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The fortified evangelical church of Valchid was built in the 14th century, on the site of a much older Romanesque basilica.
Situated on a small tributary of Târnave Mari, the settlement of Valchid owes its first documentary mention to a conflict of 1345 in which the peasants from Valchid were interrogated in the process of robbing the Saxons from Curciu and other villages belonging to the neighboring localities, the Nou Sasesc and Roandola. .
The church is long and narrow, surrounded by ten buttresses erected specially to support the walls of the hall. The enclosure has a gray-yellow color, a color given by the reddish-brown sandstone from which it is built. The walls were dated to the beginning of the 16th century.
The watchtowers are located in the middle of the sides of the walls, the watchtower continuing on their façades. This is completely different from most fortified churches that have towers usually located at the corners of the precincts. The main portal on which a finely carved embrasure is seen, similar to the western portal of the evangelical church in Sibiu, is located on the blackened facade of smoke on the west side of the church. The church itself was never fortified, due to the height of the curtains of about 10 meters which led to the deterrent of the attackers.
The original vault of the ship was destroyed by the 1916 earthquake and was replaced by with a baroque vaulted vault that shows the ornaments in the stucco, with double arches. The boys' grandstand built in the west was built in the 19th century and was renovated in 1922 when another grandstand supported by two brick arches was erected along the north wall.
Château de Kerjean is a 16th-century fortified chateau (manor house) located close to the town of Saint-Vougay, in the Finistère department of Brittany, France. It was originally built for members of the Barbier family, later titled as Marquis de Kerjean, between the 1540s and 1590s. The chateau was damaged in the 1790s during the French Revolution, and fell into further disrepair during the 19th century. The building was taken into state care in 1911 and restored in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Standing in a 20-hectare park, the house, park and some out-lying structures, including a large dovecote, are open to the public.
St. Margaret's Church: The fortified church was built in gothic style in 1488, with time it went through different modifications. The feeble ground structure made its tower, built in 1460, incline. 1550 the church was raised with three storeys and in 1551 four smaller towers were added to show that the city had a court. It was at that time that it gained its 68.5 meters height. In 1783 the roof-structure was changed and the small towers renovated, it was also then that the golden globe, dating from 1550, was brought down from the tower and according to tradition its content was read aloud. The tower proved to be a good spotting post. In those times the trumpeter in the tower had a great function, alerting about the approaching danger. If he made a mistake, he would've been thrown out from the top of the tower. From this does the towers name derive, Trumpeters tower. In this tower was ordered to be locked Vlad Ţepeş, a.k.a. Dracula, by King Matyas in 1476. On the inside walls of the church you can see 14th- or 15th-century frescoes. The altar was made in 1480 in gothic style, and portrays the sufferings of Jesus. On the portrait, below the crucified Jesus' arm, a Wien panorama can be observed, this indicates the portray origin. The church walls are also decorated with eastern wall carpets given to the church by Christians, some date back to the 16th century. In the church there is the oldest brazen baptistry of the country made at the beginning of the 19th century.The canopy of the pulpit was made in 1679 by master Sigismund Moess. Its pipe-organ, from 1755, is appropriate for symphony concerts. While these concerts last the church benches are turned to face the pipe-organ.
Deep in the Animas River Canyon, a Silverton Mixed Train behind D&RGW #473 charges north with some loads for the residents and businesses in Silverton, passing through a section of line just south of Cascade, called "Cement Wall" or "Cement Fill" (MP 476.7).
Historically, the old D&RGW Silverton Line has been a tough stretch of railroad to maintain. Running close to a riverbed at the bottom of a very steep canyon, slides and washouts have been a problem since the railroad was first built in the early 1880s, and those problems persist even in 2020. The spot you see here was pretty well wiped out during a flash flood on the Animas in 1970, back when the D&RGW still owned the railroad. Given the vulnerability of the line at this location, the railroad elected to go beyond just refilling the spot and laying down new track. Instead, they built this fortified cement wall, which has since given this place its name. Fortunately, it appears to have stood the test of time rather well for the last 50 years. It ain't pretty, but at least the railroad no longer has problems here.
Scan of an analog photo taken in Sepember 1987
Montmajour Abbey (formally the Abbey of St. Peter in Montmajour) was built as a fortified Benedictine monastery between the 10th and 18th centuries. The Chapel of the Holy Cross was built in the 12th century.
Fortified church complex St. Oswald . Eisenerz . Styria . Austria . Europe
I LOVE THIS PLACE: kirchenburg.at/en/kirchenburg-home-en/
...in Evessen, a small, but lovely village marginal to the hillrange Elm (Lower Saxony, Germany).
Built in the 11th century and named after St. John Baptist.
One of the most important things at interior is a crucifix, created in the 13th century.
Romanische Wehrkirche in Evessen, einem zwar kleinen, aber sehr schmucken Dorf am Rande des Höhenzuges Elm (Niedersachsen).
Die Kirche wurde bereits im 11. Jh. errichtet und nach dem Heiligen Johannes dem Täufer benannt.
Ein bedeutungsvolles Detail im Innenraum ist ein Kruzifix, welches aus dem 13.Jh. stammt.
The fortified Evangelical Church of Prejmer was built in the 13th century on the basis of an old Romanesque basilica dating from the 12th century.
It was around 1211 that King Andrew II of Hungary granted the Teutonic Knights rights to this territory. They are the ones who began to build the church of Tartlau (Saxon name of the locality) whose construction will continue in the Burgundian Gothic style introduced by the Cistercians at the monastery of Cârța.
The church was built as a Greek cross, modified by the interventions of the 16th century. Initially, the building consisted of four equal arms arranged around a square centered by an octagonal tower. Each arm was made up of two bays, one square and one polygonal, the choir of the church being flanked on both side by two pairs of rectangular chapels. The kinship with the spirit and forms used on the site of the Cistercian monastery church in Cârța, and with those present at the Church of St. Bartholomew in Brașov, both built after the mid-13th century, allows the dating of the church of Prejmer in the second third of the thirteenth century and its inclusion in the same stylistic atmosphere.
After Prejmer was the first locality to suffer the blows of Turkish troops (passed through the Buzău pass) King Sigismund of Luxembourg ordered the construction of defense systems in Ţara Bârsei. The church was fortified by a high and strong enclosure surrounded by a wide water ditch. The fortress, built in a circle, had walls 3-4 meters thick and 12 meters high, bastions, iron gates and drawbridges. A guard route was used to supply the fighters of the ramparts. In addition to the mouths of fire attached to the walls, there was an unusual fighting device: the famous "Organ of Death". Made up of several weapons placed together, which fired at the same time, it caused the enemy great panic and heavy losses.
Nb: In the church is the oldest triptych in Transylvania, dated between 1450 and 1460.
The fortified church of the Holy Mother of God in the Serbian village of Donja Kamenica, near the Bulgarian borders, during a stormy evening.
It is an impressive Medieval Eastern Orthodox church, built in the 14th century in Byzantine style with Hungarian and Transylvanian influences.
Some kids must have been at work building a fort in the Stadtwald. Seems fitting on this sad Epiphany day that sees rioters invade the Capitol.
Zeiss Ikon Ikonta M (aka Mess-Ikonta 524/16) and Novar Anastigmat 1:3,5 f=75mm, Fomapan 100 developped in Rodinal 1+50 for 11min at 20°C and digitalized using kit zoom and extension tubes.
Thank you everyone for your visits, faves and comments, they are always appreciated :)
The collegiate church Saint-Pierre (aka "St-Pierre-aux-Liens") dates back to the 12th century, though many alterations and the fortification seen here, were done later.
A church and convent that existed here, got looted and burnt down by the Normans in 866. It was named "Scotorum", so it may be have been founded by Scottish/Irish monks.
Around 980 a collegiate was founded here, dedicated to Saint Peter. Under the first monks were Israël and his disciple Theobald, who later became the patron saints of Le Dorat. The church of the collegiate was set on fire by local villagers during a regional war in 1013 and burnt down. The newly built church got consecrated in 1063 - and burnt down in 1080.
Soon after this a crypt was built, but the erection of the church above the crypt did not start before 1112. When in 1130, the choir and the radial chapels were completed, the relics of Saint Israël and Saint Theobald were "translated" into the church, what attracted obviously lots of pilgrims following the Via Lemovicensis to a little detour.
In the following centuries Le Dorat was threatened by and involved into many wars and feuds and so town and church got heavily fortified. That did not help, when in 1567 a Huguenot-armee of 15.000 troops conquered the place, killed about 400 inhabitants and looted town and convent.
All buildings of the collegiate got lost after the French Revolution, only the really large church (74,70 m long) survived the times and now serves as a parish church.
The design of the portal with its two even doors can be seen frequently in the Limousin (eg Saint-Junien, Saint-Chamant), but the multitude of wavy archivolts is pretty unique.
In the village of Le Breuil near Lyon (southeastern France) stand this remarkable late Romanesque fortified church dedicated to Saint Pancras (Saint Pancrace in French). It had to be partly rebuilt after the older church, erected around 960, was severely damaged during the Hundred Years War —hence the fortification.
Fortified by a fine braai and a wine tasting session at a local winery tour participants still manage to safely record 19D No. 3334 and its mixed consist at Halfmanshof whilst returning down the Portersville branch back to Hermon where the Union Limited train will provide a welcome shower, evening meal, and beer !
The fortified town of Decapolis stands upon a rocky plateau. It serves as a stopping point for the silk caravans, and merchants from all over the world can be found here. Even though it sits in the harshest of deserts, water is abundant, because of an underground river located just below the town. It provides an oasis of life for the desert of Loreos.
Check out the Lands of Classic Castle project over at Classic Castle.com
www.classic-castle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21649
I tried to put more time into this MOC I was rather hasty in the last one ;) .
I think I need more tan bricks! I was running out of them near the end of this build.
I will post better views of the caves soon.
C&C welcome!
Have a blessed day!
~Mark
Mystras is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sparti, of which it is a municipal unit. Situated on Mt. Taygetos, near ancient Sparta, it served as the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea in the 14th and 15th centuries, experiencing a period of prosperity and cultural flowering. The site remained inhabited throughout the Ottoman period, when it was mistaken by Western travellers for ancient Sparta. In the 1830s, it was abandoned and the new town of Sparti was built, approximately eight kilometres to the east.
In 1249, Mystras became the seat of the Latin Principality of Achaea, established in 1205 after the conquest of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, and Prince William II Villehardouin, a grand-nephew of the Fourth Crusade historian Geoffrey of Villehardouin, built a palace there. In 1261, the Latins ceded Mystras and other forts in the southeastern Peloponnese as ransom for William II, who had been captured in Pelagonia, and Michael VIII Palaeologus made the city the seat of the new Despotate of the Morea. It remained the capital of the despotate, ruled by relatives of the Byzantine emperor, although the Venetians still controlled the coast and the islands. Mystras and the rest of Morea became relatively prosperous after 1261, compared to the rest of the empire. Under the despot Theodore it became the second most important city in the empire after Constantinople, and William II's palace became the second residence of the emperors. The main church of Brontochion Monastery was completed around 1310.
The frescos in the Peribleptos Monastery Church, dating between 1348 and 1380, are a very rare surviving late Byzantine cycle, crucial for the understanding of Byzantine art. Mystras was also the last centre of Byzantine scholarship; the Neoplatonist philosopher George Gemistos Plethon lived there until his death in 1452. He and other scholars based in Mystras influenced the Italian Renaissance, especially after he accompanied the emperor John VIII Palaiologos to Florence in 1439.
The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, was despot at Mystras before he came to the throne. Demetrius Palaeologus the last despot of Morea, surrendered the city to the Ottoman emperor Mehmed II in 1460. As Mezistre, it was the seat of a Turkish sanjak. The Venetians occupied it from 1687 to 1715, but otherwise the Ottomans held it until 1821 and the beginning of the Greek War of Independence. It was abandoned by King Otto for the newly rebuilt Sparti.
In 1989 the ruins, including the fortress, palace, churches, and monasteries, were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The pretty village of Castle Acre is outstanding in many respects. It is sited on the ancient Peddars Way, and has a Roman trackway to the North which until recently remained an important route to the north Norfolk coast. But most impressive are the Norman Castle earthworks and the beautiful ruins of the magnificent Cluniac Priory, the best preserved in the country. They were both founded soon after the Norman Conquest in 1066 by William de Warenne, first earl of Surrey and many members of this great family went on to play an important role in the affairs of the State with Kings and Queens all visiting Castle Acre as their guests.
Although now a very attractive village, Castle Acre itself was once a fortified town, it was protected by its own large bank, with a ditch and gateways to guard the entrances. The surviving so-called Bailey Gate was once the North gateway to the town, and the Medieval Parish Church of St James, which lies near to the Priory is situated outside of the town's defences, which shows the town had outgrown its defences and original boundaries by the 13th Century. When first established, Castle Acre was one of the finest examples of Norman town planning in the country, and much of this can still be seen.
Valea Viilor (The Valley of the Vines) is a village of 2000 inhabitants, located in a famous wine-growing area, 40km north of Sibiu.
Since 1999 it is part of the UNESCO heritage.
The fortified evangelical church was built on the remains of an older romanesque church. The Gothic church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was built in the fourteenth century. Fortification work in the sixteenth century gave the present appearance of the church. The building is defended by a wall of a height of 6 to 7 meters built on an oval plane. The wall has 3 bastions, a walkway, loopholes and an access door that can be closed by a portcullis.
Hi ha diverses esglesies fortificades per Catalunya, però en aquest cas, l'esglesia va passar a formar part directament de les muralles del castell. Es tracta de la Santa Creu de Calafell, al Baix Penedès.
La torreta a l'esquerra del campanar és el comunidor, per a beneir els camps i expulsar les tempestes espiritualment.
ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castell_de_Calafell
ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comunidor
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There are fortified churches and then there are churches embeded in the walls of a castle, like this one, in the castle of Calafell. The church is Santa Creu and it was here before the walls.
The church was built in the XI Century and most of the castle in the XIV Century, but it was destroyed in the XVII Century.
The building to the left is the conjuratory, where the priest blessed the fields and warded off storms. Or at least tried to.
A peacock in the grounds of Gwydir Castle near to Llanrwst, County Conwy, in North Wales.
Although called a castle, it is an example of a Tudor architecture courtyard house or fortified manor house, rather than a traditional castle. There has been a fortification of some sort on the site since AD 600, and in the Middle Ages a large number of skirmishes were fought in this area between the various rival Welsh princes and their forces, the most significant being in 610 and 954.
By the 14th century some form of manorial house had evolved, and the first recorded owner was Howell ap Coetmor, who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was a commander of longbowmen under Edward, the Black Prince at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356.
Gwydir became the ancestral home of the powerful Wynn family, descended from the Kings of Gwynedd, and one of the most significant families of north Wales during the Tudor and Stuart periods. Following the Wars of the Roses the castle was rebuilt by Meredith ap Ieuan ap Robert, the founder of the Wynn dynasty.
During the 16th and 17th centuries the Gwydir Estate under the Wynn family dominated north Wales, and at the centre of this huge Estate, Gwydir itself stood in a deer park of some 36,000 acres. In 1678 it passed by marriage to the Barons Willoughby de Eresby, based in Lincolnshire (and from 1892 also to the Earls of Ancaster). The 18th century consequently saw a period of some neglect, and by the early 19th century the Estate largely comprised the parishes of Dolwyddelan, Llanrhychwyn, Trefriw, and Gwydir, totalling some 55 square miles.
The castle is set within a Grade 1 listed, 10-acre garden, which contains some ancient cedars — one of which was planted in 1625 to commemorate the wedding of King Charles I to Queen Henrietta Maria. One yew tree, known as the "Lovers Tree" or "Giant Yew", is estimated to be between 600 and 1000 years old, and therefore pre-dates the castle itself. The raised terrace contains an imposing Renaissance arch, probably dating from the 1590s. The Old Dutch garden contains ancient yew topiary and an octagonal fountain. The Royal and Statesman's gardens contain Welsh Oaks planted during the royal visit of 1899, and in 1911. An Elizabethan causeway called the Chinese Walk runs across the fields to the River Conwy, where the remains of the Gwydir Quay can be seen. The river Conwy is tidal up to this point.
The fortified evangelical church of Viscri (Brașov county), was built in the 13th century on the basis of an ancient Roman basilica dating from the 12th century. The parish hall was built by the Szeklers and then taken over by the Saxons. The church was transformed into a fortified church in the 15th century with a gate tower, two towers, two bastions and two defensive walls. The building, like that of the neighboring village of Homorod, is one of the few well-preserved Romanesque buildings in the region.
Since 1999, the church has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Streetscene Ghent. You can see the belfry on the background
Ghent
Ghent (/ˈɡɛnt/; Dutch: Gent, pronounced [ɣ̟ɛn̪t̪]; French: Gand, pronounced: [ɡɑ̃]) is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe with some 60,000 people in 1300 AD, 70,000 in 1400 growing to 175,000 Shortly after 1500 AD. Today it is a busy city with a port and a university.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent
Belfry of Ghent
The 91-metre-tall belfry of Ghent is one of three medieval towers that overlook the old city centre of Ghent, Belgium, the other two belonging to Saint Bavo Cathedral and Saint Nicholas' Church. Its height makes it the tallest belfry in Belgium. The belfry of Ghent, together with its attached buildings, belongs to the set of belfries of Belgium and France inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
Construction of the tower began in 1313 after a design by master mason Jan van Haelst.
Through the centuries, the belfry served not only as a bell tower to announce the time and various warnings, but also as a fortified watchtower and the place where the documents evidencing the municipal privileges were kept.
....through the impressively restored fortified town walls of Lagos town on the Portuguese Algarve coast.
Nikkor 20mm AF f2.8D
Calnic Fortified Church in Romania is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. "Built in the 13th century by Count Chyl de Kelling, the Fortified Church at Calnic (German: Kelling) is one of the most imposing defensive structures in Transylvania. First mentioned in a 1269 document, the fortress served as a residence for Saxon nobility until 1430, when it was sold to the peasant community of Calnic." (www.romaniatourism.com/castles-fortresses.html#calnic)
A view of the ancient, medieval, fortified city of Ston (near Dubrovnik, Croatia) from its fortifications, with its famous sea saltworks (Solana), the oldest in continual use in Europe (and perhaps in the World). Solana dates back to the Roman times, two thousand years B.C. Ston became a part of the Republic of Dubrovnik in the 14th century and was heavily fortified in 1360 by the longest defensive wall in Europe. The wall with its fortifications is well preserved, and the Solana (saltworks) are still being exploited using the traditional methods. The Peljasac peninsula, where the city of Ston is situated, is a well-known wine country and famous for growing oysters (sea shells).
The fortified church of Noiștat is a Lutheran church in the village of Noiștat, Iacobeni commune, Sibiu county. The original church was built at the end of the 12th century, then rebuilt between 1856 and 1858.
The massive, well-preserved tower was built in stone in the 14th-15th centuries and modified around 1500, acquiring, in addition to the religious function, a defense function with the machicolations and the gun embrasures still visible.
The fortification which surrounded the church and which, according to written reports, protected in 1494 the inhabitants of the neighboring villages, was almost entirely destroyed in 1860. Today, parts of the surrounding wall are still visible to the south of the church.
The walls and the rampart walk of the fortified church.
Cisnădie (German: Heltau) is a little town in Sibiu County with about 13,000 inhabitants
The town was mentioned for the first time in a document from the year 1204 under the name "Rivetel". In the 12th century Saxon colonists settled here, and in 1323 the German name Heltau is mentioned.
Cisnădie shared most of Transylvania's eventful history. The town suffered several raids, starting with the 1241 raid of the Mongols and continuing with Ottoman attacks. The plague did not spare the town, neither did the fire nor political agitations. In 1806 under Emperor Franz of Austria, Cisnădie/Heltau renewed its market rights, proving prosperity.
In 1945, large parts of the German population were deported to the Soviet Union.
The most important architectural sight of Cisnădie is the fortified complex located in the town center.
Originally built in the 12th century as a Romanesque basilica, the church was fortified during the 15th century, after the 1493 Turkish invasion, to protect the local population of Saxons against repeated Ottoman raids.
The fortification process included the construction of fortified towers over the two side entrances and the choir, the building of a double structure of defense walls, a moat and several defensive towers along the walls. Simultaneously to the fortification work the church itself suffered a gothicization process. The altar inside the Lutheran church, which forms the center of this complex, is a wing altar/triptych from 1520, realized by the school of Veit Stoss Jr.
Bonifacio (Bunifaziu), Corse
Bonifacio is a fortified small town on top of a high reef on the sea and its architecture resembles a pirate village, with fortified walls, drawbridges, secret tunnels, ripid stairs and arcades connecting buildings located in narrow lanes some of them excavated into the rocks.
Nikon D90, Sigma 10-20
HDR, 3 shots +/-2EV, Photomatix 4, Topaz Adjust, Photoshop CS3
The Grade II* Listed Old Defensible Barracks, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire.
A Victorian-era 20-sided stone fort surrounded by a dry moat with masonry walls. A parade ground occupies the centre of the fort. It was built in the mid-1840s to house the Royal Marines based in Pembroke Dockyard and to protect the dockyard.
The barracks were built in 1841–46 to house the dockyard's garrison of Royal Marines and to cover the landward side of the dockyard from an infantry assault. It was probably the last trace bastion fort built in Europe. Prior to the Defensible Barracks' construction, the Royal Marines were housed in the hulked 74-gun ship, HMS Dragon, that had been deliberately run aground in 1832.
The barracks is in the form of a square bastion trace with four two-storey, barracks ranges surrounding the central parade ground. "The enclosed yard remains notable for being the finest Georgian-style square in Wales". A fortified gatehouse is in the middle of the north wall. The moat is about 16 feet (4.9 m) deep and 42 feet (12.8 m) wide and is crossed by a fixed modern steel bridge that replaced the original wooden sliding drawbridge that leads to the gatehouse.
The scarp or inner wall of the moat rises above the height of the platform to serve as a parapet with musketry loopholes, except at the salient angles of the bastions to allow the guns mounted on the bastions' platform to fire over the parapet. All but the southwestern bastion still has some gun mountings remaining. The external walls of the gatehouse and the barracks ranges are also loopholed, although some of these have been fitted with sash windows.
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