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Warschau ist seit 1596 die Hauptstadt Polens und zugleich die flächenmäßig größte sowie mit über 1,7 Mio. Einwohnern (2013) bevölkerungsreichste Stadt des Landes.
Das Edificio La Adriática ist das Verwaltungsgebäude einer
Versicherung. Es wurde um 1914 vom Architekten Joseph Espiau im Neo-Mudéjar-Stil geschaffen.
The Edificio La Adriática is the administration building of a
Insurance. It was created in 1914 by architect Joseph Espiau in Neo-Mudéjar
If you want to see the entire Greenwich album you may go here:
www.flickr.com/photos/wwwuppertal/albums/72177720316970534
Curious to have a look at some of my other albums? Here's the link:
www.flickr.com/photos/wwwuppertal/albums/with/72177720316...
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Sanssouci
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanssouci_Park
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Please do not use my images without my permission This includes blogging them without my consent. All my photos are my copyright and may not be used or reproduced in any way without my express permission.
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Shortly after sunset.
Kurz nach Sonnenuntergang.
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (German: Festung Ehrenbreitstein) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz.
Occupying the position of an earlier fortress destroyed by the French in 1801, it was built as the backbone of the regional fortification system, Festung Koblenz, by Prussia between 1817 and 1828 and guarded the middle Rhine region, an area that had been invaded by French troops repeatedly before. The Prussian fortress was never attacked.
Since 2002, Ehrenbreitstein has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley.
Ehrenbreitstein is located on the eastern bank of the Rhine at Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It overlooks the confluence of the Mosel and the Rhine. The peak of the hill, which shares the name, is 118 metres above the Rhine. It is the northernmost point of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley.
(Wikipedia)
Die Festung Ehrenbreitstein ist eine seit dem 16. Jahrhundert bestehende, ursprünglich kurtrierische, später preußische Befestigungsanlage gegenüber der Moselmündung in Koblenz.
Ihr barocker Vorgängerbau, der auf eine um das Jahr 1000 errichtete Burg zurückging, war zeitweilig Residenz der Kurfürsten von Trier und wurde 1801 von französischen Revolutionstruppen gesprengt. In ihrer heutigen Gestalt wurde die Zitadelle (eigentlich Feste Ehrenbreitstein genannt, geplanter Name war Feste Friedrich Wilhelm) zwischen 1817 und 1828 unter Leitung des preußischen Ingenieur-Offiziers Carl Schnitzler neu errichtet. Sie war Teil der Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts errichteten preußischen Festung Koblenz und gehörte zum System Oberehrenbreitstein. Von der preußischen Armee bis 1918 militärisch genutzt, diente die Feste Ehrenbreitstein im System der Koblenzer Festungswerke der Sicherung des Mittelrheintals und der gesamten Verkehrsinfrastruktur, d. h. Bahnwege und Flussübergänge bei Koblenz.
Heute ist sie Eigentum des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz und beherbergt das Landesmuseum Koblenz, die Koblenzer Jugendherberge, das Ehrenmal des Deutschen Heeres sowie verschiedene Verwaltungsstellen. Zur Bundesgartenschau 2011 wurden in die Veranstaltungsfläche Teile des Festungsgeländes sowie das Vorgelände einbezogen. Auf letzterem entstand ein großzügiger Landschaftspark mit Aussichtsplattform.
(Wikipedia)
View of San Gimignano southwards from the top of Torre Grossa, with Torre dei Cugnanesi on the left, San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy
Some background information:
Torre dei Cugnanesi is one of the fourteen remaining towers of varying heights that still characterise the skyline of the town of San Gimignano. It was built in the 13th century and is located between Via San Giovanni and Via del Quercecchio. Together with the massive Palazzo dei Cugnanesi, which dates from the same century, it used to be a section of the defence work Arco dei Becci and with that a crucial part of the first town walls.
San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town with about 7,800 residents in the province of Siena, Tuscany. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls, form a very unique skyline. Since 1990, the "Historic Centre of San Gimignano" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, the town is also known for its saffron, its golden ham, and its white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano.
In the 3rd century BC a small Etruscan village stood on the site of San Gimignano. Chroniclers Lupi, Coppi and Pecori relate that during the Catiline conspiracy against the Roman Republic in the 1st century, two patrician brothers, Muzio and Silvio, fled Rome for Valdelsa and built two castles, Mucchio and Silvia (now San Gimignano). The name of Silvia was changed to San Gimignano in 450 AD after Bishop Geminianus, the Saint of Modena, intervened to spare the castle from destruction by the followers of Attila the Hun. As a result, a church was dedicated to the saint, and in the 6th and 7th centuries a walled village grew up around it, subsequently called the "Castle of San Gimignano" or Castle of the Forest because of the extensive woodland surrounding it. From 929 the town was ruled by the bishops of Volterra.
In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era, it was a stopping point for Catholic pilgrims on their way to Rome and the Vatican, as it sits on the medieval Via Francigena. The city's development was also improved by the trade of agricultural products from the fertile neighbouring hills, in particular saffron, used in both cooking and dyeing cloth and Vernaccia wine, said to inspire popes and poets.
In 1199, the city made itself independent of the bishops of Volterra and set about enriching the commune with churches and public buildings. However, the peace of the town was disturbed for the next two centuries by the conflict between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, two factions supporting either the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor, and family rivalries within San Gimignano. This resulted in competing families building tower houses of increasingly higher and higher heights. Towards the end of the Medieval period, there were 72 tower houses in number, up to 70 metres (230 feet) tall. The rivalry was finally restrained when the local council ordained that no tower was to be taller than Torre Rognosa, adjacent to the Palazzo Comunale. However, this law, established in 1255, was obviously contravened by the building of Torre Grossa in 1310. With its height of 54 metres it exceeds Torre Rognosa by three metres.
While the official patron is Saint Geminianus, the town also honours Saint Fina, also known as Seraphina and Serafina, who was born in San Gimignano 1238 and whose feast day is 12 March. The Chapel of Santa Fina in the Collegiate Church houses her shrine and frescos by Ghirlandaio. The house said to be her home still stands in the town. In 1300, San Gimignano hosted the famous Italian poet Dante Alighieri in his role as ambassador of the Guelph League in Tuscany.
The city flourished until 1348, when it was struck by the Black Death that affected all of Europe. At that time about half the townsfolk died. In the Renaissance era, the town submitted to the rule of Florence. Initially, some Gothic palazzi were built in the Florentine style, and many of the towers were reduced to the height of the houses. There was little subsequent development, and San Gimignano remained preserved in its medieval state until the 19th century, when its status as a touristic and artistic resort began to be recognised.
Today, San Gimignano is visited by millions of tourists each year. Of course the town is most visited in the summer months, but is also still rather crowed in autumn (when we were there) and spring. So if you don’t want to make your visit together with thousands of other tourists, it would probably be best to travel there in winter.
The River Nive passing through the little town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Pays Basque Region, France
Some background information:
With its almost 1,600 residents Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is a little town in the French part of the Pays Basque. The town is located in the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques within the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is situated directly at the Spanish border, just 76 km (47 miles) away from the Spanish city of Pamplona and 53 km (33 miles) away from the Atlantic coast.
In English the municipality’s current name means "Saint John at the foot of the pass", which points to its location at the beginning of the mountain pass leading to the hamlet of Roncesvalles in Spain. However, in times past the town also had the name "Santa Maria Cabo el Puente" (in Spanish) resp. "Sainte-Marie du Bout du Pont" (in French). At Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the rivers Laurhibar and Nive d’Arnéguy issue into the River Nive.
Although Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is only a very little town, it is quite bustling, important and well-known. The reason is that the community is a vital place for a rest at the famous Way of St. James. For one thing, it is the first municipality after the three French Ways of St. James Via Podiensis, Via Lemovicensis and Via Turonensis have blended into one Way of St. James, which is named Camino Francés on its further route through Northern Spain. And for another thing, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is the last community before the Camino Francés (leading to Santiago de Compostela) crosses the Roncevaux Pass and hence, the mountain range of the Western Pyrenees. That’s why the town is an essential stop and place of recovery for all pilgrims on this route.
Before the settlement was founded in the Middle Ages, there used to be an original town at nearby Saint-Jean-le-Vieux. But in 1177, this town was razed to the ground by the troops of the English King Richard the Lionheart after a siege. Shortly afterwards the Kings of Navarre refounded the municipality on its present site. From that moment on it served as a border fortress of the Kingdom of Navarre. In 1191, Chateau de Mendiguren was built, a stronghold on the hill above the town. Subsequently, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port became the seat of the sheriff of the Lower Navarre district and in 1329, Philipp of Navarre granted the community market rights.
Between 1512 and 1530, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port was one of the scenes where the conquering expeditions of the Crown of Aragon against the Kingdom of Navarre took place. Many houses as well as defensive works were destroyed and King Henry II of Navarre decided to transfer the seat of the royal institutions to Saint Palais on safety grounds. However, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port stayed one of the main towns in the remaining Kingdom of Lower Navarre. In 1589, Lower Navarre passed to France and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port became the administrative centre of the Basque province of Saint-Jean. In 1625, Chateau de Mendiguren was converted into a fortress but until 1728, the defensive works were again rebuilt by the famous French military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban.
If people enter the town from the northeast, they come into the town through Porte Saint-Jacques, a medieval town gate, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France" since 1998. You can see the tower of this gate in my picture on the left. In Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port’s old town pilgrims can find a lot of low-priced lodging houses and multi-bed accommodations, which offer beds for a night’s rest. Already on the next day, most of the pilgrims continue their way to Santiago de Compostela as they still have about five weeks of wanderings left.
Der Sarkophag des Christoph Kolumbus entstand 1902. Der Sarkophag wird von vier Herolden getragen, die für die Königreiche Kastilien, León, Aragón und Navarra stehen. Dies ist eine Symbolik dafür, dass auch die sterblichen Überreste von Kolumbus „gereist“ sind. Nach seinem Tod in Valladolid im Jahre 1506 wurde er einige Jahre später nach Sevilla gebracht, 1542 dann auf Wunsch seines Enkels Diego Colón de Pravia in die Kathedrale von Santo Domingo (auf der Insel La Española, heute Dominikanische Republik) überführt. Als 1795 die Franzosen dorthin kamen, wollte man ihnen Kolumbus nicht überlassen und brachte die Überreste nach Havanna in die dortige Kathedrale. 1898, beim Abzug der Spanier aus Kuba nach verlorenem Unabhängigkeitskampf, nahmen sie das Skelett mit und bestatteten es wiederum in Sevilla.
Die Kathedrale von Sevilla ist Weltkulturerbe der UNESCO.
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my written permission.
© Toni_V. All rights reserved.
Die kesselförmig eingefasste Schwemm-Ebene Plaun Segnas Sut - der untere Segnesboden wurde 1996 ins nationale Inventar der Flachmoore von besonderer Schönheit und Bedeutung aufgenommen. Sie ist 1,7 km lang und bis 450 m breit und liegt in 2100 m Höhe.
Ein grosses Flachmoor nimmt rund die Hälfte dieses Schwemmbodens ein, während ein Mosaik von Bächen, Kiesbettfluren, Quell- und Moosfluren, Schneetälchengesellschaften sowie alpinen Rasen die übrige Fläche auszeichnet.
Two-bayed northern cloister of Kloster Walkenried (Walkenried Abbey), Göttingen district, southern Harz region, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Germany.
Kloster Walkenried was the third Cistercian abbey on German territory, founded in 1127. Being experts in water technology, the Cistercian monks put great effort into cultivation and land development, and were also very active in mining, smelting and charcoal works.
Since the Cistercian monks of Walkenried are regarded as the "fathers of the Upper Harz Water Regale", Kloster Walkenried is part of the UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site Mines of Rammelsberg, Historic Town of Goslar and Upper Harz Water Management System.
The Gothic church from 1290 used to be one of the largest churches in Northern Germany but was greatly damaged in the 17th to 19th centuries so today there are only some ruins remaining.
The Gothic claustral buildings, however, including the chapter house, the lay brothers' room, the lavatorium and the partially two-bayed cloister, are well preserved and today house a museum.
Harz short trip April/May 2018.
Corvey / Höxter (Weser Uplands, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCbeck
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCbeck
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Please do not use my images without my permission This includes blogging them without my consent. All my photos are my copyright and may not be used or reproduced in any way without my express permission.
If you would like to use an image, please leave a comment to that effect or contact me via Flickrmail.
Diese wunderbare Stadt diente im Jahr 1922 Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau als Kulisse für seinen Stummfilmklassiker "Nosferatu".
In 1922 this beautiful town on the Baltic Sea served as set for Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's classic silent movie "Nosferatu".
The fishing village of Manarola at the Riviera di Levante, Cinque Terre, Liguria, Italy
Some background information:
Manarola is a picturesque fishing village in the province of La Spezia. It is the second-smallest of the five Cinque Terre villages and the second village one meets when travelling north from the harbour city of La Spezia. Manarola has about 450 residents and a train station at the Genoa-Pisa railway.
The village is most likely the oldest of the five Cinque Terre villages. Its church San Lorenzo dates from 1160. The name "Manarola" is probably a dialectical evolution of the Latin, "magna rota", which means "large wheel", in reference to the mill wheel in the settlement. Manarola's primary industries have traditionally been fishing and wine-making. The local wine, called Sciacchetrà, is especially renowned. References from Roman writings already mention the high quality of the wine produced in the region.
Manarola’s neighbouring villages are Riomaggiore to the south and Corniglia to the north. The villages of Manarola and Riomaggiore are connected with each other by a trail along the coastline, the so-called Via dell'Amore (in English "Trail of Love"). The trail's name was inspired by the fact that it provided an easy connection for young lovers who lived in the two small towns, and who were previously separated by the mountainous terrain. In 2012, a rockslide injured four tourists and caused the trail to be shut down for repairs. Until the date we were there, it still hadn’t been completely re-opened, although it is one of the most important tourist attractions in the area and is an integral part of the Cinque Terre National Park.
The Cinque Terre (in English "Five Lands") is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. It is located in the region Liguria, in the northwest of Italy and comprises the five villages of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore (from north to south), that are situated at the coastline and nestlled to the coastal rocks. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park. Together with the nearby more southerly situated harbour town of Porto Venere, the five villages were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. In its explanation the UNESCO described the Cinque Terre as a "particularly scenic coastal area with small towns built among the steep rugged terrain". Not just since then the Cinque Terre area is a very popular tourist destination.
Over the centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside.
The first historical documents on Cinque Terre date back to the 11th century. Manarola, Monterosso and Vernazza sprang up first, while the other two villages grew later, under military and political supremacy of the Republic of Genoa. In the 16th century, to oppose the attacks of Turk forces, the inhabitants reinforced the old forts and built new defense towers. From the year 1600, Cinque Terre experienced a decline which reversed only in the 19th century, thanks to the construction of the Military Arsenal of La Spezia and the building of the railway line between Genoa and La Spezia. The railway allowed the inhabitants to escape their isolation, but also brought about abandonment of traditional activities. The consequence was an increase in poverty which pushed many to emigrate abroad, at least up to the 1970s, when the development of tourism brought back wealth.
In all five villages fishing always contributed to the sustenance of the residents, but only in Monterosso al Mare, fishing was used as the village’s main industry. In the other four villages the locals mainly lived off vineyards and olive cultivation Hence, the mountainsides of the Cinque Terre are heavily terraced and are used to cultivate grapes, olives, citrus fruits and cactus pears.
Given its location on the Mediterranean Sea, seafood is plentiful in the local cuisine. Anchovies of Monterosso are a local specialty designated with a Protected Designation of Origin status from the European Union. The Cinque Terre area, and the region of Liguria, as a whole, is known for pesto, a sauce made from basil leaves, garlic, salt, olive oil, pine nuts and pecorino cheese. And Focaccia is a particularly common locally baked bread product. Finally, Farinata, a typical snack found in bakeries and pizzerias, is a savoury and crunchy pancake made from a base of chick pea flour.
The grapes of the Cinque Terre are used to produce two locally made wines. The eponymous Cinque Terre and the Sciachetrà are both made using Bosco, Albarola, and Vermentino grapes. In addition to wines, other popular local drinks include grappa, a brandy made with the pomace left from winemaking, and limoncello, a sweet liqueur flavored with lemons.
A street scene in Mariánské Lázně, with the façade of the Grand Hotel Pacifik in the background, West Bohemia, Czech Republic
Some background information:
The Grand Hotel Pacifik was built in 1905, during the Golden Era of the spa town Mariánské Lázně. Well-known for its distinctive and beautiful art nouveau façade, it is situated in close proximity to Mariánské Lázně’s spa gardens and its famous neo-Baroque Colonnade. The hotel is also furnished in art nouveau and offers premier accomodations. Its service is complemented by health spa and wellness treatments, which is not uncommon for classy hotels in spa towns.
Mariánské Lázně (in German: "Marienbad") is a famous spa town in the Czech Republic. It has more than 12,000 permanent residents and is located in the Cheb District of the Karlovy Vary Region, just 15 km (9.3 miles) away from the German border. Most of the town's buildings come from its Golden Era in the second half of the 19th century, when many celebrities and leading European rulers came to enjoy the curative carbon dioxide springs.
The town centre with the spa cultural landscape is well preserved and protected by law as an urban monument reservation. In 2021, Mariánské Lázně became part of the transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site with the name "Great Spa Towns of Europe". It honours both the springs and the well-preserved architectural testimony of famous spa towns in Europe from the 18th to the early 20th century. In addition to Mariánské Lázně, the following spa towns were included in this new UNESCO Word Heritage Site: Karlovy Vary and Františkovy Lázně (both in the Czech Republic as well), Baden-Baden, Bad Kissingen and Bad Ems (all three in Germany), Baden bei Wien (in Austria), Montecatini Terme (in Italy), Vichy (in France), Spa (in Belgium) and Bath (in the United Kingdom).
In the 12th century, German settlers were called into this region by the Bohemian rulers from the Přemyslid dynasty. Although the town itself is only about two hundred years old, the locality has been inhabited much longer. The first written record dates back to 1273, when there was the village of Úšovice. The springs of Mariánské Lázně first appear in a document dating from 1341, where they are called "the Auschowitzer springs" belonging to Teplá Abbey.
It was only through the efforts of Josef Nehr, the abbey's physician, who from 1779 until his death in 1820 worked hard to demonstrate the curative properties of the springs. Thanks to his work, the waters were used for medicinal purposes for the first time. The name Marienbad first appeared in 1786. In 1818 it became a watering-place and in 1868, Marienbad received its charter as a town.
Between 1870 and 1914, Marienbad experienced a second period of growth, the town's Golden Era. In 1872 the town got a railway connection with the town of Cheb and thus with the whole Austro-Hungarian Empire and the rest of Europe. In the following years, many new hotels, colonnades and other buildings were constructed or rebuilt from older houses.
Soon, Marienbad became one of the top European spas, popular with notable figures and rulers who often returned there. At that time, about 20,000 visitors were on a health cure there every year. But it was also a popular resort and vacation venue for European rabbis and their Hasidic followers, whose needs were accommodated with kosher restaurants, religious prayer services, and so on.
Between both World Wars, the town remained a popular destination. After World War II, the ethnic German population of the town was forcibly expelled according to the Potsdam agreement. Thereby, the town was emptied of the majority of its population. After the communist coup-d'état in 1948, it was also sealed off from most of its foreign visitors. However, to replace the Germans, Czech people, mainly from Central Bohemia, were settled in Mariánské Lázně (which was the town’s new name from that point on).
After the return of democracy in 1989 much effort was put into restoring the town into its original character. Today, Mariánské Lázně is still a popular spa town and holiday resort thanks to its location among the green mountains of the Slavkovský les and the Český les, several sport facilities and the proximity to the other two famous Czech spa towns Karlovy Vary and Františkovy Lázně.
By the way, among Mariánské Lázně’s most notable visitors were the British King Edward VII, the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I, the Russian Czar Nicholas II, the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, the German composer Richard Wagner, the Austrian composer Johann Strauss (son), the German philospher Friedrich Nietzsche, the Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, the American author Mark Twain, the American inventor Thomas Edison, the Swedish innovater Alfred Nobel, the Czech autor Franz Kafka, the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the American WW II general George S. Patton, to name just a few.
View from the top level of the village of Rocamadour with its château, down to the second level with the ecclesial buildings and the bottom level near the Alzou river, Lot, Occitania, France
Some background information:
Rocamadour is a commune and pilgrimage site in the department of Lot in southwestern France. The village , which has more than 600 residents, is nestled to a steep rock above the gorge of the Alzou river, a tributary of the Dordogene river. The town is located in the far north of the Occitania region and at the heart of the natural preserve Causses du Quercy, about 60 km (37 miles) to the south of the city of Brive-la-Gaillarde and about 166 km (103 miles) to the north of the city of Toulouse.
Rocamadour and its many caves already housed people in the Paleolithic as shown in the cave drawings of the Grotte des Merveilles. The Grotte de Linars cave and its porch served as an underground necropolis and a habitat in the Bronze Age. During the Iron Age, the Cadurques people arrived from middle Germany. In the 8th century BC., they colonised the current department of Lot while using their iron weapons.
In the Middle Ages, Rocamadour as it still exists today, was erected on three levels. These levels reflect the three orders of medieval society: the knights on top, linked to religious clerics in the middle and the lay workers at the foot of the rock near the river. Documents mention that in 1105 a small chapel was built in a shelter of the cliff at a place called Rupis Amatoris, at the limit of the territories of the Benedictine abbeys of Saint-Martin at Tulle and Saint-Pierre at Marcilhac-sur-Célé.
In 1112, Eble de Turenne, Abbot of Tulle settled in Rocamadour. In 1119, a first donation was made by Eudes, Comte de la Marche. In 1148, the first miracle of Rocamadour was announced and the location began to attract pilgrims to the Virgin Mary of Rocamadour. The 12th-century book Livre des Miracles written by a monk from the sanctuary illustrates that at that time Rocamadour had already become famous as a place of pilgrimage.
In 1159, King Henry II of England, husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine, came to Rocamadour to thank the Virgin Mary for the healing of his wife. The statue of the Black Madonna dates from the 12th century. Géraud d'Escorailles , who was Rocamadour’s abbot from 1152 to 1188, built the religious buildings, which still can be seen today on Rocamadour’s second level, financed by many donations from visitors. These works were finished at the end of the 12th century.
In 1166, an excavation for a grave in front of the entrance to the chapel of the Virgin uncovered an intact body, presented as that of Saint Amadour. Rocamadour had finally found its patron saint. At least four stories, more or less tinged with legend, presented Saint Amadour as being close to Jesus. The body was burned during the French Wars of Religion and today only fragments of bones remain, on view in the crypt of Saint-Amadour. Saint Amadour is also the saint, from whom the place derives ist name, as "Roca de Amadour" simply means "Rock of Amadour" in English.
In 1211, the pontifical legate during the Albigensian Crusade, Arnaud Amalric, came to spend the winter in Rocamadour. In addition, in 1291, Pope Nicholas IV granted three bulls and forty day indulgences for site visitors. The end of the 13th century saw the height of Rocamadour's influence and the completion of the buildings. At that time, the castle was protected by three towers, a wide moat and numerous lookouts. And at that time, Rocamadour had also become one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Western Europe.
But the 14th century saw Rocamadour’s decline. In 1317, the monks left Rocamadour. The site was then administered by a chapter of canons appointed by the bishop. In the fourteenth century, a cooling climate, famines, epidemics like the Black Death ravaged Europe and hence, also the area of Rocamadour. In 1427, reconstruction was started, but without financial or human resources. A huge rock crushed the chapel of Notre-Dame, which was rebuilt in 1479 by Denys de Bar, Bishop of Tulle.
Subsequently, during the French Wars of Religion, the iconoclastic passage of Protestant mercenaries in 1562 caused the destruction of religious buildings and their relics. Rocamadour was burned and looted, while many statues, paintings, bells, ornaments and jewels were destroyed. Even the relics were desecrated and destroyed, including the body of Saint Amadour. According to witnesses, the Protestant captain Jean Bessonia broke it with a blacksmith's hammer, saying: "I am going to break you, since you did not want to burn". During the French Revolution, the site was looted once again.
The Via Averna, a byway of the Via Podiensis and hence, one of the Ways of St James to Santiago de Compostela, leads through Rocamadour. For that reason, Rocamadour was also listed by UNESCO in 1998 as part of the World Heritage Site "Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France".
Since the early 20th century, Rocamadour has become more of a tourist destination than a pilgrimage center, although pilgrimage continues and remains important. The site's gravity-defying churches and the Black Madonna statue remain a spiritual draw for both Catholic pilgrims and for visitors who practice earth-based or New Age religions, being drawn to stories of Rocamadour's "strange energies" and pre-Christian origins.
By the way, if you look up in Rocamadour’s monastic second level, you will most likely see a sword stuck in the rocks. It is said, that this sword is Durendal, the sword of Roland, a legendary paladin and partially historical officer of Charlemagne in French epic literature. The sword is famous for its hardness and sharpness. Legend has it that in an attempt to break Durendal, Roland cut a huge gash in the mountainside with just one blow.
Another local legend holds that instead of dying in Iberia with Durendal hidden under his body, Roland called on the Archangel Michael for assistance and with the help of the Archangel, was able to throw the sword several hundred kilometres across the border into France, where it came to rest in Rocamadour. Unfortunately the sword was stolen in 2024, not for the first time in history.
The commune of Rocamadour has also become a member of the association "The most beautiful villages of France" (in French: "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France"), which promotes small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage. Currently 176 villages throughout France are pooled under the umbrella of the organisation. Furthermore, Rocamadour is also known for its goat cheese of the same name.
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my written permission.
© Toni_V. All rights reserved.
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The Tectonic Arena Sardona offers a unique view into the formation of alpine mountains and valleys. The collision of Africa and Europe caused the Alps to tower up over millions of years.
Ancient rock layers folded, fractured and were thrust on top of each other. A rich variety of evidence and traces of this enormous force are remarkably visible in the World Heritage Sardona.
For more than two centuries scientists from around the world have studied the geologic structures and processes of mountain formation. In the Tectonic Arena Sardona they attempted to solve the secrets of the emergence of mountains.
Corvey / Höxter (Weser Uplands, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
Fahrt mit dem Panoramazug Bernina-Express ist Teil der Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. Ein Blick aus dem Zugfenster ist wie fahrendes Kino - atemberaubende Landschaften.
Foto: der BEX nähert sich der Kontinental-Wasserscheide.
Das Mausoleum Gur Emir ist die Begräbnisstätte Timurs. Das Mausoleum wurde zu Lebzeiten Timurs für seinen, unerwartet verstorbenen, designierten Nachfolger Mohammed Sultan Anfang des 15. Jhdts errichtet. Timur wollte eigentlich nicht in Samarkand begraben werden, aber im Thronfolgekrieg bestand der Sieger Khalil Sultan für seine eigene Legitimation auf ein Grab Timurs in Samarkand.
Samarkand wurde etwa 750 v. Chr. gegründet. Der mongolische Herrscher Timur machte Samarkand zur 1369 zur Hauptstadt seines Großreichs und baute die Stadt zu einer der schönsten und bedeutendsten Metropolen seiner Zeit aus.
Die Altstadt von Samarkand ist Weltkulturerbe der UNESCO.