The Château de Chambord in Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France, is one of the most recognisable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures. The building, which was never completed, was constructed by the king of France, Francis I.

 

Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley; it was built to serve as a hunting lodge for Francis I, who maintained his royal residences at the Château de Blois and Amboise. The original design of the Château de Chambord is attributed to Italian architect Domenico da Cortona; Leonardo da Vinci may also have been involved or influenced the design.

 

Chambord was altered considerably during the twenty-eight years of its construction (1519–1547), during which it was overseen on-site by Pierre Neveu. With the château nearing completion, Francis showed off his enormous symbol of wealth and power by hosting his old archrival, Emperor Charles V, at Chambord.

 

In 1792, in the wake of the French Revolution, some of the furnishings were sold and timber removed. For a time the building was left abandoned, though in the 19th century some attempts were made at restoration. During the Second World War, art works from the collections of the Louvre and the Château de Compiègne were moved to the Château de Chambord. The château is now open to the public, receiving 700,000 visitors in 2007. Flooding in June 2016 damaged the grounds but not the château itself.

 

Who designed the Château de Chambord is a matter of controversy. The original design is attributed, though with several doubts, to Domenico da Cortona, whose wooden model for the design survived long enough to be drawn by André Félibien in the 17th century. In the drawings of the model, the main staircase of the keep is shown with two straight, parallel flights of steps separated by a passage and is located in one of the arms of the cross. According to Jean-Guillaume, this Italian design was later replaced with the centrally located spiral staircase, which is similar to that at Blois, and a design more compatible with the French preference for spectacular grand staircases. However, "at the same time the result was also a triumph of the centralised layout—itself a wholly Italian element." In 1913 Marcel Reymond suggested that Leonardo da Vinci, a guest of Francis at Clos Lucé near Amboise, was responsible for the original design, which reflects Leonardo's plans for a château at Romorantin for the King's mother, and his interests in central planning and double-spiral staircases; the discussion has not yet concluded, although many scholars now agree that Leonardo was at least responsible for the design of the central staircase.

 

Archaeological findings by Jean-Sylvain Caillou & Dominic Hofbauer have established that the lack of symmetry of some façades derives from an original design, abandoned shortly after the construction began, and which ground plan was organised around the central staircase following a central gyratory symmetry. Such a rotative design has no equivalent in architecture at this period of history, and appears reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci's works on hydraulic turbines or the helicopter. Had it been respected, it is believed that this unique building could have featured the quadruple-spiral open staircase, strangely described by John Evelyn and Andrea Palladio, although it was never built.

 

Regardless of who designed the château, on 6 September 1519 Francis de Pontbriand was ordered to begin construction of the Château de Chambord. The work was interrupted by the Italian War of 1521–1526, and work was slowed by dwindling royal funds and difficulties in laying the structure's foundations. By 1524, the walls were barely above ground level. Building resumed in September 1526, at which point 1,800 workers were employed in building the château. At the time of the death of King Francis I in 1547, the work had cost 444,070 livres.

 

The château was built to act as a hunting lodge for King Francis I; however, the king spent barely seven weeks there in total, that time consisting of short hunting visits. As the château had been constructed with the purpose of short stays, it was not practical to live in on a longer-term basis. The massive rooms, open windows and high ceilings meant heating was impractical. Similarly, as the château was not surrounded by a village or estate, there was no immediate source of food other than game. This meant that all food had to be brought with the group, typically numbering up to 2,000 people at a time.

 

As a result of all the above, the château was completely unfurnished during this period. All furniture, wall coverings, eating implements and so forth were brought specifically for each hunting trip, a major logistical exercise. It is for this reason that much furniture from the era was built to be disassembled to facilitate transportation. After Francis died of a heart attack in 1547, the château was not used for almost a century.

 

For more than 80 years after the death of King Francis I, French kings abandoned the château, allowing it to fall into decay. Finally, in 1639 King Louis XIII gave it to his brother, Gaston d'Orléans, who saved the château from ruin by carrying out much restoration work.

 

King Louis XIV had the great keep restored and furnished the royal apartments. The king then added a 1,200-horse stable, enabling him to use the château as a hunting lodge and a place to entertain a few weeks each year, for example Molière presented the premiere of his celebrated comedy, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme here. Nonetheless, Louis XIV abandoned the château in 1685.

 

From 1725 to 1733, Stanislas Leszczyński (Stanislas I), the deposed King of Poland and the father-in-law of King Louis XV, lived at Chambord. In 1745, as a reward for valour, the king gave the château to Maurice de Saxe, Marshal of France who installed his military regiment there. Maurice de Saxe died in 1750, and once again the colossal château sat empty for many years.

 

In 1792, the Revolutionary government ordered the sale of the furnishings; the wall panellings were removed and even floors were taken up and sold for the value of their timber, and, according to M de la Saussaye, the panelled doors were burned to keep the rooms warm during the sales; the empty château was left abandoned until Napoleon Bonaparte gave it to his subordinate, Louis Alexandre Berthier. The château was subsequently purchased from his widow for the infant Duke of Bordeaux, Henri Charles Dieudonné (1820–1883) who took the title Comte de Chambord. A brief attempt at restoration and occupation was made by his grandfather King Charles X (1824–1830) but in 1830 both were exiled. In Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea, published in the 1830s, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow remarked on the dilapidation that had set in: "all is mournful and deserted. The grass has overgrown the pavement of the courtyard, and the rude sculpture upon the walls is broken and defaced". During the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) the château was used as a field hospital.

 

The final attempt to make use of the colossus came from the Comte de Chambord, but after the Comte died in 1883, the château was left to his sister's heirs, the titular Dukes of Parma, then resident in Austria. First left to Robert, Duke of Parma, who died in 1907 and after him, Elias, Prince of Parma. Any attempts at restoration ended with the onset of World War I in 1914. The Château de Chambord was confiscated as enemy property in 1915, but the family of the Duke of Parma sued to recover it, and that suit was not settled until 1932; restoration work was not begun until a few years after World War II ended in 1945. The Château and surrounding areas, some 5,440 hectares (13,400 acres; 21.0 sq mi), have belonged to the French state since 1930.

 

In 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the art collections of the Louvre and Compiègne museums (including the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo) were stored at the Château de Chambord. An American B-24 Liberator bomber crashed onto the château lawn on 22 June 1944. The image of the château has been widely used to sell commodities from chocolate to alcohol and from porcelain to alarm clocks; combined with the various written accounts of visitors, this made Chambord one of the best known examples of France's architectural history. Today, Chambord is a major tourist attraction, and in 2007 around 700,000 people visited the château.

 

After unusually heavy rainfall, Chambord was closed to the public from 1 to 6 June 2016. The river Cosson, a tributary of the Loire, flooded its banks and the château's moat. Drone photography documented some of the peak flooding. The French Patrimony Foundation described effects of the flooding on Chambord's 13,000-acre property. The 20-mile wall around the château was breached at several points, metal gates were torn from their framing, and roads were damaged. Also, trees were uprooted and certain electrical and fire protection systems were put out of order. However, the château itself and its collections reportedly were undamaged. The foundation observed that paradoxically the natural disaster affected Francis I's vision that Chambord appears to rise from the waters as if it were diverting the Loire. Repairs are expected to cost upwards of a quarter-million dollars.

 

The Château de Chambord has further influenced a number of architectural and decorative elements across Europe. Château de Chambord was the model for the reconstruction and new construction of the original Schwerin Palace between 1845 and 1857.

 

Yet in the later half of the 19th century, the château's style is seen proliferating across the United Kingdom, influencing the Founder's Building at Royal Holloway, University of London, designed by William Henry Crossland and the main building of Fettes College in Edinburgh, designed by David Bryce in 1870. Between 1874 and 1889, the country house in Buckinghamshire, Waddesdon Manor, was built with similar architectural frameworks as the Château de Chambord, disseminated via the architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur. For instance, the twin staircase towers, on the north façade, were inspired by the staircase tower at the Château.[36] However, following the theme of unparalleled luxury at Waddesdon, the windows of the towers at Waddesdon were glazed, unlike those of the staircase at Chambord, and were far more ornate.

 

Francis I (French: François Ier; Middle French: Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis XII, who died without a legitimate son.

 

A prodigious patron of the arts, he promoted the emergent French Renaissance by attracting many Italian artists to work for him, including Leonardo da Vinci, who brought the Mona Lisa, which Francis had acquired. Francis' reign saw important cultural changes with the growth of central power in France, the spread of humanism and Protestantism, and the beginning of French exploration of the New World. Jacques Cartier and others claimed lands in the Americas for France and paved the way for the expansion of the first French colonial empire.

 

For his role in the development and promotion of the French language, he became known as le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres (the 'Father and Restorer of Letters'). He was also known as François au Grand Nez ('Francis of the Large Nose'), the Grand Colas, and the Roi-Chevalier (the 'Knight-King').

 

In keeping with his predecessors, Francis continued the Italian Wars. The succession of his great rival Emperor Charles V to the Habsburg Netherlands and the throne of Spain, followed by his election as Holy Roman Emperor, led to France being geographically encircled by the Habsburg monarchy. In his struggle against Imperial hegemony, Francis sought the support of Henry VIII of England at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. When this was unsuccessful, he formed a Franco-Ottoman alliance with the Muslim sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, a controversial move for a Christian king at the time.

 

Early life and accession

Francis of Orléans was born on 12 September 1494 at the Château de Cognac in the town of Cognac, which at that time lay in the province of Saintonge, a part of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Today the town lies in the department of Charente.

 

Francis was the only son of Charles of Orléans, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy, and a great-great-grandson of King Charles V of France. His family was not expected to inherit the throne, as his third cousin King Charles VIII was still young at the time of his birth, as was his father's cousin the Duke of Orléans, later King Louis XII. However, Charles VIII died childless in 1498 and was succeeded by Louis XII, who himself had no male heir. The Salic Law prevented women from inheriting the throne. Therefore, the four-year-old Francis (who was already Count of Angoulême after the death of his own father two years earlier) became the heir presumptive to the throne of France in 1498 and was vested with the title of Duke of Valois.

 

In 1505, Louis XII, having fallen ill, ordered for his daughter Claude and Francis to be married immediately, but only through an assembly of nobles were the two engaged. Claude was heir presumptive to the Duchy of Brittany through her mother, Anne of Brittany. Following Anne's death, the marriage took place on 18 May 1514. On 1 January 1515, Louis died, and Francis inherited the throne. He was crowned King of France in the Cathedral of Reims on 25 January 1515, with Claude as his queen consort.

 

Reign

As Francis was receiving his education, ideas emerging from the Italian Renaissance were influential in France. Some of his tutors, such as François de Moulins de Rochefort (his Latin instructor, who later during the reign of Francis was named Grand Aumônier de France) and Christophe de Longueil (a Brabantian humanist), were attracted by these new ways of thinking and attempted to influence Francis. His academic education had been in arithmetic, geography, grammar, history, reading, spelling, and writing and he became proficient in Hebrew, Italian, Latin and Spanish. Francis came to learn chivalry, dancing, and music, and he loved archery, falconry, horseback riding, hunting, jousting, real tennis and wrestling. He ended up reading philosophy and theology and he was fascinated with art, literature, poetry and science. His mother, who had a high admiration for Italian Renaissance art, passed this interest on to her son. Although Francis did not receive a humanist education, he was more influenced by humanism than any previous French king.

 

Patron of the arts

By the time he ascended the throne in 1515, the Renaissance had arrived in France, and Francis became an enthusiastic patron of the arts. At the time of his accession, the royal palaces of France were ornamented with only a scattering of great paintings, and not a single sculpture, not ancient nor modern.

 

Francis patronized many great artists of his time, including Andrea del Sarto and Leonardo da Vinci; the latter of whom was persuaded to make France his home during his last years. While da Vinci painted very little during his years in France, he brought with him many of his greatest works, including the Mona Lisa (known in France as La Joconde), and these remained in France after his death. Other major artists to receive Francis' patronage included the goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini and the painters Rosso Fiorentino, Giulio Romano, and Primaticcio, all of whom were employed in decorating Francis' various palaces. He also invited architect Sebastiano Serlio, who enjoyed a fruitful late career in France. Francis also commissioned a number of agents in Italy to procure notable works of art and ship them to France.

 

Man of letters

Francis was also renowned as a man of letters. When he comes up in a conversation among characters in Baldassare Castiglione's Book of the Courtier, it is as the great hope to bring culture to the war-obsessed French nation. Not only did Francis support a number of major writers of the period, but he was also a poet himself, if not one of particular abilities. Francis worked diligently at improving the royal library. He appointed the great French humanist Guillaume Budé as chief librarian and began to expand the collection. Francis employed agents in Italy to look for rare books and manuscripts, just as he had agents looking for artworks. During his reign, the size of the library greatly increased. Not only did he expand the library, but there is also evidence that he read the books he bought for it, a much rarer event in the royal annals. Francis set an important precedent by opening his library to scholars from around the world in order to facilitate the diffusion of knowledge.

 

In 1537, Francis signed the Ordonnance de Montpellier, which decreed that his library be given a copy of every book to be sold in France. Francis' older sister, Marguerite, Queen of Navarre, was also an accomplished writer who produced the classic collection of short stories known as the Heptameron. Francis corresponded with the abbess and philosopher Claude de Bectoz, of whose letters he was so fond that he would carry them around and show them to the ladies of his court. Together with his sister, he visited her in Tarascon.

 

Construction

Francis poured vast amounts of money into new structures. He continued the work of his predecessors on the Château d'Amboise and also started renovations on the Château de Blois. Early in his reign, he began construction of the magnificent Château de Chambord, inspired by the architectural styles of the Italian Renaissance, and perhaps even designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Francis rebuilt the Louvre Palace, transforming it from a medieval fortress into a building of Renaissance splendour. He financed the building of a new City Hall (the Hôtel de Ville) for Paris in order to have control over the building's design. He constructed the Château de Madrid in the Bois de Boulogne and rebuilt the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The largest of Francis' building projects was the reconstruction and expansion of the Château de Fontainebleau, which quickly became his favourite place of residence, as well as the residence of his official mistress, Anne, Duchess of Étampes.

 

Military action

Although the Italian Wars (1494–1559) came to dominate the reign of Francis I, which he constantly participate at the forefront as le Roi-Chevalier, the wars were not the sole focus of his policies. He merely continued the wars that he succeeded from his predecessors and that his heir and successor on the throne, Henry II of France, would inherit after Francis' death. Indeed, the Italian Wars had begun when Milan sent a plea to King Charles VIII of France for protection against the aggressive actions of the King of Naples. Militarily and diplomatically, the reign of Francis I was a mixed bag of success and failure. Francis I tried and failed to become Holy Roman Emperor at the Imperial election of 1519, primarily due to his adversary Charles having threatened the electors with violence. However, there were also temporary victories, such as in the portion of the Italian Wars called the War of the League of Cambrai (1508–1516) and, more specifically, to the final stage of that war, which history refers to simply as "Francis' First Italian War" (1515–1516), when Francis routed the combined forces of the Papal States and the Old Swiss Confederacy at Marignano on 13–15 September 1515. This grand victory at Marignano allowed Francis I to capture the Italian city-state of Duchy of Milan. However, in November 1521, during the Four Years' War (1521–1526) and facing the advancing Imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire and open revolt within Milan, Francis I was forced to abandon Milan.

 

Much of the military activity of Francis's reign was focused on his sworn enemy, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Francis and Charles maintained an intense personal rivalry. Charles, in fact, brashly dared to challenge Francis to single combat multiple times. In addition to the Holy Roman Empire, Charles personally ruled Spain, Austria, and a number of smaller possessions neighbouring France. He was thus a constant threat to Francis I's kingdom.

 

Francis I attempted to arrange an alliance with Henry VIII at the famous meeting at the Field of Cloth of Gold on 7 June 1520, but despite a lavish fortnight of diplomacy they failed to reach an agreement. Francis I and Henry VIII both shared the dreams of power and chivalric glory; however their relationship featured intense personal and dynastic rivalry. Francis I was driven by his intense eagerness to retake Milan, despite the strong opposition of other powers. Henry VIII was likewise determined to recapture northern France, which Francis I could not allow.

 

However, the situation was grave; Francis I had to face not only the whole might of Western Europe, but also the internal hostility in form of Charles III de Bourbon, a capable commander who fought alongside Francis I as his constable at the great battle of Marignano, but defected to Charles V after his conflict with Francis I's mother over inheritance of Bourbon estates. Despite all this, the Kingdom of France still held the balance of power in its favour. Nevertheless, the defeat suffered from the cataclystic battle of Pavia on 24 February 1525, during part of the continuing Italian Wars known as the Four Years' War upheaved the political ground of Europe. He was actually taken prisoner: Cesare Hercolani injured his horse, and Francis I himself was subsequently captured by Charles de Lannoy. Some claims he was captured by Diego Dávila, Alonso Pita da Veiga, and Juan de Urbieta, from Guipúzcoa. For this reason, Hercolani was named "Victor of the battle of Pavia". Zuppa alla Pavese was supposedly invented on the spot to feed the captive king after the battle.

 

Francis I was held captive morbidly in Madrid. In a letter to his mother, he wrote, "Of all things, nothing remains to me but honour and life, which is safe." This line has come down in history famously as "All is lost save honour." Francis I was compelled to make major concessions to Charles in the Treaty of Madrid (1526), signed on 14 January, before he was freed on 17 March. An ultimatum from Ottoman Sultan Suleiman to Charles additionally played a role in his release. Francis I was forced to surrender any claims to Naples and Milan in Italy. Francis I was forced to recognised the independence of the Duchy of Burgundy, which had been part of France since the death of Charles the Bold in 1477. And finally, Francis I was betrothed to Charles' sister Eleanor. Francis I returned to France in exchange for his two sons, Francis and Henry, Duke of Orléans, the future Henry II of France, but once he was free he revoked the forced concessions as his agreement with Charles was made under duress. He also proclaimed that the agreement was void because his sons were taken hostage with the implication that his word alone could not be trusted. Thus he firmly repudiated it. A renewed alliance with England enabled Francis to repudiate the treaty of Madrid.

 

Francis persevered in his rivalry against Charles and his intent to control Italy. By the mid-1520s, Pope Clement VII wished to liberate Italy from foreign domination, especially that of Charles, so he allied with Venice to form the League of Cognac. Francis joined the League in May 1526, in the War of the League of Cognac of 1526–30. Francis' allies proved weak, and the war was ended by the Treaty of Cambrai (1529; "the Peace of the Ladies", negotiated by Francis’ mother and Charles’ aunt).The two princes were released, and Francis married Eleanor.

 

On 24 July 1534, Francis, inspired by the Spanish tercios and the Roman legions, issued an edict to form seven infantry Légions of 6,000 troops each, of which 12,000 of 42,000 were arquebusiers, testifying to the growing importance of gunpowder. The force was a national standing army, where any soldier could be promoted on the basis of vacancies, were paid wages by grade and granted exemptions from the taille and other taxes up to 20 sous, a heavy burden on the state budget.

 

After the League of Cognac failed, Francis concluded a secret alliance with the Landgrave of Hesse on 27 January 1534. This was directed against Charles on the pretext of assisting the Duke of Württemberg to regain his traditional seat, from which Charles had removed him in 1519. Francis also obtained the help of the Ottoman Empire and after the death of Francesco II Sforza, ruler of Milan, renewed the contest in Italy in the Italian War of 1536–1538. This round of fighting, which had little result, was ended by the Truce of Nice. The agreement collapsed, however, which led to Francis' final attempt on Italy in the Italian War of 1542–1546. Francis I managed to hold off the forces of Charles and Henry VIII. Charles was forced to sign the Treaty of Crépy because of his financial difficulties and conflicts with the Schmalkaldic League.

Crews are testing, polishing, and putting final touches on the passenger building one week before its opening.

And with these two photos I complete everything from the previous week that I wanted to upload.

 

Into a new week now... ;-)

NASA artist's concept of the crew capsule, at the onset of re-entry, nearing the completion of a “Lunar Return Mission”, aka “Lunar Landing”. The rendering was part of a presentation/paper entitled “A Rocket for Manned Lunar Exploration”, given by Milton W. Rosen and Francis C. Schwenk at the Tenth International Astronautical (Federation?) Congress in London, 31 August 1959.

 

The abstract:

 

"One of the significant human accomplishments of the next decade will be the manned exploration of the moon. Previously, the uncharted regions of the earth, the Arctic and Antarctic, the Amazon and Himalayas challenged the skill and fortitude of explorers. But these regions cannot long retain their status—the new frontier lies beyond the confines of our planet—on the nearest sizeable aggregation of matter in space—the moon.

 

Significantly, man’s exploration has been paced by his technical progress. The discovery of America was made possible by ships and sails of sufficient size and by advances, however crude, in the art of navigation. Oxygen masks made possible the conquest of Everest, and rockets—the exploration of the upper atmosphere.

 

The exploration of the moon is within view today. If it may be assumed that Project Mercury in the U.S.A. and similar efforts by the U.S.S.R. will establish that man can exist for limited periods of time in space, then a trip to the moon requires mainly the design, construction and proving of a large rocket vehicle.

 

In one concept of a manned lunar vehicle the entire mission, the trip to the moon and the return, is staged on the earth’s surface. A highly competitive technique, one favored by many engineers, is to stage the lunar mission by refueling in a low earth orbit. This would permit the use of a smaller launching vehicle but would require development of orbital rendezvous techniques. In any case, a vehicle of the larger type will be needed for lunar as well as other exploratory missions.

 

This paper presents a parametric study of vehicle scale for the direct flight manned lunar mission. The main parameter is the take-off thrust which is influenced by many factors; principally the propellants in the several stages and the flight trajectory. A close choice exists in the second stage where conventional and high energy propellants are compared. The size of the final stage and hence the entire vehicle is governed mainly by the method of approach to the earth’s surface, whether it is elliptic, parabolic or hyperbolic. The various methods are applied to an illustrative vehicle configuration.

 

Reliability will be a major factor in the success of any manned lunar flight. While no formula is proposed for improving component reliability, certain operational procedures can be used to advantage in enhancing the probability of a successful round trip to the moon."

 

Furthermore, the referenced M. W. Rosen is none other than Milton “Milt” Rosen, of Viking & Vanguard rocket ‘fame’. The real deal. Confirmation:

 

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Rosen

Credit: Wikipedia website

 

Francis C. Schwenk, originally of the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory/Lewis Research Center (Cleveland Rocks btw) appears to have been a prolific researcher & valued asset to NACA/NASA. He even worked on the Satellite Power System concept, as late as 1980! Super smart, motivated, with longevity; traits you want in a rocket scientist. Also the real deal.

 

Being part of a NASA presentation, I assume this to be in-house NASA artwork, which substantially reduces the likelihood of artist identification, especially for something from 1959. Damnit.

 

See:

 

www.alternatewars.com/SpaceRace/SP-4205/Chapter_01.htm

 

www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/ch1-2.html

 

Yet again, as all too often, a far superior article - at the following non-NASA site:

 

www.wired.com/2014/01/rosen-schwenks-moon-rocket-1959/amp

Credit: WIRED website

 

An unexpected & welcome surprise. Although not an artist’s identification, a small win nonetheless, filling in at least a few pieces of the historical puzzle.

Obviously, with the ‘space flight/exploration’ field wide open, there are quite a few creative & original presentations within:

 

link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-662-39914-9

 

Specifically:

 

link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-662-39914-9_27

Credit: Springer Nature Switzerland AG/Springer Link website

 

Last, but not least, the following obscure website appears to have the entire presentation available to view, which includes the imagery. Bravo:

 

dokumen.tips/reader/f/a-rocket-for-manned-lunar

Credit: Indonesia DOKUMEN website

 

HOWEVER, this presentation should reside & be readily available (i.e., free) at some NASA or otherwise ‘official’ site. Like what the NTRS once was.

Instead, it’s on an Indonesian document sharing site. Although I'm grateful that it is...you’re kidding me, really?

ODC. Almost Done.

Please.....View On Black

 

Only a few months now until our local college construction will be completed.

Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, UK.

 

Colour version is in comments.

 

Camera Olympus E-510

Exposure 60

Aperture f/22.0

Focal Length 14 mm

ISO Speed 100

B&W 10 stop ND filter.

winning.

A touch of old hollywood meets modern chic. This home came with extra personality in each space. We had fun creating her vision and the results were nothing short of Glamorous!

Nikon D5 | ISO 1000 | 500mm lens | f / 4.5 | 1/3200 second.

In the style of Colin Gray -with my own signature enhancements, we both became notable in the Cape Cod Region of Massachusetts. However, I am indebted to the antique dealer on Nantucket for his generous support to trust my work forwhich to have it collected worldwide.

Completion of the ISO rounds with rebranded Ferrania. I like this film. It's cheap.

 

Minolta SRTMC

Rebranded Ferrania Solaris 400 (Western Family)

The bar owner, John S'mullet checks out Betsy Chesty while she checks out the jukebox. The band isn't pleased. Betsy has recuperated from her embarrassing fall off of the stripper pole, but never recovered her dollar bills which S'mullet scrounged around the floor for while Betsy was in shock and distress...

Monorail Red near the completion of its journey to the EPCOT Center monorail station.

 

The goal of this image was to get the nose and tail of the monorail as it rounded the curve so that the nose is under the track. I sort of succeeded and will have to try again.

 

Thanks for looking. I appreciate feedback!

One of the oldest techniques in psychology, Sentence Completion often has been used to understand creativity, imagination, and personality.

 

How would you fill in the blank?

 

Simple Lines shawl is done. Due to poor lighting, there are only teaser-type images. :)

blogged:

mysistersknitter.typepad.com/my-blog/2013/06/off-the-need...

 

The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed (Russian: Собо́р Васи́лия Блаже́нного, tr. Sobór Vasíliya Blazhénnogo), commonly known as Saint Basil's Cathedral, is an Orthodox church in Red Square of Moscow, and is one of the most popular cultural symbols of Russia. The building, now a museum, is officially known as the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat, or Pokrovsky Cathedral. It was built from 1555 to 1561 on orders from Ivan the Terrible and commemorates the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan. Its completion, with its colors, was made in 1683. It was the city's tallest building until the completion of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in 1600.

 

The original building, known as Trinity Church and later Trinity Cathedral, contained eight chapels arranged around a ninth, central chapel dedicated to the Intercession; a tenth chapel was erected in 1588 over the grave of the venerated local saint Vasily (Basil). In the 16th and 17th centuries, because it was perceived as the earthly symbol of the Heavenly City, like all churches in Byzantine Christianity, the church was popularly known as the "Jerusalem" and served as an allegory of the Jerusalem Temple in the annual Palm Sunday parade attended by the Patriarch of Moscow and the Tsar.

 

The cathedral has nine domes (each one corresponding to a different church) and is shaped like the flame of a bonfire rising into the sky. Dmitry Shvidkovsky, in his book Russian Architecture and the West, states that "it is like no other Russian building. Nothing similar can be found in the entire millennium of Byzantine tradition from the fifth to the fifteenth century ... a strangeness that astonishes by its unexpectedness, complexity and dazzling interleaving of the manifold details of its design." The cathedral foreshadowed the climax of Russian national architecture in the 17th century.

 

As part of the program of state atheism, the church was confiscated from the Russian Orthodox community as part of the Soviet Union's antireligious campaigns and has operated as a division of the State Historical Museum since 1928. It was completely secularized in 1929, and remains a federal property of the Russian Federation. The church has been part of the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, weekly Orthodox Christian services with prayer to St. Basil have been restored since 1997.

 

Construction under Ivan IV

The site of the church had been, historically, a busy marketplace between the St. Frol's (later Saviour's) Gate of the Moscow Kremlin and the outlying posad. The centre of the marketplace was marked by the Trinity Church, built of the same white stone as the Kremlin of Dmitry Donskoy (1366–68) and its cathedrals. Tsar Ivan IV marked every victory of the Russo-Kazan War by erecting a wooden memorial church next to the walls of Trinity Church; by the end of his Astrakhan campaign, it was shrouded within a cluster of seven wooden churches. According to the report in Nikon's Chronicle, in the autumn of 1554 Ivan ordered the construction of the wooden Church of Intercession on the same site, "on the moat". One year later, Ivan ordered the construction of a new stone cathedral on the site of Trinity Church to commemorate his campaigns. Dedication of a church to a military victory was "a major innovation" for Muscovy. The placement of the church outside the Kremlin walls was a political statement in favour of posad commoners and against hereditary boyars.

 

Contemporary commentators clearly identified the new building as Trinity Church, after its easternmost sanctuary; the status of "katholikon" (собор, sobor, large assembly church) had not been bestowed on it yet:

 

On the Trinity on the Moat in Moscow.

In the same year, through the will of czar and lord and grand prince Ivan began making the pledged church, as he promised for the capture of Kazan: Trinity and Intercession and seven sanctuaries, also called "on the moat". And the builder was Barma with company.

 

— Piskaryov Chronicle, 1560 (7068 per Byzantine calendar)

The identity of the architect is unknown. Tradition held that the church was built by two architects, Barma and Postnik, the official Russian cultural heritage register lists "Barma and Postnik Yakovlev". Researchers proposed that both names refer to the same person, Postnik Yakovlev or, alternatively, Ivan Yakovlevich Barma (Varfolomey). Legend held that Ivan blinded the architect so that he could not re-create the masterpiece elsewhere. Many historians are convinced that it is a myth, as the architect later participated in the construction of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow as well as in building the walls and towers of the Kazan Kremlin. Postnik Yakovlev remained active at least throughout the 1560s. This myth likely originated with Jerome Horsey's account of Ivan III of Moscow having blinded the architect of the fortress of Ivangorod.

 

There is evidence that construction involved stonemasons from Pskov and German lands.

 

Architectural style

Because the church has no analog—in the preceding, contemporary, or later architecture of Muscovy and Byzantine cultural tradition, in general,—the sources that inspired Barma and Postnik are disputed. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc rejected European roots for the cathedral, opining that its corbel arches were Byzantine and ultimately Asian. A modern "Asian" hypothesis considers the cathedral a recreation of Qolşärif Mosque, which was destroyed by Russian troops after the Siege of Kazan.

 

Nineteenth-century Russian writers, starting with Ivan Zabelin,[5] emphasized the influence of the vernacular wooden churches of the Russian North; their motifs made their ways into masonry, particularly the votive churches that did not need to house substantial congregations. David Watkin also wrote of a blend of Russian and Byzantine roots, calling the cathedral "the climax" of Russian vernacular wooden architecture.

 

The church combines the staggered layered design of the earliest (1505–1508) part of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, the central tent of the Church of Ascension in Kolomenskoye (1530s), and the cylindric shape of the Church of Beheading of John the Baptist in Dyakovo (1547); but the origin of these unique buildings is equally debated. The Church in Kolomenskoye, according to Sergei Podyapolsky, was built by Italian Petrok Maly, although mainstream history has not yet accepted his opinion. Andrey Batalov revised the year of completion of Dyakovo church from 1547 to the 1560s–70s, and noted that Trinity Church could have had no tangible predecessors at all.

 

Dmitry Shvidkovsky suggested that the "improbable" shapes of the Intercession Church and the Church of Ascension in Kolomenskoye manifested an emerging national renaissance, blending earlier Muscovite elements with the influence of Italian Renaissance. A large group of Italian architects and craftsmen continuously worked in Moscow in 1474–1539, as well as Greek refugees who arrived in the city after the fall of Constantinople. These two groups, according to Shvidkovsky, helped Moscow rulers in forging the doctrine of Third Rome, which in turn promoted assimilation of contemporary Greek and Italian culture. Shvidkovsky noted the resemblance of the cathedral's floorplan to Italian concepts by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and Donato Bramante, but most likely Filarete's Trattato di architettura. Other Russian researchers noted a resemblance to sketches by Leonardo da Vinci, although he could not have been known in Ivan's Moscow. Nikolay Brunov recognized the influence of these prototypes but not their significance; he suggested that mid-16th century Moscow already had local architects trained in Italian tradition, architectural drawing and perspective, and that this culture was lost during the Time of Troubles.

 

Andrey Batalov wrote that judging by the number of novel elements introduced with Trinity Church, it was most likely built by German craftsmen. Batalov and Shvidkovsky noted that during Ivan's reign, Germans and Englishmen replaced Italians, although German influence peaked later during the reign of Mikhail Romanov. German influence is indirectly supported by the rusticated pilasters of the central church, a feature more common in contemporary Northern Europe than in Italy.

 

The 1983 academic edition of Monuments of Architecture in Moscow takes the middle ground: the church is, most likely, a product of the complex interaction of distinct Russian traditions of wooden and stone architecture, with some elements borrowed from the works of Italians in Moscow. Specifically, the style of brickwork in the vaults is Italian.

 

Layout

Instead of following the original ad hoc layout (seven churches around the central core), Ivan's architects opted for a more symmetrical floor plan with eight side churches around the core, producing "a thoroughly coherent, logical plan" despite the erroneous latter "notion of a structure devoid of restraint or reason" influenced by the memory of Ivan's irrational atrocities. The central core and the four larger churches placed on the four major compass points are octagonal; the four diagonally placed smaller churches are cuboid, although their shape is hardly visible through later additions. The larger churches stand on massive foundations, while the smaller ones were each placed on a raised platform as if hovering above ground.

 

Although the side churches are arranged in perfect symmetry, the cathedral as a whole is not. The larger central church was deliberately offset to the west from the geometric centre of the side churches, to accommodate its larger apse on the eastern side. As a result of this subtle calculated asymmetry, viewing from the north and the south presents a complex multi-axial shape, while the western façade, facing the Kremlin, appears properly symmetrical and monolithic. The latter perception is reinforced by the fortress-style machicolation and corbeled cornice of the western Church of Entry into Jerusalem, mirroring the real fortifications of the Kremlin.

 

Inside the composite church is a labyrinth of narrow vaulted corridors and vertical cylinders of the churches. Today the cathedral consists of nine individual chapels. The largest, central one, the Church of the Intercession, is 46 metres (151 ft) tall internally but has a floor area of only 64 square metres (690 sq ft). Nevertheless, it is wider and airier than the church in Kolomenskoye with its exceptionally thick walls. The corridors functioned as internal parvises; the western corridor, adorned with a unique flat caissoned ceiling, doubled as the narthex.

 

The detached belfry of the original Trinity Church stood southwest or south of the main structure. Late 16th- and early 17th-century plans depict a simple structure with three roof tents, most likely covered with sheet metal. No buildings of this type survive to date, although it was then common and used in all of the pass-through towers of Skorodom. August von Meyenberg's panorama (1661) presents a different building, with a cluster of small onion domes.

 

Structure

The foundations, as was traditional in medieval Moscow, were built of white stone, while the churches themselves were built of red brick (28 by 14 by 8 cm (11.0 by 5.5 by 3.1 in)), then a relatively new material (the first attested brick building in Moscow, the new Kremlin Wall, was started in 1485). Surveys of the structure show that the basement level is perfectly aligned, indicating use of professional drawing and measurement, but each subsequent level becomes less and less regular. Restorers who replaced parts of the brickwork in 1954–1955 discovered that the massive brick walls conceal an internal wooden frame running the entire height of the church. This frame, made of elaborately tied thin studs, was erected as a life-size spatial model of the future cathedral and was then gradually enclosed in solid masonry.

 

The builders, fascinated by the flexibility of the new technology, used red bricks as a decorative medium both inside and out, leaving as much brickwork open as possible; when location required the use of stone walls, it was decorated with a brickwork pattern painted over stucco. A major novelty introduced by the church was the use of strictly "architectural" means of exterior decoration. Sculpture and sacred symbols employed by earlier Russian architecture are completely missing; floral ornaments are a later addition. Instead, the church boasts a diversity of three-dimensional architectural elements executed in brick.

 

Colour

The church acquired its present-day vivid colours in several stages from the 1680s to 1848. Russian attitude towards colour in the 17th century changed in favour of bright colours; iconographic and mural art experienced an explosive growth in the number of available paints, dyes and their combinations. The original colour scheme, missing these innovations, was far less challenging. It followed the depiction of the Heavenly City in the Book of Revelation:

 

And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats, I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

 

— Revelation, 4:3–4 (KJV)

The 25 seats from the biblical reference are alluded to in the building's structure, with the addition of eight small onion domes around the central tent, four around the western side church and four elsewhere. This arrangement survived through most of the 17th century. The walls of the church mixed bare red brickwork or painted imitation of bricks with white ornaments, in roughly equal proportion. The domes, covered with tin, were uniformly gilded, creating an overall bright but fairly traditional combination of white, red and golden colours. Moderate use of green and blue ceramic inserts provided a touch of rainbow as prescribed by the Bible.

 

While historians agree on the colour of the 16th-century domes, their shape is disputed. Boris Eding wrote that they most likely were of the same onion shape as the present-day domes. However, both Kolomenskoye and Dyakovo churches have flattened hemispherical domes, and the same type could have been used by Barma and Postnik.

 

Development

1583–1596

The original Trinity Church burnt down in 1583 and was refitted by 1593. The ninth sanctuary, dedicated to Basil Fool for Christ (the 1460s–1552), was added in 1588 next to the north-eastern sanctuary of the Three Patriarchs. Another local fool, Ivan the Blessed, was buried on the church grounds in 1589; a sanctuary in his memory was established in 1672 inside the south-eastern arcade.

 

The vault of the Saint Basil Sanctuary serves as a reference point in evaluating the quality of Muscovite stonemasonry and engineering. As one of the first vaults of its type, it represents the average of engineering craft that peaked a decade later in the church of the Trinity in Khoroshovo (completed 1596). The craft was lost in the Time of Troubles; buildings from the first half of the 17th century lack the refinement of the late 16th century, compensating for poor construction skill with thicker walls and heavier vaults.

 

1680–1683

The second, and most significant, round of refitting and expansion took place in 1680–1683. The nine churches themselves retained their appearance, but additions to the ground-floor arcade and the first-floor platform were so profound that Nikolay Brunov rebuilt a composite church from an "old" building and an independent work that incorporated the "new" Trinity Church. What once was a group of nine independent churches on a common platform became a monolithic temple.

 

The formerly open ground-floor arcades were filled with brick walls; the new space housed altars from thirteen former wooden churches erected on the site of Ivan's executions in Red Square. Wooden shelters above the first-floor platform and stairs (the cause of frequent fires) were rebuilt in brick, creating the present-day wrap-around galleries with tented roofs above the porches and vestibules.

 

The old detached belfry was demolished; its square basement was reused for a new belltower. The tall single tented roof of this belltower, built in the vernacular style of the reign of Alexis I, significantly changed the appearance of the cathedral, adding a strong asymmetrical counterweight to the church itself. The effect is most pronounced on the southern and eastern facades (as viewed from Zaryadye), although the belltower is large enough to be seen from the west.

 

The first ornamental murals in the cathedral appeared in the same period, starting with floral ornaments inside the new galleries; the towers retained their original brickwork pattern. Finally, in 1683, the church was adorned with a tiled cornice in yellow and blue, featuring a written history of the church in Old Slavic typeface.

 

1737–1784

In 1737 the church was damaged by a massive fire and later restored by Ivan Michurin. The inscriptions made in 1683 were removed during the repairs of 1761–1784. The church received its first figurative murals inside the churches; all exterior and interior walls of the first two floors were covered with floral ornamentation. The belltower was connected with the church through a ground-floor annex; the last remaining open arches of the former ground-floor arcade were filled during the same period, erasing the last hint of what was once an open platform carrying the nine churches of Ivan's Jerusalem.

 

1800–1848

Paintings of Red Square by Fyodor Alekseyev, made in 1800–1802, show that by this time the church was enclosed in an apparently chaotic cluster of commercial buildings; rows of shops "transformed Red Square into an oblong and closed yard." In 1800 the space between the Kremlin wall and the church was still occupied by a moat that predated the church itself. The moat was filled in preparation for the coronation of Alexander I in 1801. The French troops who occupied Moscow in 1812 used the church for stables and looted anything worth taking. The church was spared by the Fire of Moscow (1812) that razed Kitai-gorod, and by the troops' failure to blow it up according to Napoleon's order. The interiors were repaired in 1813 and the exterior in 1816. Instead of replacing missing ceramic tiles of the main tent, the Church preferred to simply cover it with a tin roof.

 

The fate of the immediate environment of the church has been a subject of dispute between city planners since 1813. Scotsman William Hastie proposed clearing the space around all sides of the church and all the way down to the Moskva River; the official commission led by Fyodor Rostopchin and Mikhail Tsitsianov agreed to clear only the space between the church and Lobnoye Mesto. Hastie's plan could have radically transformed the city, but he lost to the opposition, whose plans were finally endorsed by Alexander I in December 1817 (the specific decision on clearing the rubble around the church was issued in 1816).

 

Nevertheless, actual redevelopment by Joseph Bove resulted in clearing the rubble and creating Vasilyevskaya (St. Basil's) Square between the church and Kremlin wall by shaving off the crest of the Kremlin Hill between the church and the Moskva River. Red Square was opened to the river, and "St. Basil thus crowned the decapitated hillock." Bove built the stone terrace wall separating the church from the pavement of Moskvoretskaya Street; the southern side of the terrace was completed in 1834. Minor repairs continued until 1848, when the domes acquired their present-day colours.

 

1890–1914

Preservationist societies monitored the state of the church and called for a proper restoration throughout the 1880s and 1890s, but it was regularly delayed for lack of funds. The church did not have a congregation of its own and could only rely on donations raised through public campaigning; national authorities in Saint Petersburg and local in Moscow prevented financing from state and municipal budgets. In 1899 Nicholas II reluctantly admitted that this expense was necessary, but again all the involved state and municipal offices, including the Holy Synod, denied financing. Restoration, headed by Andrey Pavlinov (died 1898) and Sergey Solovyov, dragged on from 1896 to 1909; in total, preservationists managed to raise around 100,000 roubles.

 

Restoration began with replacing the roofing of the domes. Solovyov removed the tin roofing of the main tent installed in the 1810s and found many original tiles missing and others discoloured; after a protracted debate the whole set of tiles on the tented roof was replaced with new ones. Another dubious decision allowed the use of standard bricks that were smaller than the original 16th-century ones. Restorers agreed that the paintwork of the 19th century must be replaced with a "truthful recreation" of historic patterns, but these had to be reconstructed and deduced based on medieval miniatures. In the end, Solovyov and his advisers chose a combination of deep red with deep green that is retained to the present.

 

In 1908 the church received its first warm air heating system, which did not work well because of heat losses in long air ducts, heating only the eastern and northern sanctuaries. In 1913 it was complemented with a pumped water heating system serving the rest of the church.

 

1918–1941

During World War I, the church was headed by protoiereus Ioann Vostorgov, a nationalist preacher and a leader of the Black-Hundredist Union of the Russian People. Vostorgov was arrested by Bolsheviks in 1918 on a pretext of embezzling nationalized church properties and was executed in 1919.[citation needed] The church briefly enjoyed Vladimir Lenin's "personal interest"; in 1923 it became a public museum, though religious services continued until 1929.

 

Bolshevik planners entertained ideas of demolishing the church after Lenin's funeral (January 1924). In the first half of the 1930s, the church became an obstacle for Joseph Stalin's urbanist plans, carried out by Moscow party boss Lazar Kaganovich, "the moving spirit behind the reconstruction of the capital". The conflict between preservationists, notably Pyotr Baranovsky, and the administration continued at least until 1936 and spawned urban legends. In particular, a frequently-told story is that Kaganovich picked up a model of the church in the process of envisioning Red Square without it, and Stalin sharply responded "Lazar, put it back!" Similarly, Stalin's master planner, architect Vladimir Semyonov, reputedly dared to "grab Stalin's elbow when the leader picked up a model of the church to see how Red Square would look without it" and was replaced by pure functionary Sergey Chernyshov.

 

In the autumn of 1933, the church was struck from the heritage register. Baranovsky was summoned to perform a last-minute survey of the church slated for demolition, and was then arrested for his objections. While he served his term in the Gulag, attitudes changed and by 1937 even hard-line Bolshevik planners admitted that the church should be spared. In the spring of 1939, the church was locked, probably because demolition was again on the agenda; however, the 1941 publication of Dmitry Sukhov's detailed book on the survey of the church in 1939–1940 speaks against this assumption.

 

1947 to present

In the first years after World War II renovators restored the historical ground-floor arcades and pillars that supported the first-floor platform, cleared up vaulted and caissoned ceilings in the galleries, and removed "unhistoric" 19th-century oil paint murals inside the churches. Another round of repairs, led by Nikolay Sobolev in 1954–1955, restored original paint imitating brickwork, and allowed restorers to dig inside old masonry, revealing the wooden frame inside it. In the 1960s, the tin roofing of the domes was replaced with copper.

 

The last round of renovation was completed in September 2008 with the opening of the restored sanctuary of St. Alexander Svirsky. The building is still partly in use today as a museum and, since 1991, is occasionally used for services by the Russian Orthodox Church. Since 1997 Orthodox Christian services have been held regularly. Nowadays every Sunday at Saint Basil's church there is a divine liturgy at 10 a.m. with an Akathist to Saint Basil.

 

Naming

The building, originally known as "Trinity Church",[8] was consecrated on 12 July 1561, and was subsequently elevated to the status of a sobor (similar to an ecclesiastical basilica in the Catholic Church, but usually and incorrectly translated as "cathedral"). "Trinity", according to tradition, refers to the easternmost sanctuary of the Holy Trinity, while the central sanctuary of the church is dedicated to the Intercession of Mary. Together with the westernmost sanctuary of the Entry into Jerusalem, these sanctuaries form the main east–west axis (Christ, Mary, Holy Trinity), while other sanctuaries are dedicated to individual saints.

 

Sanctuaries of the cathedral

Compass point Type Dedicated to Commemorates

Central coreTented churchIntercession of Most Holy TheotokosBeginning of the final assault of Kazan, 1 October 1552

WestColumnEntry of Christ into JerusalemTriumph of the Muscovite troops

North-westGroin vaultSaint Gregory the Illuminator of ArmeniaCapture of Ars Tower of Kazan Kremlin, 30 September 1552

NorthColumnSaint Martyrs Cyprian and Justinia (since 1786 Saint Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia)Complete capture of Kazan Kremlin, 2 October 1552

North-eastGroin vaultThree Patriarchs of Alexandria (since 1680 Saint John the Merciful)Defeat of Yepancha's cavalry on 30 August 1552

EastColumnLife-giving Holy TrinityHistorical Trinity Church on the same site

South-eastGroin vaultSaint Alexander SvirskyDefeat of Yepancha's cavalry on 30 August 1552

SouthColumnThe icon of Saint Nicholas from the Velikaya River (Nikola Velikoretsky)The icon was brought to Moscow in 1555.

South-westGroin vaultSaint Barlaam of KhutynMay have been built to commemorate Vasili III of Russia

North-eastern annex (1588)Groin vaultBasil the BlessedGrave of venerated local saint

South-eastern annex (1672)Groin vaultLaying the Veil (since 1680: Nativity of Theotokos, since 1916: Saint John the Blessed of Moscow)Grave of venerated local saint

The name "Intercession Church" came into use later, coexisting with Trinity Church. From the end of the 16th century[66] to the end of the 17th century the cathedral was also popularly called Jerusalem, with reference to its church of Entry into Jerusalem as well as to its sacral role in religious rituals. Finally, the name of Vasily (Basil) the Blessed, who died during construction and was buried on-site, was attached to the church at the beginning of the 17th century.

 

Current Russian tradition accepts two coexisting names of the church: the official "Church of Intercession on the Moat" (in full, the "Church of Intercession of Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat"), and the "Temple of Basil the Blessed". When these names are listed together the latter name, being informal, is always mentioned second.

 

The common Western translations "Cathedral of Basil the Blessed" and "Saint Basil's Cathedral" incorrectly bestow the status of cathedral on the church of Basil, but are nevertheless widely used even in academic literature. Especially during the 19. century, in English and other languages the Saint Basil's Cathedral was also called (Cathedral or Church of) Vassili Blagennoi.

 

Sacral and social role

On the day of its consecration the church itself became part of Orthodox thaumaturgy. According to the legend, its "missing" ninth church (more precisely a sanctuary) was "miraculously found" during a ceremony attended by Tsar Ivan IV, Metropolitan Makarius with the divine intervention of Saint Tikhon. Piskaryov's Chronist wrote in the second quarter of the 17th century:

 

And the Tsar came to the dedication of the said church with Tsaritsa Nastasia and with Metropolitan Makarius and brought the icon of St Nicholas the Wonderworker that came from Vyatka. And they began to offer a prayer service with sanctified water. And the Tsar touched the base with his own hands. And the builders saw that another sanctuary appeared, and told the Tsar. And the Tsar, and Metropolitan, and all the clergy were surprised by the finding of another sanctuary. And the Tsar ordered it to be dedicated to Nicholas ...

 

— Piskaryov Chronicle, 1560 (7068 per Byzantine calendar)

 

Allegory of Jerusalem

Construction of wrap-around ground-floor arcades in the 1680s visually united the nine churches of the original cathedral into a single building. Earlier, the clergy and the public perceived it as nine distinct churches on a common base, a generalized allegory of the Orthodox Heavenly City similar to fantastic cities of medieval miniatures. At a distance, separate churches towering over their base resembled the towers and churches of a distant citadel rising above the defensive wall. The abstract allegory was reinforced by real-life religious rituals where the church played the role of the biblical Temple in Jerusalem:

 

The capital city, Moscow, is split into three parts; the first of them, called Kitai-gorod, is encircled with a solid thick wall. It contains an extraordinary beautiful church, all clad in shiny bright gems, called Jerusalem. It is the destination of an annual Palm Sunday walk, when the Grand Prince must lead a donkey carrying the Patriarch, from the Church of Virgin Mary to the church of Jerusalem which stands next to the citadel walls. Here is where the most illustrious princely, noble and merchant families live. Here is, also, the main muscovite marketplace: the trading square is built as a brick rectangle, with twenty lanes on each side where the merchants have their shops and cellars ...

 

— Peter Petreius, History of the Great Duchy of Moscow, 1620

Templum S. Trinitatis, etiam Hierusalem dicitur; ad quo Palmarum fest Patriarcha asino insidens a Caesare introducitur.

Temple of Holy Trinity, also called Jerusalem, to where the tsar leads the Patriarch, sitting on a donkey, on the Palm Holiday.

 

— Legend of Peter's map of Moscow, 1597, as reproduced in the Bleau Atlas

The last donkey walk (хождение на осляти) took place in 1693. Mikhail Petrovich Kudryavtsev noted that all cross processions of the period began, as described by Petreius, from the Dormition Church, passed through St. Frol's (Saviour's) Gate and ended at Trinity Cathedral. For these processions the Kremlin itself became an open-air temple, properly oriented from its "narthex" (Cathedral Square) in the west, through the "royal doors" (Saviour's Gate), to the "sanctuary" (Trinity Cathedral) in the east.

 

Urban hub

Tradition calls the Kremlin the centre of Moscow, but the geometric centre of the Garden Ring, first established as the Skorodom defensive wall in the 1590s, lies outside the Kremlin wall, coincident with the cathedral. Pyotr Goldenberg (1902–71), who popularized this notion in 1947, still regarded the Kremlin as the starting seed of Moscow's radial-concentric system, despite Alexander Chayanov's earlier suggestion that the system was not strictly concentric at all.

 

In the 1960s Gennady Mokeev (born 1932) formulated a different concept of the historical growth of Moscow. According to Mokeev, medieval Moscow, constrained by the natural boundaries of the Moskva and Neglinnaya Rivers, grew primarily in a north-easterly direction into the posad of Kitai-gorod and beyond. The main road connecting the Kremlin to Kitai-gorod passed through St. Frol's (Saviour's) Gate and immediately afterwards fanned out into at least two radial streets (present-day Ilyinka and Varvarka), forming the central market square. In the 14th century the city was largely contained within two balancing halves, Kremlin and Kitai-gorod, separated by a marketplace, but by the end of the century it extended further along the north-eastern axis. Two secondary hubs in the west and south spawned their own street networks, but their development lagged behind until the Time of Troubles.

 

Tsar Ivan's decision to build the church next to St. Frol's Gate established the dominance of the eastern hub with a major vertical accent, and inserted a pivot point between the nearly equal Kremlin and Kitai-gorod into the once amorphous marketplace. The cathedral was the main church of the posad, and at the same time it was perceived as a part of the Kremlin thrust into the posad, a personal messenger of the Tsar reaching the masses without the mediation of the boyars and clergy. It was complemented by the nearby Lobnoye mesto, a rostrum for the Tsar's public announcements first mentioned in chronicles in 1547 and rebuilt in stone in 1597–1598. Conrad Bussow, describing the triumph of False Dmitriy I, wrote that on 3 June 1606 "a few thousand men hastily assembled and followed the boyarin with [the impostor's] letter through the whole Moscow to the main church they call Jerusalem that stands right next to the Kremlin gates, raised him on Lobnoye Mesto, called out for the Muscovites, read the letter and listened to the boyarin's oral explanation."

 

Replicas

A scale model of Saint Basil's Cathedral has been built in Jalainur in Inner Mongolia, near China's border with Russia. The building houses a science museum.

A miserable wet foggy afternoon down at the harbour today , I only visited to view Maersk Mover arrive as I have never captured her before, I had to wait until the heavy fog got a bit lighter before the control tower allowed her to enter the harbour, I also captured Seven Atlantic and VOS Passion leave for their journeys across the North Sea.

 

VOS Passion

 

LENGTH 83.4m

BREADTH 18m

ORDER YEAR October 2013

COMPLETION August 2016

OWNER Vroon Offshore Services

BUILDER COSCO Guangdong Shipyard

DESIGNER Ulstein Group

DEADWEIGHT 3,650gwt

MAXIMUM SPEED 15kt

  

The ship is equipped with class-2 dynamic positioning system. Image courtesy of Vroon Offshore Services.VOS Passion platform supply vessel is one of six vessels based on PX121 design.

 

The naming ceremony for VOS Passion took place in July 2016. Image courtesy of Vroon Offshore Services.VOS Passion features X-BOW design concept that enables smoother navigation in harsh waters. Image courtesy of Vroon Offshore Services.

 

The ship is equipped with class-2 dynamic positioning system. Image courtesy of Vroon Offshore Services.VOS Passion platform supply vessel is one of six vessels based on PX121 design. Image courtesy of Vroon Offshore Services.

 

VOS Passion is a platform supply vessel operated by Vroon Offshore Services, an international shipping company. The vessel was built by COSCO Guangdong Shipyard in China and delivered to Vroon in August 2016.

 

The ship is the fourth of six vessels ordered by Vroon, of which VOS Pace (2015), VOS Paradise (2015) and VOS Partner (2016) have been delivered, while VOS Patience and VOS Patriot are under construction and scheduled for delivery in 2016.

 

Vroon’s PSV fleet is used for a range of operations, including cargo transportation, bulk transfers, fire-fighting, oil-spill recovery and safety standby. The vessels’ unique design enables them to support longer and deeper offshore drilling activities.

 

VOS Passion design

VOS Passion has an overall length of 83.4m, a moulded breadth of 18m and a clear deck area spanning 850m². The vessel’s maximum draft is 6.7m, maximum deadweight capacity is 4,200t and gross tonnage is 3,650gwt.

 

The ship design is based on the PX121 design developed by Norway-based Ulstein Group. All of the remaining five vessels ordered by Vroon are also based on the same design.

 

The PX121 design features Ulstein’s patented X-BOW concept, which enables smoother vessel navigation in harsh conditions.

 

Vessels with conventional bow designs rise on waves and drop violently onto the water, making navigation in adverse environments difficult. The X-BOW design, on the other hand, enables smoother navigation by minimising wave slamming and bow impact.

 

The X-BOW concept features a slender hull and a tapered fore, which provides more displacement volume. The vessel pierces smaller waves, and is therefore less affected by the vertical motions of the water.

 

It also uses less fuel to navigate through the waves, saving energy. In addition, the design reduces noise and vibration, improving crew comfort and safety levels.

 

Navigation and communication of the platform supply vessel

The ship’s navigation equipment includes an X-band radar, an S-band radar, two McMurdo S4 radio transponder units, a JRC eco sounder, a Navi-Sailor multi-function display, and a Yokogawa gyro compass.

 

The vessel is fitted with communication applications, including a JRC medium / high-frequency radio, a JRC portable VHF radio, McMurdo E5 Satellite EPIRB, two Inmarsat-C systems and two McMurdo S4 SART systems.

 

Deck machinery and fire-fighting equipment

Deck machinery aboard the VOS Passion includes two 10t tuggers, two 10t capstans and one 3t crane with a safe working load of 18m.

 

The ship is equipped with ABS FiFi class-I fire-fighting systems with a monitor capacity of 1,200m³/h and a throw of more than 120m.

 

VOS Passion propulsion system

The ship is fitted with four diesel generator engines, including two 1,639kW engines and two 990kW engines, as well as a 130ekW emergency generator.

 

The vessel is propelled by two diesel-electric Azimuth thrusters with a capacity of 3,800kW. It also features two 1,600kW Schottel stern thrusters and two bow thrusters.

 

"Deck machinery aboard the VOS Passion includes two 10t tuggers, two 10t capstans and one 3t crane with a safe working load of 18m."

The maximum speed of the vessel is 15kt.

 

Tank capacities and cargo handling systems

The ship is capable of storing 1,035m³ of fresh water, 1,674m³ of drill water, 1,464m³ of fuel, 1,293m³ of liquid mud, 150m³ of methanol, 260m³ of dry bulk and 127m³ of base oil. The ship is also fitted with heeling tanks with a capacity of 391.4m³.

 

Accommodation and life-saving facilities onboard VOS Passion

VOS Passion can accommodate 26 crew members in 14 single and six double cabins featuring hotel-type comfort beds. It is fitted with two anti-rolling tanks to increase crew comfort.

 

The ship is equipped with two 20-man life rafts and one six-man raft on each side. A man overboard boat (MOB) capable of accommodating six persons is also available.

 

Contractors

Ulstein was contracted by COSCO Guangdong Shipyard to supply power and control systems and to provide on-site services for the Vroon vessels.

completion

The best part of a building project is not the completion but rather the journey and process to making whatever it is you’re making…

 

I have three projects I am working on this weekend: stone work in the front, flooring in the attic, and most importantly building my custom fit CD cabinets. I’ve spent many hours visualizing how I want the design of my CD cabinets to cut and be put together. I’m routing notches in the side panels and the shelves for extra support and alignment. It will take time, but it will be worth it in the end.

 

I’m so excited to start getting these under way!

 

Theme: Re-Creation And Projects

Year Seven Of My 365 Project

 

a frame from a video

Schweiz / Wallis - Nordend (4.608 m) und Dufourspitze (4.634)

 

seen from Hotel Du Trift

 

gesehen Berggasthaus Trift

 

Nordend (meaning north end in German) is a northern peak of the Monte Rosa Massif. Nordend is the fourth highest peak of the massif, after the Dufourspitze (4,634 m), the Dunantspitze (4,632 m) and the Grenzgipfel (4,618 m).

 

(Wikipedia)

 

The Dufourspitze is the highest peak of Monte Rosa, an ice-covered mountain massif in the Alps. Dufourspitze is the highest mountain of both Switzerland and the Pennine Alps and is also the second-highest mountain of the Alps and Western Europe, after Mont Blanc. It is located between Switzerland (Canton of Valais) and Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley). The peak itself is located wholly in Switzerland.

 

Following a long series of attempts beginning in the early nineteenth century, Monte Rosa's summit, then still called Höchste Spitze (English: Highest Peak), was first reached on 1 August, the Swiss National celebration day, in 1855 from Zermatt by a party of eight climbers led by three guides: Matthäus and Johannes Zumtaugwald, Ulrich Lauener, Christopher and James Smyth, Charles Hudson, John Birkbeck and Edward Stephenson.

 

Naming

 

The peak is distinguished by the name Dufourspitze (in German, lit. Dufour Peak; French: Pointe Dufour, Italian: Punta Dufour). This replaced the former name Höchste Spitze (English: Highest Peak) that was indicated on the Swiss maps before the Federal Council, on January 28, 1863, decided to rename the mountain in honor of Guillaume-Henri Dufour. Dufour was a Swiss engineer, topographer, co-founder of the Red Cross and army general who led the Sonderbund campaign. This decision followed the completion of the Dufour Map, a series of military topographical maps created under the command of Dufour.

 

The point just 80 m (260 ft) east of the Dufourspitze and only 2 metres lower, the Dunantspitze, was renamed in 2014 in honor of Henry Dunant, the main founder of the Red Cross.

 

Elevation

 

The Dufourspitze of Monte Rosa is the most elevated point of Valais and Switzerland, although it is not the most prominent of the country, that distinction belonging to the Finsteraarhorn, nor the most isolated, that distinction belonging to Piz Bernina. The Swiss national map gives an elevation of 4,634.0 metres (15,203.4 ft) for the summit, which is 4,441 metres above Lake Maggiore, Switzerland's lowest point. The height difference between the summit and the plains of northern Italy, from where Monte Rosa is well visible, reaches over 4,500 metres (15,000 ft). Monte Rosa has a topographic prominence of 2,165 m (7,103 ft), the Great St Bernard Pass being the lowest col between it and the culminating point of the Alps. A 2000 survey, involving universities and the offices of cartography of Italy and Switzerland and part of the TOWER project (Top of the World Elevations Remeasurement), was made in order to record a more precise elevation for Monte Rosa. The result was 4,635.25 metres (15,207.5 ft) from the Italian side and 4,634.97 metres (15,206.6 ft) from the Swiss side, with a margin of error of 0.1 m. Monte Rosa succeeded the Finsteraarhorn as the highest summit of Switzerland in 1815, when Valais joined the Swiss Confederation.

 

Though the Mediterranean can hardly be visible from the summit of Monte Rosa because of intervening mountains, the view to the south extends to the Apennines, the mountains of Corsica and the Maritime Alps. On the north side the view extends to the Jura and further to the Vosges, the Swiss Plateau being mostly hidden by the high range of the Bernese Alps.

 

History

 

Monte Rosa could be seen from many places on the south side of the Alps and it had been mentioned in many travel diaries. At the end of the 15th century some outlines of the mountain may possibly have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci into the background of the Madonna of the Rocks or other pictures. Da Vinci explored the Italian side of the mountain and made some observations, though there is but scanty evidence that he had climbed even a minor summit in the neighbourhood. He was intrigued by the permanent snow lying on the mountain and the darkness of the sky above him, he wrote:

 

"The base of this mountain gives birth to the 4 rivers which flow in four different directions through the whole of Europe. And no mountain has its base at so great a height as this, which lifts itself above almost all the clouds; and snow seldom falls there, but only hail in the summer, when the clouds are highest. And this hail lies [unmelted] there, so that if it were not for the absorption of the rising and falling clouds, which does not happen more than twice in an age, an enormous mass of ice would be piled up there by the layers of hail, and in the middle of July I found it very considerable; and I saw the sky above me quite dark, and the sun as it fell on the mountain was far brighter here than in the plains below, because a smaller extent of atmosphere lay between the summit of the mountain and the sun."

 

At the end of the eighteenth century, the people of the Italian valleys believed that a lost valley existed, hidden away between the glaciers of the great chain. The discovery of the valley was due to Joseph Beck of Gressoney-Saint-Jean. He put together a party, including his brother Valentin, and the Gressoney mountain guides Sebastian Linty, Joseph Zumstein, Nicolas (Niklaus) Vincent, François Castel and Étienne Lisco. They set out on a Sunday of August 1778. They started from their sleeping places at midnight, and roped carefully. They had furnished themselves with climbing irons and alpenstocks. At the head of the glacier, they encountered a slope of rock devoid of snow, which they climbed.[10]

 

"It was twelve o'clock. Hardly had we got to the summit of the rock than we saw a grand-an amazing-spectacle. We sat down to contemplate at our leisure the lost valley, which seemed to us to be entirely covered with glaciers. We examined it carefully, but could not satisfy ourselves that it was the unknown valley, seeing that none of us had ever been in the Vallais."

The valley, in fact, was none other than the upper valley of Zermatt, and the pass, which these early explorers had reached, was the Lysjoch, where, to this day, the rock on which they rested bears the name that they gave it, the "Entdeckungsfels" (German: Rock of Discovery). Beck's party thus reached a height of 4,178 metres (13,707 ft), probably a record in the Alps at that times.

 

Count Morozzo of Turin was inspired by the view of Monte Rosa and in 1787 he tried to reach its summit from the east face. However he did not go very high, and the mountain looked much too inaccessible to encourage him to proceed further. He reached the place of the actual Marinelli hut, 1,500 m below the summit. The route on the east face was opened only in 1872. In 1789, following the recommendation of the Count, Horace-Bénédict de Saussure went to Macugnaga to explore the mountain. He climbed Pizzo Bianco, a 3215 m summit facing the mountain from the east and measured the altitude of Monte Rosa. He found a height of 2430 toises.

 

A first serious attempt was made in 1801 by a doctor of Alagna, Pietro Giordani. He reached alone a great height when climbing a 4,046 metres high point on the south-east ridge of the Vincent Pyramid, later named Giordanispétz or Punta Giordani in his honour. He arrived too late to proceed to the Vincent Pyramid summit and night drove him away. He had to sleep in a cleft of ice at about 14,000 feet. He wrote an account of his exploit: After an eloquent description of the view, he expresses his annoyance at the lack of scientific instruments, and the lateness of the hour which prevented him from ascending "Monte Rosa" itself.

 

The 4215 m Vincent Pyramid summit was eventually successfully climbed on 15 August 1819 by Johann Niklaus and Joseph Vincent from Gressoney, after whom the peak has been named. The brothers Vincent tried to reach the highest summit again the next year, together with Joseph Zumstein, and guides and porters. On August 1, 1820, they reached a 4,563 metres high secondary summit, later named Zumsteinspitze. The climb was dangerous, as the party had to traverse under threatening walls of ice; they also had great difficulties on descent, because the afternoon sun had melted the snow on the slopes. They used mules to carry their equipment as far as the snow-line. During the expedition they thought they had climbed the true highest peak, but when they reached the summit they found out it was only a subpeak of Monte Rosa. Zumstein was anxious to return later and reach the highest summit, but his desire did not materialize.

 

First ascents

 

The first approaches to the summit were made from the northern slopes over the Gorner glacier via the Silbersattel (4,510 m). This pass was first reached on August 12, 1847, by Matthias and Johann zum Taugwald (guides from Zermatt whose name is also written "Zumtaugwald"), Johann Brantschen and Joseph Moser guiding the French professors Victor Puisieux and Edouard Ordinaire.[ Precisely a year later (12 August 1848), Johann Madutz from Matt, Glarus, and Matthias Zumtaugwald guided the Swiss theologian de:Melchior Ulrich to the pass for an ascent of the highest summit. Ulrich had to give up, but the guides proceeded to climb to what they thought to be the Eastern summit of the Dufourspitze (Ostspitze, since 2014 Dunantspitze, 4632 m) and established a new altitude record in Switzerland. The descent over the same route was so tricky that Madutz at places had to lower down Zum Taugwald by rope. Three years later, on 22 August 1851, Johann Zumtaugwald returned, with Peter Taugwalder and Peter Inderbinen and the Swiss botanist brothers Adolf and Hermann Schlagintweit to repeat this ascent. They did not dare to traverse to the western summit, which the Schlagintweits estimated to be 7 meters higher. In 1891, W.A.B. Coolidge analyzed these ascents and concluded that both parties had reached the 4,618 m Grenzgipfel instead, which is a mere 50 meters to the east of Ostspitze. He transferred the honor of first climbing the Ostgipfel to Ulrich Lauener from Lauterbrunnen and the brothers Christopher, Edmund and James G. Smyth from Great Yarmouth, who reached the Ostspitze on September 1, 1854, from the Silbersattel. Some sources have the Zumtaugwald brothers also among this party. Zumtaugwald brothers returned twice more to the East summit, Johann and Matthias 10 days later (11 Sep 1854) with Edward Shirley Kennedy and Benedict Leir, and Matthias and Stephan later again with Edward Levi Ames. On these five occasions they never tried the difficult traverse to the western summit, also because the summits were both mapped as 4,638 m high at the time. Partially with the technical difficulty (UIAA III) of the route from Silbersattel in mind, many consider the Madutz and Zumtaugwald ascent in 1849 the true first ascent of Monta Rosa.

 

The first ascent of the western summit finally took place on August 1, 1855, by the above guides Matthias and Johann zum Taugwald and Ulrich Lauener and two of the Smyth brothers (James Greenville and Christopher). They were joined by the English gentlemen John Birkbeck, Charles Hudson and Edward Stephenson. Deeming the approach from the east summit unfeasible, the guides devised a route over the junction of the Monte Rosa and Grenz glaciers and over the west ridge directly to the west summit. Not two weeks later, on 13 August 1855, Johann and his brother Peter zum Taugwald guided eight more people, including Johann Jakob Weilenmann, to the summit over the same route.[ The west ridge route immediately became very popular and is still the normal route to the Dufourspitze.

 

The Irish physicist John Tyndall was guided to the summit in a group led by Ulrich Lauener in August 1858, but returned the next day (or week?) to make the first solo ascent of Dufourspitze on 17 August 1858, which he described in his account, Glaciers of the Alps.

 

"After breakfast I poured what remained of my tea into a small glass bottle, an ordinary demi-bouteille in fact; the waiter then provided me with a ham sandwich, and, with my scrip thus frugally furnished, I thought the heights of Monte Rosa might be won..."

After encountering a party of climbers guided by Lauener, Tyndall reached alone the summit:

 

"A world of clouds and mountains lay beneath me. Switzerland, with its pomp of summits, was clear and grand; Italy was also grand, but more than half obscured. Dark cumulus and dark crag vied in savagery, while at other places white snows and white clouds held equal rivalry. The scooped valleys of Monte Rosa itself were magnificent, all gleaming in the bright sunlight — tossed and torn at intervals, and sending from their rents and walls the magical blue of the ice."

 

Among mountain guides, the eastern wall had the reputation of being unconquerable. Ferdinand Imseng was convinced that the long snow couloir in the middle of the face could be ascended. He succeeded in convincing other climbers and, on 22 July 1872, Richard Pendlebury, William and Charles Taylor, Ferdinand Imseng, Gabriel Spechtenhauser and Giovanni Oberto began the ascent from Macugnaga. They were aware of the objective dangers of the wall but they decided to go as high as possible, without compromising their lives. After a bivouac on the actual Marinelli hut emplacement, they headed towards the Grenzsattel. Suddenly, when they arrived near the Grenzsattel, an avalanche started and rivers of snow began to flow everywhere around the climbers. They were able to reach the safe rocks of the Grenzgipfel just in time to save their lives. They finally reached the summit and descended to Riffelalp on the other side, concluding an 18-hour journey.

 

This ascent made Ferdinand Imseng a famous mountain guide. He lost his life in 1881 on the east wall during the third ascent with Damiano Marinelli and guide Battista Pedranzini. On 8 August, they were caught by an avalanche and brought 1,200 metres down. The accident was reported by a porter who survived. The couloir was then named Canalone Marinelli.

 

Other ascents

 

In 1889 Achille Ratti, who became later Pope Pius XI, made the first traverse from Macugnaga to Zermatt by the Zumsteinjoch. After climbing the Dufourspitze, he spent the night on the summit with his companions.

 

Visiting Zermatt in 1894, the young Winston Churchill insisted on an ascent of Monte Rosa rather than of the Matterhorn, not only because of its superior height but also because the guides' fee was substantially less.

 

More recently, on August 1 (which happens to be the Swiss National Day), 2005, the Swiss Minister of Treasure Joseph Deiss climbed the Dufourspitze. The expedition marked the 150th anniversary of the first ascent.

 

Huts and climbing routes

 

The Monte Rosa Hut (2,883 m) is the only mountain hut in the massif owned by the Swiss Alpine Club. It is situated on the Plattje, a rocky island between the Gorner and Grenz glaciers. It is accessible from Rotenboden, a station on the Gornergratbahn line. The hut was inaugurated in 1894 and rebuilt in 1940. In 2009, a new high technology mountain hut was inaugurated. The five-story crystal-shaped building is designed to obtain 90 per cent of its power needs from the sun and will be used as a research station.

 

The other huts are owned by the Italian Alpine Club, among them the Regina Margherita Hut located at 4,559 metres on the Signalkuppe. Inaugurated in 1893 and replaced in 1979, it is still the highest construction in Europe, and includes a laboratory and observatory.

 

Other huts owned by the Italian Alpine Club are the Marinelli Hut (3,036 m), used for the ascent of the east face, and the Bivacco Città di Gallarate (3,960 m), located near the summit of the Jägerhorn.

 

Normal route

 

The normal route to the summit begins at the Monte Rosa Hut. The normal route is mainly a glacier itinerary on the west slopes of Monte Rosa (Monte Rosa Glacier), with the final rocky west ridge to the summit. Although the itinerary itself is not difficult, it requires physical endurance and good acclimatization.

 

Marinelli couloir

 

The route starts from the Marinelli Hut and follows the steep Marinelli couloir on the east face. It is a long and dangerous route and has to be ascended very early in the morning on cold days in order to decrease the risk of avalanches.

 

Timeline

 

First ascent in 1855 (normal route).

 

First ascent on the eastern wall, via the Marinelli Couloir in 1872 (July 22) by Taylor, Pendlebury and Ferdinand Imseng (guide)

 

First ascent via the southern spur (Cresta Rey) by Eustace Hulton with guides Joseph Moser and Peter Rubi on 20 August 1874.

 

First ascent via the southeast ridge (today route from Margherita hut) by F. P. Barlow, G. W. Prothero with guides Antonio Carrel and Peter Taugwalder on 31 August 1874.

 

First winter ascent via the southern spur (Cresta Rey) by Vittorio Sella with guides Daniel Maquignaz and Joseph Maquignaz on 26 January 1884.

 

First winter ascent via the southeast ridge by Mario Piacenza, A. Curta, A. Lazier, O. Lazier on 18 January 1907.

 

First solo ascent of the east face by Angelo Taveggia in 1924.

 

First winter ascent of the east face in 1965 (February 5–6) by mountain guides Luciano Bettineschi, Felice Jacchini, Michele Pala and Lino Pironi.

 

In June 1969, the extreme skier Sylvain Saudan descended the entire Marinelli Couloir on the east face.

First solo winter ascent via the east face on February 4, 1991, by Walter Bernardi. Injured, he was rescued by helicopter on the descent near the Grenzsattel.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Das Nordend ist ein 4608 m ü. M. hoher Nebengipfel der Dufourspitze im Massiv des Monte Rosa und liegt auf der Grenze zwischen Italien und der Schweiz. Es wurde erstmals am 26. August 1861 bestiegen. Das Nordend wird meistens von Zermatt her bzw. von der Station Rotenboden der Gornergratbahn aus über die Monte-Rosa-Hütte angegangen. Der Normalweg führt vom Silbersattel (4519 m ü. M.) über den Südgrat zum Gipfel.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Die Dufourspitze (italienisch Punta Dufour, französisch Pointe Dufour, rätoromanisch Piz da Dufour) ist mit 4634 m ü. M. der höchste Gipfel in den Walliser Alpen und der Schweiz sowie des gesamten deutschen Sprachraums. Nach dem Mont Blanc mit 4805,59 m ü. M. ist der Monte Rosa mit der Dufourspitze als höchstem Gipfel der zweithöchste Berg der Alpen und Westeuropas.

 

Lage

 

Der Berggipfel gehört zum Monte-Rosa-Massiv auf der Grenze zu Italien. Die Bergspitze liegt rund 160 m von der Staatsgrenze entfernt auf Schweizer Gebiet. Das gesamte Bergmassiv wird üblicherweise als italienisch-schweizerischer Grenzberg angesehen, sodass die Rolle des höchsten Berges, der ganz auf Schweizer Gebiet liegt, dem Dom (ebenfalls in den Walliser Alpen) zukommt.

 

Geschichte

 

Namensgebung

 

Die Dufourspitze erhielt ihren heutigen Namen im Jahre 1863 auf Beschluss des Schweizerischen Bundesrates. Die Umbenennung erfolgte zu Ehren des Schweizer Generals und Kartografen Guillaume Henri Dufour (1787–1875). Er war Herausgeber des ersten exakten Landkartenwerkes der Schweiz, der nach ihm benannten Dufourkarte.

 

Auf der Dufourkarte wurde sie 1862 als Höchste Spitze bezeichnet.

 

In der Schweiz hiess dieser Gipfel ursprünglich Gornerhorn (= starker oder grosser Berg). In der Literatur wird vertreten, dass teilweise auch die Auffassung bestanden habe, dass der Name Gornerhorn das gesamte Bergmassiv bezeichnet habe. Gegen diese These wurde aber eingewandt, dass «ein ganzer ausgedehnter Gebirgsstock kaum als einfaches Horn bezeichnet worden» wäre. Der Name Gornerhorn stammt von den Walsern. Auch der Name Schwärzehorn war vormals geläufig.

 

In Italien wurde der Gipfel La più alta cima (= Hohe Spitze oder Hochspitz) und auch Rosa Bianca genannt.

 

Besteigung

 

Die Erstbesteigung fand am 1. August 1855 durch eine von Charles Hudson geleitete Seilschaft statt. Weitere Teilnehmer der Seilschaft waren John Birkbeck, Edward J. W. Stephenson und die Brüder Christopher und James G. Smyth. Die Bergführer Johannes und Matthäus Zumtaugwald aus Zermatt und Ulrich Lauener aus Lauterbrunnen bahnten den Engländern den Weg. Charles Hudson stürzte zehn Jahre später bei der Erstbesteigung des Matterhorns während des Abstiegs zu Tode. Die zweite Besteigung fand ebenfalls noch im Jahr 1855 statt.

 

Routen

 

Die klassische Route über die Ostflanke wurde erstmals 1872 von den Engländern Richard und William Pendlebury und Charles Taylor, dem Schweizer Ferdinand Imseng, dem Österreicher Gabriel Spechtenhauser und dem Italiener Giovanni Oberto begangen.

 

Ausgangspunkt für eine Besteigung der Dufourspitze von der Schweizer Seite über den Normalweg ist die Monte-Rosa-Hütte (2883 m ü. M.).

 

(Wikipedia)

366/366

 

My 366 project is finished! This project has pushed me and kept me motivated all year. It was stressful and I fell behind a lot of times but overall I'm extremely happy with it. I've learned so much this year and just by looking back to the beginning of the project I can see that I've improved tremendously! I have big plans for the upcoming year and hope to continue to improve!

 

Happy New Year!

Vintage Harley-Davidson

Independence, CA

designed by Siza Vieira

 

Since its completion in 1966 the Leça Swimming Pool complex, by Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza, has been an internationally recognized building. Still almost half a century later, it has gracefully retained its architectural integrity and remained a popular retreat. The Leça Swimming Pools is one of Siza’s greatest early works, and an example of his careful reconciliation between nature and his design.

 

The Leça Swimming Pools were one of Alvaro Siza’s first solo projects. After graduating from the University of Porto in 1955, he worked briefly with architect Fernando Tavora before setting up a studio as an independent architect. He is still practicing and has received various awards and accolades for his work, including the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1992.

 

The Leça de Palmeira beaches are on the northern coastline of Matosinhos, a small town to the north of Porto, as well as Siza’s birthplace. It is also the site of another early work of Siza’s, the Boa Nova Tea House. Both the Leça Swimming Pools and the Boa Nova Tea House were constructed and completed around the same time in the mid 1960s. They both use concrete and have a similar respect for the natural rocky coastline near Siza’s home.

Before entering the museum (Viharn Sian Anek Kuson Sala) at Viharnra Sien in Wat Yan Park, a quick review of the man responsible for the project from inception to completion, Master Sa-nga Kulkobkiat.

 

Master Sa-nga Kulkobkiat (The Builder of Anek Kusala Sala and a Master of Feng Shui ) was a Thai national who grew up in China. The goal of the museum is to maintain positive relations between Thailand and China. Sa Nga Kulkobkiat died in 2003.

 

Born in Bangkok Thailand in 1925, but raised in China, this temple was one of Kulkobkiat's legacies celebrating the cultures of both countries.

 

Kulkobkiat also created a second Viharnra Sien in Chaozhou City, Guangdong, China. He wanted them to help encourage cooperation between China and Thailand.

 

In 1987, Master Sa-nga Kulkobkiat’s vision was turned into reality. Then Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej gave him royal permission to construct the temple complex.

 

The King granted Master Kulkobkiat 7 rai of land (2.7 acres) to build on within the Wat Yansangwararam temple grounds. On June 6th, 1988 the King inaugurated the construction and gave it the Thai name Anek Kusala Sala.

 

Master Kulkobkiat oversaw the entire project, from design through construction. In a little over 5 years the temple held its opening ceremony on December 24th, 1993.

 

In the ceremony, the Thai-Chinese offered the building and donated many great antiques and artworks in honor of the King.

 

The temple has a massive collection of bronze statues, jade carvings, paintings, and countless other pieces of Thai and Chinese art and cultural relics. The Chinese government has also contributed a large number of pieces for permanent display at the temple.

 

Captured this one 'wide open' at F4. Only 8s. So fewer cars passing by. Just a quick experiment with Nikon's 24-120mm.

 

F4 8s at 18:01 PM

 

The uneven sky is simply due to cloudy/less cloudy patches.

iPhone 4 + Dynamic Light, PS Express

Since taking delivery of their first Boeing 737 MAX back in mid-2021, almost 4 years on and Ryanair have almost finished taking delivery of their initial batch of 200 examples. Even with deliveries almost complete of the type, Boeing 737-800s remain the dominant aircraft within Ryanair as a whole, operating in all but one of their operating subsidiaries and are in the process of being fitted with Split-Scimitar winglets.

Deliveries of the original batch of 200 Boeing 737 MAX 8-200s, a higher capacity version of the ubiquitous Boeing 737 MAX 8 will conclude with Ryanair in late-2025 and will be the largest operator of the type, surpassing India's Akasa Air and the United States Allegiant Air who are taking taking delivery of their first examples.

This will not be the end of new deliveries for Ryanair however; mid-2023 saw Ryanair place a large order for 150 Boeing 737 MAX 10s alongside options for a further 150 examples. Even with the Boeing 737 MAX 10 having not been certified at time of writing, Ryanair are expected to take delivery of the longest version of the Boeing 737 MAX by 2027.

Currently, Ryanair Group operates 584 Boeing 737s, which includes one Boeing 737-700 (operated by Buzz), 410 Boeing 737-800s (59 with Buzz, 205 with Ryanair, 15 with Ryanair UK and 131 with Malta Air) and 173 Boeing 737 MAX 8-200s (14 with Buzz, 116 with Ryanair and 43 with Malta Air). Ryanair Group have 37 Boeing 737 MAX 8-200s and 150 Boeing 737 MAX 10s on-order.

India Golf Golf is one of 116 Boeing 737 MAX 8-200s operated by Ryanair, delivered new to the low-cost carrier on 28th February 2023 and she is powered by 2 CFM International LEAP-1B27 engines.

Boeing 737-8-200 MAX EI-IGG lifts off from Runway 18 at Birmingham (BHX) on FR671 to Dublin-Collinstown (DUB).

Completion of the Great Northern Railway and the railroad’s promotion of dryland farming in the American West drew homesteaders to this isolated stretch of Montana’s northern plains. Prominent among these settlers during the homesteading boom of the 1910s were Norwegian immigrants, who brought their Lutheran faith to this far-away place. As early as 1911, a circuit rider from Conrad provided Lutheran services, binding together the small, remote community.

Created in the mid-to-late Nineteenth Century by Melbourne stained glass manufacturer Ferguson and Urie, the Lamb of God window may be found in the western wall of the entrance porch of Christ Church, Brunswick. The Lamb of God is holding a banner of the triumphal cross, symbolising the victory of the resurrected Christ over death.

 

Christ Church has been constructed in a cruciform plan with a detached campanile. Although not originally intended as such, at its completion, the church became an excellent example of "Villa Rustica" architecture in Australia. Like other churches around the inner city during the boom and bust eras of the mid Nineteenth Century as Melbourne became an established city, the building was built in stages between 1857 and 1875 as money became available to extend and better what was already in existence. Christ Church was dedicated in 1857 when the nave, designed by architects Purchas and Swyer, was completed. The transepts, chancel and vestry were completed between 1863 and 1864 to the designs created by the architects' firm Smith and Watts. The Romanesque style campanile was also designed by Smith and Watts and it completed between 1870 and 1871. A third architect, Frederick Wyatt, was employed to design the apse which was completed in 1875.

 

Built in Italianate style with overture characteristics of classical Italian country house designs, Christ Church is one of the few examples of what has been coined "Villa Rustica" architecture in Victoria.

 

Slipping through the front door at the bottom of the campanile, the rich smell of incense from mass envelops visitors. As soon as the double doors which lead into the church proper close behind you, the church provides a quiet refuge from the busy intersection of Glenlyon Road and Brunswick Street outside, and it is quite easy to forget that cars and trams pass by just a few metres away. Walking up the aisle of the nave of Christ Church, light pours over the original wooden pews with their hand embroidered cushions through sets of luminescent stained glass windows by Melbourne manufacturers, Ferguson and Urie, Mathieson and Gibson and Brooks Robinson and Company. A set of fourteen windows from the mid-to-late Nineteenth Century by Ferguson and Urie depicting different saints are especially beautiful, filled with painted glass panes which are as vivid now as when they were created more than one hundred years ago. The floors are still the original dark, richly polished boards that generations of worshipers have walked over since they were first laid. The east transept houses the Lady Chapel, whilst the west transept is consumed by the magnificent 1972 Roger H. Pogson organ built of cedar with tin piping. This replaced the original 1889 Alfred Fuller organ. Beautifully executed carved rood figures watch over the chancel from high, perhaps admiring the marble altar.

 

Albert Purchas, born in 1825 in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, was a prominent Nineteenth Century architect who achieved great success for himself in Melbourne. Born to parents Robert Whittlesey Purchas and Marianne Guyon, he migrated to Australia in 1851 to establish himself in the then quickly expanding city of Melbourne, where he set up a small architect's firm in Little Collins Street. He also offered surveying services. His first major building was constructing the mansion "Berkeley Hall" in St Kilda on Princes Street in 1854. The house still exists today. Two years after migrating, Albert designed the layout of the Melbourne General Cemetery in Carlton. It was the first "garden cemetery" in Victoria, and his curvilinear design is still in existence, unaltered, today. In 1854, Albert married Eliza Anne Sawyer (1825 - 1869) in St Kilda. The couple had ten children over their marriage, including a son, Robert, who followed in his father's footsteps as an architect. Albert's brother-in-law, Charles Sawyer joined him in the partnership of Purchas and Sawyer, which existed from 1856 until 1862 in Queens Street. The firm produced more than 140 houses, churches, offices and cemetery buildings including: the nave and transepts of Christ Church St Kilda between 1854 and 1857, "Glenara Homestead"in Bulla in 1857, the Melbourne Savings Bank on the corner of Flinders Lane and Market Street (now demolished) between 1857 and 1858, the Geelong branch of the Bank of Australasia in Malop Street between 1859 and 1860, and Beck's Imperial Hotel in Castlemaine in 1861. When the firm broke up, Albert returned to Little Collins Street, and the best known building he designed during this period was St. George's Presbyterian Church in East St Kilda between 1877 and 1880. The church's tall polychomatic brick bell tower is still a local landmark, even in the times of high rise architecture and development, and St, George's itself is said to be one of his most striking church designs. Socially, Albert was vice president of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects for many years, before becoming president in 1887. He was also an inventor and philanthropist. Albert died in 1909 at his home in Kew, a wealthy widower and much loved father.

 

The stained glass firm of Ferguson and Urie was established by Scots James Ferguson (1818 – 1894), James Urie (1828 – 1890) and John Lamb Lyon (1836 – 1916). They were the first known makers of stained glass in Australia. Until the early 1860s, window glass in Melbourne had been clear or plain coloured, and nearly all was imported, but new churches and elaborate buildings created a demand for pictorial windows. The three Scotsmen set up Ferguson and Urie in 1862 and the business thrived until 1899, when it ceased operation, with only John Lamb Lyon left alive. Ferguson and Urie was the most successful Nineteenth Century Australian stained glass window making company. Among their earliest works were a Shakespeare window for the Haymarket Theatre in Bourke Street, a memorial window to Prince Albert in Holy Trinity, Kew, and a set of Apostles for the West Melbourne Presbyterian Church. Their palatial Gothic Revival office building stood at 283 Collins Street from 1875. Ironically, their last major commission, a window depicting “labour”, was installed in the old Melbourne Stock Exchange in Collins Street in 1893 on the eve of the bank crash. Their windows can be found throughout the older suburbs of Melbourne and across provincial Victoria.

  

About 90% done, just need to do running gear and electronics next and get the missing drivers I need.

...of a hot day

  

Abschluss...

...eines heißen Tages

Ready for Sundays Cheshire run. Yet again my lads have done another cracking job on this one.

March 31 15:00 open! (Korea time)

My etsy ↓

www.etsy.com/shop/marshshop

Hardy Dam (or Hardy Hydroelectric Plant) is an earth-filled embankment dam and powerplant complex on the Muskegon River in Big Prairie Township, Newaygo County, Michigan. At the time of its completion, it was the largest earthen dam in North America east of the Mississippi. Its impoundment forms a lake with over 50 miles of shoreline. The dam impounds a reservoir with a surface area of 4,000 acres (1,618 ha) and its power plant has an installed capacity of 31.5 MW.

 

After considerable investigation and planning by Consumers Energy in the 1920s, construction on the Hardy Dam began in 1929. It was designed by William G. Fargo and construction was carried out by his company, Fargo Engineering. Large amounts of concrete were placed into the foundation as solid bedrock was not present, particularly in the streambed. Allied Engineers began constructing the power plant in the autumn of 1929. In August 1930 the Muskegon River was diverted through the power plant penstocks and away from the dam construction site. The embankment of the dam was filled by March 1931 using the semi hydraulic method of construction. About 1,500,000 cu yd (1,100,000 m3) of sand and gravel was used in the dam. Both the dam and power plant were complete by the end of 1931.

 

Approximately 2,000 campsites, several boat launches and a marina are located around the dam. The parks located on the impoundment lake of the Hardy Dam include, Newaygo County's Sandy Beach Park, Newaygo State Park, Mecosta County's Brower Park, and Big Prairie Township's Ox Bow Park and Big Bend Park.

 

The reservoir offers excellent fishing and a nature trail system regarded as one of the best. The three mile unpaved path parallels the Muskegon River and contains 26 different trees with identification plaques. The trail area is home to wild turkeys, grouse and bald eagles as well as beaver, mink and otter. Fishing includes salmon, steel head, rainbow trout, brown trout, walleye, bass, perch and other pan fish.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardy_Dam

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

Completion of the upper spheres (early 1958)

 

Photographer: Pieter vandeweyer

 

Brussels world fair

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomium#/media/File:1_-2018-www_ato...

 

No HDR.

 

The Obel Tower is a small skyscraper in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

 

Costing £60 million and measuring 85 metres in height, the tower dominates the Belfast skyline. On completion it overtook the previous tallest skyscraper in Ireland, Windsor House, also in Belfast. Developed by the Karl Group, the Obel Tower is located on Donegall Quay on the River Lagan beside the Lagan Weir.

 

The tower contains 233 apartments. The first 182 apartments released in March 2005, priced from £100,000 to £475,000 were reserved off plan within 48 hours.

 

Construction work on phase one of the project, the foundations and 2 storey basement carpark, began in January 2006. In mid-2007 construction work on the site ceased, all of the construction equipment was removed, construction then recommenced on 17 June 2008.

 

Planning permission was granted in January 2008 for an extra two floors to be added to the tower to cater for further demand in apartment space. The anticipated completion date was originally summer 2010, however due to the construction moratorium the building was not completed until spring 2011. These extra floors will bring the overall height up from 80.5 metres to 85 metres.

 

In April 2011 it was announced that London law firm Allen & Overy was to rent all of the available office space at the Obel.

completion dated 20.Mai 1424 ; from the Barfüßerkirche in Göttingen ; tempera on oak ; the square panels about 1m square ; most recently restored 1999-2005

A touch of old hollywood meets modern chic. This home came with extra personality in each space. We had fun creating her vision and the results were nothing short of Glamorous!

Photographer: Richard Storey

The shuttering and fresh concrete moves ever nearer completion.

The Postcard

 

A postally unused postcard published by C. R. Hoffmann of No. 1, The Docks, Southampton. The image is a glossy real photograph, and the card, which has a divided back, was printed in Great Britain.

 

SS Imperator

 

RMS Berengaria was originally called the SS Imperator.

 

SS Imperator was a German ocean liner built for the Hamburg America Line, launched in 1912. At the time of her completion in June 1913, she was the largest passenger ship in the world by gross tonnage, surpassing the new White Star giants, Olympic and Titanic.

 

Imperator was the first of a trio of successively larger Hamburg American liners that included SS Vaterland (later the United States Liner Leviathan) and SS Bismarck (purchased and renamed Majestic for the White Star Line transatlantic passenger service).

 

During World War I, the Imperator remained in port in Hamburg. After the war, she was briefly commissioned into the United States Navy as USS Imperator and employed as a transport, returning American troops from Europe.

 

Following her service with the U.S. Navy, Imperator was handed over to Britain's Cunard Line as part of war reparations where she sailed as the flagship RMS Berengaria for the final decade of her career.

 

Construction and Early Career

 

The first plates of Imperator's keel were laid in 1910 at the Vulcan Shipyards in Hamburg, Germany. She made her maiden voyage in 1913. At 52,117 gross register tons, Imperator was the largest ship in the world until Vaterland sailed in May 1914.

 

Before its launch on the 23rd. May 1912, Cunard announced that its new ship, RMS Aquitania, which was under construction at the time at the John Brown shipyards in Glasgow, would be longer by 1 foot (300 mm).

 

There was chagrin in Hamburg. Several weeks later, Imperator was fitted with an imposing bronze eagle figurehead which adorned her forepeak. This meant that the length of Imperator surpassed that of Aquitania. The eagle's wings were torn off in an Atlantic storm during the 1914 season, after which the figurehead was removed and replaced with gold scroll-work similar to that on the stern.

 

On its initial sea trials, the Imperator ran aground on the Elbe river due to insufficient dredging. There was also a flash fire in the engine room which resulted in eight crewmen being taken to hospital.

 

On her official trials, she suffered overheating of the turbines, and some stability issues were discovered. The trials were therefore abandoned, and the builders were called in to carry out emergency work. Coincidentally, 1913 was the silver jubilee year for the Kaiser, so he was going to be treated to an overnight cruise on the North Sea before the ship would make its maiden voyage. The overnight cruise was cancelled; it was eventually carried out in July of that year.

 

Imperator left on her maiden voyage on Wednesday, 11th. June 1913. On the way, she stopped at Southampton and Cherbourg before proceeding across the Atlantic to New York, arriving on the 19th. June 1913.

 

On board were 4,986, consisting of 859 first-class passengers, 647 second-class passengers, 648 third-class passengers, 1,495 in the steerage, and 1,332 crew. The ship returned to Europe from Hoboken, New Jersey, on the 25th. June 1913.

 

On its first arrival, the harbour pilot assigned to bring it into the New York Ambrose channel noted that the ship listed from side to side when the helm made changes to the ship's direction. She was soon nicknamed 'Listerator'.

 

In October 1913, Imperator returned to the Vulkan shipyard for work to improve handling and stability, as her centre of gravity was too high. To correct the problem, the marble bathroom suites in first class were removed and heavy furniture was replaced with lightweight wicker cane.

 

The ship's funnels were reduced in height by 9.8 ft (3 m). Finally, 2,000 tons of cement was poured into the ship's double bottom as ballast. This work cost £200,000, which had to be borne by the shipyard as part of their five-year warranty to the shipowners.

 

At the same time, an advanced fire sprinkler system was fitted throughout the ship, as several fires had occurred on board since the vessel had entered service.

 

Imperator returned to service on the 11th. March 1914, arriving in New York five days later on the 19th.

 

Among its luxurious features, Imperator introduced a two-deck-high, Pompeiian-style swimming pool for its first-class passengers (shown in the photograph).

 

The Great War and U.S. Navy Service

 

In August 1914, as the Great War began, she was laid up at Hamburg and remained inactive for more than four years, falling into dilapidation. Following the Armistice of the 11th. November 1918, Imperator was allocated to the United States for temporary use as a transport alongside Vaterland, which was now renamed SS Leviathan and bringing American service personnel home from France.

 

She was commissioned as the USS Imperator in early May 1919. After embarking 2,100 American troops and 1,100 passengers, Imperator departed Brest, France on the 15th. May 1919, arriving at New York City one week later. She made three cruises from New York to Brest, returning over 25,000 troops, nurses, and civilians to the United States.

 

Decommissioned at Hoboken, New Jersey in early 1919, it was decided that she would be operated by Cunard. Captain Charles A. Smith and a full crew was sent out to New York and the official handover to Cunard took place on the 24th. November.

 

Cunard Service

 

The ship arrived at Southampton on Sunday 10th. December 1919 and then proceeded to Liverpool for what was planned to be a quick overhaul (she was scheduled to leave on her first voyage for the new owners on the 10th. January 1920).

 

However, upon inspection, the ship was found to be in poor condition. During dry-docking on the 6th. January, it was found that the ship's rudder had a piece missing, and the propellers were suffering from erosion on their leading edges. These issues were attended to while the ship was refurbished with items borrowed from the Cunard vessels Transylvania and Carmania.

 

Due to the extent of the work that had to be carried out, Imperator remained at Liverpool until the 21st. February. During this time the company's annual dinner was held on board. On the first return journey from New York, Imperator developed a severe list which was found to be caused by a faulty ash ejector. Cunard decided that the ship was in need of a major overhaul, and she was withdrawn from service.

 

The ship was re-named after the English queen Berengaria of Navarre, wife of Richard the Lionheart, in February 1921.

 

In September 1925, a security alert at sea was triggered when the Cunard company offices in New York received a message stating there was a bomb aboard Berengaria; the vessel was then 1,200 miles out from New York, bound for Southampton.

 

The ship was searched although the passengers and most of the crew were not informed as to the reason. A fire drill was held just before the supposed time of detonation, so passengers could be placed close to their lifeboat stations without arousing suspicion. The bomb threat failed to materialise.

 

The Berengaria was sailing from England to New York when the 1929 Wall Street crash hit, and a number of passengers went from being millionaires to paupers while at sea.

 

On the 11th. May 1932, Berengaria ran aground in the Solent. She was refloated an hour later.

 

In May 1934, Berengaria was again in the headlines when she ran aground on mud banks at Calshot on the Solent. she was pulled free by four tugs from Southampton. The vessel suffered no damage and the incident did not affect her sailing schedule.

 

Despite her German heritage, Berengaria served as flagship of the Cunard fleet until replaced by her sister ship, RMS Majestic (also German: ex-SS Bismarck), in 1934 after the merger of Cunard with White Star Line.

 

In later years, Berengaria was used for discounted Prohibition-dodging cruises, which earned her the jocular nickname 'Bargain-area'.

 

Retirement and Scrapping of the Berengaria

 

Toward the end of her service life, the ship suffered several electrical fires caused by ageing wiring, and Cunard-White Star opted to retire her in 1938.

 

She was sold to Sir John Jarvis, who had also purchased Olympic, to provide work for unemployed shipbuilders in Jarrow, County Durham. Berengaria sailed for the River Tyne under the command of Captain George Gibbons to be scrapped down to the waterline.

 

Due to the size of the vessel and the outbreak of the Second World War, final demolition took place only in 1946.

The threee ladies were very charming, appearantly loving to stand in front of a camera

6241. Another tinted piece of history, this British postcard shows AE1 in the historic Devonshire Dock [opened 1867] soon after her completion at the Vickers Ltd yard at Barrow-in-Furness in Feb. 1914. IThe postcard has found its way into the RAN Archives with the word 'Australian' looking like a later addition, perhaps for Down Under usage.

 

It's a wonderfully evocative early 20th Century British dockyard scene. The submarine was actually commissioned in Portmouth on Feb. 28, and departed for Australia with her sister boat AE2 two days later, arriving in Sydney on May 24, as per the previous image.

 

We think the photo in Entry 2209 may have been taken at the same place and roughly in the same period, although not the same day - the crew rig is different.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/41311545@N05/4709684704/

 

This photo; as cited above, released online. An untinted version of this image appeared with an article concerning AE 1's unresolved loss in the Sydney's Sun Herald newsapaper on Jan. 29, 2012.

 

www.smh.com.au/national/race-to-solve-the-ae1-mystery-201...

 

A copy of that article as we think the link may not last:

  

Race to solve the AE1 mystery

 

Date January 29, 2012 An Australian submarine lost at sea has remained undetected in its watery grave for almost 100 years. Now salvage teams, including descendants of the 35 crew members, believe they have pinpointed its location. Sarah Whyte and Tim Barlass report.

  

SEARCH teams believe they are on the brink of recovering the first Australian submarine lost at sea, almost 100 years after a tragedy that killed 35 men in the early days of World War I.

 

A report obtained by The Sun-Herald, which was prepared by the descendants of the crew and will be presented to the Royal Australian Navy and the federal government, reveals new details about the vessel's location. At the same time, another salvage group says it is preparing to locate the sunken sub this year.

 

The 800-tonne submarine AE1, believed to have eight unstable torpedoes on board, has evaded the best endeavours to locate it. The vessel was stationed in Rabaul Harbour on New Britain Island in what is now Papua New Guinea, where it was deployed for the invasion of Germany's Pacific colonial headquarters.

 

But, during operations with the destroyer HMAS Parramatta, the submarine was lost with the entire crew of 35, 15 listed as Australians and 20 British. It remains a maritime military grave - a time capsule undisturbed since September 14, 1914, and in ghostly silence since its last exchange of signals with the Parramatta about 2.30pm that day.

 

A group representing the crew's descendants who have for years tried to find the boat believes the vessel can be located, and one of Australia's last maritime mysteries solved.

 

They are not the only ones. A salvage team believes they are the ''only ones on earth'' who know where the submarine is.

 

A former salvage diver and author of The Last New Guinea Salvage Pirate, Fritz Herscheid, is hoping to locate the sunken submarine in mid-June. Mr Herscheid tells The Sun-Herald he has been searching and researching the location of the AE1 for 40 years, after a conversation he had in 1968 with the last surviving WWI priest living at the Vunapope mission, on New Britain.

 

''He gave me the name of the plantation where I would find the sub. John [Waite] and I looked for it for many months but we were restricted to 'diving','' Mr Herscheid said. ''For the past five years I have been refitting a small 50-footer, the Tropic Seas, for the expedition.''

 

He has joined forces with Brett Devine, a Sydney salvager, and Mr Herscheid says it will cost them $500,000 to fund the expedition.

 

But the other, descendants-linked group has charted the vessel's location in a 112-page report to be handed to the navy and the government. The group plans a search to locate the AE1 in time for ANZAC centenary observances of the start of World War I in 2014.

 

The president of group AE1 Incorporated Dr Michael White, QC, says: ''We have researched every aspect of the loss, the purpose of which was to to find the area of highest probability [of its location].

 

''It will stay where it is but the relatives will finally know where their family members lie. We don't mind who finds it, we just want it found. It belongs to the government.''

 

Retired commodore Terence Roach, who heads the group's search committee, said the report would state the preferred scenario for the loss was ''navigational error''. That remains intentionally vague because there are no images of the hull to provide clues.

 

He says the E Class submarine, built in Britain, was of robust design but did have deficiencies with its steering gear. One theory is that the steering jammed, taking the vessel onto a reef.

 

A sinister conspiracy theory, purported across websites dedicated to the AE1, is that the submarine was hit by a German vessel, the Kolonialgesellschaft, according to a claim by a captured German believed to have been the captain of the ship, Wilhelm August Ewald Reuschel.

 

Mr Roach says: ''The report that we have done now is meant to provide the basis of a search plan. The topography of the sea bed is precipitous, so she could be in 100 metres or 1500 metres of water. Realistically the search would take two to three weeks which, plucking a figure out of the air, would cost $6 million to $7 million.

 

''She could be located in a crevice or chasm and covered by an underwater landslide. The AE1 was 800 tonnes, so it is a more difficult task than looking for the 10,000-tonnes HMAS Sydney [found in 2008 off Western Australia].''

 

The hope is to tow a side-scan sonar behind a remotely operated vehicle - a mini submarine - which could search the area following the terrain of the seabed. ''By nature I am an optimist,'' he says. ''I would not be doing this if I didn't think there was a good chance of finding it.''

 

But these are not the first attempts to recover the lost submarine. Last year hopes were raised when an uncharted wreck was discovered off Papua New Guinea; it was soon revealed to be an apparent World War II Japanese submarine.

 

In 2003, the late John Foster led an unsuccessful expedition to search for the submarine with the Western Australian Maritime Museum and the ABC. And, in 1976, the survey ship HMAS Flinders detected an ''unnatural object'' on the seabed 18 kilometres out of Rabaul, but nothing was found.

 

Relatives of the AE1 crew in Britain and Australia are generally not thought to favour raising the submarine and consider that it should remain, as it is now, a watery grave.

 

Vera Ryan from Lilyfield in Sydney's inner west, whose uncle, Jack Messenger from Ballarat, was an engineer-room artificer was 27 when the submarine was lost, is convener of the descendants' family association.

 

She says, while family members want to know where the vessel is, ''that is where the men went down and shared their last experience. I would be very surprised to find anyone who says 'let's raise it'.

 

''There is a lot of emotion, for the mothers and families. It was a devastating experience.''

 

Read more: www.smh.com.au/national/race-to-solve-the-ae1-mystery-201...

Audette Threesone: Bartender, Bookkeeper, Waitress, Bouncer, Therapist, Janitor, Office Manager, Alligator Wrangler, Kareoke Dj, Logistics, Supplies and Beverage Orders, AA Sponsor, Payroll, Band Member Wrangler, Scheduling, Bar Maintainance (Handyman), etc., etc.