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Detail of trove 2. Flügel, wing. Lachmöwe, Larus Ridibundus, Black-headed gull.
Part of the set "postmortem".
DMC-G2 - P1330856 9.4.2012
Façade of the Tauride Palace on Shpalernaya Ulitsa (in English: "Tapestry Street"), Saint Petersburg, Russia
Some background information:
The Tauride Palace is a large and historic stately home in the city of Saint Petersburg. It was planned by the architect Ivan Starov and built in the Palladian style between 1783 and 1789. Its orderer was the Empress of Russia Catharine II, most commonly known as Catherine the Great, who gifted her lover Grigory Potemkin with it. Potemkin was a Russian military leader, statesman and nobleman, but his most important role was the one as a favourite of Catharine.
Potemkin’s achievements included the peaceful annexation of Crimea, which was called the Tauric Peninsula at that time. That’s why Potemkin was awarded the second surname Tauricheski and that’s also where the Tauride Palace derives its name from. Shortly before his death in 1791, Potemkin used the palace to host unprecedented festivities and illuminations with the purpose of regaining the Empress's waning affection. Notwithstanding all the expenses, Potemkin failed in his ambition and left for the Romanian city of Iaşi in despair.
After Potemkin had passed away, Catherine II purchased the palace and ordered architect Fyodor Volkov to transform it into her summer townhouse. Volkov was responsible for many improvements in the grounds, including the construction of a theatre in the east wing and a church in the west wing. In the garden, he designed the Admiralty Pavilion, the gardener house and the orangery, as well as the glass-houses, the bridges, and the ironwork fences.
The rather plain exterior appearance of the palace contrasted sharply with the riotous luxuriance of its interiors. The domed hall, one of the largest in Russia, was connected by a 75-meter-long columned gallery with a winter garden. The decoration of every major room – including the Chinese Hall and the Tapestry Parlour – was destroyed after 1799, when Emperor Paul, who detested all the things his mother Catherine liked, gave over the palace to his favourite cavalry regiment to be used as barracks.
In the 19th century, the palace was refurbished by Carlo Rossi and Vasily Stasov as a residence for minor royalty. It was then used to host balls and exhibitions until 1906, when it was transformed into the seat of the first Russian parliament, the Imperial State Duma. Immediately after the February Revolution of 1917, the Tauride Palace housed the Russian Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet, in opposite wings of the palace. The abortive Russian Constituent Assembly held its meetings there in 1918, and in the same year the Bolsheviks used the building to hold their 7th Congress, where they first named themselves the Russian Communist Party (resp. the Bolsheviks).
Since the 1990s, the Tauride Palace has been home to the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS). On this account, a large glass-covered annex was erected immediately behind the palace, in the Tauride Gardens. Today, the palace is also used for congresses and exhibitions. Unfortunately it is not open to the public out of these special events.
Saint Petersburg (in Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг) is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with currently 5.3 million inhabitants, part of the Saint Petersburg agglomeration with a population of 6.2 million (2015). An important Russian port on the Baltic Sea, it has a status of a federal city. Saint Petersburg is also the fourth-largest city in Europe, only excelled by Istanbul, London and Moscow. Other famous European cities like Paris, Berlin, Rome and Madrid are smaller. Furthermore, Saint Petersburg is the world’s northernmost megapolis and called "The Venice of the North", due to its many channels that traverse the city.
Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27th May 1703. On 1st September 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, on 26 January 1924 to Leningrad, and on 7 September 1991 back to Saint Petersburg. Between 1713 and 1728 and again between 1732 and 1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of Imperial Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow, which is located about 625 kilometres (388 miles) to the south-east.
Saint Petersburg is also the cultural capital of Russia. Today, the city is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as an area with 36 historical architectural complexes and around 4000 outstanding individual monuments of architecture, history and culture. It has 221 museums, 2,000 libraries, more than 80 theaters, 100 concert organizations, 45 galleries and exhibition halls, 62 cinemas and around 80 other cultural establishments. Saint Petersburg is home to the Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. Every year the city hosts around 100 festivals and various competitions of art and culture, including more than 50 international ones. In 2017, the city was visited by 7.2 million tourists and it is expected that in the years ahead the number of tourists will still be on the rise.
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...
Bronze statue of Democritus by Léon-Alexandre Delhomme in the courtyard of the Musée des Beaux Arts in Lyon, France.
Corvey / Höxter (Weser Uplands, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
Pilgrims queuing in front of a lodging house in the old town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port during their pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela on the Way of St. James, 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. In Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port’s old town pilgrims can find a lot of low-priced lodging houses and collective accommodations, which offer beds for a night’s rest.
Some of the pilgrims start their journey to Santiago de Compostela in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. But most of them come from one of the three French Ways of St. James, which have blended into one way right at the edge of the town. Hence, they might have been on the tramp for weeks when arriving in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. However, already on the next day, almost all pilgrims continue their way to Santiago de Compostela as they still have about five weeks of wanderings left. By the way, the scallop is the symbol of the Way of St. James and also the symbol of all the pilgrims on this way. That’s why most of them carry a scallop shell with them. In this context, please note the scallop shells hanging at the fence gate on the right. Most likely they were left by pilgrims, spending the night in this lodging house.
Manche / Lower Normandy / France
[EXPLORE - 2013-12-27]
Album of France (the north): www.flickr.com/photos/tabliniumcarlson/albums/72157713208...
West façade of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg, seen from Rue Mercière, Strasbourg, Grand Est, France
Some background information:
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (in French: "Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg"), also known as Strasbourg Minster, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, the largest city in the historical region of Alsace. Although considerable parts of it are still in Romanesque architecture, it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of high Gothic architecture. The historic city centre of Strasbourg, the Grande Île (in English: "Grand Island") and thereby also the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg, was classified a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO as early as 1988. It was the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre.
At 142 metres (466 feet), it was the world's tallest building from 1647 to 1874, when it was surpassed by St. Nikolai's Church in the German city of Hamburg. Today it is still the sixth-tallest church in the world and the highest extant structure built entirely in the Middle Ages. Described by Victor Hugo as a "gigantic and delicate marvel", and by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe as a "sublimely towering, wide-spreading tree of God", the cathedral is visible far across the plains of Alsace and can be seen from as far off as the Vosges Mountains or the Black Forest on the other side of the Rhine. Sandstone from the Vosges used in construction gives the cathedral its characteristic pink hue.
Archaeological excavations have proved that the site of the current cathedral was used for several successive religious buildings, starting from the Roman period (when a Roman sanctuary occupied the site) up to the building that is there today. It is known that a cathedral was erected by bishop Saint Arbogast at the end of the seventh century, on the base of a temple dedicated to the Virgin Mary, but nothing remains of it today. In the eighth century, the first cathedral was replaced by a more important building that would be completed under the reign of Charles the Great. It was certainly in this building that the Oaths of Strasbourg were pronounced in 842. Excavations carried out recently reveal that this Carolingian cathedral had three naves and three apses.
In 1015, bishop Werner von Habsburg laid the first stone of a new cathedral on the ruins of the Carolingian basilica. He then constructed a cathedral in the Romanesque style of architecture. That cathedral burned to the ground in 1176 because at that time the naves were covered with a wooden framework. After that disaster, bishop Heinrich von Hasenburg decided to construct a new cathedral, to be more beautiful than that of Basel, which was just being finished. Construction of the new cathedral began on the foundations of the preceding structure, and did not end until centuries later. Werner's cathedral's crypt, which had not burned, was kept and expanded westwards.
The cathedral was built from 1176 to 1505. The construction began with the choir and the north transept in a Romanesque style. But in 1225, a team coming from the city of Chartres revolutionized the construction by suggesting a Gothic architecture style. Like the city of Strasbourg, the cathedral connects German and French cultural influences, while the eastern structures, e.g. the choir and south portal, still have very Romanesque features, with more emphasis placed on walls than on windows. Above all, the famous west front, decorated with thousands of figures, is a masterpiece of the Gothic era. The tower is one of the first to rely substantially on craftsmanship, with the final appearance being one with a high degree of linearity captured in stone.
As already mentioned, the cathedral’s octagonal north tower was completed in 1439, while the planned south tower was never built. As a result, the church has a characteristic asymmetrical form and is now the premier landmark of Alsace. In 1505, architect Jakob von Landshut and sculptor Hans von Aachen finished rebuilding the Saint-Lawrence portal outside the northern transept in a markedly post-Gothic, early-Renaissance style. By doing that the main constructional measures on the cathedral were completed.
In 1524, the City Council assigned the cathedral to the Protestant Lutheran faith, while the building suffered some damage from iconoclastic assaults. In 1539, the world's first documented Christmas tree was set up inside Strasbourg Minster. After the annexation of the city by Louis XIV of France in 1681, the cathedral was returned to the Catholics and its inside redesigned according to the Catholic liturgy of the Counter-Reformation.
In April 1794, the Enragés (in English: "the enraged ones"), a small number of firebrands, who regarded themselves as defenders of the lower class during the French Revolution and who ruled the city at that time, started planning to tear the spire down, on the grounds that it hurt the principle of equality. The tower was saved, however, when in May of the same year citizens of Strasbourg crowned it with a giant tin Phrygian cap of the kind the Enragés themselves wore. In the Franco-Prussian War (1870 to 1871), during the Siege of Strasbourg, the cathedral was hit by Prussian artillery and the metal cross on the spire was bent. The crossing domes's roof was pierced and it was subsequently reconstructed in a grander, Romanesque revival style by the Notre-Dame workshop's longtime chief architect, Gustave Klotz.
During World War II, the cathedral was seen as a symbol for both warring parties. Adolf Hitler, who visited it on 28th June 1940, intended to transform the church into a monument to the Unknown Soldier. On 1st March 1941, the French general Leclerc made the "oath of Kufra", stating he would "rest the weapons only when our beautiful colours fly again on Strasbourg's cathedral". On 11th August 1944, the cathedral was hit by British and American bombs during the air raids on Strasbourg's city centre. It was heavily damaged, just as Palais Rohan and Sainte-Madeleine Church in its neighbourhood. The repairs to war damage weren’t completed until the early 1990s. In 2000, an Al-Qaeda plot to bomb the adjacent Christmas market was prevented by French and German police.
Strasbourg is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France and also the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. Furthermore it is the official seat of the European Parliament. Today the inner city of Strasbourg has about 276,170 inhabitants, while its metropolitan area has about 780,000 residents, making it the ninth largest metropolitan area in France. Strasbourg is located very close to the border with Germany in the historic region of Alsace. This strategically important position as a borderland was responsible for both region and city being an apple of discord between France and Germany for many centuries.
But although Strasbourg was violently disputed throughout history, it has also always been a cultural bridge between France and Germany, especially through the University of Strasbourg, currently the second largest in France, and the coexistence of Catholic and Protestant culture.
Strasbourg is situated on the eastern border of France with Germany. This border is formed by the Rhine, which also forms the eastern border of the modern city, facing across the river to the German town Kehl. The historic core of Strasbourg however lies on the Grande Île in the river Ill, which here flows parallel to the Rhine. The natural courses of the two rivers eventually join some distance downstream of Strasbourg, although several artificial waterways now connect them within the city.
Strasbourg is one of the de facto capitals of the European Union (alongside Brussels and Luxembourg), as it is the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe (with its European Court of Human Rights, its European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and its European Audiovisual Observatory) and the Eurocorps, as well as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union. The city is also the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine and the International Institute of Human Rights.
The Roman camp of Argentoratum, from which the city of Strasbourg grew, was first mentioned in 12 BC. Between 362 and 1262, Strasbourg was governed by the bishops of Strasbourg. In 1262, the citizens violently rebelled against the bishop's rule and Strasbourg became a free imperial city within the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation. In 1349, Strasbourg was the site of one of the worst pogroms of the Middle Ages, when over a thousand Jews were publicly burned to death. In the early 16th century the town was one of the first German cities to embrace the protestant, Lutheran faith. Because of this, it became a centre of humanistic learning and book printing. The first newspaper in Europe was printed in Strasbourg.
In 1681, the city was annexed by the French king Louis XIV, who took profit from the chaos following the Thirty Years' War in Germany. But France still kept treating the Alsace region as a de facto foreign province until the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789. The customs barrier alongside the Vosges mountains continued to exist while there still wasn’t any customs barrier between Germany and the Alsace region. Furthermore the town kept striking German coins until 1708. From 1770 to 1771, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe studied in Strasbourg. At this time the town was an important hub of the so-called "Sturm und Drang" movement in German literature.
In 1792, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle composed the Marseillaise in Strasbourg, the French national anthem, right after the French declaration of war against Austria. In the years 1805, 1806 and 1809, Napoleon Bonaparte sojourned in Strasbourg, together with his first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais. They used Palais Rohan as their domicile and Joséphine re-decorated several rooms according to her own taste and the fashion of the time.
After the Franco-Prussian War that lasted from 1870 to 1871, the city became German again, until 1918, when it reverted to France after the end of World War I. When France was defeated by Germany in 1940 in the course of World War II, the city and its still predominantly German-speaking population came under German control again. However, since the end of 1944, when Strasbourg was taken by Allied forces, it is again a French town. As a concession to the German-speaking section of the city’s residents, the street signs in Strasbourg are all bilingual.
Besides being one of the de facto capitals of the European Union, Strasbourg is an important economic centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as a hub of road, rail and river transportation. However, tourism also plays a major role in the town’s economy of today. Many tourists from all Europe, the US and Asia crowd Strasbourg’s streets at all seasons of the year, going sightseeing through this beautiful romantic historic city with its many old half-timbered houses.
Die dreizehnte Station des Kreuzweges in Dom. Geschaffen zwischen 1893 und 1898 vom niederländischen Künstler Wilhelm Mengelberg.
The thirteenth Station of the 'Way of the Cross‘ inside the Cathedral. Created 1893-1898 by the Dutch artist Wilhelm Mengelberg.
The Smolny Convent at the eastern end of Shpalernaya Street in Saint Petersburg’s city centre, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Some background information:
The Smolny Convent or Smolny Convent of the Resurrection, is a large building complex in the city of Saint Petersburg, that was originally intended for a convent. It is located on Ploschad Rastrelli, on the bank of the River Neva, and consists of a cathedral and the buildings surrounding it.
The name "Smolny" derives from the location. In the early days of St. Petersburg a tar factory was located on the convent’s spot ("smola" meaning "tar" in Russian). The tar was processed for use in shipbuilding and maintenance. As a result, the locale was called "smolny".
This Russian Orthodox Smolny convent was built to house Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. After she was disallowed succession to the throne, she opted to become a nun. However, when her imperial predecessor, Ivan VI, was overthrown during a coup d'état (carried out by the royal guards in 1741), Elizabeth decided against entering monastic life and accepted the offer of the Russian throne. Work on the convent continued with her royal patronage.
The convent's cathedral, a blue-and-white building, is considered to be one of the architectural masterpieces of the Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who also redesigned the Winter Palace, and created the Grand Catherine Palace) in Tsarskoye Selo, the Grand Palace in Peterhof and many other major St. Petersburg landmarks. The cathedral is the centerpiece of the convent, built by Rastrelli between 1748 and 1764. The projected bell-tower was to become the tallest building in St. Petersburg and, at the time, in all of Russia. Elizabeth's death in 1762 prevented Rastrelli from completing this grand design.
When Catherine II assumed the throne, it was found that the new Empress strongly disapproved of the baroque style, and funding that had supported the construction of the convent rapidly ran out. Rastrelli was unable to build the huge bell-tower he had planned and unable to finish the interior of the cathedral. The building was only finished in 1835 by Vasily Stasov with the addition of a neo-classical interior to suit the changed architectural tastes at the time. The cathedral was consecrated on 22 July 1835. Its main altar was dedicated to the Resurrection and the two side altars were dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene and Righteous Elizabeth.
The church was closed by the Soviet authorities in 1923. It was looted and allowed to decay until 1982, when it became a concert hall. In April 2015, Smolny Cathedral was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, and is now converted back to its original purpose as a church, while the faculties of sociology, political science and international relations of the Saint Petersburg State University are located in some of the buildings surrounding the cathedral.
In close proximity to the convent the Smolny Institute is located, which was chosen by Vladimir Lenin as Bolshevik headquarters in 1917 during the October Revolution. Subsequently, the Smolny Institute became the headquarters of the local Communist Party and also effectively the city hall. After 1991, the historic building was used as the seat of the city mayor and city administration. Today, it is the official residence of the governor of Saint Peterburg and also houses a museum dedicated to Lenin.
Saint Petersburg (in Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг) is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with currently 5.3 million inhabitants, part of the Saint Petersburg agglomeration with a population of 6.2 million (2015). An important Russian port on the Baltic Sea, it has a status of a federal city. Saint Petersburg is also the fourth-largest city in Europe, only excelled by Istanbul, London and Moscow. Other famous European cities like Paris, Berlin, Rome and Madrid are smaller. Furthermore, Saint Petersburg is the world’s northernmost megapolis and called "The Venice of the North", due to its many channels that traverse the city.
Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27th May 1703. On 1st September 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, on 26 January 1924 to Leningrad, and on 7 September 1991 back to Saint Petersburg. Between 1713 and 1728 and again between 1732 and 1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of Imperial Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow, which is located about 625 kilometres (388 miles) to the south-east.
Saint Petersburg is also the cultural capital of Russia. Today, the city is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as an area with 36 historical architectural complexes and around 4000 outstanding individual monuments of architecture, history and culture. It has 221 museums, 2,000 libraries, more than 80 theaters, 100 concert organizations, 45 galleries and exhibition halls, 62 cinemas and around 80 other cultural establishments. Saint Petersburg is home to the Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. Every year the city hosts around 100 festivals and various competitions of art and culture, including more than 50 international ones. In 2017, the city was visited by 7.2 million tourists and it is expected that in the years ahead the number of tourists will still be on the rise.
Der Alcázar von Sevilla ist der mittelalterliche Königspalast von Sevilla. Die Anlage hat eine lange, bis in maurische Zeit zurückreichende Baugeschichte und wird bis heute von der spanischen Königsfamilie als offizielle Residenz genutzt, wenn sich diese in Sevilla aufhält.
Der Alcázar wurde ursprünglich als maurisches Fort angelegt und später mehrfach erweitert. Der Palast ist eines der am besten erhaltenen Beispiele für die Mudéjar-Architektur, die unter christlicher Herrschaft entstandenen Bauten mit islamischem Einfluss. Spätere Monarchen erweiterten den Alcázar, wodurch noch weitere Baustile Eingang in den Komplex fanden. So entstanden z. B. unter den Katholischen Königen, Karl V. und Philipp II. Bauten mit gotischen Elementen, die in starkem Kontrast zu der dominierenden Mudéjar-Architektur stehen.
Der Real Alcazar ist Weltkulturerbe der UNESCO.
Leonardo Da Vinci’s atelier in the Château du Clos Lucé with a copy of Leonardo’s painting "Saint John the Baptist" in the background, Amboise, Loire Valley, France
Some background information:
The Château du Clos Lucé, formerly called Manoir du Cloux, is a large château located in the center of Amboise, in the French department of Indre-et-Loire. The mansion in situated in the Val de Loire in the former Touraine region, about 23 km (14 miles) to the east of the city of Tours. Built by Étienne le Loup in the middle of the 15th century, the palace has known several famous owners such as the French king Charles VIII and Leonardo da Vinci. Clos Lucé is just 500 metres from the royal Château d'Amboise, to which it is connected by an underground passageway.
The house was erected on a Gallo-Roman foundation. It was organized around an octagonal tower. Around the spiral staircase inside the tower two buildings were annexed that had two floors each. The elegant facade made with pink bricks and whites stones was typical for the 15th century. Formally called Manoir de Cloux, the building was property of the Chateau D’Amboise, and the lands of Lucé were affiliated to the castle as of the 14th century. At the beginning, the manor was surrounded by fortifications of which only one – the watchtower – has remained.
In 1490, the château was acquired by the French King Charles VIII, who paid 3500 gold ecus and immediately transformed the medieval stronghold into a more comfortable and habitable home. He also built a chapel for his wife, Anne of Brittany, who lived at Clos-Lucé until she moved to the Château Royal de Blois. From then on, the palace was the summer residence of the French kings for about 200 years.
In 1516, the 64-year-old Leonardo da Vinci left Rome and travelled through Italy, armed with his sketchbooks and three of his most famous paintings: "Mona Lisa", "The Virgin and Child with St. Anne" and "Saint John the Baptist". At that time, the French King Francis I offered da Vinci a pension of 700 gold ecus, the guarantee of buying all his artworks and the allowance to live and work at Château du Clos Lucé for the rest of his life.
Leonardo da Vinci accepted, became the first painter, engineer and architect of the king and was quite was enthusiastic and productive during his years at Clos Lucé. He worked on numerous projects, organized feasts for the court of Amboise, and even conceived the famous "Double Spiral Staircase" of the Château de Chambord. In 1519, Leonardo da Vinci passed away in his bed-champer at Clos Lucé. According to rumours he died in the king’s arms but those rumours are unverified. Leonardo da Vinci bequested all his books, drawings, sketches and manuscripts to his beloved apprentice, Francesco Melzi.
Da Vinci was buried in the nearby Chapel of St. Florentin. This chapel was originally located approximately 100 metres northeast of the Chapel of St. Hubert that lays within the stone fortifications of the royal Château d'Amboise, where his remains were brought to in 1874.
After Leonardo's death, Louise of Savoy took over the château again. However, this did not last too long as Philibert Babou of the Bourdaisière and his wife succeed her in 1523. The Chateau was then inhabited by Michel de Gast, who was the guards captain under King Henri III. In 1632, the marriage of Antoine d’Amboise and Michel de Gast’s granddaughter brought the Chateau back in the hands of House Amboise.
During the French Revolution the castle was miraculously spared and remained in the Amboise family. In 1855, the Château du Clos Lucé became the property of the Saint-Bris family. Since 1862, it has been a classified monument historique and hence, a French national heritage site. In 1954, both house and gardens were opened to the public by Hubert and Agnès Saint Bris. And in the 1960s a major restoration was completed.
In today’s gardens, many of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions are displayed and hence brought to life. While walking through the extensive gardens, visitors can meet Leonardo the engineer, Leonardo the visionary and also Leonardo the painter and architect.
By the way, since 2000, the Château du Clos Lucé belongs to the UNESCO Word Heritage Site "The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes" with its many breathtaking châteaux. Altogether there are more than 400 of them in the Loire region.
The town of Amboise is located on the banks of the Loire River in the administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire and has more than 12,500 residents. In pre-Roman times there used to be a Gallic oppidum on the site, which was taken over by the Romans later. Today, Amboise is mainly renowned for its beautiful old town, but also for its altogether three châteaus: the Château royal d'Amboise, the Château Château du Clos Lucé (the former residence of Leonardo da Vinci) and the Château Gaillard.
A forth château, the Château de Chanteloup was destroyed by an act of incendiarism in 1823 and never rebuild. Only a part of the garden and some of its features have survived, of which the most important is the Pagoda of Chanteloup. But both region and town are also renowned for their cuisine. How about a poultry ballotine, a slice of Sainte Maure goat cheese or rillettes de canard together with a glass of sweet white wine from the Tourraine wine-growing region? That’s French art de vivre, to enjoy without any moderation.
I not only captured dead birds, also living ones.
Klasse: Vögel (Aves)
Ordnung: Regenpfeiferartige (Charadriiformes)
Familie: Regenpfeifer (Charadriidae)
Gattung: Kiebitze (Vanellus)
Art: Kiebitz
Part of Forlorn Places - Forsaken Buildings.
DMC-G2 - P1330904 9.4.2012
Corvey / Höxter (Weser Uplands, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
Platform edge at metro station Avtovo on the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya Line (Line 1), Avtovo district, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Some background information:
The Saint Petersburg Metro is the underground railway system of the city of Saint Petersburg. It has been open since 15th November 1955. Formerly known as the V.I. Lenin Order of Lenin Leningrad Metropoliten, the system exhibits many typical Soviet designs and features exquisite decorations and artwork making it one of the most attractive and elegant metros in the world, maybe only excelled by the Moscow Metro. Due to the city's unique geology, the Saint Petersburg Metro is also one of the deepest metro systems in the world and the deepest by the average depth of all the stations. The system's deepest station, Admiralteyskaya, is located 86 metres below ground. Serving 2.1 million passengers daily (resp. 763.1 million passengers per year), the Saint Petersburg Metro is the 19th busiest metro system in the world.
Avtovo is a station on the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya Line of the Saint Petersburg Metro. Designed by architect Yevgenii Levinson, it opened as part of the first Leningrad Metro line on 15th November 1955. In 2014, the British newspaper "The Guardian" included it on its list of the twelve most beautiful metro stations in the world.
Avtovo's unique and highly ornate design features columns faced with ornamental glass manufactured at the Lomonosov factory. Although the original plan envisaged using glass on all of the columns in the station, white marble was substituted on some due to time constraints. This marble was supposed to be temporary, but it has never been replaced. The walls are faced with white marble and adorned on the north side by a row of ornamental ventilation grilles. At the end of the platform a mosaic by V.A. Voronetskiy and A.K. Sokolov commemorates the Leningrad Blockade (1941 to 1944) during the Second World War.
Unlike the other stations on the first line, Avtovo is a shallow-level station, located just 12 metres below ground level and constructed using the cut and cover method. It belongs to the shallow column class of underground stations. Avtovo has as its entrance vestibule a large Neoclassical building with a domed cupola, located on the east side of Prospekt Stachek.
In Saint Petersburg’s history, the question of building an underground transport system arose several times, the first time in 1820, when the idea was hatched to build an underground road in a tunnel. By the end of the 19th century, certain interested parties began discussing the possibility of opening the Russian Empire's first metropolitan railway system. Almost all pre-revolutionary designs featured the concept of an elevated metro system, similar to the Paris or Vienna metros. However, as was later discovered through the experience of operating open (ground-level) metro lines in the city, such schemes would likely have resulted in a poor metro service. Unfortunately, at the time, Russian engineers did not have sufficient expertise or technical resources for the construction of deep underground tunnels through the bedrock located far beneath St Petersburg. Hence, it was finally Moscow that got the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union in 1935.
In 1938 the question of building a metro for Saint Petersburg (by then renamed to Leningrad), resurfaced again. The initial project was designed by the Moscow institute 'Metrogiprotrans', but on 21st January 1941, "Construction Directorate № 5 of the People's Commissariat" was founded as a body to specifically oversee the design and construction of the Leningrad Metro. By April 1941, 34 shafts for the initial phase of construction had been finished. During the Second World War construction works were frozen due to severe lack of available funding, manpower and equipment. At this time, many of the metro construction workers were employed in the construction and repair of railheads and other objects vital to the besieged city.
In 1946 Lenmetroproyekt was created, to finish the construction of the metro first phase. A new version of the metro project, devised by specialists, identified two new solutions to the problems to be encountered during the metro construction. Firstly, stations were to be built at a level slightly raised above that of normal track so as to prevent drainage directly into them, whilst the average tunnel width was to be reduced from the 6 metres (20 feet) standard of the Moscow Metro to 5.5 metres (18 feet).
On 3rd September 1947, construction in the Leningrad subway began again and eight years later, on 7 October 1955, the electricity was turned on in the metro l. On 15th November 1955, the subway grand opening was held, with the first seven stations being put into public use. These stations later became part of the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya Line, connecting the Moscow Rail Terminal in the city centre with the Kirovsky industrial zone in the southwest. Subsequent development included lines under the Neva River in 1958, and the construction of the Vyborgsky Radius in the mid-1970s to reach the new housing developments in the north. In 1978, the line was extended past the city limits into the Leningrad Oblast.
By the time of the USSR's collapse, the Leningrad Metro comprised 54 stations and 94.2 kilometres (58.5 miles) of track. But development even continued in the modern, post-Soviet period. Today, the Saint Petersburg metro comprises five lines with altogether 69 stations and 118,6 kilometres (74 miles) of track. However, the present state is not meant to be the end of the story. Plans have been made to extend the Saint Petersburg Metro to nine lines with altogether 126 stations and 190 kilometres (118 miles) of track. But delays due to the difficult geology of the city's underground and to the insufficient funding have cut down these plans to 17 new stations and one new depot until 2025. At the same time, there are several short and mid-term projects on station upgrades, including escalator replacements and lighting upgrades.
On 3rd April 2017, a terrorist bombing caused an explosion on a train between Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologicheski Institut stations, on the Line 2. 14 people died and over 50 sustained injuries, while Russian president Vladimir Putin was in the city, when the attack happened. On the same day, Russia's National anti-terrorist unit defused another explosive device at Ploshchad Vosstaniya station.
Saint Petersburg (in Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг) is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with currently 5.3 million inhabitants, part of the Saint Petersburg agglomeration with a population of 6.2 million (2015). An important Russian port on the Baltic Sea, it has a status of a federal city. Saint Petersburg is also the fourth-largest city in Europe, only excelled by Istanbul, London and Moscow. Other famous European cities like Paris, Berlin, Rome and Madrid are smaller. Furthermore, Saint Petersburg is the world’s northernmost megapolis and called "The Venice of the North", due to its many channels that traverse the city.
Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27th May 1703. On 1st September 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, on 26 January 1924 to Leningrad, and on 7 September 1991 back to Saint Petersburg. Between 1713 and 1728 and again between 1732 and 1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of Imperial Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow, which is located about 625 kilometres (388 miles) to the south-east.
Saint Petersburg is also the cultural capital of Russia. Today, the city is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as an area with 36 historical architectural complexes and around 4000 outstanding individual monuments of architecture, history and culture. It has 221 museums, 2,000 libraries, more than 80 theaters, 100 concert organizations, 45 galleries and exhibition halls, 62 cinemas and around 80 other cultural establishments. Saint Petersburg is home to the Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world.
Every year the city hosts around 100 festivals and various competitions of art and culture, including more than 50 international ones. In 2017, the city was visited by 7.2 million tourists and it is expected that in the years ahead the number of tourists will still be on the rise. Furthermore, many foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and businesses have offices in Saint Petersburg. The multinational Gazprom company has its headquarters in the newly erected Lakhta Center.
Details from the azulejo tiled lateral wall of the Chapel das Almas (in English: "Chapel of the Souls"), Porto, Portugal
Some background information:
The Capela de Santa Catarina, which is also known as the Capela das Almas, is a chapel located in the shopping street Rua de Santa Catarina, in the city of Porto’s quarter Santo Ildefonso. It is particularly noted for the blue azulejo tiles on its exterior walls.
The chapel had its origins in an old wooden chapel built in praise of Saint Catherine. The construction of the present building began at the end of the 18th century, when the Brotherhood of Souls and Wounds of Saint Francis moved from the Monastery of Santa Clara to the former wooden chapel on this spot. This led to an increase in popularity of the cult of Saint Catherine and to the decision to build a new chapel. The chapel has two sections, one lower than the other, and underwent expansion and restoration works in 1801.
Today, the Capela das Almas is a major tourist attraction in Porto, mainly due to its beautiful exterior. In former times, the neoclassical exterior surfaces of the chapel were plastered and painted white without tiles. But since 1929, they are tiled with 15,947 azulejo tiles that cover around 360 square metres of wall. These tiles represent the lives of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Catherine, notably his death and her martyrdom.
Porto, also known as Oporto, is the second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is located along the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, about 280 km (174 miles) north of Lisbon. With an estimated pospulation of 250,000, Porto’s city center is rather small, compared to its metropolitan area, which has around 1.8 million residents. Porto has one of the oldest European centres. Its core was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996, as the "Historic Centre of Porto, Luiz I Bridge and Monastery of Serra do Pilar".
Port wine, one of Portugal's most famous exports, is named after Porto, since the metropolitan area, and in particular the cellars of Porto’s quarter Vila Nova de Gaia, were responsible for the packaging, transport, and export of fortified wine. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties. Famous port wine brands are among others Sandeman, Cockburn’s, Graham’s, Fonseca, Offley, Ferreira and Quinta do Noval.
Proto-Celtic and Celtic people were among the first known inhabitants of the area of Porto. Archaeological findings from the 8th century BC also hint at a Phoenician trading settlement. During the Roman era, the city developed as an important commercial port, primarily in the trade between Olissipona (the modern Lisbon) and Bracara Augusta (the modern Braga).
Following the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, Porto fell under Muslim control in 716, but was reconquered by Alfonso I of Asturias in 741. Thus Porto became a border settlement, occasionally invaded and conquered by the Muslim Moors. In 1092, during the so-called Reconquista, the area finally came under Christian rule, initially as part of the Kingdom of León. In 1093, Teresa of León, illegitimate daughter of the king Alfonso VI of Castile, married Henry of Burgundy, bringing the County of Portugal as dowry.
After eventually expanding its current frontiers and conquering additonal territory inhabited by the Moors for centuries, the county became the independent Kingdom of Portugal at the beginning of the 12th century. At that time, Porto also became one of the hubs of the Reconquista led by Afonso I Henriques, the first King of Portugal. In 1370, during the reign of King Ferdinand I, the new, expanded, and reinforced city walls, known as the Muralhas Fernandinas (in English: "Ferdinandine Walls"), were completed.
In 1387, Porto was the site of the marriage of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. This marital bond symbolized a long-standing military alliance between Portugal and England. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Porto's shipyards contributed to the development of Portuguese shipbuilding. In 1415, Prince Henry the Navigator embarked from the port of Porto on the conquest of the Moorish port of Ceuta in northern Morocco. This expedition was followed by navigation and exploration along the western coast of Africa, initiating the Portuguese Age of Discovery.
By the 13th century, the wine produced in the nearby Douro valley had already been transported to Porto in so-called barcos rabelos (flat sailing vessels). In 1703, the Methuen Treaty established trade relations between Portugal and England and strengthened both countries‘ military alliance. The production of port wine then gradually passed into the hands of a few English firms.
To counter this dominance, the Portuguese Prime Minister Marquis of Pombal established a monopolistic Portuguese firm, the Douro Wine Company in 1756 to receive all the wines from the Douro valley. He demarcated the region for the production of port, to ensure the wine's quality, which was the first attempt to control wine quality and production in Europe, almost a century ahead of a similar exercise in Bordeaux. The small winegrowers revolted against his strict policies on Shrove Tuesday, burning down the buildings of the Douro Wine Company. The revolt became known as the Revolta dos Borrachos (in English: "Revolt of the Drunkards").
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became an important industrial center and hence, its size and population increased. The invasion of the Napoleonic troops in Portugal brought war to the city of Porto. In 1809, when the population fled from the advancing French troops and tried to cross the river Douro over the Ponte das Barcas, the bridge collapsed under the weight of the people and almost 4,000 residents of Porto died in the floods of the Douro river. In the Second Battle of Porto, which took place still in the same year, the French Army was thrown out of the city by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and his Anglo-Portuguese Army.
In 1820, the Liberal Revolution began in Porto. The revolutionaries demanded the return of King John VI of Portugal, who had transferred the royal court to the Portuguese colony of Brazil since the French invasions, and also a constitutional monarchy to be set up in Portugal. But after the new constitution had been accepted in 1822, the new Portuguese King Miguel I rejected this constitution in 1828 and reigned as an anti-liberal, absolutist monarch.
Porto rebelled again and had to undergo a siege of eighteen months by the absolutist army. After successfully resisting the siege in 1833, King Miguel I had to abdicate and the liberal constitution was re-established. However, not bevore 1910, the monarchy was overthrown and Portugal became a republic. In 1919, forces favorable to the restoration of the monarchy launched a counter-revolution in Porto known as the Monarchy of the North. During this time, Porto was the capital of the restored kingdom, but the monarchy was deposed less than a month later and no other monarchist revolution in Portugal happened again.
Today, Porto is the most important industrial city in the country, thanks to its textile, leather goods, metal, food, and chemical industries, its oil refinery as well as the overseas port Porto de Leixões. The university, the art academy, museums, theaters, and the opera also emphasise Porto's status as a major cultural and scientific center. But it’s mainly the export of port wine and its beautiful UNESCO-protected old town, to which Porto ows its appeal to visitors from everywhere.
Rue de la Couronnerie with Porte Malbec, one of the medieval gates of the fortified village of Rocamadour, 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. It 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.
East façade of the Medici Villa, viewed from the gardens, Poggio a Caiano, Tuscany, Italy
Some background information:
The Medici Villa in the little town of Poggio a Caiano, also called "Ambra" and located just about 15 km (9.5 miles) to the northwest of the city of Florence, is definitely one of the most famous of the Medici villas. Altogether the Medici family owned 29 villas and three palaces. Today the Medici Villa in Poggio a Caiano is state owned and houses two museums: one showing the historic apartments on the ground floor and first floor and the museum of still life on the second floor. The building belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany", that was added to the World Heritage list in 2013.
The villa is perhaps the best example of architecture commissioned by Lorenzo de' Medici (also known as "Lorenzo il Magnifico"), in this case to Italian architect Giuliano da Sangallo around 1480. It is no coincidence that it is a private building with several elements that later served as a model for the future developments of the type of Italian rural mansions: the internal and external penetration through filters such as loggias, the symmetrical distribution of environments around a central salon ("centrifugal" space), the dominant position in the landscape and the conscious recovery of classical architectural elements (such as the barrel vault and the ionic temple facade).
The villa is located in the middle of a hilltop, the last offshoot of the Montalbano mountains, in a strategic position, lying on the promontory towards the Ombrone river and the plain and dominating the road between Florence and Pistoia. It was built by Lorenzo de' Medici after buying a rustic farm from Giovanni Rucellai. Lorenzo commissioned Giuliano da Sangallo to build a villa on the estate that became the prototype of the country's noble residences in the following centuries. At the death of Lorenzo in 1492, the construction of the villa was still largely unfinished. Between 1495 and 1513, it was even halted because of the Medici dynasty’s exile from Florence.
Between 1513 and 1520, after the return of the Medici, the works were completed on the initiative of Giovanni de' Medici , the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who had become Pope Leo X. Giuliano da Sangallo in the meantime. The villa was the place where foreign brides of the family members in Florence were welcomed. Here, among other events, the weddings of Alessandro de' Medici and Margaret of Austria in 1536, of Cosimo I and Eleanor of Toledo in 1539, and of Francesco I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Bianca Cappello in 1579 were celebrated.
Bianca and Francesco also found death in this villa, for causes not fully clarified and suspected of poisoning. In 2006, forensic and toxicology experts at the University of Florence reported evidence of arsenic poisoning in a study published in the British Medical Journal. But in 2010, evidence of the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which causes malaria, was found in Francesco's remains too.
It is a fact, that already soon after the sudden and simultaneous deaths of Francesco and Bianca in October 1587 rumours spread that both had been murdered by Francesco's brother, Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici. Ferdinando had a very good motive to kill his brother and the woman that Francesco had loved and then married after the death of his first wife the Grand Duchess Giovanna of Austria. Ferdinando was at risk of being excluded from the succession, if Francesco's illegitimate son Don Antonio was to inherit the title of Grand Duke.
A couple of weeks after Ferdinando had come to the villa at Poggio a Caiano, where Francesco and Bianca lived, the couple suddenly fell ill. They died eleven days later, a few hours apart. The behaviour of Ferdinando during Francesco's final days, and after his death as well, raised more than a suspicion about his involvement in his brother's illness. He took charge of the entire matter, drawing up all the medical bulletins and minimising the gravity of his brother's state of health in the dispatches sent to the Holy See. He stressed that his brother's illness had to be attributed solely to his imprudent eating habits and that Bianca's illness was caused by the grief she felt for her husband's condition.
He did his best to raise an impenetrable wall of isolation around Francesco and Bianca so that they would not be approached by anyone with the right or authority to be admitted to their presence. He ordered immediate autopsies on the two bodies (which was habitual at that time for princes and rulers but not for a grand duchess) as if he wanted to have flawless documentation on the "non-toxic" cause of death in order to protect himself from future accusations. By the way, Ferdinando actually succeeded Francesco as Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Well, the results of toxicological investigations carried out by the forensic and toxicology experts at the University of Florence, "on the samples identified as biological tissues and attributable, according to DNA profiling, to Francesco I de' Medici and, tentatively, to Bianca Cappello, and on the femur and beard hair of Francesco I, were consistent with the hypothesis that the Grand Duke and his wife were victims of an acute arsenic poisoning" (quote from the forensic report).
In the second half of the 17th century, Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, cousin of the French King Louis XIV and wife of Cosimo III de' Medici, was relegated to Poggio a Caiano. In order to alleviate his wife’s "captivity", Cosimo III built a theatre on the ground floor before returning permanently to France in 1675.
During the reign of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, the villa came under the influence of France. Napoleon bestowed the estate on his sister Elisa Bonaparte and also confered the titles Princess of Lucca and Piombino, Princess of Lucca, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Countess of Compignano on her. Obviously, one title wasn’t enough honour. The Medici Villa soon became Elisa’s favourite place and she made it a centre of cultural and social events.
In the time of European Restoration, the villa was used by the House of Savoy that ruled the Kingdom of Italy in the person of King Victor Emmanuel II as from 1861. It was also him who made Florence the Italian capital. Victor Emmanuel II commissioned the restoration of the villa and as he was an enthusiastic hunter, also commissioned the construction of new horse stables. At the same time, the villa was also inhabited by Rosa Vercellana, who was Victor Emmanuel’s concubine.
In 1919, the Medici Villa in Poggio a Caiano passed into possession of the Italian State. Today, both villa and gardens are open to the public. A visit is highly recommended as it’s a very interesting place steeped in history.
The Bode-Museum is one of five major museums on Berlin's Museum Island; together, they are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built from 1898 to 1904 in a Baroque revival style.
The Reiterstandbild des Großen Kurfürsten (equestrian statue of the Great Elector) was created by the German sculptor Andreas Schlüter in 1696 and cast in bronze by Johann Jakobi in 1700. It is considered a masterpiece of Baroque sculpture. It represents Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm (Elector Frederick William, 1620–1688) of Brandenburg. This statue that is exhibited in the entrance hall of the Bode Museum is a replica.
Das Islam Xo´ja-Minarett ist mit 46,5 m das zweithöchste in Usbekistan.
Khiva war der Ort an der Seidenstraße, wo sich die Karawanenwege teilten: in Richtung Norden nach Russland und in Richtung Süden nach Persien, die Türkei und Westeuropa.
Die Altstadt von Khiva ist Weltkulturerbe der UNESCO.
Treasury of Atreus
Kuppelgrab.
Archäologische Stätte Mykene.
Mykene auf den Peloponnes / GRIECHENLAND
/https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schatzhaus_des_Atreus
Interior
The Treasury of Atreus, a tholos tomb at Mycenae, Greece (Panagitsa Hill) constructed around 1250 B.C.
A window in the historic city of Siena, decorated by a Sienese artist, with a typical Sienese street light on the left, representing the urban district of Aquila (in English: "eagle"), Tuscany, Italy
Some background information:
With its about 54,000 residents, the city of Siena is the capital of the province of Siena in Tuscany. Siena is located about 70 km (44 miles) south of the city of Florence and about 180 km (112 miles) north of the Italian capital Rome. The town is situated in the central part of Tuscany, in the middle of a vast hilly landscape between the Arbia river valley (south), the Elsa valley (north), the Chianti hills (north-east), the Montagnola Senese (west) and the Crete Senesi (south-east). The city lies at 322 m above sea level.
Siena, like other Tuscan hill towns, was first settled in the time of the Etruscans (from 900 to 400 BC) when it was inhabited by a tribe called the Saina. The Etruscans were an ethnic group of advanced people who changed the face of central Italy through their use of irrigation to reclaim previously unfarmable land, and their custom of building their settlements in well-defended hill forts. In the time of the Emperor Augustus a Roman town called Saena Julia was founded at the site.
According to local legend, Siena was founded by Senius and Aschius, two sons of Remus and thus nephews of Romulus, after whom Rome was named. Supposedly after their father's murder by Romulus, they fled Rome, taking with them the statue of the she-wolf suckling the infants, thus appropriating that symbol for the town. Additionally they rode white and black horses, giving rise to the Balzana, or coat of arms of Siena with a white band atop a dark band. Some claim the name Siena derives from Senius. Other etymologies derive the name from the Etruscan tribe name Saina.
Under Roman rule Siena did not prosper. It was not sited near any major roads and lacked opportunities for trade. Its insular status meant that Christianity did not penetrate until the 4th century AD, and it was not until the Lombards invaded Siena and the surrounding territory that the town experienced prosperity. After the Lombard occupation, the old Roman roads of Via Aurelia and the Via Cassia passed through areas exposed to Byzantine raids, so the Lombards rerouted much of their trade between the Lombards' northern possessions and Rome along a more secure road through Siena. Siena prospered as a trading post, and the constant streams of pilgrims passing to and from Rome provided a valuable source of income in the centuries to come.
The oldest aristocratic families in Siena date their line to the Lombards' surrender in 774 to Charlemagne. At this point, the city was inundated with a swarm of Frankish overseers who married into the existing Sienese nobility and left a legacy that can be seen in the abbeys they founded throughout Sienese territory. Feudal power waned, however, and by the death of Countess Matilda in 1115 the border territory of the March of Tuscany which had been under the control of her family, the Canossa, broke up into several autonomous regions. This ultimately resulted in the foundation of the Republic of Siena.
The Republic existed for over four hundred years, from the 12th century until the year 1555. During the golden age of Siena before the Black Death in 1348, the city was home to 50,000 people. In the Italian War that lasted from 1551 to 1559, the republic was defeated by the rival Duchy of Florence in alliance with the Spanish crown. After 18 months of resistance, Siena surrendered to Spain on 17th April 1555, marking the end of the republic. However, a republican government of 700 Sienese families in the nearby town of Montalcino resisted until 1559. The new Spanish King Felipe II, owing huge sums to the Medici, ceded it to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, to which it belonged until the unification of Italy in the 19th century.
In 1798, Siena was shaken by an 8.5 magnitude earthquake and several private as well as public buildings (such as churches) were damaged heavily. In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces occupied the town. Not before 1814, the French troops left. However, in World War II, Siena suffered only minor damage. Only the Basilika dell’Osservanza was almost completely destroyed during a US bomb attack on 23rd January 1944.
In 1995, its historic city centre has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Siena is also one of the Italy’s most visited tourist attractions as it is considered to be one of Tuscany’s and also Italy’s most beautiful towns. Unlike Florence that is regarded as a prime example of Renaissance architecture, Siena has preserved its medieval appearance and hence, is considered a treasure of Italien Gothic architecture.
Siena is also well-known for its Palio di Siena, a horse race, that is hold on the city’s central plaza Piazza del Campo twice a year. At this race that has a centrality for the town since the Middle Ages, Siena’s 17 urban districts compete with each other. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy’s third biggest bank and also the oldest still existing bank around the world, has still its headquarters in Siena.
Siena’s 17 urban districts, the so-called contrade, are named after animals and do each have an animal symbol. The streets of the particular districts have unique street lamps with the amulets of that particular animal on the street crossings — indicating the boundaries of a contrada. These districts were historically set up to supply troops when Siena fought to defend itself from Florence between the 13th and 15th century. Today, the urban districts are still kept alive by sentiments and a great mutual rivalry that finds its expression in the horse race Palio di Siena. By the way, the street lamp on my picture represents the contrade Aquila (in English: "eagle") in Siena's historic city centre.
Le Mont-Saint-Michel and the salt marches in the Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel (in English: "Mont Saint-Michel Bay") at low tide, Normandy, France
Some background information:
I guess that this view was already captured a billion times or even more. That’s why I have chosen this title.
Le Mont-Saint-Michel (in English: "Saint Michael's Mount") is an island commune in the Norman department of Manche. It is located about one kilometre (0.6 miles) off the country's northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. The tidal island is 100 hectares (247 acres) in size and has a population of just 41 residents.
The tides can vary greatly, at roughly 14 metres (46 feet) between high and low water marks. Popularly nicknamed "St. Michael in peril of the sea" by medieval pilgrims making their way across the flats, the mount can still pose dangers for visitors who avoid the causeway and attempt the hazardous walk across the sands from the neighbouring coast.
The tidal causeway, that connected the island with the mainland for many centuries, was converted into a raised and therefore permanently dry causeway in 1879. In 2014, a new causeway was opened to the public by French president François Hollande, appearing as a light bridge, which allows the waters to flow freely around the island. The bridge improves the efficiency of the also new hydraulic dam, which uses the waters of the river Couesnon and the tides to help remove the accumulated silt. Futhermore a new carpark on the mainland was built, that is now located 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) from the island. Visitors can either walk or use shuttles to cross the causeway.
The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times and since the 8th century has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. The structural composition of the town exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it: on top, God, the abbey and monastery – below, the great halls – then stores and housing – and at the bottom, outside the walls, houses for fishermen and farmers. The commune's position – on an island just 600 metres from land – made it accessible at low tide to the many pilgrims to its abbey, but defensible as an incoming tide stranded, drove off, or drowned would-be assailants.
The original site was founded by an Irish hermit who gathered a following from the local community. Mont Saint-Michel was used in the sixth and seventh centuries as an Armorican stronghold of Gallo-Roman culture and power until it was ransacked by the Franks, thus ending the trans-channel culture that had stood since the departure of the Romans in 460. From roughly the fifth to the eighth century, Mont Saint-Michel belonged to the territory of Neustria, and in the early ninth century was an important place in the marches of Neustria.
Before the construction of the first monastic establishment in the 8th century, the island was called Mont Tombe. According to legend, the archangel Michael appeared in 708 to Aubert of Avranches, the bishop of Avranches, and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet.
Unable to defend his kingdom against the assaults of the Vikings, the king of the Franks agreed to grant the Cotentin peninsula and the Avranchin, including Mont Saint-Michel, to the Bretons in the Treaty of Compiègne, in 867. This marked the beginning of the brief period of Breton possession of the Mont. In fact, these lands and Mont Saint-Michel were never really included in the duchy of Brittany and remained independent bishoprics from the newly created Breton archbishopric of Dol. When Rollo confirmed Franco as archbishop of Rouen, these traditional dependences of the Rouen archbishopric were retained in it.
The mount gained strategic significance again in 933 when William I Longsword annexed the Cotentin Peninsula from the weakened Duchy of Brittany. This made the mount definitively part of Normandy, and is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, which commemorates the 1066 Norman conquest of England. Harold Godwinson is pictured on the tapestry rescuing two Norman knights from the quicksand in the tidal flats during a battle with Conan II, Duke of Brittany. Norman ducal patronage financed the spectacular Norman architecture of the abbey in subsequent centuries.
In 1067, the monastery of Mont Saint-Michel gave its support to William the Conqueror in his claim to the throne of England. This he rewarded with properties and grounds on the English side of the Channel, including a small island off the southwestern coast of Cornwall which was modeled after the Mount and became a Norman priory named St Michael's Mount of Penzance.
During the Hundred Years' War, the Kingdom of England made repeated assaults on the island but were unable to seize it due to the abbey's improved fortifications. The English initially besieged the Mont from 1423 to 1424, and then again from 1433 to 1434 with English forces under the command of Thomas de Scales, 7th Baron Scales. Two wrought-iron bombards that Scales abandoned when he gave up his siege are still on site. They are known as les Michelettes. Mont Saint-Michel's resolute resistance inspired the French, especially Jeanne d’Arc (in English: "Joan of Arc").
The wealth and influence of the abbey extended to many daughter foundations, including - as already mentioned - St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall. However, its popularity and prestige as a centre of pilgrimage waned with the Reformation, and by the time of the French Revolution there were scarcely any monks in residence. The abbey was closed and converted into a prison, initially to hold clerical opponents of the republican regime. High-profile political prisoners followed, but by 1836, influential figures—including Victor Hugo—had launched a campaign to restore what was seen as a national architectural treasure. The prison was finally closed in 1863, and the mount was declared an historic monument in 1874.
In 1979, Le Mont Saint-Michel and its bay were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Furthermore France protects over 60 buildings within the commune as monuments historiques. Today, the tidal island is one of France’s most recognizable landmarks, visited by more than three million people each year.