqu'en 1810 quand grâce au Concordat de 1801 l'église Catholique reprend la possession de ses biens confisqués.
Description architecturale
Daniel Gittard est l'architecte qui a établi les plans du corps principal, c'est qui lui a fait le porche d'entrée, le narthex, la nef, le transept et l'autel. Gittard a été l'architecte du roi, membre fondateur du l'Académie Royale d'Architecture en 1671, a travaillé aussi à l'église Saint Sulpice.
L'entrée se fait sous un porche comportant 4 colonnes doriques surmonté d'un fronton, une grande rosace dans l'axe du porche anime la partie centrale de la façade, on remarque la rigueur et la sobriété de la composition ainsi que la manque de décoration. La tour clocher est divisé en 3 étages, le premier correspond au narthex et comporte une porte d'accès et un fenêtre, les deux deniers conçus à l'identique comporte uniquement des fenêtres avec des abat-son.
De style classique, la construction se remarque par la dissymétrie de la façade causée par l'absence d'une tour clocher, due à la manque d'argent. Dans le projet initial il était prévue aussi des décorations sur la façades, les statues de deux saints sur le fronton et divers ornements sur toute la façade.
Auf Deutsch
Die Kirche Saint-Jacques le Mineur und St. Philip gewidmet ist ein religiöses Gebäude in Paris.
Weit entfernt von den Befestigungsanlagen von der König Philip II Augustus nach Paris auf einem einsamen Hügel in der Mitte der Felder auf der alten Strasse in 1180 "Brüder" der Diözese Saint-Jacques Altopascio gerade bewegt verteidigen. Die Bestellung, aus der Toskana (Italien) wird ein Krankenhaus, eine Kapelle stützen wird Hostels und Strukturen aufbauen, um den Armen und Pilger auf ihren Reisen helfen. Ihr Name wird später in der Nachbarschaft "Saint-Jacques du Haut-Pas" (Altopascio) angegeben werden.
Papst Pius II (Papst von 1458 bis 1464) unterdrückt die Reihenfolge, in 1459, ihre Plätze im Jahre 1572 Katharina von Medici installieren Sie die "Benediktiner von Saint-Magloire" Der Bereich, der mit der Zeit dichter sehen die Notwendigkeit, eine neue Kirche zu bauen, werden sie dieses Recht zu erwerben im Jahr 1584, als eine Kirche errichtet. Die Kirche von kleinen Abmessungen werden aus dem Jahre 1630 unter der Führung von Gaston d'Orléans umgewandelt werden.
Gaston von Orleans war der Bruder von König Ludwig XIII, ein reicher Mann mit einer Vorliebe für den Bau, sondern auch für den Bau eines neuen Flügels im klassischen Stil in Blois Schloss verantwortlich. Unter ihm ist die Kirche bis zum heutigen Form, mit dem Ausbau des Mittelschiffs und der Erstellung des aktuellen Eintrags auf der Rue Saint-Jacques. Die Kirche ist St. Jacques le Mineur und St. Philip gewidmet. Saint-Jacques le Mineur ist nicht die Saint-Jacques Schirmherr Compostela weil zum Zeitpunkt Paris bereits über eine Kirche auf diesem Heiligen gewidmet. In unserer Zeit, aus dieser Kirche bleibt nur noch der Glockenturm als "Tour Saint-Jacques."
Mit dem Namen, Ort (auf dem alten römischen Cardo) und der Tatsache, dass es möglich ist, dort zu bleiben, die Kirche zu einer wichtigen Station auf der Pilgerfahrt nach Santiago de Compostela. Die Wallfahrt nach Compostela (nach der Reconquista im Jahr 1492) ist eine der drei Wallfahrten in der Kirche mit Rom und Jerusalem verankert.
Nach dem Französisch Revolution wurde die Kirche geplündert, katholische Gottesdienst verboten, aber im Jahre 1795 es teilweise geöffnet, aber es muss mit einer anderen Organisation genutzt werden, bis 1810, als aufgrund des Konkordats von 1801 die katholische Kirche in Besitz seines Eigentums beschlagnahmt.
Architekturbeschreibung
Daniel Gittard ist der Architekt, der die Pläne des Hauptkörpers, machte er die Eingangshalle, Vorhalle, Kirchenschiff, Querschiff und der Altar vorbereitet. Gittard war der Architekt des Königs, Gründungsmitglied der Royal Academy of Architecture 1671, auch in St. Sulpice gearbeitet.
Der Eingang befindet sich eine Veranda mit vier dorischen Säulen von einem Giebel überragt, eine große Fensterrose in der Achse der Veranda läuft der zentrale Teil der Fassade, Strenge und Nüchternheit in der Zusammensetzung und der Mangel an Dekoration zu sehen. Der Glockenturm ist in drei Phasen unterteilt, die erste ist die Vorhalle und hat eine Zugangstür und ein Fenster, die beiden Fonds konzipiert enthält gleich nur Fenster mit Raster.
Klassizistischen Gebäude, Ankündigung durch die Asymmetrie der Fassade durch das Fehlen von einem Glockenturm verursacht, wegen des Mangels an Geld. In der ersten Projekt wurde geplant Dekorationen an den Wänden, die Statuen der beiden Heiligen auf der Vorderseite und Verzierungen auf der ganzen Fassade.
The Albertina
The architectural history of the Palais
"It is my will that the expansion of the inner city of Vienna with regard to a suitable connection of the same with the suburbs as soon as possible is tackled and at this on Regulirung (regulation) and beautifying of my Residence and Imperial Capital is taken into account. To this end I grant the withdrawal of the ramparts and fortifications of the inner city and the trenches around the same".
This decree of Emperor Franz Joseph I, published on 25 December 1857 in the Wiener Zeitung, formed the basis for the largest the surface concerning and architecturally most significant transformation of the Viennese cityscape. Involving several renowned domestic and foreign architects a "master plan" took form, which included the construction of a boulevard instead of the ramparts between the inner city and its radially upstream suburbs. In the 50-years during implementation phase, an impressive architectural ensemble developed, consisting of imperial and private representational buildings, public administration and cultural buildings, churches and barracks, marking the era under the term "ring-street style". Already in the first year tithe decided a senior member of the Austrian imperial family to decorate the facades of his palace according to the new design principles, and thus certified the aristocratic claim that this also "historicism" said style on the part of the imperial house was attributed.
It was the palace of Archduke Albrecht (1817-1895), the Senior of the Habsburg Family Council, who as Field Marshal held the overall command over the Austro-Hungarian army. The building was incorporated into the imperial residence of the Hofburg complex, forming the south-west corner and extending eleven meters above street level on the so-called Augustinerbastei.
The close proximity of the palace to the imperial residence corresponded not only with Emperor Franz Joseph I and Archduke Albert with a close familial relationship between the owner of the palace and the monarch. Even the former inhabitants were always in close relationship to the imperial family, whether by birth or marriage. An exception here again proves the rule: Don Emanuel Teles da Silva Conde Tarouca (1696-1771), for which Maria Theresa in 1744 the palace had built, was just a close friend and advisor of the monarch. Silva Tarouca underpins the rule with a second exception, because he belonged to the administrative services as Generalhofbaudirektor (general court architect) and President of the Austrian-Dutch administration, while all other him subsequent owners were highest ranking military.
In the annals of Austrian history, especially those of military history, they either went into as commander of the Imperial Army, or the Austrian, later kk Army. In chronological order, this applies to Duke Carl Alexander of Lorraine, the brother-of-law of Maria Theresa, as Imperial Marshal, her son-in-law Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, also field marshal, whos adopted son, Archduke Charles of Austria, the last imperial field marshal and only Generalissimo of Austria, his son Archduke Albrecht of Austria as Feldmarschalil and army Supreme commander, and most recently his nephew Archduke Friedrich of Austria, who held as field marshal from 1914 to 1916 the command of the Austro-Hungarian troops. Despite their military profession, all five generals conceived themselves as patrons of the arts and promoted large sums of money to build large collections, the construction of magnificent buildings and cultural life. Charles Alexander of Lorraine promoted as governor of the Austrian Netherlands from 1741 to 1780 the Academy of Fine Arts, the Théâtre de Ja Monnaie and the companies Bourgeois Concert and Concert Noble, he founded the Academie royale et imperial des Sciences et des Lettres, opened the Bibliotheque Royal for the population and supported artistic talents with high scholarships. World fame got his porcelain collection, which however had to be sold by Emperor Joseph II to pay off his debts. Duke Albert began in 1776 according to the concept of conte Durazzo to set up an encyclopedic collection of prints, which forms the core of the world-famous "Albertina" today.
1816 declared to Fideikommiss and thus in future indivisible, inalienable and inseparable, the collection 1822 passed into the possession of Archduke Carl, who, like his descendants, it broadened. Under him, the collection was introduced together with the sumptuously equipped palace on the Augustinerbastei in the so-called "Carl Ludwig'schen fideicommissum in 1826, by which the building and the in it kept collection fused into an indissoluble unity. At this time had from the Palais Tarouca by structural expansion or acquisition a veritable Residenz palace evolved. Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen was first in 1800 the third floor of the adjacent Augustinian convent wing adapted to house his collection and he had after 1802 by his Belgian architect Louis de Montoyer at the suburban side built a magnificent extension, called the wing of staterooms, it was equipped in the style of Louis XVI. Only two decades later, Archduke Carl the entire palace newly set up. According to scetches of the architect Joseph Kornhäusel the 1822-1825 retreaded premises presented themselves in the Empire style. The interior of the palace testified from now in an impressive way the high rank and the prominent position of its owner. Under Archduke Albrecht the outer appearance also should meet the requirements. He had the facade of the palace in the style of historicism orchestrated and added to the Palais front against the suburbs an offshore covered access. Inside, he limited himself, apart from the redesign of the Rococo room in the manner of the second Blondel style, to the retention of the paternal stock. Archduke Friedrich's plans for an expansion of the palace were omitted, however, because of the outbreak of the First World War so that his contribution to the state rooms, especially, consists in the layout of the Spanish apartment, which he in 1895 for his sister, the Queen of Spain Maria Christina, had set up as a permanent residence.
The era of stately representation with handing down their cultural values found its most obvious visualization inside the palace through the design and features of the staterooms. On one hand, by the use of the finest materials and the purchase of masterfully manufactured pieces of equipment, such as on the other hand by the permanent reuse of older equipment parts. This period lasted until 1919, when Archduke Friedrich was expropriated by the newly founded Republic of Austria. With the republicanization of the collection and the building first of all finished the tradition that the owner's name was synonymous with the building name:
After Palais Tarouca or tarokkisches house it was called Lorraine House, afterwards Duke Albert Palais and Palais Archduke Carl. Due to the new construction of an adjacently located administration building it received in 1865 the prefix "Upper" and was referred to as Upper Palais Archduke Albrecht and Upper Palais Archduke Frederick. For the state a special reference to the Habsburg past was certainly politically no longer opportune, which is why was decided to name the building according to the in it kept collection "Albertina".
This name derives from the term "La Collection Albertina" which had been used by the gallery Inspector Maurice von Thausing in 1870 in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts for the former graphics collection of Duke Albert. For this reason, it was the first time since the foundation of the palace that the name of the collection had become synonymous with the room shell. Room shell, hence, because the Republic of Austria Archduke Friedrich had allowed to take along all the movable goods from the palace in his Hungarian exile: crystal chandeliers, curtains and carpets as well as sculptures, vases and clocks. Particularly stressed should be the exquisite furniture, which stems of three facilities phases: the Louis XVI furnitures of Duke Albert, which had been manufactured on the basis of fraternal relations between his wife Archduchess Marie Christine and the French Queen Marie Antoinette after 1780 in the French Hofmanufakturen, also the on behalf of Archduke Charles 1822-1825 in the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory by Joseph Danhauser produced Empire furnitures and thirdly additions of the same style of Archduke Friedrich, which this about 1900 at Portois & Ffix as well as at Friedrich Otto Schmidt had commissioned.
The "swept clean" building got due to the strained financial situation after the First World War initially only a makeshift facility. However, since until 1999 no revision of the emergency equipment took place, but differently designed, primarily the utilitarianism committed office furnitures complementarily had been added, the equipment of the former state rooms presented itself at the end of the 20th century as an inhomogeneous administrative mingle-mangle of insignificant parts, where, however, dwelt a certain quaint charm. From the magnificent state rooms had evolved depots, storage rooms, a library, a study hall and several officed.
Worse it hit the outer appearance of the palace, because in times of continued anti-Habsburg sentiment after the Second World War and inspired by an intolerant destruction will, it came by pickaxe to a ministerial erasure of history. In contrast to the graphic collection possessed the richly decorated facades with the conspicuous insignia of the former owner an object-immanent reference to the Habsburg past and thus exhibited the monarchial traditions and values of the era of Francis Joseph significantly. As part of the remedial measures after a bomb damage, in 1948 the aristocratic, by Archduke Albert initiated, historicist facade structuring along with all decorations was cut off, many facade figures demolished and the Hapsburg crest emblems plunged to the ground. Since in addition the old ramp also had been cancelled and the main entrance of the bastion level had been moved down to the second basement storey at street level, ended the presence of the old Archduke's palace after more than 200 years. At the reopening of the "Albertina Graphic Collection" in 1952, the former Hapsburg Palais of splendour presented itself as one of his identity robbed, formally trivial, soulless room shell, whose successful republicanization an oversized and also unproportional eagle above the new main entrance to the Augustinian road symbolized. The emocratic throw of monuments had wiped out the Hapsburg palace from the urban appeareance, whereby in the perception only existed a nondescript, nameless and ahistorical building that henceforth served the lodging and presentation of world-famous graphic collection of the Albertina. The condition was not changed by the decision to the refurbishment because there were only planned collection specific extensions, but no restoration of the palace.
This paradigm shift corresponded to a blatant reversal of the historical circumstances, as the travel guides and travel books for kk Residence and imperial capital of Vienna dedicated itself primarily with the magnificent, aristocratic palace on the Augustinerbastei with the sumptuously fitted out reception rooms and mentioned the collection kept there - if at all - only in passing. Only with the repositioning of the Albertina in 2000 under the direction of Klaus Albrecht Schröder, the palace was within the meaning and in fulfillment of the Fideikommiss of Archduke Charles in 1826 again met with the high regard, from which could result a further inseparable bond between the magnificent mansions and the world-famous collection. In view of the knowing about politically motivated errors and omissions of the past, the facades should get back their noble, historicist designing, the staterooms regain their glamorous, prestigious appearance and culturally unique equippment be repurchased. From this presumption, eventually grew the full commitment to revise the history of redemption and the return of the stately palace in the public consciousness.
The smoothed palace facades were returned to their original condition and present themselves today - with the exception of the not anymore reconstructed Attica figures - again with the historicist decoration and layout elements that Archduke Albrecht had given after the razing of the Augustinerbastei in 1865 in order. The neoclassical interiors, today called after the former inhabitants "Habsburg Staterooms", receiving a meticulous and detailed restoration taking place at the premises of originality and authenticity, got back their venerable and sumptuous appearance. From the world wide scattered historical pieces of equipment have been bought back 70 properties or could be returned through permanent loan to its original location, by which to the visitors is made experiencable again that atmosphere in 1919 the state rooms of the last Habsburg owner Archduke Frederick had owned. The for the first time in 80 years public accessible "Habsburg State Rooms" at the Palais Albertina enable now again as eloquent testimony to our Habsburg past and as a unique cultural heritage fundamental and essential insights into the Austrian cultural history. With the relocation of the main entrance to the level of the Augustinerbastei the recollection to this so valuable Austrian Cultural Heritage formally and functionally came to completion. The vision of the restoration and recovery of the grand palace was a pillar on which the new Albertina should arise again, the other embody the four large newly built exhibition halls, which allow for the first time in the history of the Albertina, to exhibit the collection throughout its encyclopedic breadh under optimal conservation conditions.
The palace presents itself now in its appearance in the historicist style of the Ringstrassenära, almost as if nothing had happened in the meantime. But will the wheel of time should not, cannot and must not be turned back, so that the double standards of the "Albertina Palace" said museum - on the one hand Habsburg grandeur palaces and other modern museum for the arts of graphics - should be symbolized by a modern character: The in 2003 by Hans Hollein designed far into the Albertina square cantilevering, elegant floating flying roof. 64 meters long, it symbolizes in the form of a dynamic wedge the accelerated urban spatial connectivity and public access to the palace. It advertises the major changes in the interior as well as the huge underground extensions of the repositioned "Albertina".
Christian Benedictine
Art historian with research interests History of Architecture, building industry of the Hapsburgs, Hofburg and Zeremonialwissenschaft (ceremonial sciences). Since 1990 he works in the architecture collection of the Albertina. Since 2000 he supervises as director of the newly founded department "Staterooms" the restoration and furnishing of the state rooms and the restoration of the facades and explores the history of the palace and its inhabitants.
Hanshin Tigers fans are known as perhaps the most fanatical and dedicated fans in all of Japanese professional baseball with a reputation for rough behavior. The Hanshin Tigers (阪神タイガース, Hanshin Taigāsu) play in the Central League (セントラル・リーグ Sentoraru Rīgu), or Ce League ( パリーグ, Se Rīgu), of Nipppon Professional Baseball (NPB). Formed in 1936 as the Osaka Tigers, The Tigers won four titles before the establishment of the two league system in 1950. Since the league was split, they have won the Central League pennant five times (1962, 1964, 1985, 2003, 2005) and the Japan Series once (1985).
The Osaka Dome (大阪ドーム), or Kyocera Dome Osaka (京セラドーム大阪) opened on March 1, 1997, replacing Fujidera Stadium as the home field of Nippon Professional Baseball's Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes, who merged with the Kobe-based Orix BlueWave to become the Orix Buffaloes in 2006. The Hanshin Tigers also play some "home" games at the Osaka Dome when their park, Hanshin Koshien Stadium (阪神甲子園球場) in Nishinomiya is being used for National High School Baseball tournaments. The naming rights to the dome were purchased by Kyocera Mita Corporation (京セラ株式会社) in 2006. Designed by Nikken Sekkei Ltd (日 建設計), the Osaka Dome has a capacity of 36,477. The dome’s roof, “The Super-Ring” is not retractable but movable, meaning it can be raised or lowered to alter acoustics for concerts.
In addition to baseball, the Osaka Dome hosts concerts by big name music acts, including The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Aerosmith, and Madonna. On August 3, 2002, the Osaka Dome hosted the American Bowl pre-season NFL game between the Washington Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers.
The Osaka Dome is sometimes affectionately referred to as the Takoyaki Dome, referring to the octopus ball snack popular throughout Osaka and available during games.
Sub-0 is the dedicated leader of the team, he is equipped with a cryo-blaster attached to his arm to freeze nixels in their tracks.
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The church dedicated to Saint-Jacques le Mineur and St. Philip is a religious building in Paris.
Far from the fortifications made by the King Philip II Augustus to defend Paris, on a lonely hill in the middle of fields along an ancient road in 1180 "brothers" of the Diocese of Saint-Jacques Altopascio just moved. This order, from Tuscany (Italy) will base a hospital, a chapel, will build hostels and structures to help the poor and pilgrims in their travels. Their name will be given later to the neighborhood "Saint-Jacques du Haut-Pas" (Altopascio).
Pope Pius II (pontiff from 1458 to 1464) suppressed the order in 1459, their places in 1572 Catherine de Medici install the "Benedictines of Saint-Magloire" The area which over time becomes denser see the need to build a new church, they will acquire this right in 1584 when a church will be built. The church of small dimensions will be transformed from 1630 under the leadership of Gaston d'Orléans.
Gaston of Orleans was the brother of King Louis XIII, a rich man with a taste for the construction, it is also responsible for the construction of a new wing in the classic style at Blois Castle. Under him, the church is made until the current form, with the expansion of the central nave and the creation of the current entry on the Rue Saint-Jacques. The church is dedicated to St. Jacques le Mineur and St. Philip. Saint-Jacques le Mineur is not the Saint-Jacques patron of Compostela because at the time Paris already has a church dedicated to this saint. In our days, from that church remains only a bell tower called "Tour Saint-Jacques."
With the name, location (on the ancient Roman Cardo) and the fact that it is possible to stay there, the church become an important stop on the pilgrimage to Compostela. The pilgrimage to Compostela (after the Reconquista in 1492) is one of three pilgrimages enshrined in the church with Rome and Jerusalem.
Following the French Revolution the church was looted, Catholic worship forbidden, yet in 1795 it opens partially but it must be shared with another organization until 1810 when due to the Concordat of 1801 the Catholic Church takes possession of his property confiscated.
Architectural description
Daniel Gittard is the architect who prepared the plans of the main body, he made the entrance porch, narthex, nave, transept and the altar. Gittard was the architect of the king, founding member of the Royal Academy of Architecture in 1671, also worked at St. Sulpice.
The entrance is a porch with four doric columns surmounted by a fronton, a large rose window in the axis of the porch runs the central part of the facade, rigor and sobriety can be seen in the composition and the lack of decoration. The bell tower is divided into three stages, the first is the narthex and has an access door and a window, the two funds designed identically contains only windows with louvre.
Classical style building, notice by the asymmetry of the facade caused by the absence of a bell tower, due to lack of money. In the initial project was also planned decorations on the walls, the statues of two saints on the front and ornaments all over the facade.
En français
L'église consacrée aux Saint-Jacques le Mineur et saint Philippe est un édifice religieux à Paris.
Loin des fortifications du roi Philippe Auguste II faites pour défendre Paris, sur une colline déserte, au milieu des champs bordant une route antique, en 1180 des « frères » de la diocèse Saint-Jacques d'Altopascio vient de s'installer. Cet ordre, originaire de la Toscane (Italie) fondera un hôpital, une chapelle, bâtira des héberges et d'autres constructions pour aider les pauvres et les pèlerins dans leur voyages. Leur nom sera donné par la suite au quartier « Saint-Jacques du Haut-Pas » (Altopascio).
Le pape Pie II (pontificat 1458-1464) supprima l'ordre en 1459, sur leurs lieux en 1572 Cathérine de Médicis installera les « Bénédictins de Saint-Magloire » Le quartier qui au fil du temps se densifie vois la nécessité de construire une nouvelle église, ils vont acquérir ce droit en 1584 quand une petite église sera construite. L'église de petites dimensions sera transformé à partir de 1630 sous l'impulsion de Gaston d'Orléans.
Gaston d'Orléans était le frère du roi Louis XIII, un homme riche ayant le goût pour la construction, à lui on doit également la construction d'une nouvelle aile de style classique au château de Blois. Sous ses ordres, l'église est faite jusqu'à la forme actuelle, avec l'agrandissement de la nef centrale et la création de l'entrée actuelle sur la rue Saint-Jacques. L'église est consacré aux Saint-Jacques le Mineur et saint Philippe. Saint-Jacques le Mineur n'est par le Saint-Jacques patron de Compostelle car à l'époque Paris possède déjà une église consacré à ce saint. De cette église, aujourd'hui ne reste qu'une tour clocher nommée « la Tour Saint-Jacques ».
Grâce au nom, à son emplacement (sur l'ancien cardo romain) et au fait qu'il est possible de s'y loger, l'église deviens une halte importante dans le chemin du pèlerinage à Compostelle. Le pèlerinage à Compostelle (après la Reconquista en 1492) étant l'un des trois pèlerinages consacrés par l’Église à coté de Rome et Jérusalem.
A la suite de la Révolution Française l'église est pillé, le culte catholique interdit, pourtant en 1795 elle ouvre partiellement, en plus elle dois partager son siège avec une autre organisation jusqu'en 1810 quand grâce au Concordat de 1801 l'église Catholique reprend la possession de ses biens confisqués.
Description architecturale
Daniel Gittard est l'architecte qui a établi les plans du corps principal, c'est qui lui a fait le porche d'entrée, le narthex, la nef, le transept et l'autel. Gittard a été l'architecte du roi, membre fondateur du l'Académie Royale d'Architecture en 1671, a travaillé aussi à l'église Saint Sulpice.
L'entrée se fait sous un porche comportant 4 colonnes doriques surmonté d'un fronton, une grande rosace dans l'axe du porche anime la partie centrale de la façade, on remarque la rigueur et la sobriété de la composition ainsi que la manque de décoration. La tour clocher est divisé en 3 étages, le premier correspond au narthex et comporte une porte d'accès et un fenêtre, les deux deniers conçus à l'identique comporte uniquement des fenêtres avec des abat-son.
De style classique, la construction se remarque par la dissymétrie de la façade causée par l'absence d'une tour clocher, due à la manque d'argent. Dans le projet initial il était prévue aussi des décorations sur la façades, les statues de deux saints sur le fronton et divers ornements sur toute la façade.
Auf Deutsch
Die Kirche Saint-Jacques le Mineur und St. Philip gewidmet ist ein religiöses Gebäude in Paris.
Weit entfernt von den Befestigungsanlagen von der König Philip II Augustus nach Paris auf einem einsamen Hügel in der Mitte der Felder auf der alten Strasse in 1180 "Brüder" der Diözese Saint-Jacques Altopascio gerade bewegt verteidigen. Die Bestellung, aus der Toskana (Italien) wird ein Krankenhaus, eine Kapelle stützen wird Hostels und Strukturen aufbauen, um den Armen und Pilger auf ihren Reisen helfen. Ihr Name wird später in der Nachbarschaft "Saint-Jacques du Haut-Pas" (Altopascio) angegeben werden.
Papst Pius II (Papst von 1458 bis 1464) unterdrückt die Reihenfolge, in 1459, ihre Plätze im Jahre 1572 Katharina von Medici installieren Sie die "Benediktiner von Saint-Magloire" Der Bereich, der mit der Zeit dichter sehen die Notwendigkeit, eine neue Kirche zu bauen, werden sie dieses Recht zu erwerben im Jahr 1584, als eine Kirche errichtet. Die Kirche von kleinen Abmessungen werden aus dem Jahre 1630 unter der Führung von Gaston d'Orléans umgewandelt werden.
Gaston von Orleans war der Bruder von König Ludwig XIII, ein reicher Mann mit einer Vorliebe für den Bau, sondern auch für den Bau eines neuen Flügels im klassischen Stil in Blois Schloss verantwortlich. Unter ihm ist die Kirche bis zum heutigen Form, mit dem Ausbau des Mittelschiffs und der Erstellung des aktuellen Eintrags auf der Rue Saint-Jacques. Die Kirche ist St. Jacques le Mineur und St. Philip gewidmet. Saint-Jacques le Mineur ist nicht die Saint-Jacques Schirmherr Compostela weil zum Zeitpunkt Paris bereits über eine Kirche auf diesem Heiligen gewidmet. In unserer Zeit, aus dieser Kirche bleibt nur noch der Glockenturm als "Tour Saint-Jacques."
Mit dem Namen, Ort (auf dem alten römischen Cardo) und der Tatsache, dass es möglich ist, dort zu bleiben, die Kirche zu einer wichtigen Station auf der Pilgerfahrt nach Santiago de Compostela. Die Wallfahrt nach Compostela (nach der Reconquista im Jahr 1492) ist eine der drei Wallfahrten in der Kirche mit Rom und Jerusalem verankert.
Nach dem Französisch Revolution wurde die Kirche geplündert, katholische Gottesdienst verboten, aber im Jahre 1795 es teilweise geöffnet, aber es muss mit einer anderen Organisation genutzt werden, bis 1810, als aufgrund des Konkordats von 1801 die katholische Kirche in Besitz seines Eigentums beschlagnahmt.
Architekturbeschreibung
Daniel Gittard ist der Architekt, der die Pläne des Hauptkörpers, machte er die Eingangshalle, Vorhalle, Kirchenschiff, Querschiff und der Altar vorbereitet. Gittard war der Architekt des Königs, Gründungsmitglied der Royal Academy of Architecture 1671, auch in St. Sulpice gearbeitet.
Der Eingang befindet sich eine Veranda mit vier dorischen Säulen von einem Giebel überragt, eine große Fensterrose in der Achse der Veranda läuft der zentrale Teil der Fassade, Strenge und Nüchternheit in der Zusammensetzung und der Mangel an Dekoration zu sehen. Der Glockenturm ist in drei Phasen unterteilt, die erste ist die Vorhalle und hat eine Zugangstür und ein Fenster, die beiden Fonds konzipiert enthält gleich nur Fenster mit Raster.
Klassizistischen Gebäude, Ankündigung durch die Asymmetrie der Fassade durch das Fehlen von einem Glockenturm verursacht, wegen des Mangels an Geld. In der ersten Projekt wurde geplant Dekorationen an den Wänden, die Statuen der beiden Heiligen auf der Vorderseite und Verzierungen auf der ganzen Fassade.
WE JAPANESE
C3005545
"WE JAPANESE" THE BEST REFERENCE BOOK ABOUT JAPAN EVER. YOU HAVE TO READ BEFORE COMING TO JAPAN.
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milano october 1984
valeria magli - performer/danseur -
this series is dedicated to carmen h. ......
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© All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal
Dedicated to Sussy.A.L.(Sussy Lombardía) to thank her for all her efforts and continuous support
- Jaune entouré de vert
....... A Friend....
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(E)nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts)
(F)orgives your mistakes
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(J)ust "be" with you
(K)eeps you close at heart
(L)oves you for who you are
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(X)-plains thing you don't understand
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Last but not least.......
N. B. - All photographs are copyrighted by the photographer and may not to be used without written deed permission.
The Province is helping keep people safe by creating hubs of police, dedicated prosecutors and probation officers focused on tackling repeat violent offending in every region of the province. Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/28552
On 21 September 2021, APM Terminals Pipavav became the first Indian port to connect with the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC).
The port achieves this milestone with the completion of high-rise overhead electrification of the port rail yard. The electrification of DFC is envisaged to reduce the operation cost of Railways significantly.
The transit time from the port to the north west hinterland via DFC is expected to reduce by 50%; there by offering safe, reliable, and cost-effective solution to the customers. By switching to electrical loco, the port will be able to support environment friendly, long haul, high-volume freight rail transportation and reduction of Green House Gas emission. This is also expected to encourage a modal shift from road to rail towards sustainable development.
The Brihadeshwara Temple at Thanjavur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is an important example of Tamil architecture achieved during the Chola dynasty. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples".
This is one of the largest temples in India and one of India's most prized architectural sites. Built by emperor Raja Raja Chola I and completed in 1010 AD. Brihadeshwara Temple, also popularly known as the 'Big Temple', turned 1000 years old in 2010.
Thanjavur Periya Kovil stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century. The vimana (or temple tower) is 66 m high and is among the tallest of its kind in the world. The Kumbam (Kalasha or Chikharam, the apex or the bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is carved out of a single rock and it weighs around 80 tons. There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock, at the entrance measuring about 16 feet long and 13 feet high. The entire temple structure is made out of granite, the nearest sources of which are close to Tiruchirappalli, about 60 km to the west of Thanjavur.
HISTORY
The temple had its foundations laid out by the Tamil emperor Arulmozhivarman, popularly called Rajaraja Chola I, in 1002 CE, as the first of the great Tamil Chola building projects.
The Brihadeshwarar Temple was built to grace the throne of the Chola empire in compliance to a command given to him in his dream. The scale and grandeur is in the Chola tradition. An axial and symmetrical geometry rules the temple layout. Temples from this period and the following two centuries are an expression of the Tamils (Chola) wealth, power and artistic expertise. The emergence of such features as the multifaceted columns with projecting square capitals signal the arrival of the new Chola style.
The Brihadeshwarar Temple was built to be the royal temple to display the emperor's vision of his power and his relationship to the universal order. The temple was the site of the major royal ceremonies such as anointing the emperor and linking him with its deity, Shiva, and the daily rituals of the deities were mirrored by those of the king. It is an architectural example showcasing the pure form of the Dravida type of temple architecture and representative of the Chola Empire ideology and the Tamil civilisation in Southern India. The temple "testify to the brilliant achievements of the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting."
CONSTRUCTION
The wish to build a mammoth temple like this is said to have occurred to Raja Raja while he stayed at Sri Lanka as an emperor.
The esteemed architect and engineer of the temple was Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Perunthachan as stated in inscriptions found at the temple. The temple was built per ancient texts called Vaastu Shastras and Agamas. He is the ancient ancestor of the doyan of Vaastu Vedic architecture, the late Dr. V. Ganapti Sthapati of Chennai and Mahabalipurim (architect of the 133' granite Thiruvalluvar statue at the tip of south India). Members of his family still live and practice the ancient art and science. The American University of Mayonic Science and Technology was initiated by Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati to perpetuate the same form of architectural principles used by Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Perunthachan to build the Brihadeeswarar temple. The temple was built using a measure of 1 3/8-inch called an angula (24 units equalling 33 inches called a hasta, muzam, or kishku). This is the same measure found in ancient Lothal and other sites in the Indus Valley dating back 4000 - 6000 years. This same measure is used to build structures compliant with the Vaastu Shastras and Agamas today. While some builders use a different measure this is considered a standard due to its antiquity.
This temple is the first building fully built by granite and finished within 5yrs [1004AD – 1009AD]. The solid base of the temple raises about 5 metres, above which stone deities and representatives of Shiva dance. The huge kalasam or Vimanam (top portion of the shrine) is believed to weigh 81.28 tonnes of single stone block and was raised to its present height by dragging on an inclined plane of 6.44 km. The big Nandi (bull), weighing about 20 tonnes is made of a single stone and is about 2 m in height, 6 m in length and 2.5 m in width. The presiding deity of lingam is 3.7m tall. The prakaram (outer precincts of the temple) measures 240m by 125m. The outer wall of the upper storey is carved with 81 dance karanas – postures of Bharathanatyam, the classical dance of Tamil Nadu. The shrine of Goddess was added by Pandyas during the 13th century, Subramanya Shrine by Vijayanagara rulers and the Vinayaka shrine was renovated by Maratha rulers.
TEMPLE COMPLEX
The temple complex sits on the banks of a river that was channelled to make a moat around the complex's outer walls, the walls being built like a fortress. The complex is made up of many structures that are aligned axially. The complex can be entered either on one axis through a five-story gopuram or with a second access directly to the huge main quadrangle through a smaller free-standing gopuram. The massive size of the main Vimanam (Shikhara) is ca. 60 meters high, with 16 elaborately articulated stories, and dominates the main quadrangle. Pilaster, piers, and attached columns are placed rhythmically covering every surface of the Vimanam.
The gopuram of the main entrance is 30 m high, smaller than the vimana. It is unusual in the dravidian architecture where the gopurams are generally the main towers and taller than the vimana.
MAIN TEMPLE
A first rectangular surrounding wall, 270 m by 140 m, marks the outer boundary. The main temple is in the center of the spacious quadrangle composed of a sanctuary, a Nandi, a pillared hall and an assembly hall (mandapas), and many sub-shrines. The most important part of the temple is the inner mandapa which is surrounded by massive walls that are divided into levels by sharply cut sculptures and pilasters providing deep bays and recesses. Each side of the sanctuary has a bay emphasising the principle cult icons. The karuvarai, a Tamil word meaning the interior of the sanctum sanctorum, is the inner most sanctum and focus of the temple where an image of the primary deity, Shiva, resides. Inside is a huge stone linga. The word Karuvarai means "womb chamber" from Tamil word karu for foetus. Only priests are allowed to enter this inner-most chamber.
In the Dravida style, the Karuvarai takes the form of a miniature vimana with other features exclusive to southern Indian temple architecture such as the inner wall together with the outer wall creating a pradakshina around the garbhagriha for circumambulation (pradakshina). The entrance is highly decorated. The inside chamber housing the image of the god is the sanctum sanctorum, the garbhagriha. The garbhagriha is square and sits on a plinth, its location calculated to be a point of total equilibrium and harmony as it is representative of a microcosm of the universe. In the center is placed the image of the deity. The royal bathing-hall where Rajaraja the great gave gifts is to the east of the hall of Irumudi-Soran.
The circumambulation winds around the massive lingam in the garbhagriha and is repeated in an upper story, presenting the idea that Chola Empire freely offered access to the gods.
The inner mandapa leads out to a rectangular mandapa and then to a twenty-columned porch with three staircases leading down. Sharing the same stone plinth is a small open mandapa dedicated to Nandi, Shiva's sacred bull mount.
TEMPLE DEITIES
The "moolavar" or prime deity of the Brihadeeswarar Temple is Shiva. All deities, particularly those placed in the niches of the outer wall (Koshta Moorthigal) like Dakshinamurthy, Surya, Chandra are of huge size. The Brihadiswarar temple is one of the rare temples which has idols for "Ashta-dikpaalakas" (Guardians of the directions) – Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirṛti, Varuṇa, Vāyu, Kubera, Īśāna – each of whom was originally represented by a life-sized statue, approximately 6 feet tall, enshrined in a separate temple located in the respective direction. (Only Agni, Varuṇa, Vāyu and Īśāna are preserved in situ.)
ADJOINING STRUCTURES
Surrounding the main temple are two walled enclosures. The outer wall is high, defining the temple complex area. Here is the massive gopuram or gateway mentioned above. Within this a portico, a barrel vaulted gorpuram with over 400 pillars, is enclosed by a high wall interspersed with huge gopurams axially lined up to the main temple.
FEATURES
Another widely held belief is that the shadow of the gopuram (pyramidal tower usually over the gateway of a temple) never falls on the ground. The temple is said to be made up of about 130,000 tons of granite. The Kumbam itself, a 60 ton granite stone carved in one piece, on top of the main gopuram is believed to have been taken to the top by creating an inclined slope to the height of 66m to the top of the gopuram. The prevailing belief is that a mud-slope, which starts at about three miles from the temple site, from Thirukoilore (birthplace of Raja raja's mother) near Sri Virateshvara swamy temple. Elephants might have been used to drag the stone up the slope. This was claimed to be the only part of the gopuram, which does not cast a shadow that fall on the ground, at least not within the temple premises.
MURALS
The temple has Chola frescoes on the walls around the sanctum sanctorum potryaing Shiva in action, destroying demonic forts, dancing and sending a white elephant to transport a devotee to heaven. These frescoes were discovered in the 1940s and portray the mythological episodes of the journey of Saint Sundarar and the Chera King to heaven, the battle scene of Tripurantaka (Lord Siva) with Asuras (demons). The Chola artists have proved their mettle by portraying even the Asura women with a sense of beauty. Some of the paintings in the sanctum sanctorum and the walls in the passage had been damaged because of the soot that had deposited on them. Owing to the continuous exposure to smoke and soot from the lamps and burning of camphor in the sanctum sanctorum over a period of centuries certain parts of the Chola paintings on the circumambulatory passage walls had been badly damaged. The Tanjore Nayak kings replaced them with a few paintings of their own, about 400 years ago. The Archaeological Survey of India, for the first time in the world, used its unique de-stucco process to restore 16 Nayak paintings, which were superimposed on 1000-year-old Chola frescoes. These 400-year-old paintings have been mounted on fibre glass boards, displayed at a separate pavilion.
TEMPLE PERSONNEL
The temple was consecrated in 1010 CE by Raja Raja Chola I & in 2010 a celebration commemorated the temple's thousandth anniversary. The temple maintained a staff of 1000 people in various capacities with 400 being temple dancers Besides the Brahmin priests, these included record-keepers, musicians, scholars, and craftsman of every type as well as housekeeping staff. In those days the temple was a hub of business activities for the flower, milk, oil, and ghee merchants, all of whom made a regular supply of their respective goods for the temple for its poojas and during festival seasons. Moreover as evidenced by the inscriptions that found in the compound wall of this temple, the temple had always been serving as a platform for the dancers who excelled in the traditional dance form of Bharatnatyam. vallamuthu minnadi generation worshipped this temple.
MILLENNIUM CELEBRATIONS
Built in the year 1010 CE by Raja Raja Chola in Thanjavur, Brihadeeswarar Temple popularly known as the 'Big Temple' turned 1000 years old in September 2010. To celebrate the 1000th year of the grand structure, the state government and the town held many cultural events. It was to recall the 275th day of his 25th regal year (1010 CE) when Raja Raja Chola (985–1014 CE) handed over a gold-plated kalasam (copper pot or finial) for the final consecration to crown the vimana, the 59.82-metre tall tower above the sanctum.
BHARATHANATYAM YAJNA
To mark the occasion, the state government organised a Bharathanatyam Yajna, classical dance show under noted dancer Padma Subramaniam. It was jointly organised by the Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India (ABHAI) and the Brhan Natyanjali Trust, Thanjavur. To mark the 1000th year anniversary of the building, 1000 dancers from New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Singapore, Malaysia and the US danced in concert to the recorded 11 verses of divine music Thiruvichaippa (ninth of Thirumurai) composed by Karuvur Thevar (the guru of Raja Raja Chola) named Tiruvisaippa. The small town turned into a cultural hub for two days beginning 26 September 2010 as street performers and dancers performed throughout the town.
WIKIPEDIA
GIUSEPPE GRECO 2008
CANON EOS 400D EF 50MM 1.8
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Angkor Wat or "Capital Temple" is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. It was first a Hindu and later a Buddhist temple. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura, present-day Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum.
Breaking from the Shiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Dravidian architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.
The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (नगर). Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds" (Sanskrit: वाट vāṭa ""enclosure").
HISTORY
Angkor Wat lies 5.5 kilometres north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred at Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor's main sites.
According to one legend, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to act as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea.
According to the 13th century Chinese traveler Daguan Zhou, it was believed by some that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect. The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-C. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as "Varah Vishnu-lok" after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished.
In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometers to the north.
In the late 13th century, Angkor Wat gradually moved from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.
One of the first Western visitors to the temple was António da Madalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of."
In the mid-19th century, the temple was visited by the French naturalist and explorer, Henri Mouhot, who popularised the site in the West through the publication of travel notes, in which he wrote:
"One of these temples - a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo - might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."
Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, found it difficult to believe that the Khmers could have built the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site. There were no ordinary dwellings or houses or other signs of settlement including cooking utensils, weapons, or items of clothing usually found at ancient sites. Instead there is the evidence of the monuments themselves.
Angkor Wat required considerable restoration in the 20th century, mainly the removal of accumulated earth and vegetation. Work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge control of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, but relatively little damage was done during this period other than the theft and destruction of mostly post-Angkorian statues.The temple is a powerful symbol of Cambodia, and is a source of great national pride that has factored into Cambodia's diplomatic relations with France, the United States and its neighbor Thailand. A depiction of Angkor Wat has been a part of Cambodian national flags since the introduction of the first version circa 1863. From a larger historical and even transcultural perspective, however, the temple of Angkor Wat did not become a symbol of national pride sui generis but had been inscribed into a larger politico-cultural process of French-colonial heritage production in which the original temple site was presented in French colonial and universal exhibitions in Paris and Marseille between 1889 and 1937. Angkor Wat's aesthetics were also on display in the plaster cast museum of Louis Delaporte called musée Indo-chinois which existed in the Parisian Trocadero Palace from C. 1880 to the mid-1920s. The splendid artistic legacy of Angkor Wat and other Khmer monuments in the Angkor region led directly to France adopting Cambodia as a protectorate on 11 August 1863 and invading Siam to take control of the ruins. This quickly led to Cambodia reclaiming lands in the northwestern corner of the country that had been under Siamese (Thai) control since 1351 AD (Manich Jumsai 2001), or by some accounts, 1431 AD. Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953 and has controlled Angkor Wat since that time.
ARCHITECTURE
SITE AND PLAN
Angkor Wat, located at 13°24′45″N 103°52′0″E, is a unique combination of the temple mountain, the standard design for the empire's state temples and the later plan of concentric galleries. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. Access to the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level. Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. This has led many (including Maurice Glaize and George Coedès) to conclude that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple.Further evidence for this view is provided by the bas-reliefs, which proceed in a counter-clockwise direction - prasavya in Hindu terminology - as this is the reverse of the normal order. Rituals take place in reverse order during Brahminic funeral services. The archaeologist Charles Higham also describes a container which may have been a funerary jar which was recovered from the central tower. It has been nominated by some as the greatest expenditure of energy on the disposal of a corpse. Freeman and Jacques, however, note that several other temples of Angkor depart from the typical eastern orientation, and suggest that Angkor Wat's alignment was due to its dedication to Vishnu, who was associated with the west.
A further interpretation of Angkor Wat has been proposed by Eleanor Mannikka. Drawing on the temple's alignment and dimensions, and on the content and arrangement of the bas-reliefs, she argues that the structure represents a claimed new era of peace under King Suryavarman II: "as the measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the sacred space of Angkor Wat, this divine mandate to rule was anchored to consecrated chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate the king's power and to honor and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above." Mannikka's suggestions have been received with a mixture of interest and scepticism in academic circles. She distances herself from the speculations of others, such as Graham Hancock, that Angkor Wat is part of a representation of the constellation Draco.
STYLE
Angkor Wat is the prime example of the classical style of Khmer architecture - the Angkor Wat style - to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become skilled and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) as the main building material. Most of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was used for the outer wall and for hidden structural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified, although natural resins or slaked lime has been suggested. The temple has drawn praise above all for the harmony of its design. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and style." Architecturally, the elements characteristic of the style include: the ogival, redented towers shaped like lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear along the main axis of the temple. Typical decorative elements are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is considered conservative, being more static and less graceful than earlier work. Other elements of the design have been destroyed by looting and the passage of time, including gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors.
FEATURES
OUTER ENCLOSURE
The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper. Under the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may originally have occupied the temple's central shrine.Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth. The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres, which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. Like all secular buildings of Angkor, these were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets. Most of the area is now covered by forest. A 350 m causeway connects the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on either side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to the design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to the central structure.
CENTRAL STRUCTURE
The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu.
Each gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Because the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are shallower than those on the other sides.
The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 m, with pavilions rather than towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries extending and buttressing the structure. Connecting the outer gallery to the second enclosure on the west side is a cruciform cloister called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, although most have now been removed. This area has many inscriptions relating the good deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked out by the cloister may originally have been filled with water.
North and south of the cloister are libraries.
Beyond, the second and inner galleries are connected to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may originally have been flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru.
Three sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The very steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods. This inner gallery, called the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries connecting each gopura with the central shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; unlike those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four. The shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was converted to Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine: filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he did find a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.
DECORATION
Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Higham has called these, "the greatest known linear arrangement of stone carving".
From the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery shows the Battle of Lanka (from the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Battle of Kurukshetra (from the Mahabharata, showing the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). On the southern gallery follow the only historical scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology.
On the eastern gallery is one of the most celebrated scenes, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, showing 92 asuras and 88 devas using the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea under Vishnu's direction (Mannikka counts only 91 asuras, and explains the asymmetrical numbers as representing the number of days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox, and from the equinox to the summer solstice). It is followed by Vishnu defeating asuras (a 16th-century addition). The northern gallery shows Krishna's victory over Bana (where according to Glaize, "The workmanship is at its worst"). and a battle between the Hindu gods and asuras. The north-west and south-west corner pavilions both feature much smaller-scale scenes, some unidentified but most from the Ramayana or the life of Krishna. Angkor Wat is decorated with depictions of apsaras and devata; there are more than 1,796 depictions of devata in the present research inventory. Angkor Wat architects employed small apsara images (30–40 cm) as decorative motifs on pillars and walls. They incorporated larger devata images (all full-body portraits measuring approximately 95–110 cm) more prominently at every level of the temple from the entry pavilion to the tops of the high towers. In 1927, Sappho Marchal published a study cataloging the remarkable diversity of their hair, headdresses, garments, stance, jewelry and decorative flowers, which Marchal concluded were based on actual practices of the Angkor period.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid without mortar with very tight joints that are sometimes hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and tenon joints in some cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. The blocks were presumably put in place by a combination of elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and bamboo scaffolding. Henri Mouhot noted that most of the blocks had holes 2.5 cm in diameter and 3 cm deep, with more holes on the larger blocks. Some scholars have suggested that these were used to join them together with iron rods, but others claim they were used to hold temporary pegs to help manoeuvre them into place. The monument was made out of millions of tonnes of sandstone and it has a greater volume as well as mass than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The Angkor Wat Temple consumes about 6 million to 10 million blocks of sandstone with an average weight of 1.5 tons each. In fact, the entire city of Angkor used up far greater amounts of stone than all the Egyptian pyramids combined, and occupied an area significantly greater than modern-day Paris. Moreover, unlike the Egyptian pyramids which use limestone quarried barely half a km away all the time, the entire city of Angkor was built with sandstone quarried 40 km (or more) away. This sandstone had to be transported from Mount Kulen, a quarry approximately 40 km to the northeast. The route has been suggested to span 35 kilometres along a canal towards Tonlé Sap lake, another 35 kilometres crossing the lake, and finally 15 kilometres upstream and against the current along Siem Reap River, making a total journey of 90 kilometres. However, Etsuo Uchida and Ichita Shimoda of Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan have discovered in 2012 a shorter 35-kilometre canal connecting Mount Kulen and Angkor Wat using satellite imagery. The two believe that the Khmer used this route instead.
Virtually all of its surfaces, columns, lintels even roofs are carved. There are miles of reliefs illustrating scenes from Indian literature including unicorns, griffins, winged dragons pulling chariots as well as warriors following an elephant-mounted leader and celestial dancing girls with elaborate hair styles. The gallery wall alone is decorated with almost 1000 square metres of bas reliefs. Holes on some of the Angkor walls indicate that they may have been decorated with bronze sheets. These were highly prized in ancient times and were a prime target for robbers. While excavating Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a stonemason and sculptor, recreated a stone sculpture under 1.2 m, this took about 60 days to carve. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to quarry about 400 tons of stone. The labor force to quarry, transport, carve and install so much sandstone must have run into the thousands including many highly skilled artisans. The skills required to carve these sculptures were developed hundreds of years earlier, as demonstrated by some artifacts that have been dated to the seventh century, before the Khmer came to power.
ANGKOR WAT TODAY
The Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple between 1986 and 1992. Since the 1990s, Angkor Wat has seen continued conservation efforts and a massive increase in tourism. The temple is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, established in 1992, which has provided some funding and has encouraged the Cambodian government to protect the site. The German Apsara Conservation Project (GACP) is working to protect the devatas and other bas-reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. The organisation's survey found that around 20% of the devatas were in very poor condition, mainly because of natural erosion and deterioration of the stone but in part also due to earlier restoration efforts. Other work involves the repair of collapsed sections of the structure, and prevention of further collapse: the west facade of the upper level, for example, has been buttressed by scaffolding since 2002, while a Japanese team completed restoration of the north library of the outer enclosure in 2005. World Monuments Fund began conservation work on the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery in 2008 after several years of conditions studies. The project restored the traditional Khmer roofing system and removed cement used in earlier restoration attempts that had resulted in salts entering the structure behind the bas-relief, discoloring and damaging the sculpted surfaces. The main phase of work ended in 2012, and the final component will be the installation of finials on the roof of the gallery in 2013. Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan. Angkor Wat has become a major tourist destination. In 2004 and 2005, government figures suggest that, respectively, 561.000 and 677.000 foreign visitors arrived in Siem Reap province, approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia for both years. The site has been managed by the private SOKIMEX group since 1990, which rented it from the Cambodian government. The influx of tourists has so far caused relatively little damage, other than some graffiti; ropes and wooden steps have been introduced to protect the bas-reliefs and floors, respectively. Tourism has also provided some additional funds for maintenance - as of 2000 approximately 28% of ticket revenues across the whole Angkor site was spent on the temples - although most work is carried out by foreign government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities. Since Angkor Wat has seen significant growth in tourism throughout the years UNESCO and its International Co-ordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), in association with representatives from the Royal Government and APSARA, organized seminars to discuss the concept of "cultural tourism". Wanting to avoid commercial and mass tourism, the seminars emphasized the importance of providing high quality accommodation and services in order for the Cambodian government to benefit economically, while also incorporating the richness of Cambodian culture. In 2001, this incentive resulted in the concept of the "Angkor Tourist City" which would be developed with regard to traditional Khmer architecture, contain leisure and tourist facilities, and provide luxurious hotels capable of accommodating large amounts of tourists. The prospect of developing such large tourist accommodations has encountered concerns from both APSARA and the ICC, claiming that previous tourism developments in the area have neglected construction regulations and more of these projects have the potential to damage landscape features. Also, the large scale of these projects have begun to threaten the quality of the nearby town's water, sewage, and electricity systems. It has been noted that such high frequency of tourism and growing demand for quality accommodations in the area, such as the development of a large highway, has had a direct effect on the underground water table, subsequently straining the structural stability of the temples at Angkor Wat. Locals of Siem Reap have also voiced concern over the charming nature and atmosphere of their town being compromised in order to entertain tourism. Since this charming local atmosphere is the key component to projects like Angkor Tourist City, local officials continue to discuss how to successfully incorporate future tourism without sacrificing local values and culture. At the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012, both parties have agreed Borobudur and Angkor Wat to become sister sites and the provinces will become sister provinces. Two Indonesian airlines are considering the opportunity to open a direct flight from Yogyakarta, Indonesia to Siem Reap.
WIKIPEDIA
The Province is helping keep people safe by creating hubs of police, dedicated prosecutors and probation officers focused on tackling repeat violent offending in every region of the province. Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/28552
Specially dedicated to A.G. Photography & Farbspiel who given me idea and inspiration !
My first shot of photography trip after holiday. Have to consider my self lucky yesterday morning because having a wonderful driver (SamLow) who brought me to explore this place, plus having this kind of lovely clouds in the morning. Oh ya,most importantly with fine weather too~
But I don`t think I`m so lucky today as the sky was crystal clear (no clouds) !!! & the weather is like freaking over 30c !!! ARrgghhhh !!!
(•) – The Lockheed Martin HC-130J Hercules The Combat King II is the U.S. Air Force's only dedicated fixed-wing personnel recovery platform and is flown by the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and Air Combat Command (ACC). This C-130J variation specializes in tactical profiles and avoiding detection and recovery operations in austere environments. The HC-130J replaces HC-130P/Ns as the only dedicated fixed-wing Personnel Recovery platform in the Air Force inventory. It is an extended-range version of the C-130J Hercules transport. Its mission is to rapidly deploy to execute combatant commander directed recovery operations to austere airfields and denied territory for expeditionary, all weather personnel recovery operations to include airdrop, airland, helicopter air-to-air refueling, and forward area ground refueling missions. When tasked, the aircraft also conducts humanitarian assistance operations, disaster response, security cooperation/aviation advisory, emergency aeromedical evacuation, and noncombatant evacuation operations.
Features
Modifications to the HC-130J have improved navigation, threat detection and countermeasures systems. The aircraft fleet has a fully-integrated inertial navigation and global positioning systems, and night vision goggle, or NVG, compatible interior and exterior lighting. It also has forward-looking infrared, radar and missile warning receivers, chaff and flare dispensers, satellite and data-burst communications, and the ability to receive fuel inflight via a Universal Aerial Refueling Receptacle Slipway Installation (UARRSI).
The HC-130J can fly in the day; however, crews normally fly night at low to medium altitude levels in contested or sensitive environments, both over land or overwater. Crews use NVGs for tactical flight profiles to avoid detection to accomplish covert infiltration/exfiltration and transload operations. To enhance the probability of mission success and survivability near populated areas, crews employ tactics that include incorporating no external lighting or communications, and avoiding radar and weapons detection.
Drop zone objectives are done via personnel drops and equipment drops. Rescue bundles include illumination flares, marker smokes and rescue kits. Helicopter air-to-air refueling can be conducted at night, with blacked out communication with up to two simultaneous helicopters. Additionally, forward area refueling point operations can be executed to support a variety of joint and coalition partners.
Background
The HC-130J is a result of the HC/MC-130 recapitalization program and replaces Air Combat Command's aging HC-130P/N fleet as the dedicated fixed-wing personnel recovery platform in the Air Force inventory. The 71st and 79th Rescue Squadrons in Air Combat Command, the 550th Special Operations Squadron in Air Education and Training Command, the 920th Rescue Group in Air Force Reserve Command and the 106th Rescue Wing, 129th RQW and 176th Wing in the Air National Guard will operate the aircraft.
First flight was 29 July 2010, and the aircraft will serve the many roles and missions of the HC-130P/Ns. It is a modified KC-130J aircraft designed to conduct personnel recovery missions, provide a command and control platform, in-flight-refuel helicopters and carry supplemental fuel for extending range or air refueling.
In April 2006, the personnel recovery mission was transferred back to Air Combat Command at Langley AFB, Va. From 2003 to 2006, the mission was under the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Previously, HC-130s were assigned to ACC from 1992 to 2003. They were first assigned to the Air Rescue Service as part of Military Airlift Command.
General Characteristics
Primary function: Fixed-wing Personnel Recovery platform
Contractor: Lockheed Aircraft Corp.
Power Plant: Four Rolls Royce AE2100D3 turboprop engines
Thrust: 4,591 Propeller Shaft Horsepower, each engine
Wingspan: 132 feet, 7 inches (40.4 meters)
Length: 97 feet, 9 inches (29.57 meters)
Height: 38 feet, 9 inches (11.58 meters)
Operating Weight: 89,000 pounds (40,369 kilograms)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 164,000 pounds (74,389 kilograms)
Fuel Capacity: 61,360 pounds (9,024 gallons)
Payload: 35,000 pounds (15,875 kilograms)
Speed: 316 knots indicated air speed at sea level
Range: beyond 4,000 miles (3,478 nautical miles)
Ceiling: 33,000 feet (10,000 meters)
Armament: countermeasures/flares, chaff
Basic Crew: Three officers (pilot, co-pilot, combat system officer) and two enlisted loadmasters
Unit Cost: $66 million (fiscal 2010 replacement cost)
Initial operating capability: 2013.
It has been almost a A Year and a Half Since I caught this one in action. The Last time I caught it was in 2016. And here it is Hard at Work doing Parajumps at The Airport.
The Brihadeshvara Temple at Thanjavur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is an important example of Tamil architecture achieved during the Chola dynasty. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples".
This is one of the largest temples in India and one of India's most prized architectural sites. Built by emperor Raja Raja Chola I and completed in 1010 AD, Peruvudaiyaar Temple, also popularly known as the 'Big Temple', turned 1000 years old in 2010.
Thanjavur Periya Kovil stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century. The vimanam (or temple tower) is 66 m) high and is among the tallest of its kind in the world. The Kumbam (Kalasha or Chikharam, the apex or the bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is carved out of a single rock and it weighs around 80 tons. There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock, at the entrance measuring about 16 feet long and 13 feet high. The entire temple structure is made out of granite, the nearest sources of which are close to Tiruchirappalli, about 60 km to the west of Thanjavur.
HISTORY
The temple had its foundations laid out by the Tamil emperor Arulmozhivarman, popularly called Rajaraja Chola I, in 1002 CE, as the first of the great Tamil Chola building projects.
The Brihadeshvara Temple was built to grace the throne of the Chola empire in compliance to a command given to him in his dream. The scale and grandeur is in the Chola tradition. An axial and symmetrical geometry rules the temple layout. Temples from this period and the following two centuries are an expression of the Tamils (Chola) wealth, power and artistic expertise. The emergence of such features as the multifaceted columns with projecting square capitals signal the arrival of the new Chola style.
The Brihadeshvara Temple was built to be the royal temple to display the emperor's vision of his power and his relationship to the universal order. The temple was the site of the major royal ceremonies such as anointing the emperor and linking him with its deity, Shiva, and the daily rituals of the deities were mirrored by those of the king. It is an architectural example showcasing the pure form of the Dravida type of temple architecture and representative of the Chola Empire ideology and the Tamil civilisation in Southern India. The temple "testify to the brilliant achievements of the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting."
CONSTRUCTION
The wish to build a mammoth temple like this is said to have occurred to Raja Raja while he stayed at Sri Lanka as an emperor.
The esteemed architect and engineer of the temple was Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Perunthachan as stated in inscriptions found at the temple. The temple was built per ancient texts called Vaastu Shastras and Agamas. He is the ancient ancestor of the doyan of Vaastu Vedic architecture, the late Dr. V. Ganapti Sthapati of Chennai and Mahabalipurim (architect of the 133' granite Thiruvalluvar statue at the tip of south India). Members of his family still live and practice the ancient art and science. The American University of Mayonic Science and Technology was initiated by Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati to perpetuate the same form of architectural principles used by Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Perunthachan to build the Brihadeeswarar temple. The temple was built using a measure of 1 3/8-inch called an angula (24 units equalling 33 inches called a hasta, muzam, or kishku). This is the same measure found in ancient Lothal and other sites in the Indus Valley dating back 4000 - 6000 years. This same measure is used to build structures compliant with the Vaastu Shastras and Agamas today. While some builders use a different measure this is considered a standard due to its antiquity.
This temple is the first building fully built by granite and finished within 5yrs [1004AD – 1009AD]. The solid base of the temple raises about 5 metres, above which stone deities and representatives of Shiva dance. The huge kalasam or Vimanam (top portion of the shrine) is believed to weigh 81.28 tonnes of single stone block and was raised to its present height by dragging on an inclined plane of 6.44 km. The big Nandi (bull), weighing about 20 tonnes is made of a single stone and is about 2 m in height, 6 m in length and 2.5 m in width. The presiding deity of lingam is 3.7m tall. The prakaram (outer precincts of the temple) measures 240m by 125m. The outer wall of the upper storey is carved with 81 dance karanas – postures of Bharathanatyam, the classical dance of Tamil Nadu. The shrine of Goddess was added by Pandyas during the 13th century, Subramanya Shrine by Vijayanagara rulers and the Vinayaka shrine was renovated by Maratha rulers.
TEMPLE COMPLEX
The temple complex sits on the banks of a river that was channelled to make a moat around the complex's outer walls, the walls being built like a fortress. The complex is made up of many structures that are aligned axially. The complex can be entered either on one axis through a five-story gopuram or with a second access directly to the huge main quadrangle through a smaller free-standing gopuram. The massive size of the main Vimanam (Shikhara) is ca. 60 meters high, with 16 elaborately articulated stories, and dominates the main quadrangle. Pilaster, piers, and attached columns are placed rhythmically covering every surface of the Vimanam.
The gopuram of the main entrance is 30 m high, smaller than the vimana. It is unusual in the dravidian architecture where the gopurams are generally the main towers and taller than the vimanam.
MAIN TEMPLE
A first rectangular surrounding wall, 270 m by 140 m, marks the outer boundary. The main temple is in the center of the spacious quadrangle composed of a sanctuary, a Nandi, a pillared hall and an assembly hall (mandapas), and many sub-shrines. The most important part of the temple is the inner mandapa which is surrounded by massive walls that are divided into levels by sharply cut sculptures and pilasters providing deep bays and recesses. Each side of the sanctuary has a bay emphasising the principle cult icons. The karuvarai, a Tamil word meaning the interior of the sanctum sanctorum, is the inner most sanctum and focus of the temple where an image of the primary deity, Shiva, resides. Inside is a huge stone linga. The word Karuvarai means "womb chamber" from Tamil word karu for foetus. Only priests are allowed to enter this inner-most chamber.
In the Dravida style, the Karuvarai takes the form of a miniature vimana with other features exclusive to southern Indian temple architecture such as the inner wall together with the outer wall creating a pradakshina around the garbhagriha for circumambulation (pradakshina). The entrance is highly decorated. The inside chamber housing the image of the god is the sanctum sanctorum, the garbhagriha. The garbhagriha is square and sits on a plinth, its location calculated to be a point of total equilibrium and harmony as it is representative of a microcosm of the universe. In the center is placed the image of the deity. The royal bathing-hall where Rajaraja the great gave gifts is to the east of the hall of Irumudi-Soran.
The circumambulation winds around the massive lingam in the garbhagriha and is repeated in an upper story, presenting the idea that Chola Empire freely offered access to the gods.
The inner mandapa leads out to a rectangular mandapa and then to a twenty-columned porch with three staircases leading down. Sharing the same stone plinth is a small open mandapa dedicated to Nandi, Shiva's sacred bull mount.
TEMPLE DEITIES
The "moolavar" or prime deity of the Brihadeeswarar Temple is Shiva. All deities, particularly those placed in the niches of the outer wall (Koshta Moorthigal) like Dakshinamurthy, Surya, Chandra are of huge size. The Brihadiswarar temple is one of the rare temples which has idols for "Ashta-dikpaalakas" (Guardians of the directions) – Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirṛti, Varuṇa, Vāyu, Kubera, Īśāna – each of whom was originally represented by a life-sized statue, approximately 6 feet tall, enshrined in a separate temple located in the respective direction. (Only Agni, Varuṇa, Vāyu and Īśāna are preserved in situ.)
ADJOINING STRUCTURES
Surrounding the main temple are two walled enclosures. The outer wall is high, defining the temple complex area. Here is the massive gopuram or gateway mentioned above. Within this a portico, a barrel vaulted gorpuram with over 400 pillars, is enclosed by a high wall interspersed with huge gopurams axially lined up to the main temple.
FEATURES
Another widely held belief is that the shadow of the gopuram (pyramidal tower usually over the gateway of a temple) never falls on the ground. . The temple is said to be made up of about 60,000 tons of sandstone and granite. The Kumbam itself, a 60 ton granite stone carved in one piece, on top of the main gopuram is believed to have been taken to the top by creating an inclined slope to the height of 66m to the top of the gopuram. The prevailing belief is that a mud-slope, which starts at about three miles from the temple site, from Thirukoilore (birthplace of Raja raja's mother) near Sri Virateshvara swamy temple portrays the figure of the Thanjavur Temple. Elephants might have been used to drag the stone up the slope. This was claimed to be the only part of the gopuram, which does not cast a shadow that fall on the ground, at least not within the temple premises which is an architectural amazement in the world of architecture.
MURALS
The temple has Chola frescoes on the walls around the sanctum sanctorum potryaing Shiva in action, destroying demonic forts, dancing and sending a white elephant to transport a devotee to heaven. These frescoes were discovered in the 1940s and portray the mythological episodes of the journey of Saint Sundarar and the Chera King to heaven, the battle scene of Tripurantaka (Lord Siva) with Asuras (demons). The Chola artists have proved their mettle by portraying even the Asura women with a sense of beauty. Some of the paintings in the sanctum sanctorum and the walls in the passage had been damaged because of the soot that had deposited on them. Owing to the continuous exposure to smoke and soot from the lamps and burning of camphor in the sanctum sanctorum over a period of centuries certain parts of the Chola paintings on the circumambulatory passage walls had been badly damaged. The Tanjore Nayak kings replaced them with a few paintings of their own, about 400 years ago. The Archaeological Survey of India, for the first time in the world, used its unique de-stucco process to restore 16 Nayak paintings, which were superimposed on 1000-year-old Chola frescoes. These 400-year-old paintings have been mounted on fibre glass boards, displayed at a separate pavilion.
TEMPLE PERSONNEL
The temple was consecrated in 1010 CE by Raja Raja Chola I & in 2010 a celebration commemorated the temple's thousandth anniversary. The temple maintained a staff of 1000 people in various capacities with 400 being temple dancers Besides the Brahmin priests, these included record-keepers, musicians, scholars, and craftsman of every type as well as housekeeping staff. In those days the temple was a hub of business activities for the flower, milk, oil, and ghee merchants, all of whom made a regular supply of their respective goods for the temple for its poojas and during festival seasons. Moreover as evidenced by the inscriptions that found in the compound wall of this temple, the temple had always been serving as a platform for the dancers who excelled in the traditional dance form of Bharatnatyam. vallamuthu minnadi generation worshipped this temple.
WIKIPEDIA
The Pashupatinath Temple (Nepali: पशुपतिनाथ मन्दिर) is a famous, sacred Hindu temple dedicated to Pashupatinath and is located on the banks of the Bagmati River 5 kilometres north-east of Kathmandu Valley in the eastern city of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. This temple is considered one of the sacred temples of Hindu faith. The temple serves as the seat of the national deity, Lord Pashupatinath. This temple complex is on UNESCO World Heritage Sites's list Since 1979. This "extensive Hindu temple precinct" is a "sprawling collection of temples, ashrams, images and inscriptions raised over the centuries along the banks of the sacred Bagmati river" and is included as one of the seven monument groups in UNESCO's designation of Kathmandu Valley as a cultural heritage site. One of the major Festivals of the temple is Maha Shivaratri on which day over 700,000 devotees visit here.
The twelve Jyotirlinga (in India) are the body and the Jyotirlinga at Pashupatinath in Kathmandu (Nepal) is the head over this body.
The temple is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams (Holy Abodes of Shiva) on the continent. Kotirudra Samhita, Chapter 11 on the Shivalingas of the North, in Shiva Purana mentions this Shivalinga as the bestower of all wishes.
HISTORY
The temple was erected anew in the 15th century by Lichhavi King Shupuspa after the previous building had been consumed by termites. Countless further temples have been erected around this two -storied temple. These include the Vaishnav temple complex with a Ram temple from the 14th century and the Guhyeshwari Temple mentioned in an 11th-century manuscript.
LEGEND ABOUT THE TEMPLE ORIGIN
Pashupatinath Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu. It is not known for certain when Pashupatinath Temple was founded. But according to Nepal Mahatmaya and Himvatkhanda, the deity here gained great fame there as Pashupati, the Lord of all Pashus, which are living as well as non-living beings. Pashupatinath Temple's existence dates back to 400 A.D. The richly-ornamented pagoda houses the sacred linga or holy symbol of Lord Shiva. There are many legends describing as to how the temple of Lord Pashupatinath came to existence here. Some of them are narrated below:
THE COW LEGEND
Legend says that Lord Shiva once took the form of an antelope and sported unknown in the forest on Bagmati river's east bank. The gods later caught up with him, and grabbing him by the horn, forced him to resume his divine form. The broken horn was worshipped as a linga but overtime it was buried and lost. Centuries later an astonished herdsmen found one of his cows showering the earth with milk. Digging deep at the site, he discovered the divine linga of Pashupatinath.
THE LINCHCHAVI LEGEND
According to Gopalraj Vamsavali, the oldest ever chronicle in Nepal, this temple was built by Supuspa Deva, a Linchchhavi King, who according to the stone inscription erected by Jayadeva 11 in the courtyard of Pashupatinath in 753 AD, happened to be the ruler 39 generations before Manadeva (464-505 AD).
THE DEVALAYA LEGEND
Another chronicle states that Pashupatinath Temple was in the form of Linga shaped Devalaya before Supuspa Deva constructed a five storey temple of Pashupatinath in this place. As the time passed, the need for repairing and renovating this temple arose. It is learnt that this temple was reconstructed by a medieval King named Shivadeva (1099-1126 AD). It was renovated by Ananta Malla adding a roof to it. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to pay homage to this temple, that is also known as 'The Temple of Living Beings'.
OTHER BELIEFS
There are several complex stories involving the origins of Pashupatinath. One story goes, in brief, that Shiva and Parvati came to the Kathmandu Valley and rested by the Bagmati while on a journey. Shiva was so impressed by its beauty and the surrounding forest that he and Parvati changed themselves into deers and walked into the forest. Many spots in the Kathmandu Valley are identified as places where Shiva went during his time as a deer. After a while the people and gods began to search for Shiva. Finally, after various complications, they found him in the forest, but he refused to leave. More complications ensued, but ultimately Shiva announced that, since he had lived by the Bagmati in a deer's form, he would now be known as Pashupatinath, Lord of all animals. It is said that whoever came here and beheld the lingam that appeared there would not be reborn as an animal.
FINDING OF SHIVA LINGA AT PASHIPATINATH TEMPLE
It is said that the wish-fulfilling cow Kamadhenu took shelter in a cave on the Chandravan mountain. Everyday Kamadhenu went down to the place the lingam was sunken into the soil and poured her milk on top of the soil. After ten thousand years some people saw Kamadhenu pouring milk on that same spot everyday, and started to wonder what that would be. So they removed the soil and found the beautiful shining lingam and started worshiping it.
TEMPLE COMPLEX
The area of Pashupatinath encompasses 264 hectare of land including 518 temples and monuments. Main pagoda style temple is located in the fortified courtyard within the complex guarded by Nepal Police and has a police outpost post along with living quarter within. In front of the western door there is a huge statue Nandi bull, in bronze. Along with many temples and shrines of both Vaishnav and saiva tradition.
TEMPLES AND SHRINES IN THE INNER COURTYARD
Vasuki nath temple
Unmatta Bhairav temple
Surya narayan temple
Kirti mukh bhairav shrine
Budanil kantha shrine
Hanuman shrine
184 shivaling shrine
TEMPLES AND SHRINES IN THE OUTER COMPLEX
Ram mandir
Virat swaroop temple
12 jyotirlingha and Pandra Shivalaya
Guhyeshwari Temple
MAIN TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE
This main temple is built in the Nepalese pagoda style of architecture. All the features of pagoda style is founded here like cubic constructions, beautifully carved wooden rafters on which they rest (tundal). The two level roofs are of copper with gold covering. The temple resides on a square base platform with a height of 23m 7 cm from base to pinnacle. It has four main doors, all covered with silver sheets. This temple has a gold pinnacle (Gajur). Inside are two Garbhagrihas, outer and inner. The inner garbhagriha or sanctum sanctorum is where the idol is placed and outer sanctum is an open corridor like space.
THE DEITY
The sacro sanctum, or the main idol is a stone Mukhalinga with a silver yoni base bound with silver serpent. The lingam is one metre high and has faces in four directions. These faces represents various ascepts of Shiva; Sadyojata (also known as Barun), Vamdeva (also known as Ardha nareshwor), Tatpurusha, Aghor & Ishana (imaginative). Facing West, North, East, South and Zenith respectively representing five primary elements namely earth, water, air, light and ether. Each face has tiny protruding hands holding rudraksha mala on right hand and a kamandalu on the other.Unlike other shiva lingams in India and Nepal this pashupati shiva lingam is always Dressed in its golden vastra except during abhishakam, so pouring milk and ganga jal is only possible during abhishakam through the main priests.
PRIESTS
Daily rituals of Pashupatinath are carried out by two sets of priests ;one being the Bhatt priests and other Bhandari. Bhatta or Bhatt are the one who performs the daily ritual and can touch the lingam, where as Bhadaris are the helper and temple care taker priests but are not qualified perform pooja rituals or to touch the deity.
Bhatta or Bhat are highly educated Vedic bhramin Scholars from Brahmin family from South Indian State Karnataka.Unlike other Hindu temples priesthood of Pashupatinath is not hereditary. Priests are selected from a group of scholars educated by Shri Shankaracharya Dakshinamnaya Peeth Sringeri on Rig Vedic Recitation, initiated in Pashupata Yoga by Kashi Math,Shiva Āgama and learned Recitation of Samaveda from Haridwar.After qualifying and fulfilling all those criteria they will be selected for Priesthood by Raj Guru of Pashupatinath Temple undergoing strict examination on Vedas and Shiva Agamas and then the qualifies are sent to Kathmandu for performing Puja and Daily Worship of Lord Shri Pashupatinath This tradition is reported to have started by the request of Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century, who sought to unify the different states of Bharatam (Unified India) by encouraging cultural exchange. This procedure is also followed in other temples around Bharata-varsa which were sanctified by Adi Shankaracharya. The unique feature of this temple is that only 4 Bhatta priests can touch the deity.Current Bhatt priests of the temple are;
Ganesh Bhat (15th head priest of the Pashupatinath Temple aka Mool Bhat) from Udupi.
Ram Karanth Bhat from Mangaluru.
Girish Bhat from Sirsi.
Narayan Bhat(Recently appointed) from Bhatkal
Raghavendra Bhat (Priest for Vasuki Nath temple only)
Bhandaris or Rajbhandari are the treasurers, temple caretakers, and assistant priest of the temple.
These Bhandaris are the descendants of helper priests brought up by early Bhatts, but were allowed to settle in Kathmandu valley and later assimilated in existing Newar caste of Rajbhandari - a high-caste Chathariya/Kshatriya clan of Kashyapa gotra. Their main function is to help the Bhatta priest and perform maintenance of the inner Garbhagriha. They can have little or no Vedic knowledge but still qualify as assistant priests if they belong from the same family lineage and undergo some basic criteria like caste, gotra, lineage purity, educational qualification, etc. They work in set of four and change in every full moon day. There are a total of 108 Bhandaris.
ENTRY AND DARSHAN
Temple courtyard has 4 entrances in all directions.The western entrance is the main entrance to the temple courtyard and rest three entrances are only opened during big festival . Temple security (Armed Police Force Nepal) is selective regarding who is allowed entry into the inner courtyard . Practicing Hindus and buddhist of Indian and Tibetan descendent are only allowed into temple courtiyard . Practicing Hindus of western descent are not allowed into the temple complex along with other non Hindu Visitors. Sikh and Jain groups are allowed into the temple compound if they are of Indian ancestry. Others can look at the main temple from adjacent side of the river and has to pay a nominal fee of $10 (1000 Nepali rupee) for visiting hundreds of small temples in the external premises of the temple complex . The inner temple courtyard remains open from 4 am to 7 pm for the devotee but the Inner Pashupatinath Temple where the Lingam of lord Pashupatinath is established is open from 5am to 12 pm for the morning ritual and viewing and from 5pm to 7 pm for evening ritual. Unlike many other Saiva temples devotees are not allowed to enter in the inner-most Garbhagriha but are allowed to view from the exterior premises of the outer Garbhagriha.
FESTIVALS
There are many festivals throughout the year .Thousands of people attend these festival.The most important festival is the Maha Shiva Ratri .Bala chaturthi and Teej.
CONTROVERSY OF 2009
In January 2009, after the forced resignation by the chief priest of Pashupatinath temple, the Maoist-led government of Nepal "hand picked" Nepalese priests to lead the temple, thus bypassing the temple's long-standing requirements. This appointment was contested by the Bhandaris of the temple, stating that they were not against the appointment of Nepalese priests but against the appointment without proper procedure. After the appointment was challenged in a civil court, the appointment was overruled by Supreme Court of Nepal.However, the government did not heed the ruling and stood by its decision. This led to public outrage and protests over a lack of transparency. The paramilitary group of the CPN (Maoist), called YCL, attacked the protesters, leading to over a dozen injuries. Lawmakers and activists from opposition parties joined protests, declaring their support for the Bhatta and other pro-Bhatta protesters. After long dissatisfaction and protest by Hindus both in and outside Nepal, the government was forced to reverse its decision that had been declared illegal by the Supreme Court of Nepal and reinstate Bhatta priests.
2015 EARTHQUAKE
The main temple complex of Pashupatinath and the sanctum sanctorum was left untouched but some of the outer buildings in the World Heritage Site were damaged by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.
WIKIPEDIA
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