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Records from 1209 indicate the existence of St. Peter's Church (Svētā Pētera baznīca) in some form. The middle section was built during the 13th century. The church was mostly rebuilt and expanded in a Gothic style in the 15th century. The sanctuary was completed in 1473 and the tower in 1491. The collapse of the tower in 1666 ushered in a new phase of construction: between 1691 and 1690, some Baroque additions were made, such as the new tower and the western façade. The church was severely damaged in 1941; restoration lasted until 1991.
Mosaic "Herz" (hearts) on the wall of the former playing card factory in Heilgeiststraße, Hanseatic Town of Stralsund, district of Vorpommern-Rügen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Germany.
There are four mosaics on the walls of the playing card factory showing the four suits of the traditional German playing cards deck: "Herz" (heart, same symbol and name in the French deck), "Schellen" (bells, equivalent to diamonds), "Eichel" (acorn) or "Ecker" (beechnut), the equivalent of clubs, and "Laub" (leaves) or "Grün" (green) or "Gras" (grass) or "Blatt" (leaf), the equivalent of spades.
Stralsund playing card factory was founded in 1765 by Johann Caspar Kern, the engraver of the Swedish Royal Mint (Stralsund was Swedish at that time). It first was located at the market square, and moved to Heilgeiststraße in 1793. In 1931, headquarters of the factory moved to the town of Altenburg in Thuringia.
----quotation from en.wikipedia.org:----
The town of Stralsund lies in Northeast Germany in the region of Western Pomerania in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
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The town lies on the sound of Strelasund, a strait of the Baltic Sea. Its geographic proximity to the island of Rügen, whose only fixed link to the mainland, the Strelasund Crossing, runs between Stralsund and the village of Altefähr, has given Stralsund the sobriquet "Gateway to the Island of Rügen" (Tor zur Insel Rügen). Stralsund lies close to the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park.
A municipal forest and three municipal ponds (the Knieperteich, Frankenteich and Moorteich) belong to the Stralsund's town borough . The three ponds and the Strelasund lend the Old Town, the original settlement site and historic centre of the town, a protected island location.
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The centre of Stralsund has a wealth of historic buildings. Since 1990, large parts of the historic old town have been renovated with private and public capital, and with the support of foundations. As a result of the contempt for historic buildings in East Germany many houses were threatened by ruin. The Old Town in particular, offers a rich variety of historic buildings, with many former merchants' houses, churches, streets and squares. Of more than 800 listed buildings in Stralsund, more than 500 are designated as individual monuments in the Old Town. In twenty years, from the Wende in 1990 to November 2010, 588 of the more than 1,000 old buildings were completely refurbished, including 363 individual monuments. Because of its historical and architectural significance, in 2002 Stralsund's old town together with the old town of Wismar were added to entitled the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list as the "Historic Centres of Stralsund and Wismar".
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----quotation from whc.unesco.org:----
The medieval towns of Wismar and Stralsund, on the Baltic coast of northern Germany, were major trading centres of the Hanseatic League in the 14th and 15th centuries. In the 17th and 18th centuries they became Swedish administrative and defensive centres for the German territories. They contributed to the development of the characteristic building types and techniques of Brick Gothic in the Baltic region, as exemplified in several important brick cathedrals, the Town Hall of Stralsund, and the series of houses for residential, commercial and crafts use, representing its evolution over several centuries.
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Stralsund short trip October 2012
Hohenzollernbrücke (Hohenzollern bridge) with love padlocks in Köln (Cologne), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Germany.
Hohenzollern bridge is a bridge for railway and pedestrian traffic crossing the river Rhine. The fence between the footpath and the line of rails is almost completely covered with love padlocks.
In the background is Gothic Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral), official name Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria (High Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Mary) which is inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO.
------quotation from whc.unesco.org/en/list/292:------
Begun in 1248, the construction of this Gothic masterpiece took place in several stages and was not completed until 1880. Over seven centuries, successive builders were inspired by the same faith and a spirit of absolute fidelity to the original plans. Apart from its exceptional intrinsic value and the artistic masterpieces it contains, Cologne Cathedral testifies to the enduring strength of European Christianity.
(...)
Cologne Cathedral is a High Gothic five-aisled basilica, with a projecting transept and a two-tower facade. The construction is totally unified. The western section, begun in 1330, changes in style, but this is not perceptible in the overall building. The 19th-century work followed the medieval forms and techniques faithfully. The original liturgical appointments of the choir are still extant to a considerable degree. These include the high altar on an enormous monolithic slab of black marble, the carved-oak choir stalls (1308-11), the painted choir screens (1332-40), the 14 statues on the pillars in the choir (1270-90), and the stained-glass windows, the largest extant cycle of 14th-century windows in Europe. There is an outstanding series of tombs of 12 archbishops between 976 and 1612.
(...)
During World War II the cathedral suffered tremendous damage during air-raids: no fewer than fourteen heavy bombs reduced it to a pitiful state. Restoration and reconstruction work rendered the chevet usable in time for the centenary celebrations in 1948, but the remainder of the building was not restored fully until 1956.
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Summer holiday August 2014
Doorway arch of Real Alcázar de Sevilla (Royal Palace of Seville), Sevilla (Seville), Province of Sevilla (Seville), Andalusia, Spain.
Real Alcazár is one of the best preserved examples of Mudéjar architecture (built under Christian rule, but with strong Islamic influence).
Together with Seville Cathedral and the General Archive of the Indies of Seville it is inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO.
-----quotation from whc.unesco.org:------
Together the Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias as a series, form a remarkable monumental complex in the heart of Seville. They perfectly epitomize the Spanish "Golden Age", incorporating vestiges of Islamic culture, centuries of ecclesiastical power, royal sovereignty and the trading power that Spain acquired through its colonies in the New World.
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The original nucleus of the Alcázar was constructed in the 10th century as the palace of the Moslem governor, and is used even today as the Spanish royal family's residence in this city, thereby retaining the same purpose for which it was originally intended: as a residence of monarchs and heads of state. Built and rebuilt from the early Middle Ages right up to our times, it consists of a group of palatial buildings and extensive gardens. The Alcázar embraces a rare compendium of cultures where areas of the original Almohad palace - such as the "Patio del Yeso" or the "Jardines del Crucero" - coexist with the Palacio de Pedro I representing Spanish Mudejar art, together with other constructions displaying every cultural style from the Renaissance to the Neoclassical.
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-----quotation from en.wikipedia.org:-----
Seville ... is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville, Spain. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of 7 metres (23 ft) above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos (feminine form: sevillanas) or hispalenses, following the Roman name of the city, Hispalis.
Seville is the fourth largest city of Spain with a municipal population of about 703,000 as of 2011, and a metropolitan population (including satellite towns) of about 1.2 million, making it the 31st most populous municipality in the European Union. Its Old Town is one of the three largest in Europe along with Venice and Genoa (covering almost four square kilometers), which includes three UNESCO World Heritage Sites (the Alcázar palace complex, the Cathedral and the General Archive of the Indies). The Seville harbor, located about 80 km from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain.
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Andalusia holiday April 2012
Venedig Venice Venezia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice
Italia 3 Album
www.flickr.com/photos/arjuna/sets/72157627437241642/
Venedig ( italienisch : Venezia [venɛttsja] ( hören ) , [ 1 ] Venetian : Venexia [venɛsja] ; ( Latein : Venetia )) ist eine Stadt im Nordosten von Italien gelegen an einer Gruppe von 118 kleinen Inseln, die durch Kanäle getrennt und verbunden durch Brücken. [ 2 ] Es wird in der sumpfigen befindet Lagune von Venedig , die sich entlang der Küste zwischen den Mündungen der streckt Po und Piave Rivers. Venedig ist für die Schönheit seiner Umgebung, seiner Architektur und seinen Kunstwerken bekannt. [ 2 ] Die Stadt ist in ihrer Gesamtheit als börsennotiertes Weltkulturerbe , zusammen mit seiner Lagune. [ 2 ]
The St. John's Church (Jāņa baznīca) first was built for the Dominican order in the 13th century. The current late Gothic church was built in the late 15th century. It features a stunning net vault (Netzgewölbe). In 1523, it became a Lutheran parish church. Since 1587, it has been serving the Latvian-speaking community.
Ekes Konvents (Ecke's Convent), the yellow building on the left, was built by city magistrates at Skārņu iela in 1435 as emergency shelter for those in need. Council Member Nikolaus Ecke had it remodeled in the late 16th century as a home for needy widows of members of the small guild.
Detail of the Manueline portal of the Panteão de D. Duarte (pantheon of King Duarte), better known as Capelas Imperfeitas (Unfinished Chapels) of Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitória (Monastery of Saint Mary of Victory), better known as Mosteiro da Batalha (Monastery of Batalha, literally Monastery of the Battle), Batalha, Portugal.
Batalha monastery is inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO.
---citation from whc.unesco.org---
The Monastery of the Dominicans of Batalha was built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese over the Castilians at the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. It was to be the Portuguese monarchy's main building project for the next two centuries. Here a highly original, national Gothic style evolved, profoundly influenced by Manueline art, as demonstrated by its masterpiece, the Royal Cloister.
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-----citation from en.wikipedia.org-----
Unfinished Chapels (Capelas Imperfeitas)
As Capelas Imperfeitas (The Unfinished Chapels) remain as a testimony of the fact that the monastery was never actually finished. They form a separate octagonal structure tacked on the choir of the church (via a retrochoir) and only accessible from the outside. It was commissioned in 1437 by King Duarte I as a second royal mausoleum for himself and his descendants. But he and his queen Leonor of Aragon are the only ones buried here. The original design, begun by Huguet, was altered by successive architects, especially Mateus Fernandes (who is buried inside the church). The octagonal rotunda has seven radiating hexagonal chapels. In the corners of the chapels stand the massive unfinished buttresses, that were intended to support the vault. These pillars, designed by Diogo Boitac, are decorated with Manueline motives carved in stone.
The portal rises to a monumental fifteen metres. It was originally built in Gothic style, but was transformed beyond recognition by Mateus Fernandes into a masterpiece of Manueline style (completed in 1509). It is completely decorated into a lacework of sumptuous and stylized Manueline motives : armillary, spheres, winged angels, ropes, circles, tree stumps, clover-shaped arches and florid projections. This homage of King Manuel I to his predecessor King D. Duarte mentions his motto Leauté faray tam yaserei (I will always be loyal). This motto is then repeated more than two hundred times in the arches, vaults and pillars of the chapels.
The Renaissance loggia, added at about 1533, was probably meant for musicians. It is ascribed to the architect João de Castilho.
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-----citation from en.wikipedia.org about Manueline style-----
Several elements appear regularly in these intricately carved stoneworks:
- elements used on ships: the armillary sphere (a navigational instrument and the personal emblem of Manuel I and also symbol of the cosmos), spheres, anchors, anchor chains, ropes and cables.
- elements from the sea, such as shells, pearls and strings of seaweed.
- botanical motifs such as laurel branches, oak leaves, acorns, poppy capsules, corncobs, thistles.
- symbols of Christianity such as the cross of the Order of Christ (former Templar knights), the military order that played a prominent role and helped finance the first voyages of discovery. The cross of this order decorated the sails of the Portuguese ships.
- elements from newly discovered lands (such as the tracery in the Claustro Real in the Monastery of Batalha, suggesting Islamic filigree work, influenced by buildings in India)
- columns carved like twisted strands of rope
- semicircular arches (instead of Gothic pointed arches) of doors and windows, sometimes consisting of three or more convex curves
- multiple pillars
- eight-sided capitals
- lack of symmetry
- conical pinnacles
- bevelled crenellations
- ornate portals with niches or canopies.
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Natur und Kultur in Mittelportugal (Nature and Culture in Mid-Portugal), Wikinger-Reisen, September 2011
Gargoyle in the cloister of Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Hieronymites Monastery), Belém, Lisboa (Lisbon), Portugal.
The Hieronymites Monastery (official name: Mosteiro da Santa Maria de Belém), located near the shore of Rio Tejo (Tagus river), is one of the most prominent monuments of the Manueline style architecture. Along with the predominant Manueline style, there are also elements of the Spanish Plateresque style, and of Renaissance style.
The monastery was built by order of Manuel I. shortly after Vasco da Gama had returned from his first journey to India. The building was financed with the money now rolling in from the overseas trade. Work began in 1502 and ended in 1544 (except for some extensions that were added later).
Up to 1834, the monastery gave home to the order of the Hieronymites (that's where it's got its name from). The building survived the great earthquake of 1755 without larger damage, but was ravaged by Napoleon's troops in the beginning of the 19th century.
In 1983, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos was - together with the nearby Torre de Belém (Bélem tower) - inscribed on the World Heritage List of the UNESCO.
On December 13, 2007, the Treaty of Lisbon was signed at the monastery, laying down the basis for the reform of the European Union.
----quotation from en.wikipedia.org about the cloister----
Work on the vast square cloister (55 x 55 m) of the monastery was begun by Boitac. He built the groin vaults with wide arches and windows with tracery resting on delicate mullions. Juan de Castilho finished the construction by giving the lower storey a classical overlay and building a more recessed upper-storey. The construction of such a cloister was a novelty at the time. Castilho changed the original round columns of Boitac into rectangular ones, and embellished it with Plateresque-style ornamentation. Each wing consists of six bays with tracery vaults. The four inner bays rest on massive buttresses, forming broad arcades. The corner bays are linked by a diagonal arched construction and show the richly decorated corner pillars. The cloister had a religious function as well as a representative function by its decorative ornamentation and the dynastic symbolic motives, such as the armillarium, coat-of-arms, and the cross from the Order of Christ, showing the growing world power of Portugal.
The inside walls of the cloister have a wealth of Manueline motives with nautical elements, in addition to European, Moorish and Eastern motifs. The round arches and the horizontal structure are clearly in line with the Renaissance style, while at the same time there is also a relationship with Spanish architecture. The decorations on the outer walls of the inner courtyard were made in Plateresco style by Castilho: the arcades include traceried arches that give the construction a filigree aspect.
----end of quotation----
-----quotation from en.wikipedia.org about Manueline style-----
Several elements appear regularly in these intricately carved stoneworks:
- elements used on ships: the armillary sphere (a navigational instrument and the personal emblem of Manuel I and also symbol of the cosmos), spheres, anchors, anchor chains, ropes and cables.
- elements from the sea, such as shells, pearls and strings of seaweed.
- botanical motifs such as laurel branches, oak leaves, acorns, poppy capsules, corncobs, thistles.
- symbols of Christianity such as the cross of the Order of Christ (former Templar knights), the military order that played a prominent role and helped finance the first voyages of discovery. The cross of this order decorated the sails of the Portuguese ships.
- elements from newly discovered lands (such as the tracery in the Claustro Real in the Monastery of Batalha, suggesting Islamic filigree work, influenced by buildings in India)
- columns carved like twisted strands of rope
- semicircular arches (instead of Gothic pointed arches) of doors and windows, sometimes consisting of three or more convex curves
- multiple pillars
- eight-sided capitals
- lack of symmetry
- conical pinnacles
- bevelled crenellations
- ornate portals with niches or canopies.
----end of quotation-----
Natur und Kultur in Mittelportugal (Nature and Culture in Mid-Portugal), Wikinger-Reisen, September 2011
Stained glass window of Sé do Porto (Porto Cathedral), Porto, Portugal.
---citation from en.wikipedia.org---
The Porto Cathedral (Portuguese: Sé do Porto), located in the historical centre of the city of Porto, Portugal, is one of the city's oldest monuments and one of the most important Romanesque monuments in Portugal
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The cathedral is flanked by two square towers, each supported with two buttresses and crowned with a cupola. The façade lacks decoration and is rather architecturally heterogeneous. It shows a Baroque porch and a beautiful Romanesque rose window under a crenellated arch, giving the impression of a fortified church.
The Romanesque nave is rather narrow and is covered by barrel vaulting. It is flanked by two aisles with a lower vault. The stone roof of the central aisle is supported by flying butresses, making the building one of the first in Portugal to use this architectonic feature.
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The South transept arm gives access to the Gothic cloister, which is decorated with baroque azulejos by Valentim de Almeida (between 1729 and 1731). They depict the life of the Virgin Mary and Ovid's Metamorphoses.
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The historic centre of Porto is inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO (whc.unesco.org).
Natur und Kultur in Mittelportugal (Nature and Culture in Mid-Portugal), Wikinger-Reisen, September 2011
This wall separates the two parts of Tallinn: the lower town which historically was the city of merchants and craftsmen and Toompea HIll which was an aristocratic city that only became part of Tallinn in 1877.
Levada da Serra, island of Madeira, Portugal.
Hiking tour Levada da Serra / Pináculo / Bica da Cana.
This region of Madeira is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Laurisilva of Madeira.
Madeira is a Portuguese island in the Atlantic ocean, approximately 1000 km (620 mi) southwest of Lisbon and 700 km (435 mi) west of the Moroccan coast. Situated in a hot spot area, Madeira is of volcanic origin, formed during several eruptive phases, the last of which ended around 6500 years ago. Madeira is a very mountainous island. With an extent of only 57 km (35 mi) from west to east and 22 km (14 mi) from north to south, and with the highest mountain having an elevation of 1862 m (6109 ft), the terrain of the island is mostly very rocky and steep, except for the high plateau Paul da Serra.
Madeira is also known as the "island of flowers", although most of the popular "typical" Madeiran flowers (like the bird of paradise flower, the hydrangea, the agapanthus and others) are neither endemic nor native. Some of the genuine Madeiran plants are the "Pride of Madeira" (Echium candicans), Canary Islands Juniper (Juniperus cedrus) and the laurel forests of Madeira (the latter one being listed as UNESCO World Heritage).
Madeira is permeated by artificially built water channels called levadas, which distribute the water from the wetter northern half of the island to the agricultural regions of the south. The levadas, mostly built by prisoners or slaves, were cut into the side of the mountains, partly running through tunnels, and enabled for example the cultivation of sugar cane which was the source of the Madeiran wealth during the 15th to 17th century.
Today most of the levadas are still in use, not only for irrigation but also for hydroelectricity. Running across the whole island, they provide a wide network of walking paths, making even extremely remote regions of the island accessible to pedestrians, which is one of the reasons for Madeira's popularity as a hiking paradise.
Madeira hiking holiday July 2013.
"One of the most beautiful and well preserved Renaissance palaces in Prague is situated near Prague Castle on the Hradcanske square. The palace is easily recognizable by its rich black-and-white sgraffito decorations on its walls.
Schwarzenberg Palace stands on the area of three buildings that were destroyed by great fire in 1541. The ruins were bought by Jan Popel of Lobkowicz, one of the richest noblemen in Bohemia and later on Prague’s highest burgrave. The mail building, in T-shape, was built in 1567, the western wing was finished several years later. The walls of the palace enclose a square courtyard divided from the Hradcanske square by a wall and a grille gate.
If you look carefully from the House At Two Suns in Nerudova Street, you can see a sundial on one of the chimneys of Schwarzenberg Palace. The sundial is accompanied with the symbol of the day – cock and the symbol of the night – owl.
The ceilings inside Schwarzenberg palace are decorated with paintings on canvas stretched over a wooden construction. The paintings made in around 1580 depict famous antic scenes – The Judgement of Paris, The Kidnap of Helen, The Conquer of Troy and The Escape of Aeneid.
After Lobkowitz family, the palace belonged to Petr Vok from Rozmberk dynasty, Svamberk dynasty, Eggenberg dynasty and from 1719 – 1948 to Schwarzenberg dynasty after which it’s called. From 1909 the palace was used by the Technical museum, now it belongs to the National Gallery in Prague. However, the palace is under reconstruction now and that’s why it’s closed to the public now." Source
All pictures clickable.
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"Das dreiflüglige Gebäude wurde nach dem großen Burgbrand von 1541 nach Plänen von Augustin Vlach (Agostino Galli) für die böhmische Adelsfamilie Lobkowitz in den Jahren 1545–1567 als Stadtresidenz errichtet. Als eines der ersten Gebäude in Prag wurde es im Stil der italienischen Renaissance erbaut. Die Wände sind mit schwarzen Sgraffiti bemalt und täuschen damit ein regelmäßiges Natursteinmauerwerk aus sogenannten Diamantquadern, eine besondere Form von Buckelquadern vor. Auf den Treppengiebeln findet sich reicher Figurenschmuck. Auch im Inneren des Gebäudes haben sich reiche Deckenmalereien aus der Zeit um 1580 erhalten.
1719 gelangte das Palais durch Heirat in den Besitz der Familie Schwarzenberg, die im Jahr 1811 auch das benachbarte Palais Salm erwarb. Nach der kommunistischen Machtergreifung wurde das Gebäude in ein militärhistorisches Museum umgewandelt. Im Jahr 2002 ging das Haus an die Nationalgalerie Prag. Eine Generalsanierung erfolgte und ab 2008 sollen die Räumlichkeiten als Kunstgalerie dienen." Wikipedia
Alle Bilder anklickbar.
Coat of arms of Portugal on the facade of Mosteiro de Alcobaça (Alcobaça Monastery), full name Real Abadia de Santa Maria de Alcobaça (Royal Abbey of Saint Mary of Alcobaça), Alcobaça, Portugal.
----citation from en.wikipedia.org----
The Alcobaça Monastery (Portuguese: Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça) is a Mediaeval Roman Catholic Monastery located in the town of Alcobaça, in central Portugal. It was founded by the first Portuguese King, Afonso Henriques, in 1153, and maintained a close association with the Kings of Portugal throughout its history.
The church and monastery were the first Gothic buildings in Portugal, and, together with the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, it was one of the most important of the mediaeval monasteries in Portugal. Due to its artistic and historical importance, it was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1989.
...
Art and architecture
The Alcobaça Monastery was built following an early Gothic style, and represents the arrival of this style in Portugal. The church and other main buildings were constructed from 1178 until the end of the 13th century. The church was consecrated in 1252. Following the precepts of the Order of Cistercians, the original monastic buildings were built under clean architectonic lines, without any decoration apart from some capital sculpture and a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Exterior
The main façade of the Monastery has two plain-style wings with the church in the middle. The façade of the church is a mix of styles: the portal and the rose window above were part of the original church, while the statues and the two flanking towers were added in the beginning of the 18th century. The side walls of the church have crenellations and the apse has eight flying butresses to support the weight of the vault of the apse, a typical feature of Gothic architecture.
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Alcobaça monastery is inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO.
----citation from whc.unesco.org----
By virtue of its magnificent dimensions, the clarity of the architectural style, the beauty of the material used and the care with which it was built, the Cistercian Monastery of Santa Maria d'Alcobaça is a masterpiece of Gothic Cistercian art. It bears witness to the spread of an aesthetic style that developed in Burgundy at the time of St Bernard and to the survival of the ascetic ideal which characterized the order's early establishments such as Fontenay. The tombs of Dom Pedro and Doña Inés de Castro are among the most beautiful of Gothic funerary sculptures.
The monastery is also an outstanding example of a great Cistercian establishment with a unique infrastructure of hydraulic systems and functional buildings. Deservedly renowned, the 18th-century kitchen adds to the interest of the group of monastic buildings from the medieval period (cloister and lavabo, chapter room, parlour, dormitory, the monks' room and the refectory).
----end of citation----
Natur und Kultur in Mittelportugal (Nature and Culture in Mid-Portugal), Wikinger-Reisen, September 2011
Records from 1209 indicate the existence of St. Peter's Church (Svētā Pētera baznīca) in some form. The middle section was built during the 13th century. The church was mostly rebuilt and expanded in a Gothic style in the 15th century. The sanctuary was completed in 1473 and the tower in 1491. The collapse of the tower in 1666 ushered in a new phase of construction: between 1691 and 1690, some Baroque additions were made, such as the new tower and the western façade. The church was severely damaged in 1941; restoration lasted until 1991.
Pinnacles in different colours (and of different ages). By the way: the south side of the cathedral (which we see here) is much more ornamented than the north side. The reason why is that the cathedral marked the city limits of Cologne during the middle ages. The town was south of the cathedral whereas the opposite side faced the outer world. Apparently it seemed more adequate to please the eyes of the residents than to attract the foreigners...
We had the pleasure to be guided over the roof and through the attic storey of the wonderful cathedral. The oldest parts of this world famous building are from 1248 but the huge church was not finished before 1880. The site is a place of worship for ca. 1700 years now because the Romans built the first temple in this very place.
Records from 1209 indicate the existence of St. Peter's Church (Svētā Pētera baznīca) in some form. The middle section was built during the 13th century. The church was mostly rebuilt and expanded in a Gothic style in the 15th century. The sanctuary was completed in 1473 and the tower in 1491. The collapse of the tower in 1666 ushered in a new phase of construction: between 1691 and 1690, some Baroque additions were made, such as the new tower and the western façade. The church was severely damaged in 1941; restoration lasted until 1991.
The famous pub and brewery U Fleků, Křemencova 11, New Town (Nové Město), Prague (Praha), Czech Republic.
The Historic Centre of Prague is inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO.
Citation from whc.unesco.org/en/list/616
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Built between the 11th and 18th centuries, the Old Town, the Lesser Town and the New Town speak of the great architectural and cultural influence enjoyed by this city since the Middle Ages. The many magnificent monuments, such as Hradcani Castle, St Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge and numerous churches and palaces, built mostly in the 14th century under the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV.
Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe in terms of its setting on both banks of the Vltava River, its townscape of burger houses and palaces punctuated by towers, and its individual buildings.
The Historic Centre represents a supreme manifestation of Medieval urbanism (the New Town of Emperor Charles IV built as the New Jerusalem). The Prague architectural works of the Gothic Period (14th and 15th centuries), of the High Baroque of the 1st half of the 18th century and of the rising modernism after the year 1900, influenced the development of Central Europe, perhaps even all European architecture. Prague represents one of the most prominent world centres of creative life in the field of urbanism and architecture across generations, human mentality and beliefs.
Prague belongs to the group of historic cities which have preserved the structure of their development until the present times. Within the core of Prague, successive stages of growth and changes have respected the original grand-scale urban structure of the Early Middle Ages. This structure was essentially and greatly enlarged with urban activities in the High Gothic period with more additions during the High Baroque period and in the 19th century. It has been saved from any large-scale urban renewal or massive demolitions and thus preserves its overall configuration, pattern and spatial composition.
In the course of the 1100 years of its existence, Prague’s development can be documented in the architectural expression of many historical periods and their styles. The city is rich in outstanding monuments from all periods of its history. Of particular importance are Prague Castle, the Cathedral of St Vitus, Hradćany Square in front of the Castle, the Valdgtejn Palace on the left bank of the river, the Gothic Charles Bridge, the Romanesque Rotunda of the Holy Rood, the Gothic arcaded houses round the Old Town Square, the High Gothic Minorite Church of St James in the Stark Mĕsto, the late 19th century buildings and town plan of the Nave Mĕsto.
As early as the Middle Ages, Prague became one of the leading cultural centres of Christian Europe. The Prague University, founded in 1348, is one of the earliest in Europe. The milieu of the University in the last quarter of the 14th century and the first years of the 15th century contributed among other things to the formation of ideas of the Hussite Movement which represented in fact the first steps of the European Reformation. As a metropolis of culture, Prague is connected with prominent names in art, science and politics, such as Charles IV, Petr Parléř, Jan Hus, Johannes Kepler, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Kafka, Antonín Dvořák, Albert Einstein, Edvard Beneš (co-founder of the League of Nations) and Václav Havel.
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End of citation
Suzhou Market Street (Suzhoujie) (苏州街)
Summer Palace ◊ 颐和园
Beijing
Over 60 stores extend from North Palace Gate entrance into a street about 300 meters (328.1 yards) in length. Along the Back Lake, the street design imitates the ancient style of shops on the banks of rivers in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, that is, taking the running water of Back Lake as the street and its banks as a market. The area served as an entertainment place where Emperors and concubines could feel as if they were strolling on a commercial street. When the royals went there, eunuchs and maids of honor would playact as peddlers, customers and shop assistants to mimic market activities.
Built during the reign of Qianlong (1711-1799), it was burned down by Anglo-French allied force in 1860. In 1986, it was rebuilt and in 1990 it was opened to the public. Today's market includes stores such as dyers, souvenir shops, drugstores, banks, shoe stores, teashops, and hockshops, with clerks dressed in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) costumes. www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/beijing/summer/suzhou...
03.31 1129
Puebla - Mexico
All my photos are under full copyright. All rights are reserved.
If you are interested in my photos, please contact me via flickr-mail.
Puebla - Mexico
All my photos are under full copyright. All rights are reserved.
If you are interested in my photos, please contact me via flickr-mail.
St. Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas' Church) at night. Hanseatic Town of Stralsund, district of Vorpommern-Rügen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Germany.
St. Nikolaikirche was built in Northern German Brick Gothic style. It's the oldest of Stralsund's main churches. Being the main church of the local council, St. Nikolaikirche is closely connected to the town hall.
----quotation from en.wikipedia.org:----
The town of Stralsund lies in Northeast Germany in the region of Western Pomerania in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
...
The town lies on the sound of Strelasund, a strait of the Baltic Sea. Its geographic proximity to the island of Rügen, whose only fixed link to the mainland, the Strelasund Crossing, runs between Stralsund and the village of Altefähr, has given Stralsund the sobriquet "Gateway to the Island of Rügen" (Tor zur Insel Rügen). Stralsund lies close to the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park.
A municipal forest and three municipal ponds (the Knieperteich, Frankenteich and Moorteich) belong to the Stralsund's town borough . The three ponds and the Strelasund lend the Old Town, the original settlement site and historic centre of the town, a protected island location.
...
The centre of Stralsund has a wealth of historic buildings. Since 1990, large parts of the historic old town have been renovated with private and public capital, and with the support of foundations. As a result of the contempt for historic buildings in East Germany many houses were threatened by ruin. The Old Town in particular, offers a rich variety of historic buildings, with many former merchants' houses, churches, streets and squares. Of more than 800 listed buildings in Stralsund, more than 500 are designated as individual monuments in the Old Town. In twenty years, from the Wende in 1990 to November 2010, 588 of the more than 1,000 old buildings were completely refurbished, including 363 individual monuments. Because of its historical and architectural significance, in 2002 Stralsund's old town together with the old town of Wismar were added to entitled the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list as the "Historic Centres of Stralsund and Wismar".
----end of quotation----
----quotation from whc.unesco.org:----
The medieval towns of Wismar and Stralsund, on the Baltic coast of northern Germany, were major trading centres of the Hanseatic League in the 14th and 15th centuries. In the 17th and 18th centuries they became Swedish administrative and defensive centres for the German territories. They contributed to the development of the characteristic building types and techniques of Brick Gothic in the Baltic region, as exemplified in several important brick cathedrals, the Town Hall of Stralsund, and the series of houses for residential, commercial and crafts use, representing its evolution over several centuries.
----end of quotation----
Stralsund short trip October 2012
Visita micamara.es/alemania/ para saber mas de Alemania y de mas lugares que quiero compartir y he viajado.
Backrest of old chairs in Roter Saal (Red Saloon) of Lübeck Rathaus (town hall), Hanseatic City of Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
The backrests show the coat of arms of Lübeck, the two-headede imperial eagle which is a symbol of Lübeck's (former) imperial immediacy.
The town hall of Lübeck is one of the largest and most significant town halls of Germany. It was a model for many other town halls in the Baltic Sea region.
Over the years, Lübeck town hall was extended several times. The largest part was built in brick gothic style, but some parts were also built with sandstone in Renaissance style.
The old city center of Lübeck is in great parts inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO. A plan of the inscribed zones can be found here: whc.unesco.org/download.cfm?id_document=102311
---quotation from whc.unesco.org:---
Lübeck – the former capital and Queen City of the Hanseatic League – was founded in the 12th century and prospered until the 16th century as the major trading centre for northern Europe. It has remained a centre for maritime commerce to this day, particularly with the Nordic countries. Despite the damage it suffered during the Second World War, the basic structure of the old city, consisting mainly of 15th- and 16th-century patrician residences, public monuments (the famous Holstentor brick gate), churches and salt storehouses, remains unaltered.
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Sightseeing tour with Ralph on Good Friday 2016.
Deutschlandfahne und einige Fahnen deutscher Bundesländer.
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Das Deutsche Eck ist das Wahrzeichen der Stadt Koblenz und bedeutender Anziehungspunkt für Touristen.
Das Deutsche Eck ist eine künstlich aufgeschüttete Landzunge an der Mündung der Mosel in den Rhein. Im Jahr 1897 wurde hier ein monumentales Reiterstandbild des Deutschen Kaisers Wilhelm I. errichtet, das als Denkmal für die Deutsche Reichsgründung 1871 konzipiert war. Das von der Rheinprovinz in Auftrag gegebene Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal stand in Tradition von vielen zwischen 1888 und 1918 im deutschsprachigen Raum errichteten Denkmälern.
Der Sockel des im Zweiten Weltkrieg schwer beschädigten Standbildes diente von 1953 bis 1990 als Mahnmal der Deutschen Einheit. Eine Nachbildung der Skulpturengruppe wurde 1993 nach vorausgegangenen kontroversen Diskussionen wieder auf dem Sockel angebracht. ( von der etwas tiefer gelegenen Besucherplattform wurde dieses Foto aufgenommen )
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsches_Eck
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Seit 2002 ist das Deutsche Eck Teil des UNESCO-Welterbe - Oberes Mittelrheintal,
des Weiteren ist es ein geschütztes Kulturgut nach der Haager Konvention.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welterbe_Kulturlandschaft_Oberes_Mi...
.
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Das Deutsche Eck - El Rincón Alemán - en la desembocadura del río Mosel en el río Rin
La bandera de Alemania y las banderas de algunos estados alemanes.
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El Rincón Alemán, das Deutsche Eck en lengua alemana, es el símbolo de la ciudad Koblenz y una gran atracción para los turistas.
El Rincón Alemán
es un promontorio elevado artificialmente, en la confluencia del Mosela y el Rin. En 1897, una estatua monumental del emperador alemán Wilhelm I, se construyó, que fue diseñado como un monumento a los alemanes 1871a Imperio. El Kaiser-Wilhelm-monumento de pie en la tradición de muchos de los monumentos alemanes construyeron entre 1888 y 1918.
La base de la Segunda Guerra Mundial dañó severamente la estatua sirvió desde 1953 hasta 1990 como un monumento a la unidad alemana. Una réplica del grupo escultórico se instaló en 1993 después de los debates anteriores calienta de nuevo a la base. en general 37 metros de altura, 14 m representó para la estatua de jinete en bronce ( desde el mirador a los pies de la estatua, esta foto fue tomada )
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Desde 2002, el "Rincón Alemán" es un parte de Paisaje cultural del Valle Superior del Medio Rin ( Oberes Mittelrheintal ), también conocido como el Rin romántico desde este año recibir el titulo de UNESCO - Patrimonio de la Humanidad
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rin_rom%C3%A1ntico
.
Mural on the wall of Švejk Restaurant "Malostranská pivnice" (Lesser Town Ale House), Cihelná 3, Lesser Town (Malá Strana), Prague (Praha), Czech Republic.
Švejk is the main character of the czech satirical anti-war novel The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek and is regarded as a typical Prague character.
The Historic Centre of Prague is inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO.
Citation from whc.unesco.org/en/list/616
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Built between the 11th and 18th centuries, the Old Town, the Lesser Town and the New Town speak of the great architectural and cultural influence enjoyed by this city since the Middle Ages. The many magnificent monuments, such as Hradcani Castle, St Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge and numerous churches and palaces, built mostly in the 14th century under the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV.
Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe in terms of its setting on both banks of the Vltava River, its townscape of burger houses and palaces punctuated by towers, and its individual buildings.
The Historic Centre represents a supreme manifestation of Medieval urbanism (the New Town of Emperor Charles IV built as the New Jerusalem). The Prague architectural works of the Gothic Period (14th and 15th centuries), of the High Baroque of the 1st half of the 18th century and of the rising modernism after the year 1900, influenced the development of Central Europe, perhaps even all European architecture. Prague represents one of the most prominent world centres of creative life in the field of urbanism and architecture across generations, human mentality and beliefs.
Prague belongs to the group of historic cities which have preserved the structure of their development until the present times. Within the core of Prague, successive stages of growth and changes have respected the original grand-scale urban structure of the Early Middle Ages. This structure was essentially and greatly enlarged with urban activities in the High Gothic period with more additions during the High Baroque period and in the 19th century. It has been saved from any large-scale urban renewal or massive demolitions and thus preserves its overall configuration, pattern and spatial composition.
In the course of the 1100 years of its existence, Prague’s development can be documented in the architectural expression of many historical periods and their styles. The city is rich in outstanding monuments from all periods of its history. Of particular importance are Prague Castle, the Cathedral of St Vitus, Hradćany Square in front of the Castle, the Valdgtejn Palace on the left bank of the river, the Gothic Charles Bridge, the Romanesque Rotunda of the Holy Rood, the Gothic arcaded houses round the Old Town Square, the High Gothic Minorite Church of St James in the Stark Mĕsto, the late 19th century buildings and town plan of the Nave Mĕsto.
As early as the Middle Ages, Prague became one of the leading cultural centres of Christian Europe. The Prague University, founded in 1348, is one of the earliest in Europe. The milieu of the University in the last quarter of the 14th century and the first years of the 15th century contributed among other things to the formation of ideas of the Hussite Movement which represented in fact the first steps of the European Reformation. As a metropolis of culture, Prague is connected with prominent names in art, science and politics, such as Charles IV, Petr Parléř, Jan Hus, Johannes Kepler, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Kafka, Antonín Dvořák, Albert Einstein, Edvard Beneš (co-founder of the League of Nations) and Václav Havel.
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End of citation
Quedlinburg Castle, Quedlinburg in the Harz mountains, Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Germany.
Quedlinburg is a beautiful medieval town in the north of the Harz mountains. With its many half-timbered houses, the Quedlinburg castle (which later became a house of secular canonesses) and the Romanesque Collegiate Church of St. Servatius it is inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO.
----quotation from whc.unesco.org:----
Quedlinburg, in the Land of Sachsen-Anhalt, was a capital of the East Franconian German Empire at the time of the Saxonian-Ottonian ruling dynasty. It has been a prosperous trading town since the Middle Ages. The number and high quality of the timber-framed buildings make Quedlinburg an exceptional example of a medieval European town. The Collegiate Church of St Servatius is one of the masterpieces of Romanesque architecture. (...)
The importance of Quedlinburg rests on three main elements: the preservation of the medieval street pattern; the wealth of urban vernacular buildings, especially timber-framed houses of the 16th and 17th centuries, and the important Romanesque collegiate church of St Servatius. The original urban layout is remarkably well preserved: it is a classic example of the growth of European medieval towns. The history of the medieval and early modern town is perfectly illustrated by the street pattern of the present-day town. (...)
Situated in a hilly region to the north of the Harz Mountains, the villa Quitilingaburg is first mentioned in 922 in an official document of Henry I (the Fowler), who was elected German King in 919. He built a castle on what became known as the Castle Hill (Burgberg), one of the two sandstone hills that overlook the Harz valley, and this became one of his favourite residences. It became the capital of the East Franconian German Empire and was the place where many important political and religious assemblies and festivals took place. The town owes its wealth and importance during the Middle Ages to Henry I and his successors. German Kings are known to have stayed at Quedlinburg on 69 occasions between 922 and 1207.
On the death of Henry I in 936 his widow Mathilde remained in Quedlinburg at the collegiate church of St Servatius on the Castle Hill, founded by Henry's son and successor Otto I as a collegial establishment for unmarried daughters of the nobility. It was to become one of the most influential foundations of its type in the Holy Roman Empire. From 944 the abbesses (many of whom were members of the Imperial family and were buried in the crypt of the church) had the right to mint coins at Quedlinburg.
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Harz weekend June 2012
This Jugendstil (Art Nouveu) building in Riga was designed by the German-Baltic architect Mihails Eizenšteins (Mikhail Eisenstein; 1867—1921) and built in 1906. Eizenšteins was the father of the Soviet film director Sergei Eisenstein.
www.jugendstils.riga.lv/lat/JugendstilsRiga/eizensteins/a...
A puppet made of bread and rolls: nice autumn decoration of Stadtbäckerei Junge ("city bakery Junge") in Breite Straße, Hanseatic City of Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
The old city center of Lübeck is in great parts inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO. A plan of the inscribed zones can be found here: whc.unesco.org/download.cfm?id_document=102311
---quotation from whc.unesco.org:---
Lübeck – the former capital and Queen City of the Hanseatic League – was founded in the 12th century and prospered until the 16th century as the major trading centre for northern Europe. It has remained a centre for maritime commerce to this day, particularly with the Nordic countries. Despite the damage it suffered during the Second World War, the basic structure of the old city, consisting mainly of 15th- and 16th-century patrician residences, public monuments (the famous Holstentor brick gate), churches and salt storehouses, remains unaltered.
---end of quotation---
Sightseeing tour with Seppo and Merja on 15 September 2013.
Stained glass window of Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitória (Monastery of Saint Mary of Victory), better known as Mosteiro da Batalha (Monastery of Batalha, literally Monastery of the Battle), Batalha, Portugal.
Batalha monastery is inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO.
---citation from whc.unesco.org---
The Monastery of the Dominicans of Batalha was built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese over the Castilians at the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. It was to be the Portuguese monarchy's main building project for the next two centuries. Here a highly original, national Gothic style evolved, profoundly influenced by Manueline art, as demonstrated by its masterpiece, the Royal Cloister.
---end of citation---
-----citation from en.wikipedia.org-----
Nave and choir
The church is vast and narrow (22m) in proportion to its height (32.4 m). The nave was raised to its present height by the second architect Huguet, altering the proportions of the church and giving it its present aspect. Its interior gives a sober and bare impression by its complete lack of ornaments and statues in the nave. The ribbed vaults, supported by compound piers, are closed by ornamented keystones. Light enters the church through ten stained-glass windows of the clerestory and the tall, traceried windows in the side walls and the transept and through the two rows of lanciform windows in the choir. The choir extends into two-bay transepts and consists of five apsidal chapels, with the central one projecting.
Batalha probably had the first workshop for stained-glass windows in Portugal. The art was introduced in Portugal by German artists from the regions of Franconia and Nuremberg. The oldest windows date back to the end of the 1430s. But the Manueline, ogival stained-glass windows in the choir date from the 1520s and 1530s and were produced by Portuguese masters, among them Francisco Henriques. They represent scenes from the lives of Christ and Mary: the Visitation, the Epiphany, the Flight to Egypt and the Resurrection of Christ.
The architect Mateus Fernandes and his wife are buried under a marble tomb-slab close to the portal. The tomb of the knight Martim Gonçalves de Maçada, who saved the king's life during the battle at Aljubarrota, can be found close to the Capela do Fundador.
----end of citation----
Natur und Kultur in Mittelportugal (Nature and Culture in Mid-Portugal), Wikinger-Reisen, September 2011
Baroque iron candle holder, Heilgeistkirche (Church of the Holy Spirit), Hanseatic Town of Stralsund, district of Vorpommern-Rügen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Germany.
Along with the Heiligen-Geist-Hospital in Lübeck, the Heilgeisthospital (Hospital of the Holy Spirit) of Stralsund is one of the best-preserved of its kind in the southern Baltic region. Although mostly called "Heilgeistkloster" (Monastery of the Holy Spirit) today, it never was a monastery in the true sense of the meaning. It had always been municipal property, and its purpose was to be a hospital, an old people's home, almshouse and poorhouse.
The Heilgeistkirche (Church of the Holy Spirit) is the oldest part of the hospital. The surrounding walls were built around 1650, on top of remains dating from the 14th century.
The small four-bayed and three-naved hall church has a straight apsis and is equipped with a baroque retable from around 1770. In addition to the main portal on the west facade, the church has another portal and two doors at the east gallery which lead to the so-called "Kirchgang" (church passageway). This passage is framed by two parallel two-storey buildings which used to accomodate ill and old people. The direct connection to the church ensured that the inhabitants not only received physical care but - according to medieval belief - in the first place got care for their souls.
A door at the east of the passageway seperated it from the other buildings of the hospital complex which were reserved for strangers in need (Fremdenhaus/Elendenhaus - house of the strangers/house of the miserables).
Today, after being restored in the 1990s, the buildings of the church passageway and the other hospital buildings are fitted with apartments, and the church is used for service by the parish of Heilgeist-Jakobi.
----quotation from en.wikipedia.org:----
The town of Stralsund lies in Northeast Germany in the region of Western Pomerania in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
...
The town lies on the sound of Strelasund, a strait of the Baltic Sea. Its geographic proximity to the island of Rügen, whose only fixed link to the mainland, the Strelasund Crossing, runs between Stralsund and the village of Altefähr, has given Stralsund the sobriquet "Gateway to the Island of Rügen" (Tor zur Insel Rügen). Stralsund lies close to the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park.
A municipal forest and three municipal ponds (the Knieperteich, Frankenteich and Moorteich) belong to the Stralsund's town borough . The three ponds and the Strelasund lend the Old Town, the original settlement site and historic centre of the town, a protected island location.
...
The centre of Stralsund has a wealth of historic buildings. Since 1990, large parts of the historic old town have been renovated with private and public capital, and with the support of foundations. As a result of the contempt for historic buildings in East Germany many houses were threatened by ruin. The Old Town in particular, offers a rich variety of historic buildings, with many former merchants' houses, churches, streets and squares. Of more than 800 listed buildings in Stralsund, more than 500 are designated as individual monuments in the Old Town. In twenty years, from the Wende in 1990 to November 2010, 588 of the more than 1,000 old buildings were completely refurbished, including 363 individual monuments. Because of its historical and architectural significance, in 2002 Stralsund's old town together with the old town of Wismar were added to entitled the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list as the "Historic Centres of Stralsund and Wismar".
----end of quotation----
----quotation from whc.unesco.org:----
The medieval towns of Wismar and Stralsund, on the Baltic coast of northern Germany, were major trading centres of the Hanseatic League in the 14th and 15th centuries. In the 17th and 18th centuries they became Swedish administrative and defensive centres for the German territories. They contributed to the development of the characteristic building types and techniques of Brick Gothic in the Baltic region, as exemplified in several important brick cathedrals, the Town Hall of Stralsund, and the series of houses for residential, commercial and crafts use, representing its evolution over several centuries.
----end of quotation----
Stralsund short trip October 2012
Female gargoyle of Gothic Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral), official name Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria (High Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Mary), Köln (Cologne), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Germany.
Cologne Cathedral is inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO.
------quotation from whc.unesco.org/en/list/292:------
Begun in 1248, the construction of this Gothic masterpiece took place in several stages and was not completed until 1880. Over seven centuries, successive builders were inspired by the same faith and a spirit of absolute fidelity to the original plans. Apart from its exceptional intrinsic value and the artistic masterpieces it contains, Cologne Cathedral testifies to the enduring strength of European Christianity.
(...)
Cologne Cathedral is a High Gothic five-aisled basilica, with a projecting transept and a two-tower facade. The construction is totally unified. The western section, begun in 1330, changes in style, but this is not perceptible in the overall building. The 19th-century work followed the medieval forms and techniques faithfully. The original liturgical appointments of the choir are still extant to a considerable degree. These include the high altar on an enormous monolithic slab of black marble, the carved-oak choir stalls (1308-11), the painted choir screens (1332-40), the 14 statues on the pillars in the choir (1270-90), and the stained-glass windows, the largest extant cycle of 14th-century windows in Europe. There is an outstanding series of tombs of 12 archbishops between 976 and 1612.
(...)
During World War II the cathedral suffered tremendous damage during air-raids: no fewer than fourteen heavy bombs reduced it to a pitiful state. Restoration and reconstruction work rendered the chevet usable in time for the centenary celebrations in 1948, but the remainder of the building was not restored fully until 1956.
------end of quotation------
September 2007