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Monks come out of the Rumtek Monastery after morning prayers. The presence of the army and their constant stares ruin the atmosphere and I found smaller, less significant monasteries to be a much more rewarding experience. This is a popular tourist destination, and I could avoid the noisy crowds by visiting early in the morning.
Built by the 16th Karmapa after he fled Tibet in 1959, Rumtek serves as the home of the Karma Kagyu (Black Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also the center of the Karmapa controversy and violent clashes have taken place between supporters of the rival candidates. One of the candidates, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, fled Tibet in 2000. He is currently not allowed to reside at Rumtek as the Indian government attempts to improve ties with China.
The building at the back is the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute of Buddhist Studies.
Rebkong is located in the Golden Valley of the Rongwu Guchu River in Malho prefecture southeast of Qinghai province, The valley is at about 2600m above sea-level, extends from the north to south, and is surrounded by several mountains. Rebkong is also famous for itâs Tibetan traditional arts and cultural preservation. The there are several large monasteries and villages scattering around the Rongwu town which is home to hundreds of artist. The most well known villages and monasteries are Sanggeshung Yago and Sanggeshung Mago(upper and lower Wutun), Gomar Gompa, Nyamtok village.etc. If you are interested in learning Tibetan culture and Tibetan traditional arts, Rebkong will be one of most recommend region.
Mathura is a city in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately 50 kilometres north of Agra, and 145 kilometres south-east of Delhi; about 11 kilometres from the town of Vrindavan, and 22 kilometres from Govardhan. It is the administrative centre of Mathura District of Uttar Pradesh. During the ancient period, Mathura was an economic hub, located at the junction of important caravan routes. The 2011 census of India estimated the population of Mathura to be 441,894.
Mathura is the birthplace of Lord Krishna which is located at the centre of Braj or Brij-bhoomi, called Shri Krishna Janma-Bhoomi, literally: 'Lord Krishna's birthplace'. It is one of the seven cities (Sapta Puri) considered holy by Hindus. The Keshav Dev Temple was built in ancient times on the site of Krishna's birthplace (an underground prison). Mathura was the capital of the Surasena Kingdom, ruled by Kansa the maternal uncle of Krishna.
Mathura has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Mathura has an ancient history and also homeland and birthplace of Krishna who was born in yadu dynasty. According to the Archaeological Survey of India plaque at the Mathura Museum, the city is mentioned in the oldest Indian epic, the Ramayana. In the epic, the Ikshwaku prince Shatrughna slays a demon called Lavanasura and claims the land. Afterwards, the place came to be known as Madhuvan as it was thickly wooded, then Madhupura and later Mathura.
In the 6th century BCE Mathura became the capital of the Surasena mahajanapada. The city was later ruled by the Maurya empire (4th to 2nd centuries BCE) and the Shunga dynasty (2nd century BCE). It may have come under the control of Indo-Greeks some time between 180 BCE and 100 BCE. It then reverted to local rule before being conquered by the Indo-Scythians during the 1st century BCE.
Mathuran art and culture reached its zenith under the Kushan dynasty which had Mathura as one of their capitals, the other being Purushapura (Peshawar). The dynasty had kings with the names of Kujula Kadphises, Kanishka, Huvishka and Vasudeva I.
Megasthenes, writing in the early 3rd century BCE, mentions Mathura as a great city under the name Μέθορα (Méthora).
The Indo-Scythians (aka Sakas or Shakas) conquered the area of Mathura over Indian kings around 60 BCE.
The findings of ancient stone inscriptions in Maghera, a town 17 kilometres from Mathura, provide historical artifacts giving more details on this era of Mathura. The opening of the 3 line text of these inscriptions are in Brahmi script and were translated as: "In the 116th year of the Greek kings..."
The Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions attest that Mathura fell under the control of the Sakas. The inscriptions contain references to Kharaosta Kamuio and Aiyasi Kamuia. Yuvaraja Kharostes (Kshatrapa) was the son of Arta, as is attested by his own coins.
Arta is stated to be brother of King Moga or Maues. Princess Aiyasi Kambojaka, also called Kambojika, was the chief queen of Shaka Mahakshatrapa Rajuvula. Kamboja presence in Mathura is also verified from some verses of the epic, the Mahabharata, which are believed to have been composed around this period.
The Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura are sometimes called the "Northern Satraps", as opposed to the "Western Satraps" ruling in Gujarat and Malwa. After Rajuvula, several successors are known to have ruled as vassals to the Kushans, such as the "Great Satrap" Kharapallana and the "Satrap" Vanaspara, who are known from an inscription discovered in Sarnath, and dated to the 3rd year of Kanishka (c 130 CE), in which they were paying allegiance to the Kushans.
Mathura served as one of the Kushan Empire's two capitals from the first to the third centuries.
Faxian mentions the city as a centre of Buddhism about 400 while his successor Xuanzang, who visited the city in 634 CE, mentions it as Mot'ulo, recording that it contained twenty Buddhist monasteries and five Brahmanical temples. Later, he went east to Thanesar, Jalandhar in the eastern Punjab, before climbing up to visit predominantly Theravada monasteries in the Kulu valley and turning southward again to Bairat and then Mathura, on the Yamuna river.
The city was sacked and many of its temples destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018 and again by Sikandar Lodhi, who ruled the Sultanate of Delhi from 1489 to 1517.
Sikander Lodhi earned the epithet of 'Butt Shikan', the 'Destroyer of Hindu deities'. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, built the city's Jami Masjid (Friday mosque) .[citation needed] The noteworthy fact is that the exact place of birth of Krishna, according to historians, is in the place of worship of the Hindus, though the mosque was built near the birthplace of Krishna. The bigger Krishna shrine, better known as Dwarkadeesh Temple is a few metres away from what is believed to be the actual birthplace of Krishna. It was built in 1815 by Seth Gokuldas Parikh, Treasurer of Gwalior.
In 2016, 24 people including 2 police officers were killed in the Jawahar Bagh clash, when the police tried to evict a large number of squatters from the public park
GEOGRAPHY
Mathura is located at 27.28°N 77.41°E. It has an average elevation of 174 metres
DEMOGRAPHICS
The 2011 census of India estimates the population of Mathura to be 441,894, a decadal growth rate of 22.53 per cent from 2001 census of India. Males account for 54% (268,445) and females for 46% (173,449) of this population. Sex ratio of Mathura is 858 females per 1000 males, which has increased from 840 in 2001. However, national sex ratio is 940. Population density in 2011 has increased from 621 per km2 in 2001 to 761 per km2. Mathura has an average literacy rate of 72.65 per cent which has increased from 61.46 per cent in 2001 but still lower than the national average of 74.04 per cent. Male and female literacy rate are 84.39 and 58.93 per cent respectively. 15.61 per cent of Mathura's population is under 6 years of age. This figure was 19.56 per cent in 2001 census. Mathura has large population of Jat and Yadav in rural areas and Brahmins & Baniyas in City. The famous cities/villages of Mathura District are as follows.
Lohwan
Vrindavan
Baldeo
Nandgaon
Barsana
Goverdhan
Gokul
Chaumuhan
Kosi Kalan
TRANSPORTATION
RAIL
Mathura is well connected by train to major cities in India such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Indore, Alwar, Jaipur, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Rewa, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi etc.
The city is served by four stations, Mathura Junction being the biggest one connecting to West, North and Southern India. Mathura Cantt connects to eastern Uttar Pradesh. Bhuteshwar serves for local trains for Delhi, Delhi NCR, Agra, Bharatpur and Alwar. Another station Krishnajanmabhoomi connects to Vrindavan via rail bus.
ROAD
Mathura is well connected by road to the rest of Uttar Pradesh and India. NH 2 (Delhi-Howrah) Highway passes through the city and connects to National Highway 3 (to Mumbai), a part of which is known as Mathura Road. NH-11 (Agra to Bikaner). SH-33 (Bareilly to Mathura via Badaun ,Ujhani, Kasganj ,Soron, Sikandra Rao, Hathras) NH-93 (Moradabad) are also prominent arterial highways. Yamuna Expressway also connects to Mathura and in fact shortest way to reach Mathura by road.
The city is served by Upsrtc, JNNURAM, Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, DTC, Chandigarh and Punjab state transportation bus companies. Mathura depot, run by upsrtc - the Uttar Pradesh state bus company - runs 120 buses. Direct buses are available to Alwar, Agra, Aligarh, Khair, Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut, Haridwar, Rohtak and other Indian cities. An intercity JnNURM bus facility also exists.
AIR
As of now the city has no airport but the airport was proposed to Mathura in 2012. The civil aviation minister Ajit Singh suggested Mathura's name for the site of a new greenfield international airport to chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav. Mathura's name came into play when group of ministers terminated the planning of building Taj International Airport at Greater Noida. Land has been marked, and construction is in progress near the Yamuna Expressway, with plans to open in the next five years with regular flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Ujjain and Varanasi and some international routes in future.
TOURISM
Mathura is a holy city for Hinduism, the world's third-largest religion. There are many places of historic and religious importance in Mathura and its neighbouring towns. The twin-city to Mathura is Vrindavan. As the home of Krishna in his youth, the small town is host to a multitude of temples belonging to various sects of Hinduism proclaiming Krishna in various forms and avatars. Some places of interest are:
Baldeo(Dauji Mandir)
Lohwan Mata Mandir
Shri Ratneshwar Mahadev
Gopinath Maharaj Mandir
Keshav Dev Temple (Shri Krishna Janma Bhoomi)
Vishram Ghat (Bank of River Yamuna)
Shri Jagannath Temple Bhuteshwar Mathura
Prem Mandir, Vrindavan
Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir, Vrindavan
Mathura Museum
Birla Mandir
Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi
Naam yog Sadhna Mandir (Baba Jai Gurudev Temple)
Banke Bihari Temple
Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi
Iskcon Temple.
bhuteshwar temple
The Udasin Kashni Ashram (Ramanrati) near Gokul (Mahaven)
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE
Mathura is the home for Indian I Corps (Strike Formation) within the Indian Army's Central Command, hosting Strike I Corps headquarters in a large classified area in the outskirts of the city known as Mathura Cantonment (Central Command itself has its headquarters at Lucknow). It hosts Strike Infantry units, Air Defence units, Armoured Divisions, Engineer brigades, Aritillery Units and classified units of Strategic Nuclear Command. Corps I is primarily responsible for western borders of India. In 2007 during Exercise Ashwamedha, all the armoured, artillery and infantry divisions performed a simulation of an overall NBC (nuclear-chemical-biological) environment. The aim was to show operational ability in high intensity, short duration and 'sudden' battles.
INDUSTRIES
One of the major contributors in the economy of Uttar Pradesh are Mathura Industries.[citation needed] Mathura Refinery located in the city is one of the biggest oil refineries of Asia with 8.0 MMTPA refining capacity. This oil refinery of the Indian Oil Corporation is a highly technologically advanced oil refinery. Mathura Refinery is the first in Asia and third in the world to receive the coveted ISO-14001 certification for Environment Management System in 1996.
Textile printing industry that includes both sari-printing and fabric dyeing and silver ornaments manufacturing are major industrial contributors to the region. Apart from these other industries are water tap manufacturing units and other decorative and household items. Mathura also is a big centre for production of cotton materials; prominent among them being pure white bleached cotton sarees for women and dhotis for men,and cotton niwar tapes for beds. It is also a hub for production of milk based sweet meals,prominent among them being mathura Pedas and burfis. Renowned as the place where rivers of milk flowed, Mathura till today boasts of Milk trading centres where you can buy any amount of fresh milk where rates vary every few minutes and are notified on a black board akin to stock prices.
POLITICS
In 2014 General Elections Mrs. Hema Malini of BJP became the Member of Parliament from Mathura Constituency. The Mayor of the city is Mrs. Manisha Gupta of BJP.
CULTURE
Mathura has contributed a lot towards Indian Culture through its rich heritage. The ethos of Mathura, and in fact the whole of Braj mandal is centered on Krishna and his tales. Mathura sees heightened activities during the major festivities dedicated to Krishna.
The Braj culture has been expressed widely through various practices.
Sanjhee is the colourful art of decorating the ground with flowers.
Rasiya is a tradition that is integral to Mathura's culture. It is the tradition of folk-songs that describe the love of the divine couple Radha and Krshnaji. It is an inseparable part of the Holi celebrations and all other festive occasions at Mathura. (Dhulendi – Holi with drums (dholak), colours, etc. originated from Braj region hundreds of millennia before today.)
Raaslilas of Mathura have become an integral part of Indian Folklore. Krshnaji had danced the Raas with gopis on banks of Yamuna river.
Charkula is a traditional folk dance of the Braj. In this dance, a woman balances a column of deepikas on her head and dances to the accompaniment of Rasiya songs by the menfolk.
The language spoken in the Braj mandal is mainly Hindi which is spoken in a different dialect. This dialect is characteristic with the Braj region and known as Brajbhasha. Being close to haryana and uttar pradesh haryanwi is spoken by people and very few people speak Punjabi. Before Hindi and until past few centuries, Brajbhasha used to be the dominant language in literature.
Mathura is one of the seven most holy places for Hindus in India.
- Ayodhyā Mathurā Māyā Kāsi Kāñchī Avantikā I
- Purī Dvārāvatī chaiva saptaitā moksadāyikāh II - Garuḍa Purāṇa I XVI .14
A Kṣetra is a sacred ground, a field of active power, a place where Moksha, final release can be obtained. The Garuda Purana enumerates seven cities as giver of Moksha, They are Ayodhya, Mathura, Māyā, Kāsi, Kāñchī, Avantikā, Puri and Dvārāvatī.
MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS
All India Radio has a local station in Mathura which transmits various programs of mass interest. Commissioned in 2001, Mathura has a Programme generating Facility (PGF) of Doordarshan - India's Public service Broadcasters.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
GLA University, R.K. Group of Institutions (including Rajiv Academy For Technology & Management, Rajiv Academy For Teacher's Education, Rajiv Academy For Pharmacy, K.D. Dental College & Hospital, etc.) and BSA College of engineering and technology, Excel Institute of Management & Technology has been accorded as status of university). 40 engineering & management colleges had been established in Mathura up to 12-12-2009.
Mathura is home to the Uttar Pradesh Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Veterinary University, the first of its kind in the state and the fourth in the country to be made independent veterinary universities."Mathura University ::-:: Website Loading". Upvetuniv.edu.in. Retrieved 2013-11-17.The college was established in 1947 by Govt of U.P. and it is Asia's first veterinary college which awarded Veterinary science degree. The University is located on the Mathura-Agra road, about 5 kilometres from Mathura Junction. The main campus of the University is spread over a land area of 3.1659 km2 in Mathura Cantt and about 6 km2 at Madhurikund, about 20 kilometres from the main campus.
WIKIPEDIA
Rilski Manastir / Рилски манастир / Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila - UNESCO World Heritage Site - Bulgaria
This picture was taken from three frames.
Monastery in Legnickie Pole is a good example of the Baroque.
The Copts invented what is now the Christian monastic tradition. It all began when Christians fled to live in caves in the desert, to escape persecution
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia, located along a trade route between the northern Adriatic Sea and the Danube region, north of the country's largest marsh, it has been inhabited since prehistoric times. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center and the seat of the Urban Municipality of Ljubljana.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the area. The city was first mentioned in the first half of the 12th century. It was the historical capital of Carniola, one of the Slovene-inhabited parts of the Habsburg monarchy. It was under Habsburg rule from the Middle Ages until the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918. After World War II, Ljubljana became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The city retained this status until Slovenia became independent in 1991 and Ljubljana became the capital of the newly formed state.
Name
Depiction of the city's coat of arms featuring the dragon on top of the castle, from Valvasor's The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola, 1689
The exact origin of the name Ljubljana is unclear. In medieval times, both the river and the town were also called Laibach (pronounced [ˈlaɪbax] in German. This name was used within the region until 1918 and continues to be used in German. In Italian, the city is referred to as Lubiana, and in Latin, it is known as Labacum. An archaic English form of the city's name is Lublyana, used primarily by Slovene Americans.
The German name was first documented in 1144, and the Slovenian form appeared in records as early as 1146. The 10th-century work Life of Gregentios provides the Greek variant Λυπλιανές (Lyplianés) and situates it among the Avars in the 6th century. This account is influenced by an earlier northern Italian source written shortly after the conquest of 774.
The connection between the Slovene and German names has posed a puzzle for scholars. In 2007, linguist Tijmen Pronk, an authority in comparative Indo-European linguistics and Slovene dialectology from the University of Leiden, provided strong support for the theory that the Slavic ljub- 'to love, like' was the most likely origin. He argued that the river's name likely stemmed from the settlement's name. Silvo Torkar, a linguist with expertise in Slovene names, put forth the idea that Ljubljana's name has its roots in Ljubija, the original name of the Ljubljanica River. This can be traced back to the Old Slavic male name Ljubovid, which translates to 'the one with a lovely appearance'. Torkar also asserted that the name Laibach is a combination of German and Slovene, sharing its origins with the same personal name.
Dragon symbol
The city's symbol is the Ljubljana Dragon. It is depicted on the top of the tower of Ljubljana Castle in the Ljubljana coat of arms and on the Ljubljanica-crossing Dragon Bridge (Zmajski most). It represents power, courage, and greatness.
Several explanations describe the origin of the Ljubljana Dragon. According to a Slavic myth, the slaying of a dragon releases the waters and ensures the fertility of the earth, and it is thought that the myth is tied to the Ljubljana Marsh, the expansive marshy area that periodically threatens Ljubljana with flooding. According to Greek legend, the Argonauts on their return home after having taken the Golden Fleece found a large lake surrounded by a marsh between the present-day towns of Vrhnika and Ljubljana. There Jason struck down a monster. This monster evolved into the dragon that today is present in the city coat of arms and flag.
It is historically more believable that the dragon was adopted from Saint George, the patron of the Ljubljana Castle chapel built in the 15th century.[citation needed] In the legend of Saint George, the dragon represents the old ancestral paganism overcome by Christianity. According to another explanation, related to the second, the dragon was at first only a decoration above the city coat of arms. In the Baroque, it became part of the coat of arms and, in the 19th and especially the 20th century, it outstripped the tower and other elements in importance.
History
Prehistory
Around 2000 BC, the Ljubljana Marsh was settled by people living in pile dwellings. Prehistoric pile dwellings and the oldest wooden wheel in the world are among the most notable archeological findings from the marshland. These lake-dwelling people survived through hunting, fishing and primitive agriculture. To get around the marshes, they used dugout canoes made by cutting out the inside of tree trunks. Their archaeological remains, nowadays in the Municipality of Ig, have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site since June 2011, in the common nomination of six Alpine states.
Later, the area remained a transit point, for groups including the Illyrians, followed by a mixed nation of the Celts and the Illyrians called the Iapodes, and then in the 3rd century BC a Celtic tribe, the Taurisci.
Antiquity
Around 50 BC, the Romans built a military encampment that later became a permanent settlement called Iulia Aemona. This entrenched fort was occupied by the Legio XV Apollinaris. In 452, it was destroyed by the Huns under Attila's orders, and later by the Ostrogoths and the Lombards. Emona housed 5,000 to 6,000 inhabitants and played an important role during battles. Its plastered brick houses, painted in different colours, were connected to a drainage system.
In the 6th century, the ancestors of the Slovenes moved in. In the 9th century, they fell under Frankish domination, while experiencing frequent Magyar raids. Not much is known about the area during the settlement of Slavs in the period between the downfall of Emona and the Early Middle Ages.
Middle Ages
The parchment sheet Nomina defunctorum ("Names of the Dead"), most probably written in the second half of 1161, mentions the nobleman Rudolf of Tarcento, a lawyer of the Patriarchate of Aquileia, who had bestowed a canon with 20 farmsteads beside the castle of Ljubljana (castrum Leibach) to the Patriarchate. According to the historian Peter Štih's deduction, this happened between 1112 and 1125, the earliest mention of Ljubljana.
The property changed hands repeatedly until the first half of the 12th century. The territory south of the Sava where Ljubljana developed, gradually became property of the Carinthian Dukes of the House of Sponheim. Urban settlement started in the second half of the 12th century. At around 1200, market rights were granted to Old Square (Stari trg), which at the time was one of Ljubljana's three original districts. The other two districts were an area called "Town" (Mesto), built around the predecessor of the present-day Ljubljana Cathedral at one side of the Ljubljanica River, and New Square (Novi trg) at the other side. The Franciscan Bridge, a predecessor of the present-day Triple Bridge, and the Butchers' Bridge connected the walled areas with wooden buildings. Ljubljana acquired the town privileges at some time between 1220 and 1243. Seven fires erupted during the Middle Ages.[43] Artisans organised themselves into guilds. The Teutonic Knights, the Conventual Franciscans, and the Franciscans settled there. In 1256, when the Carinthian duke Ulrich III of Spanheim became lord of Carniola, the provincial capital was moved from Kamnik to Ljubljana.
In the late 1270s, Ljubljana was conquered by King Ottokar II of Bohemia. In 1278, after Ottokar's defeat, it became—together with the rest of Carniola—property of Rudolph of Habsburg. It was administered by the Counts of Gorizia from 1279 until 1335, when it became the capital town of Carniola. Renamed Laibach, it was owned by the House of Habsburg until 1797. In 1327, the Ljubljana's "Jewish Quarter"—now only "Jewish Street" (Židovska ulica) remains—was established with a synagogue, and lasted until Emperor Maximilian I in 1515 and expelled the Jews from Ljubljana at the request of its citizens, for which he demanded a certain payment from the town. In 1382, in front of St. Bartholomew's Church in Šiška, at the time a nearby village, now part of Ljubljana, a peace treaty was signed between the Republic of Venice and Leopold III of Habsburg.
Early modern
In the 15th century, Ljubljana became recognised for its art, particularly painting and sculpture. The Latin Catholic Archdiocese of Ljubljana was established in 1461 and the Church of St. Nicholas became the diocesan cathedral. After the 1511 Idrija earthquake, the city was rebuilt in the Renaissance style and a new wall was built around it. Wooden buildings were forbidden after a large fire at New Square in 1524.
In the 16th century, the population of Ljubljana numbered 5,000, 70% of whom spoke Slovene as their first language, with most of the rest using German. The first secondary school, public library and printing house opened in Ljubljana. Ljubljana became an important educational centre.
From 1529, Ljubljana had an active Slovene Protestant community. They were expelled in 1598, marking the beginning of the Counter-Reformation. Catholic Bishop Thomas Chrön ordered the public burning of eight cartloads of Protestant books.
In 1597, the Jesuits arrived, followed in 1606 by the Capuchins, seeking to eradicate Protestantism. Only 5% of all the residents of Ljubljana at the time were Catholic, but eventually they re-Catholicized the town. The Jesuits staged the first theatre productions, fostered the development of Baroque music, and established Catholic schools. In the middle and the second half of the 17th century, foreign architects built and renovated monasteries, churches, and palaces and introduced Baroque architecture. In 1702, the Ursulines settled in the town, and the following year they opened the first public school for girls in the Slovene Lands. Some years later, the construction of the Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity started. In 1779, St. Christopher's Cemetery replaced the cemetery at St. Peter's Church as Ljubljana's main cemetery.
Late modern
From 1809 to 1813, during the "Napoleonic interlude", Ljubljana (as Laybach) was the capital of the Illyrian Provinces. In 1813, the city returned to Austria and from 1815 to 1849 was the administrative centre of the Kingdom of Illyria in the Austrian Empire. In 1821, it hosted the Congress of Laibach, which fixed European political borders for that period. The first train arrived in 1849 from Vienna and in 1857 the line extended to Trieste.
In 1895, Ljubljana, then a city of 31,000, suffered a severe earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.1 and a maximum EMS intensity of VIII–IX ("heavily damaging – destructive"). 21 people died due to the earthquake and some 10% of the city's 1,400 buildings were destroyed. During the subsequent reconstruction, some districts were rebuilt in the Vienna Secession style. Public electric lighting arrived in 1898. The rebuilding period between 1896 and 1910 is referred to as the "revival of Ljubljana" because of architectural changes that defined the city and for reform of urban administration, health, education and tourism. The rebuilding and quick modernisation of the city were led by the mayor Ivan Hribar.
In 1918, following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the region joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1929, Ljubljana became the capital of the Drava Banovina, a Yugoslav province.
In 1941, during World War II, Fascist Italy occupied the city, and then on 3 May 1941 made Lubiana the capital of Italy's Province of Ljubljana with former Yugoslav general Leon Rupnik as mayor. After the Italian capitulation, Nazi Germany with SS-general Erwin Rösener and Friedrich Rainer took control in 1943, but formally the city remained the capital of an Italian province until 9 May 1945. In Ljubljana, the Axis forces established strongholds and command centres of Quisling organisations, the Anti-Communist Volunteer Militia under Italy and the Home Guard under German control. Starting in February 1942, the city was surrounded by barbed wire, later fortified by bunkers, to prevent co-operation between the resistance movements that operated inside and outside the fence. Since 1985, the commemorative trail has ringed the city where this iron fence once stood. Postwar reprisals filled mass graves.
After World War II, Ljubljana became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It retained this status until Slovene independence in 1991.
Contemporary situation
Ljubljana is the capital of independent Slovenia, which joined the European Union in 2004.
Geography
The city covers 163.8 km2 (63.2 sq mi).[1] It is situated in the Ljubljana Basin in Central Slovenia, between the Alps and the Karst. Ljubljana is located some 320 km (200 mi) south of Munich, 477 km (296 mi) east of Zürich, 250 km (160 mi) east of Venice, 350 km (220 mi) southwest of Vienna, 124 km (77 mi) west of Zagreb and 400 km (250 mi) southwest of Budapest. Ljubljana has grown considerably since the 1970s, mainly by merging with nearby settlements.
Geology
The city stretches out on an alluvial plain dating to the Quaternary era. The mountainous regions nearby are older, dating from the Mesozoic (Triassic) or Paleozoic. Earthquakes have repeatedly devastated Ljubljana, notably in 1511 and 1895.
Topography
Ljubljana has an elevation of 295 m (968 ft). The city centre, located along the river, sits at 298 m (978 ft). Ljubljana Castle, which sits atop Castle Hill (Grajski grič) south of the city centre, has an elevation of 366 m (1,201 ft). The highest point of the city, called Grmada, reaches 676 m (2,218 ft), 3 m (9.8 ft) more than the nearby Mount Saint Mary (Šmarna gora) peak, a popular hiking destination. These are located in the northern part of the city.
(Wikipedia)
Ljubljana (Ljubljana slowenisch [ljuˈbljàːna], umgangssprachlich [luˈblàːna], deutsch Laibach, italienisch Lubiana) ist die Hauptstadt Sloweniens und mit 288.382 Einwohnern (2024) zugleich bevölkerungsreichste Gemeinde des Landes.
Die Stadt ist das politische, wirtschaftliche und kulturelle Zentrum Sloweniens. Ljubljana ist Sitz des gleichnamigen römisch-katholischen Erzbistums und seit 1919 Universitätsstadt.
Die Stadt Ljubljana bildet gemeinsam mit einigen kleineren umliegenden Siedlungen die Stadtgemeinde Ljubljana (slowenisch Mestna občina Ljubljana, abgekürzt MOL).
Name der Stadt
Für die Herkunft des slowenischen Namens der Stadt gibt es mehrere Erklärungen: nach der einen, wohl volksetymologischen Erklärung kommt er vom slowenischen ljubljena („geliebte Stadt“), nach der anderen von dem lateinischen Flussnamen Aluviana. Der Stadtname wurde in dieser Form zum ersten Mal 1146 als Luwigana erwähnt.
Im deutschsprachigen Raum hat sich neben dem Namen Ljubljana auch der historische deutsche, ursprünglich wohl wie der gleichlautende Flussname aus dem Slawischen abgeleitete Name Laibach gehalten, der heute vor allem in Österreich gebräuchlich ist. In der österreichischen Diplomatie wird die Stadt amtlich Laibach bezeichnet. Der deutsche Name der Stadt wurde zum ersten Mal 1112–1125 als Leibach erwähnt. Diese Form ist auch gleichzeitig die älteste bekannte Erwähnung der Stadt.
Geschichte
Vorgeschichte
Von 3600 bis 3100 v. Chr. finden sich die frühesten Seebehausungen (Pfahlbauten) im Laibacher Moor.
Zwischen 1000 und 700 v. Chr. existierten erste illyrische und venetische Siedlungen und um 400 v. Chr. folgte die Periode der Kelten.
Als erster mythischer Bewohner gilt Iason (siehe den Abschnitt Wappen).
Römisches Reich
Im 1. Jahrhundert v. Chr. wurde von den Römern eine militärische Festung an der Stelle des heutigen Ljubljana errichtet und im Jahr 14 die römische Siedlung Emona oder Aemona (Colonia Aemona Iulia tribu Claudia) angelegt. Administrativ gehörte diese Stadt während der Antike zu Italien. Sie befand sich zwar an der Stelle des heutigen Ljubljana, ging jedoch in der Völkerwanderung unter und ist daher nur eine Vorgängersiedlung der heutigen Stadt, deren Straße Emonska cesta den Namen bewahrt.
Völkerwanderung und Fränkisches Reich
Um 600 wanderten slawische Stämme in das Gebiet, gefolgt von einem Niedergang Emonas. Um 800 fiel das Gebiet von Laibach unter die Herrschaft der Franken.
Heiliges Römisches Reich
Die Stadt vor dem 13. Jahrhundert
Im Ostfränkischen und später Heiligen Römischen Reich gehörte das Gebiet um Ljubljana zur Mark Krain. Der Zeitraum zwischen 1112 und 1125 ist die Entstehungszeit der ersten schriftlichen Aufzeichnungen von Laibach. Die erste urkundliche Erwähnung der Stadt stammt aus dem Jahr 1144.[8] Die von den Spanheimern gegründete Siedlung wurde um 1220 erstmals Stadt genannt, 1243 sind ihr Marktrecht und ihre Stadtmauer aktenkundig, 1280 wurden die Einwohner cives (Bürger) genannt.
1270 wurde Laibach von dem böhmischen König Přemysl Ottokar II. erobert, der sich zuvor nach dem Aussterben der Babenberger im Mannesstamm, 1246, deren österreichisches Herrschaftsgebiet untertan gemacht hatte.
Habsburgische Herrschaft, Reformation und Gegenreformation
1278 ging Laibach nach der Niederlage des Königs Ottokar II. gegen Rudolf von Habsburg in den Besitz der Habsburger über.
1335 wurde Laibach unter den Habsburgern Hauptstadt des zum Heiligen Römischen Reich zählenden Herzogtums Krain. Im Jahr 1415 widerstand Laibach einer türkischen Invasion.
Im Jahr 1461 wurde die Diözese Laibach gegründet (siehe auch: Liste der Bischöfe von Ljubljana) und die Kirche St. Nikolaus wurde zur Kathedrale. 1504 fand die Wahl des ersten Bürgermeisters statt. 1511 erlebte Laibach sein erstes großes Erdbeben.
Die erste reformatorische Predigt wurde spätestens 1523 gehalten. Gefördert durch die Krainer Landstände errichteten Protestanten im Jahr 1536 eine professionelle Lateinschule im Range eines Gymnasiums. Prägend für die reformatorische Entwicklung war neben dem Humanismus vor allem der slowenische Reformator Primož Trubar (Primus Truber, 1508–1586) durch seine in slowenischer Sprache gehaltenen reformatorischen Predigten. Mit seinem umfangreichen, slowenisch abgefassten Schriftwerk gilt er als Begründer der slowenischen Schriftsprache. 2016 wurde Ljubljana durch die Gemeinschaft Evangelischer Kirchen in Europa der Ehrentitel „Reformationsstadt Europas“ verliehen.
Nachdem 1597 die Jesuiten in Laibach eintrafen, die zwei Jahre später ihr eigenes Gymnasium errichteten, kam die Reformation Trubars in Slowenien im ersten Drittel des 17. Jahrhunderts an ihr Ende. Mit der Gegenreformation wurde das Kirchen- und Schulministerium in Laibach geschlossen, evangelische Prediger wurden ausgewiesen, eine Religions-Reformationskommission wurde eingerichtet und der konversionsunwillige Adel des Landes verwiesen. Zu evangelischen Gemeindeneugründungen kam es – ermöglicht durch das Toleranzpatent Josephs II. von 1781 – in Laibach in der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts. Seit 1945 existiert die Slowenische Kirche A.B. (Augsburger Bekenntnisses).
1693 erfolgte die Gründung der Academia Operosum, einer Vereinigung der angesehensten Gelehrten, und 1701 die Gründung der Academia Philharmonicorum.
1754 lag die Bevölkerungszahl der Stadt bei 9.300 Einwohnern. 1773 bis 1781 wurden der Gruberkanal (Gruberjev kanal) und der Gruber-Palast (Gruberjeva palača) erbaut. 1797 wurde die erste Tageszeitung von Slowenien herausgegeben.
Kaisertum Österreich
1804 wurde Laibach Teil des neu proklamierten Kaisertums Österreich. Nach dem Frieden von Schönbrunn musste die Stadt mit dem Umland an das napoleonische Frankreich abgetreten werden, und die Stadt wurde unter dem Namen Laybach 1809 bis 1813 Hauptstadt der Illyrischen Provinzen Frankreichs. 1814/15 kehrte sie mit dem Wiener Kongress wieder zu Österreich zurück.
1810 erfolgte die Gründung des Botanischen Gartens. 1821 fand auf Einladung von Kaiser Franz I. der Laibacher Kongress der Heiligen Allianz statt. Am 4. Oktober 1831 konnte der Präsident der Landwirtschaftlichen Gesellschaft für Krain, Franz von Hohenwart, in Laibach im Beisein des Landesgouverneurs Joseph Camillo von Schmidburg das Landesmuseum eröffnen.
Im Jahr 1849 wurde die Eisenbahnverbindung Laibach–Wien, die österreichische Südbahn, erbaut und 1857 als Verlängerung die Verbindung Laibach–Triest.
Im Jahr 1861 erfolgte die Einführung der öffentlichen Gasbeleuchtung und 1890 der Bau der öffentlichen Wasserversorgung. Nach einem verheerenden Erdbeben verpflichtete sich Laibach 1895 zu einem modernen Aussehen. 1898 wurde die öffentliche elektrische Beleuchtung eingeführt. Drei Jahre später, 1901, folgte die Einführung der elektrischen Straßenbahn in Laibach.
Im Jahr 1900 hatte Laibach inklusive Garnison 36.547 Einwohner. Davon waren 29.733 slowenisch- (81 %) und 5.423 deutschsprachig (15 %).
Vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg war Laibach österreichisch-ungarische Garnisonstadt. Im Jahre 1914 waren hier ganz oder in Teilen stationiert: der Stab der k. u. k. 28. Infanterie Truppen Division, das k.u.k. Krainische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 17, das k.u.k. Steirische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 27, das k.k. Landwehr Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 27 und das k.u.k. Feldkanonen Regiment Nr. 7. Die strategischen Entscheidungen für die Italienfront, insbesondere für die Isonzofront, wurden vom Armeekommando in Laibach getroffen, wo unter anderen Feldmarschall Boroević und der spätere österreichische Bundespräsident Körner tätig waren.
Königreich der Serben, Kroaten und Slowenen und Königreich Jugoslawien
Ende Oktober 1918 wurde Ljubljana Teil des neu gegründeten Königreichs der Serben, Kroaten und Slowenen. 1919 erfolgte die Gründung der Universität von Ljubljana. 1929 wurde Ljubljana Hauptstadt der Banschaft Drau (Dravska banovina) im Königreich Jugoslawien.
Italienische Annexion und deutsche Besetzung
Nach dem Überfall auf Jugoslawien im Zweiten Weltkrieg wurde am 3. Mai 1941 Ljubljana mit dem ehemaligen jugoslawischen General Leon Rupnik als Bürgermeister unter der Bezeichnung Lubiana Hauptstadt der annektierten italienischen Provincia di Lubiana. Der Großteil der Laibacher Deutschen, das waren rund 2.400 Personen, wurde im Winter 1941/42 auf Grund eines Abkommens zwischen Adolf Hitler und Benito Mussolini ins Großdeutsche Reich umgesiedelt, mehrheitlich in die Oberkrain und die Untersteiermark.
Im Jahr 1942 riegelten italienische Truppen die Stadt mit Stacheldrahtzaun und Wachtürmen ab und durchkämmten sie danach mehrfach im Rahmen der italienischen Repression gegen den slowenischen Widerstand. Bis zur Kapitulation Italiens beim Waffenstillstand von Cassibile im September 1943 wurden etwa achtzehn Prozent der Bevölkerung von Lubiana in italienische Konzentrationslager deportiert.
Nach der Kapitulation Italiens ging sie in deutsche Kontrolle über (SS-General Erwin Rösener und Friedrich Rainer als Chef der Zivilverwaltung) bis zur vollständigen Kapitulation der Wehrmacht am 8. Mai 1945.
Massengräber in Ljubljana
Während und direkt nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg fanden auf dem Gebiet des heutigen Slowenien Massentötungen statt. Die Opfer waren deutsche Kriegsgefangene, zwangsrepatriierte Soldaten der slowenischen Heimwehr und weitere, den jeweiligen Machthabern unliebsame Menschen. Die Getöteten wurden in Massengräbern abgelegt.
Meistens wurde ihre Existenz zwischen 1945 und 1990 geheim gehalten. Heute sind sie in Slowenien auch unter den Bezeichnungen „verborgene Gräberfelder“ (slowenisch: prikrita grobišča) oder „stille Gräberfelder“ (zamolčana grobišča) bekannt. Einige der Stätten gehören zu den größten Massengräbern Europas. Fast 600 solcher Stätten wurden von der Kommission für verborgene Massengräber in Slowenien (Komisija Vlade Republike Slovenije za reševanje vprašanj prikritih grobišč) registriert. Historiker schätzen, dass es insgesamt bis zu 750 Massengräber mit Hinrichtungsopfern gibt.[20] Diese enthalten die Überreste von bis zu 100.000 Opfern.
Auf dem Gebiet der Stadtgemeinde Ljubljana wurden zwanzig Massengräber aus der Zeit des Zweiten Weltkriegs gefunden, und zwar fünf in der Stadt Ljubljana selbst, sowie vier bzw. 11 in den zur Stadtgemeinde gehörenden Ortschaften Pance und Selo pri Pancah.
Sozialistische Föderative Republik Jugoslawien
Am 9. Mai 1945 erfolgte die formale Auflösung der Provincia di Lubiana. 1945 mussten die verbliebenen Laibacher Deutschen ebenso wie die übrigen Sloweniendeutschen auf Grund der AVNOJ-Beschlüsse das Land verlassen. Zahlreiche Menschen wurden ermordet.
Im Jahr 1945 wurde Ljubljana Hauptstadt der Volksrepublik Slowenien in der Föderativen Volksrepublik Jugoslawien.
1958 startete der erste slowenische Fernsehsender mit regelmäßigen Übertragungen und in diesem Jahr wurde die Straßenbahn stillgelegt; der Büroturm S2 wurde 1978 fertiggestellt. 1980 starb der jugoslawische Staatspräsident Josip Broz Tito in Ljubljana.
Republik Slowenien
Im Jahr 1991 feierte die Stadt Sloweniens Unabhängigkeit. Die österreichischen Journalisten Norbert Werner und Nikolas Vogel starben in Ljubljana am 28. Juni 1991 während des 10-Tage-Krieges am Flughafen Ljubljana als Opfer eines Raketenangriffes der jugoslawischen Volksarmee auf ihr Auto. Im Rahmen der Feier anlässlich des endgültigen Beitritts Sloweniens zum Schengen-Raum im Jahr 2008 gedachte Premierminister Janez Janša auf dem Flugfeld von Ljubljana der beiden Toten.
2002 fand das Gipfeltreffen Bush/Putin in Ljubljana statt.
Nur wenige Wochen nach Entdeckung eines neuen Massengrabes mit über 4000 von Tito-Partisanen Ermordeten in einem slowenischen Bergwerk beschloss der Stadtrat von Ljubljana mit der Mehrheit der Linksparteien im April 2009, wieder eine Straße nach Josip Broz Tito zu benennen, nachdem bereits von 1952 bis 1954 die heutige Slovenska cesta (Slowenische Straße) nach ihm benannt war.
Bevölkerung
Die Bevölkerung der Stadt bestand seit dem Hochmittelalter vor allem aus Deutschsprachigen. Nach 1848 fungierte die Stadt als kultureller Mittelpunkt der Slowenen. Zur Volkszählung im Jahr 1880 waren die 5.658 Deutschsprachigen (23 % der Bevölkerung) bereits eine Minderheit.
Bei der Volkszählung 2002 waren 84,1 % der Einwohner von Ljubljana slowenische Staatsbürger, 7,5 % Bosnier, 3,5 % Kroaten, 3,2 % Serben, 0,7 % EU-Bürger (damals EU-15), 0,6 % Nordmazedonier und 0,5 % andere.
Slowenisch ist alleinige Amtssprache der Stadtgemeinde Ljubljana und wurde bei dieser Volkszählung von 78,9 % der Bevölkerung als Muttersprache angegeben. Ferner sprachen nach eigenen Angaben 4,1 % Serbisch, 3,9 % Kroatisch, 3,9 % Serbokroatisch, 3,4 % Bosnisch und 1,9 % sonstige Sprachen.
Geografie
Lagebeschreibung
Ljubljana liegt auf 298 m. i. J. am Rande des Laibacher Beckens an der Ljubljanica (Laibach), die noch im Stadtgebiet in die Save mündet. Südlich tut sich der Karst auf, nach Norden erlaubt das Becken freien Blick in die Karawanken und die Steiner Alpen.
Südwestlich erstreckt sich die Ebene des teilweise trockengelegten Laibacher Moores (Ljubljansko barje).
Die Altstadt liegt an einer Schlinge der Ljubljanica um den Schlossberg. Zur Erleichterung der damaligen Schifffahrt wurde diese Schlinge im Jahr 1750 durch den Gruberkanal (Gruberjev Prekop) abgeschnitten.
(Wikipedia)
On river road in newburgh, NY was a small monastery and seminary. The archdiocese closed and sold it in the 2000's. Most of the buildings have been demolished for a housing developement. One that remains is this small ornamental shed..
Shaolin Temple is probably the most famous temple in China because of its long history and martial arts. Shaolin Temple is situated at the foot of Songshan Mountains, which is only eight miles of Dengfeng and about 50 miles southwest of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province. www.china-tour.cn/China-Pictures/Hunan-Pictures.htm
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Monkwearmouth–Jarrow, known simply as Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey, was a Benedictine double monastery in the Kingdom of Northumbria, England.
Its first house was St Peter's, Monkwearmouth, on the River Wear, founded in AD 674–5. It became a double house with the foundation of St Paul's, Jarrow, on the River Tyne in 684–5.
Both Monkwearmouth (in modern-day Sunderland) and Jarrow are now in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear. The abbey became the centre of Anglo-Saxon learning, producing the greatest Anglo-Saxon scholar, Bede.
Both houses were sacked by Viking raiders and in the 9th century the abbey was abandoned. After the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century there was a brief attempt to revive it. Early in the 14th century the two houses were refounded as cells of Durham Priory. In 1536 they were surrendered to the Crown and dissolved.
Since the dissolution the two abbey churches have survived as the parish churches of Monkwearmouth and Jarrow. The two sets of conventual buildings fell into ruin. At Jarrow substantial ruins survive next to St Paul's church.
The site of each house is a scheduled monument.[2][3] On the Monkwearmouth site St Peter's church is a Grade I listed building.[4] On the Jarrow site both St Peter's church and the monastery ruins are Grade I listed buildings.[5][6] In 2011 the United Kingdom nominated the entire Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey site for UNESCO to grant designate as a World Heritage Site.[7]
Benedict Biscop founded St Peter's monastery at Monkwearmouth in 674 on land given by King Ecgfrith of Northumbria.[8] He sought to build a model monastery for England, sharing his knowledge of the experience of the Roman traditions in an area previously more influenced by Celtic Christianity stemming from missionaries of Melrose and Iona. A papal letter in 678 exempted the monastery from external control.
In 682 the king was so pleased at the success of St Peter's that he gave Benedict land in Jarrow, where he urged him to build a second monastery.[citation needed]This was established in 685 as St Paul's. Benedict appointed Ceolfrith as its superior, who took with him to Jarrow monks from Monkwearmouth, including the young Bede.
The two monasteries were some of the first stone buildings to be built in an English kingdom. England had no masons, so Benedict brought masons from Francia. Benedict wanted glass windows, which were also then unusual in England, so he brought glassmakers also from Francia.[9] The glassmakers had a workshop at Monkwearmouth, on the River Wear near the monastery.[citation needed]
Benedict was well travelled in mainland Europe, and brought books and other materials from Rome[9] and Lérins Abbey.[10] He also persuaded John, arch-cantor of St Peter's Basilica in Rome, to come to teach plainsong at the abbey.[9][11]
The double abbey is often referred to simply as "Jarrow", despite its two houses being 7 miles (11 km) apart. Benedict himself was the first abbot, and the monastery flourished under him and his successors Eosterwine, Ceolfrith, and others, for 200 years. Benedict, on leaving England for Rome in 686, established Ceolfrith as Abbot in Jarrow and Eosterwine at Monkwearmouth[12]; but before his death he stipulated that the two sites should function as "one monastery in two places".
Ceolfrith
An illumination of Christ in Majesty, surrounded by the Four Evangelists, at the start of the New Testament in the Codex Amiatinus written at Monkwearmouth-Jarrow
As abbot, Ceolfrith continued Benedict's work of establishing the monastery as a centre of learning, scholarship, and especially book production. During this time a distinctive house style of half-uncial script emerged. When he died in AD 716, Monkwearmouth and Jarrow had between them 600 monks.[13]
Ceolfrith's major project was to produce three great "pandect" Bibles (i.e. manuscripts containing the entire text of the Bible), intended to furnish the churches of St Peter's and St Paul's, with the third copy as a gift to the Pope. Of the two copies kept at the abbey, one has been entirely lost, and only fragments survive of the other. The copy meant for the Pope survives as the Codex Amiatinus in Florence and is the oldest surviving Vulgate Bible in the World. Ceolfrith himself was taking it to Rome when he died in 716. His companions continued to Rome and presented it to Pope Gregory II, who by return sent his thanks to Ceolfirth's successor, Abbot Hwaetberht.[14]
Bede
A page of the Saint Petersburg Bede written at Monkwearmouth-Jarrow. National Library of Russia, St Petersburg.
The library Benedict had created on his travels to Rome and then given to the monastery made it the cradle not only of English art but of English literature. Bede was educated under Ceolfrith's patronage and lived, wrote, and died as a monk at Jarrow. By his death Bede had established himself as England's leading scriptural and historical authority.[citation needed]
After his death Bede had a vital influence on the fortunes of the monastery. His writings, most importantly his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, became so popular in the 8th century that they not only assured the reputation of the houses, but influenced the development of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow's distinctive insular minuscule script, developed to increase the speed of book production.[citation needed]
Viking raids
In the 790s Vikings started to raid England. Their first target was Lindisfarne Priory in 793, followed by Monkwearmouth-Jarrow in 794. Danes destroyed the abbey about 860, and it seems to have been finally abandoned in the late 9th century.[citation needed]
Later history
Norman period
In the early 1070s Aldwin, prior of Winchcombe Abbey in Gloucestershire, was inspired by Bede's Historia to tour the sites of the Northumbrian Saxon saints, including Jarrow where he held masses in the Saxon ruins. He and 23 brothers from Evesham Abbey in Worcestershire began to build a new monastery, but its southern and western ranges were still incomplete when they were recalled to Durham Cathedral Priory in 1083. After the Norman conquest of England, King Malcolm III of Scotland raided both houses.[citation needed] It has been said (Freya Stark, The southern Gates of Arabia page 249 first edition 1936 ) that "monks of Jarrow had copied out the Himriyan alphabet manuscript" from Hadramouth ( Huraidah region) in Yemen. This is the reflection of human connections in old time between East and West.
Refoundation
Both Monkwearmouth and Jarrow were re-established early in the 14th century, each as a cell of Durham Abbey, occupied by one or two monks under a magister or Master.[12]
Dissolution and aftermath
Under King Henry VIII Parliament passed the Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1535, and in 1536 Monkwearmouth and Jarrow were dissolved. In 1545 the Crown granted all the house and seite of the late cell of Monkwearmouth, valued at about £26 yearly, to Thomas Whitehead, a relative of Prior Hugh Whitehead of Durham, who resigned that monastery in 1540 and became the first Dean of Durham. Monkwearmouth passed afterwards to the Widdrington family, then to that of Fenwick.[citation needed]
The remains of the monastic buildings at Monkwearmouth were incorporated into a private mansion built in the reign of King James I. This burned down in 1790, and no trace of the monastery survives above ground. The parish registers, with the exception of some late entries, were destroyed in the fire.
Today
The present St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth (54°54′47″N 1°22′30″W), on the north bank of the River Wear, includes the remains of the ancient priory church and is one of the oldest churches in Britain. Its tower was built in phases from the 7th to 10th centuries. The church is now one of three churches in the Parish of Monkwearmouth. It is next to the St Peter's Campus of the University of Sunderland and the National Glass Centre.
The site was excavated by Rosemary Cramp from 1963-1978, with a final excavation in 1984.[15] Cramp's excavations revealed early Anglo-Saxon buildings, as well seventh and eighth century glass remains.[16][15]
Ruins of the Jarrow house survive next to the former abbey church, which is now the parish church of St. Paul (54°58′49″N 1°28′20″W). The Saxon-Norman nave collapsed and was replaced with a Victorian one, but the Saxon chancel survives, with the oldest stained glass window in the world, made from excavated fragments dating from about AD 600.[citation needed] Inside the church, cemented into the wall of the tower, is the original stone slab recording the dedication of the church on 23 April 685. Other than the chancel of St Paul's church, none of the 7th century monastery survives above ground, but its layout is marked out with stone slabs.
A World Heritage status bid was launched in 2012, but subsequently withdrawn.[17] In the initial bid, the importance of the site was described providing "evidence of the arrival in Britain and development in Europe in the seventh century of ordered, communal monasticism, and the revival of the Roman style of architecture and is an early and formative example of the cloister layout which became standard in Europe north of the Alps during the next millennium and was later transferred to other parts of the world."[18]
Jerónimos Monastery is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus river in the parish of Belém, in the Lisbon Municipality, Portugal; it was secularised on 28 December 1833 by state decree and its ownership transferred to the charitable institution, Real Casa Pia de Lisboa.
The monastery is one of the most prominent examples of the Portuguese Late Gothic Manueline style of architecture in Lisbon. It was classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A prayer flag is a colorful panel of rectangular cloth, often found strung along mountain ridges and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. Prayer flags are believed to have originated with Bön, which predated Buddhism in Tibet.
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
The Samye Monastery or Samye Gompa is the first Buddhist monastery built in Tibet, it was most probably constructed between 775 and 779 CE under the patronage of King Trisong Detsen of Tibet who sought to revitalize Buddhism, which had declined since its introduction by King Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century. The monastery is located in Dranang, Shannan Prefecture. It was supposedly modeled on the design of Odantapuri monastery in what is now Bihar, India.
According to tradition, the Indian monk Shantarakshita made the first attempt to construct the monastery while promoting his sutra-centric version of Buddhism. Finding the Samye site auspicious he set about to build a structure there. However, the building would always collapse after reaching a certain stage. Terrified, the construction workers believed that there was a demon or obstructive thoughtform in a nearby river making trouble.
However, when Shantarakshita's contemporary Padmasambhava arrived from northern India, he was able to subdue the energetic problems obstructing the building of Samye. According to The Fifth Dalai Lama Padmasambhava performed the Vajrakilaya Dance and enacted the rite of 'thread cross' or Namkha to assist King Trisong Deutsen and Shantarakshita clear away obscurations and hindrances in the building of Samye
The original buildings have long disappeared. They have been badly damaged several times - by civil war in the 11th century, fires in the mid 17th century and in 1826, an earthquake in 1816, and in the 20th century, particularly during the Cultural Revolution, but as late as the late 1980s pigs and other farm animals were allowed to wander through the sacred buildings. Each time it has been rebuilt, and today, largely due to the efforts of the 10th Panchen Lama from 1986 onwards, it is again an active monastery and important pilgrimage and tourist destination
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
Moldova - Capriana monastery.
Capriana monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Basarabia. It is situated only 35 km north - west of Chisinau, at the Isnovat locality, on the bunch of the river with the same name (Isnavat).
For the first time it was mentioned in charters of Alexander the Kind in the 30's of the 15 th century. The first official document which contains data about Capriana Monastery is the Alexander the Kind royal charters dating from April 25, 1420 where the following was mentioned: “for our really devoted servant and nobleman Mr. Oana Vornic we offer our country which is Moldova the villages: Cornestii and Miclausestii, and Lozova, and Sacarenii, and Vornicenii, and Dumestii, and Tiganestii, and Lavrestii, and Sadova, and Homestii. And the boundaries of these villages which represent Barcovat beginning with the territory of Varnet monastery, the Acibco apiary, the top of Lozova, the Carlanici bridge, the Fontana Mica and Fontana Mare and namely with the Tarnaucai glade, from the Chiprian’s glade with the Bac mill, from the large river meadow towards Poroseci”.
The royal legacy charter dating from February 10, 1429 is the second document which tells about Capriana Monastery from the times of Alexander the King reign:
"I am Alexander Voievod - the ruler of Moldova and I mention in this charter the fact that we gave Vasnevat monastery where Chiprian is the Superior, to our wife - princess Merena.
Initially, the monastery was named after Vasnavet, which is a river flowing near the monastery; later it was renamed into Capriana, thus honoring the name Chiprian who was the first Superior of the monastery.
In the Grigore Ureche (the chronicler) papers the following is mentioned: Petru Rares – the ruler of Moldova (1527 – 1538), (1541-1546) would have built the first stone church in locality Capriana with the Holy Virgin Dormition titulr saint. Grirore Ureche offered to the monastery a Gospel written in Slavonic language on parchment, banded with wooden covers and blown with silver. At the first page the following text was written: “Devoted and loving God Ioan Petru Voievod, with the God forgiveness becoming the ruler of the whole Moldovan land and his wife Elena, and his sons – Ilias Voievod, Shtefan and Constantin
embellished this Gispel and in October 7053 (1545) gave it to the newly built Holy Virgin Dormition Monastery which is Capriana”.
Because of economical decline and cultural stagnation, the Capriana Monastery experimented a difficult period in the XVIIth century.
Only after 1813, thanks to metropolitan bishop Gavriil Banu1escu-Bodoni, a revigoration of monastic life was registered.
With the insistence of bishops, the Capriana Monastery was given to the Zograful Monastery in 1837, the archbishop receiving the Harjauca monastery. The monastery was under the leadership of Zograful monastery till March 9, 1873. On June 29, 1940, a day after the conquest of Basarabia by Soviet troops, the whole estate of the monastery was confiscated. The last abbot of the monastery was the Superior Eugeniu (1952—1962) and the last church oration was solemnized on October 25, 1962. a day after the activity which lasted more than a half of the millennium, the monastery was closed, hieromonks tooking refuge in other parishes, monks and brothers being driven banished.
The Soviet State declared the Capriana Monastery an architectural monument governmentally protected, but at the same times the monastery begun to be foraged and crashed.
After 1962, the monastery was transformed into a sanatorium for sick children. The monastery refectory was transformed into a club where dancing parties, good cheers and weddings were organized.
With the Republic of Moldova Council of Ministers decision, the Capriana Monastery became again a place for orations; the first abbot of the monastery was archimandrite Iosif Gargalac, who was an ex- abbot at the Soruceni Monastery. With the retreating of the abbot Iosif, the monastery was conducted by hieromonk Serafim, who continued the reconstruction of the monastery.
In 1994 – 1997 the refectory of the monastery was reconstructed and transformed into church for winter orations.
Monastery is a medieval monastery and is one of the famous painted monasteries from southern Bukovina, in Suceava County. Monastery was constructed by Stephen the Great in 1488 over a period of 3 months and 3 weeks to commemorate the victory at Battle of Vaslui. Often known as the "Sistine Chapel of the East", the frescoes at Voroneț feature an intense shade of blue known in Romania as "Voroneț blue
is a walled stauropegic Russian Orthodox monastery of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker located in a suburb of Moscow formerly known as Ugreshi and now called Dzerzhinsky.
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
The monastery was tucked away near a stream on the north side of the mountain chain, the Stara Planina.
Hemis Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery (gompa) of the Drukpa Lineage, located in Hemis, 45 km from Leh, in Ladakh. The monastery was re-established in 1672 by the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal. The annual Hemis festival honoring Padmasambhava is held here in early June.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemis_Monastery
Hemis, Ladakh, J&K, India.
Belarus: Female orthodox monastery of St. Nicholas in Mahilou.
Беларусь: Жаночы манастыр Сьв. Мікалая ў Магілёве.
Schlüsselburg - Lnáře Municipality. Former Prachens province in the southwestern Bohemia/CZE.
Schlüsselburg - Lnáře - Town of Lnar Municipality
It lies in the northwestern part of Prachens province, some 50 km to the southeast from PILSEN or 100 km southwards from PRAGUE. The easiest way how to reach the locality is to follow international route E49 from Pilsen to [Bohemian] Budweis.
Municipality was mentioned for the first time in the start of the 14th century AD, yet it has been inhabited continually since the 7.-6. century BC by Celts, Marcomans, Doudlebs and their posterity. First knights of Schlüsselburg were an aristocracy of German origin residing at so-called ‚Old Stronghold‘ near a passing of Smolivec Brook en route from the Pisek City to the Pilsen City. Why two names? That’s quite simple – the German name is probably older and means ‚The Key Fort‘, for a legendary golden key was found on the site of fort on the day of St. Mary. The Bohemian name is far less romantic – a flix plant [used as material by common people for their clothing ] was grown here in a large quantity, therefore Lnare means ‚Flix-growers’municipality‘. The English name ‚Town of Lnar‘ could be still find on a 1945 WWII memorial in the centre. The ancient Prachens Region had had its first centre in Prachens [Horazdovice, 20km to the south], than for centuries in Pisek City until the 19th century.
Schlüsselburg was a village drowned in „sea of woods“ on the shores of muddy streams in a vast swampland, which actually covered much of nowadays Blatna Valley. This bogs had been (similarily to another famous lake district town of Wittingau-Trebon) transformed into a very extensive lakeland with hundreds of ponds and lakes. Not only these new semi-artificial lakes protected municipality from health issues connected to bogs and severe floods, but enabled growth of famed fishing industry, major source of revenues until quite recently. After 17th century some decline in fishing industry occurred and much of the waters were drained for new, prospective usage – sheep pastures. As of 1840 there were some 13,000 sheep. Second revival of the fishing industry occured during the 19th century, thanks to the care of local aristocracy. In the 19th century Dr. Theodor Mokry created a breed of an unscaly carp called ‚Lnarsky modrak‘ (‚Bluefish of Lnare‘). A wave of modernity arrived with first train on a brand line between towns Blatná and Pomuk-Dvorec some hundred years ago. Unfortunately for the municipality this train line eased a dramatical outflow of locals into fast growing metropolis of West Bohemian Region, Pilsen. After 1918 the municipality became part of Czechoslovakia, later of Protectorate ‘Böhmen und Mähren‘ and after 1948 part of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The winter Velvet Revolution of 1989 brought an end to this totalitarian state and we are enjoying first 20 years of cultural, social and economic revival. Our two chateaux returned to local hands; the larger ‚New‘, to non-aristocratic Vanicek Family and the ‚Old‘ one belongs to the municipality. Devastating floods in August 2002 damaged strongly our valley but we succeeded in rebuilding all of it during 2002-2004. We are pleased to welcome more and more European newcomers [settlers] and visitou every year. Thank You for Your favour ;-)
Municipality is rich in architecture, unique landscape and sights, for example:
Baroque church of St. Joseph [17. century] with very unique fresco paintings
Baroque Chateau [or ‚New Chateau‘, 17. century] - frescoes with mythical ancient Gods, English-French garden [4 hect.] with a little mosque, several stone fountains, pools and rare wood species…
Chapel of St. Anna [end of the 17. cent.]
Annaberg - complex of frame houses, first half of the 19. cent. (in the style of SW German Swabia)
‚Old Stronghold‘ - at least 700 years old remnant of original wooden fort , rebuilt in 1597 as a stone-brick Renaissance chateau; first mentioned in 1465. Now hosts a gallery of contemporary art, infocentre, and flats.
Monumental classical barnyard from the 19. century
Primary school, more than 110 years old
Parish & monastery Church of the Saintest Trinity with the icon of Our Mother of Lnar [17. cent.]
Gothical grave-yard Church of St. Nicholas [14. cent.]
Baroque Chapel in Zahorcice [17. cent.]
Baroque sculptures of saint protectors [at least 9 of them]
Baroque sculptures of [11 pieces, 17. century]
The Giant Logan [some 30 tons, 5 km to the south in Kadov; protected by the law. The biggest and perhaps the most easily accessible in all Bohemia]
Perfect organised pathways/cycleways with infopanels through the countryside
For Geochaching lovers – few caches are to be found here as well ;-)
plus a great wealth of protected lakes, meadows, woods, castles, churches....
COME TO SEE MORE, DEAR FRIENDS !!!
Haghpat, Mother of God Church (l) and Church of Holy Cross (r) with gavit
Haghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavank, is a medieval monastery complex in Haghpat, Armenia.
The monastery was founded by Queen Khosrovanuysh, wife of the Bagratid king Ashot III, probably in 976. The nearby monastery at Sanahin was built around the same time. The monastery has been damaged many times. Sometime around 1130, an earthquake destroyed parts of Haghpat Monastery and it was not restored until fifty years later. It also suffered numerous attacks by armed forces in the many centuries of its existence and from a major earthquake in 1988. Nevertheless, much of the complex is still intact and stands today without substantial alterations.
The location of Haghpat Monastery was chosen so that it overlooks the Debed River in northern Armenia's Lori region. It was built, not on a peak, but halfway up a hillside on a site chosen to afford protection and concealment from prying eyes and also in response to a kind of monastic humility. It is built on a verdant promontory located in the middle of a mountain cirque. The monasteries of northern Armenia are not isolated, unlike their counterparts in the country's arid regions. They were built in a village environment and Haghpat is surrounded by many hamlets.
Described as a "masterpiece of religious architecture and a major center of learning in the Middle Ages", Haghpat monastery, together with Sanahin monastery, was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1996.
(source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haghpat_Monastery)