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Ruin of abandened monastery
Klosterruine
Gnadenberg (Berg i. d. Opf), Bayern
(old) Lomography 400 (made by Ferrania) expired - exposed as EI200
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Soligor Auto-Wide 21mm 3.8
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.
At the Ganayon Kyaung Monastery near Mandalay, hundreds of young shamans have their breakfast together in the morning, exactly at 10:15 every morning.
Cozia Monastery - Romania
Cozia Monastery, erected close to Călimănești by Mircea cel Bătrân in 1388 and housing his tomb, is one of the most valuable monuments of national medieval art and architecture in Romania.
Cozia features a museum of exhibiting old art: old manuscripts and prints, embroideries and objects of worship.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cozia_Monastery
Interesting te read:
www.romanianmonasteries.org/other-monasteries/cozia-monas...
Cozia Monastery - Romania
Cozia Monastery, erected close to Călimănești by Mircea cel Bătrân in 1388 and housing his tomb, is one of the most valuable monuments of national medieval art and architecture in Romania.
Cozia features a museum of exhibiting old art: old manuscripts and prints, embroideries and objects of worship.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cozia_Monastery
Interesting te read:
www.romanianmonasteries.org/other-monasteries/cozia-monas...
Cozia Monastery - Romania
Cozia Monastery, erected close to Călimănești by Mircea cel Bătrân in 1388 and housing his tomb, is one of the most valuable monuments of national medieval art and architecture in Romania.
Cozia features a museum of exhibiting old art: old manuscripts and prints, embroideries and objects of worship.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cozia_Monastery
Interesting te read:
www.romanianmonasteries.org/other-monasteries/cozia-monas...
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.
Bagan; (formerly Pagan) is an ancient city located in the Mandalay Region of Burma (Myanmar). From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan, the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10.000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day.
The Bagan Archaeological Zone is a main draw for the country's nascent tourism industry. It is seen by many as equal in attraction to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
ETYMOLOGY
Bagan is the present-day standard Burmese pronunciation of the Burmese word Pugan, derived from Old Burmese Pyugam (meaning 'Pyu Village'). Its classical Pali name is Arimaddana-pura, lit. "the City that Tramples on Enemies". Its other names in Pali are in reference to its extreme dry zone climate: Tattadesa, "parched land", and Tampadipa, "bronzed country". The Burmese chronicles also report other classical names of Thiri Pyissaya and Tampawaddy.
HISTORY
7th to 13th CENTURIES
According to the Burmese chronicles, Bagan was founded in the second century CE, and fortified in 849 CE by King Pyinbya, 34th successor of the founder of early Bagan. Mainstream scholarship however holds that Bagan was founded in the mid-to-late 9th century by the Mranma (Burmans), who had recently entered the Irrawaddy valley from the Nanzhao Kingdom. It was among several competing Pyu city-states until the late 10th century when the Burman settlement grew in authority and grandeur.From 1044 to 1287, Bagan was the capital as well as the political, economic and cultural nerve center of the Pagan Empire. Over the course of 250 years, Bagan's rulers and their wealthy subjects constructed over 10000 religious monuments (approximately 1000 stupas, 10000 small temples and 3000 monasteries) in an area of 104 square kilometres in the Bagan plains. The prosperous city grew in size and grandeur, and became a cosmopolitan center for religious and secular studies, specializing in Pali scholarship in grammar and philosophical-psychological (abhidhamma) studies as well as works in a variety of languages on prosody, phonology, grammar, astrology, alchemy, medicine, and legal studies. The city attracted monks and students from as far as India, Ceylon as well as the Khmer Empire. The culture of Bagan was dominated by religion. The religion of Bagan was fluid, syncretic and by later standards, unorthodox. It was largely a continuation of religious trends in the Pyu era where Theravada Buddhism co-existed with Mahayana Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism, various Hindu (Saivite, and Vaishana) schools as well as native animist (nat) traditions. While the royal patronage of Theravada Buddhism since the mid-11th century had enabled the Buddhist school to gradually gain primacy, other traditions continued to thrive throughout the Pagan period to degrees later unseen.
The Pagan Empire collapsed in 1287 due to repeated Mongol invasions (1277–1301). Recent research shows that Mongol armies may not have reached Bagan itself, and that even if they did, the damage they inflicted was probably minimal. However, the damage had already been done. The city, once home to some 50.000 to 200.000 people, had been reduced to a small town, never to regain its preeminence. The city formally ceased to be the capital of Burma in December 1297 when the Myinsaing Kingdom became the new power in Upper Burma.
14th to 19th CENTURIES
Bagan survived into the 15th century as a human settlement, and as a pilgrimage destination throughout the imperial period. A smaller number of "new and impressive" religious monuments still went up to the mid-15th century but afterward, new temple constructions slowed to a trickle with fewer than 200 temples built between the 15th and 20th centuries. The old capital remained a pilgrimage destination but pilgrimage was focused only on "a score or so" most prominent temples out of the thousands such as the Ananda, the Shwezigon, the Sulamani, the Htilominlo, the Dhammayazika, and a few other temples along an ancient road. The rest - thousands of less famous, out-of-the-way temples - fell into disrepair, and most did not survive the test of time.
For the few dozen temples that were regularly patronized, the continued patronage meant regular upkeep as well as architectural additions donated by the devotees. Many temples were repainted with new frescoes on top of their original Pagan era ones, or fitted with new Buddha statutes. Then came a series of state-sponsored "systematic" renovations in the Konbaung period (1752–1885), which by and large were not true to the original designs - some finished with "a rude plastered surface, scratched without taste, art or result". The interiors of some temples were also whitewashed, such as the Thatbyinnyu and the Ananda. Many painted inscriptions and even murals were added in this period.
20th CENTURY TO PRESENT
Bagan, located in an active earthquake zone, had suffered from many earthquakes over the ages, with over 400 recorded earthquakes between 1904 and 1975. The last major earthquake came on 8 July 1975, reaching 8 MM in Bagan and Myinkaba, and 7 MM in Nyaung-U. The quake damaged many temples, in many cases, such as the Bupaya, severely and irreparably. Today, 2229 temples and pagodas remain.
Many of these damaged pagodas underwent restorations in the 1990s by the military government, which sought to make Bagan an international tourist destination. However, the restoration efforts instead drew widespread condemnation from art historians and preservationists worldwide. Critics are aghast that the restorations paid little attention to original architectural styles, and used modern materials, and that the government has also established a golf course, a paved highway, and built a 61-meter watchtower. Although the government believed that the ancient capital's hundreds of (unrestored) temples and large corpus of stone inscriptions were more than sufficient to win the designation of UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city has not been so designated, allegedly mainly on account of the restorations.
Bagan today is a main tourist destination in the country's nascent tourism industry, which has long been the target of various boycott campaigns. The majority of over 300.000 international tourists to the country in 2011 are believed to have also visited Bagan. Several Burmese publications note that the city's small tourism infrastructure will have to expand rapidly even to meet a modest pickup in tourism in the following years.
There is a well-known saying of Myanmar people : "If you are a real Myanmar, you must have been to Bagan." Bagan is spirit of history of Myanmar.
GEOGRAPHY
The Bagan Archaeological Zone, defined as the 13 x 8 km area centered around Old Bagan, consisting of Nyaung U in the north and New Bagan in the south, lies in the vast expanse of plains in Upper Burma on the bend of the Irrawaddy river. It is located 290 kilometres southwest of Mandalay and 700 kilometres north of Yangon. Its coordinates are 21°10' North and 94°52' East.
ARCHITECTURE
Bagan stands out for not only the sheer number of religious edifices of Myanmar but also the magnificent architecture of the buildings, and their contribution to Burmese temple design. The artistry of the architecture of pagodas in Bagan prove the achievement of Myanmar craftsmen in handicrafts. The Bagan temple falls into one of two broad categories: the stupa-style solid temple and the gu-style hollow temple.
STUPAS
A stupa, also called a pagoda, is a massive structure, typically with a relic chamber inside. The Bagan stupas or pagodas evolved from earlier Pyu designs, which in turn were based on the stupa designs of the Andhra region, particularly Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda in present-day southeastern India, and to a smaller extent to Ceylon. The Bagan-era stupas in turn were the prototypes for later Burmese stupas in terms of symbolism, form and design, building techniques and even materials.
Originally, an Indian/Ceylonese stupa had a hemispheric body (Pali: anda, "the egg") on which a rectangular box surrounded by a stone balustrade (harmika) was set. Extending up from the top of the stupa was a shaft supporting several ceremonial umbrellas. The stupa is a representation of the Buddhist cosmos: its shape symbolizes Mount Meru while the umbrella mounted on the brickwork represents the world's axis. The brickwork pediment was often covered in stucco and decorated in relief. Pairs or series of ogres as guardian figures ('bilu') were a favourite theme in the Bagan period.
The original Indic design was gradually modified first by the Pyu, and then by Burmans at Bagan where the stupa gradually developed a longer, cylindrical form. The earliest Bagan stupas such as the Bupaya (c. 9th century) were the direct descendants of the Pyu style at Sri Ksetra. By the 11th century, the stupa had developed into a more bell-shaped form in which the parasols morphed into a series of increasingly smaller rings placed on one top of the other, rising to a point. On top the rings, the new design replaced the harmika with a lotus bud. The lotus bud design then evolved into the "banana bud", which forms the extended apex of most Burmese pagodas. Three or four rectangular terraces served as the base for a pagoda, often with a gallery of terra-cotta tiles depicting Buddhist jataka stories. The Shwezigon Pagoda and the Shwesandaw Pagoda are the earliest examples of this type. Examples of the trend toward a more bell-shaped design gradually gained primacy as seen in the Dhammayazika Pagoda (late 12th century) and the Mingalazedi Pagoda (late 13th century).
HOLLOW TEMPLES
In contrast to the stupas, the hollow gu-style temple is a structure used for meditation, devotional worship of the Buddha and other Buddhist rituals. The gu temples come in two basic styles: "one-face" design and "four-face" design - essentially one main entrance and four main entrances. Other styles such as five-face and hybrids also exist. The one-face style grew out of 2nd century Beikthano, and the four-face out of 7th century Sri Ksetra. The temples, whose main features were the pointed arches and the vaulted chamber, became larger and grander in the Bagan period.
INNOVATIONS
Although the Burmese temple designs evolved from Indic, Pyu (and possibly Mon) styles, the techniques of vaulting seem to have developed in Bagan itself. The earliest vaulted temples in Bagan date to the 11th century, while the vaulting did not become widespread in India until the late 12th century. The masonry of the buildings shows "an astonishing degree of perfection", where many of the immense structures survived the 1975 earthquake more or less intact. (Unfortunately, the vaulting techniques of the Bagan era were lost in the later periods. Only much smaller gu style temples were built after Bagan. In the 18th century, for example, King Bodawpaya attempted to build the Mingun Pagoda, in the form of spacious vaulted chambered temple but failed as craftsmen and masons of the later era had lost the knowledge of vaulting and keystone arching to reproduce the spacious interior space of the Bagan hollow temples.)
Another architectural innovation originated in Bagan is the Buddhist temple with a pentagonal floor plan. This design grew out of hybrid (between one-face and four-face designs) designs. The idea was to include the veneration of the Maitreya Buddha, the future and fifth Buddha of this era, in addition to the four who had already appeared. The Dhammayazika and the Ngamyethna Pagoda are examples of the pentagonal design.
ECONOMY
Bagan's economy is based mainly on tourism. Because of boycotts against the previous military government, the Bagan region's tourism infrastructure is still quite modest by international standards. The city has a few international standard hotels and many family-run guesthouses. Bagan is also the center of Burmese lacquerware industry, which to a large degree depends on tourist demand. Much of the lacquerware is destined for souvenir shops in Yangon, and to the world markets. Moreover, the lacquerware-making process itself has become a tourist draw.
WIKIPEDIA
Ongi Monastery - Karakorum - Karkhorum - Mongolia
Ongi Monastery is the collective name for the ruins of two monasteries that face each other across the Ongi River in Saikhan-Ovoo district of Dundgovi Province, in south-central Mongolia. The Barlim Monastery is located on the north bank of the river while the Khutagt Monastery sits on the south bank. The older southern complex consisted of various administrative buildings as well as 11 temples. The northern complex, built in the 18th century, consisted of 17 temples - among them one of the largest temples in all of Mongolia. The grounds housed also 4 Buddhist universities. Founded in 1660, it was one of the largest monasteries in Mongolia and housed over 1000 monks at its height. The ruins are situated about 18 km south of the town of Saikhan Ovoo.
Both complexes of Ongi Monastery were completely destroyed in 1939 during anti-religious purges carried out under Khorloogiin Choibalsan, the then leader of the Communist Party of Mongolia. Over 200 monks were killed, and many surviving monks were imprisoned or forcibly laicized and conscripted into the Communist controlled army.
A large number of ruins including a tall stupa can be seen on the river and on the surrounding hills. In the 1990s, it was decided to rebuild the monastery. The first temple was inaugurated in 2004. There is a small museum in a ger in front of it. One of the stupas has just been reconstructed as well. It has a commemorative plaque indicating the names of the monks who were killed in 1939.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ongi_Monastery
www.amicusmongolia.com/attraction/erdenezuu-monastery-bud...
Details of the Gomari Monastery
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.
Maulbronn Monastery was founded in 1147. The church, built in a style transitional from Romanesque to Gothic, was consecrated in 1178. Most other buildings followed within the 13th century. The complex is believed to be one of the the best-preserved medieval Cistercian monastery complex north of the Alpes (some claim "in Europe"). Since 1993 Maulbronn is part of the Unesco World Heritage.
After the consecration, the construction of the abbey continued. Around 1200 the narthex was added and the cloister was started. Some buildings are done in a really remarkable architectural, early gothic style. The person, who built that must have had experiences from Northern France and Burgundy. With all the cistercian connections, it was probably easy to find a medieval "top architect". His name is not known. The name given to him by art historians is "Meister des Maulbronner Paradieses" (Master of Maulbronn Paradise).
He created not only the narthex ("Paradies"), but as well parts of the cloister and the refectorium. After completing his job in Maulbronn he turned northeast. His typical works can be found as well in Halberstadt and in Magdeburg, but here is, where he started his career in Germany..
It is visible, where "Meister des Maulbronner Paradieses" planned and built the cloister, as there (near the church) is a very early gothic style. Walking around the cloister, the style of the arches changes to high gothic.
There is no Cistercian cloister without a fountain. What looks like a gothic chapel is a - gothic fountain house. On top of it is a half timbered structure, that was probably added later. My guide, the friendly and very knowledgeable lady, called this "the nicest classroom in Germany", as the room is part of the school that is still existing.
Jeronimos Monastery, in Belem by the Tagus (Tejo) River, was begun in 1502, and took 50 years to build.
Calaraseuca Monastery - Moldova
Decorations in the Chapel
insideCalaraseuca Monastery is a monastery in the north of Moldova, located on the right a river Nistru. It was founded in the eighteenth century. In 1780 the old church could no longer be used, and Hagi Marcu Donici of Movilau, on the left a river Nistru, built a church and a steeple, which was sanctified in 1782 dedicated to the Assumption Holy Mother of God. In 1853 starts the construction of two churches dedicated to St. Mitrofan of Voronejului.
In 1916 the monks go to other monasteries, and nuns are brought Calaraseuca Virov refugees in the monastery, from Poland (located at the time of the Austro-German occupation). In 1961 the communist authorities Calaraseuca monastery transformed into a hospital for mentally disabled children. The church winter was transformed in a club and summer in the hospital warehouse. On 3 May 1991, nuns from the monastery was reopened Calaraseuca.
Klisurski Monastery (Bulgarian: Клисурски манастир, transliterated: Klisurski manastir) of "St. Cyril and St. Methodius", also known as Klisura Monastery, is a monastery of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church located in northwestern Bulgaria. It is the fourth largest monastery in Bulgaria. The complex includes two churches, three residential buildings, a farmyard and a kitchen.
Klisurski Monastery was founded in the 1240 during the Second Bulgarian Empire. It was repeatedly destroyed during the Ottoman rule. In 1862 it was burned down and the monks and pilgrims were killed by a Turkish pasha and his soldiers. The monastery was reconstructed in 1869 and the church was officially consecrated in 1891.
CATEGORY
Landscape, HDR
GADGETS
Canon EOS 40D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
LOCATION
Klisura Monastery, Vurshets, Bulgaria
TRACK
© Some rights reserved! Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.
Note: constructive critiques are always welcome, i'd love to know my mistakes and ways to improve my images. If you fav it, please leave a comment!
Calaraseuca Monastery - Moldova
The hard working nuns.
Calaraseuca Monastery is a monastery in the north of Moldova, located on the right a river Nistru. It was founded in the eighteenth century. In 1780 the old church could no longer be used, and Hagi Marcu Donici of Movilau, on the left a river Nistru, built a church and a steeple, which was sanctified in 1782 dedicated to the Assumption Holy Mother of God. In 1853 starts the construction of two churches dedicated to St. Mitrofan of Voronejului.
In 1916 the monks go to other monasteries, and nuns are brought Calaraseuca Virov refugees in the monastery, from Poland (located at the time of the Austro-German occupation). In 1961 the communist authorities Calaraseuca monastery transformed into a hospital for mentally disabled children. The church winter was transformed in a club and summer in the hospital warehouse. On 3 May 1991, nuns from the monastery was reopened Calaraseuca.
Humor Monastery located in Mănăstirea Humorului, about 5 km north of the town of Gura Humorului, Romania. It is a monastery for nuns dedicated to the Dormition of Virgin Mary, or Theotokos. It was constructed in 1530 by Voievod Petru Rareş and his chancellor Teodor Bubuiog. The monastery was built over the foundation of a previous monastery that dated from around 1415. The Humor monastery was closed in 1786 and was not reopened until 1990.
The church has been inscribed by UNESCO on its list of World Heritage Sites, as one of the Painted churches of Moldavia.
Armenia. A complez built up between the 4th and 12th centuries.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
November 2016
The Shio-Mgvime Monastery is a medieval monastic complex in Georgia, near the town of Mtskheta. It is located in a narrow limestone canyon on the northern bank of the river Mtkvari (Kura), some 30 km from Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital.
The Shio-Mgvime complex
According to a historic tradition, the first monastic community at this place was founded by the 6th-century monk Shio, one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers who came to Georgia as Christian missionaries. St. Shio is said to have spent his last years as a hermit in a deep cave near Mtskheta subsequently named Shiomghvime ("the Cave of Shio") after him. The earliest building – the Monastery of St. John the Baptist – a cruciform church, very plain and strict in its design, indeed dates to that time, c. 560s-580s, and the caves curved by monks are still visible around the monastery and along the road leading to the complex. The church has an octagonal dome covered with a conic floor and once housed a masterfully ornate stone iconostasis which is now on display at the Art Museum of Georgia in Tbilisi. The monastery was somewhat altered in the 11th and 18th centuries, but has largely retained its original architecture.
The Upper Church (zemo eklesia) named after the Theotokos is a central part of the Shio-Mgvime complex constructed at the verge of the 12th century at the behest of King David IV of Georgia. Initially a domed church, it was subsequently destroyed by a foreign invasion and restored, in 1678, as a basilica. A refectory was built between the 12th and 17th centuries and directly communicates with the Cave of St. Shio. A 12th-century small chapel adorned with medieval murals stands separately on a nearby hill.
An archaeological expedition revealed, in 1937, a 2 km long aqueduct supplying the monastic communities from the nearby village of Skhaltba, and chronicled in 1202 as being constructed by Bishop Anton of Chkondidi, a minister at Queen Thamar’s court.
History
St. Shio, an eponymous founder of the monastery, as depicted on a 19th-century mural.
Shio-Mgvime quickly turned into the largest monastic community in Georgia and by the end of the 6th century it was populated by as many as 2,000 monks. It became a vibrant center of cultural and religious activities and remained under the personal patronage of Catholicoi of Georgia. David IV "the Builder" (1089-1125) made it a royal domain and dictated regulations (typicon) for the monastery (1123). The downfall of the medieval Georgian kingdom and incessant foreign invasions resulted in the decline of the monastery. It saw a relative revival when the Georgian king George VIII (r. 1446-1465) granted Shio-Mgvime and its lands to the noble family of Zevdginidze-Amilakhvari to whom the monastery served as a familial burial ground up to the 1810s.
The monastery was ravaged by the invading Persian troops sent by Shah Abbas I of Safavid in 1614-6. Prince Givi Amilakhvari reconstructed it in 1678, but the 1720s Ottoman occupation of Georgia brought about another devastation and depopulation of Shio-Mgvime. Restored by the Amilakhvari family again in 1733, the monastery was raided and the monks massacred by the Persians less than two years later. Subsequently, Shio-Mgvime was restored and its interior renovated in the 19th century, but it never regained its past importance and role in the spiritual life of Georgia. Under the Bolshevik rule, the monastery was closed, but it is now functional and attracts many pilgrims and tourists.
Rizong Monastery (Ladakh).
Ladakh at a height of 9,800 feet surrounded by the Himalayas and Karakoram Range houses incredible monasteries in its folds. On your tour to Ladakh you can spot monks in maroon robes silently plodding their ways to the monasteries. Rizong Monastery is situated at a distance of about 73 kilometers from the Leh town. Founded by the great Lama, Tsultim Nima in the year 1831, the Rizong Monastery belongs to the Gelukpa order. Monasteries, which are the centers of worship for the monks, are also great seats of learning. Where 40 monks reside, Rizong Monastery educates monks who have chosen the path to God as their goal on life. Strict rules are adhered to and monks follow a daily course of life following the Buddhist principles and learning the scriptures and texts. A number of shrines are located within the premises of the Rizdong Monastery and a rich collection of scriptures, texts and biographies of great Lamas like Tsultim Nima are preserved here. Books composed by first Sras Rinpoche are also kept here.
Calaraseuca Monastery - Moldova
Decorations in the Chapel
insideCalaraseuca Monastery is a monastery in the north of Moldova, located on the right a river Nistru. It was founded in the eighteenth century. In 1780 the old church could no longer be used, and Hagi Marcu Donici of Movilau, on the left a river Nistru, built a church and a steeple, which was sanctified in 1782 dedicated to the Assumption Holy Mother of God. In 1853 starts the construction of two churches dedicated to St. Mitrofan of Voronejului.
In 1916 the monks go to other monasteries, and nuns are brought Calaraseuca Virov refugees in the monastery, from Poland (located at the time of the Austro-German occupation). In 1961 the communist authorities Calaraseuca monastery transformed into a hospital for mentally disabled children. The church winter was transformed in a club and summer in the hospital warehouse. On 3 May 1991, nuns from the monastery was reopened Calaraseuca.
Monasteries of Meteora are built on natural conglomerate pillars, at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly near the Pineios river and Pindus Mountains, in central Greece
Mosteiro de Leça do Balio
Localizado em Matosinhos, o Mosteiro de Leça do Balio serviu, originalmente, a Ordem de Malta. Foi edificado no século XIV por Diogo Pires, o Moço. No lugar onde se ergue a igreja, gótica, existiu, por volta do ano 900, um convento dúplex de invocação do Salvador, provavelmente arrasado durante a invasão de Almançor, em princípios do século XI.O templo foi construído por iniciativa de frei Estevão Vasques Pimentel. Na segunda metade do século XIV (1372), ali casou D. Fernando com D. Leonor Teles. A igreja tem caracter defensivo, com planta em cruz latina de três naves e cabeceira tripla abobadada, com fachada revelando a divisão espacial interior e conservando lateralmente torre quadrangular alta.
Apresenta torre não maciça, com masmorra, como a torre de menagem do Castelo de Belver e as torres do Castelo da Amieira, ambas construções da Ordem do Hospital. Do mosteiro só já existe a igreja, de planta cruciforme, três naves de cinco tramos, transepto inscrito mas volumetricamente distinto, cabeceira com capela-mor e absidíolos, e torre sineira quadrangular adossando a sul ao frontispício.
Apresenta volumes escalonados com coberturas diferenciadas em telhados de uma, duas e quatro aguas. A fachada principal, orientada a oeste, é ladeada por alta torre, provida de balcões com mata-cães, a meia altura, e no topo, em angulo, seteiras e sete janelas ogivais.
O pórtico, aberto em alfiz e de quatro arquivoltas sobre colunas, é sobrepujado por um balcão ameado assente numa cachorrada, e por uma rosácea radiante. Nos flancos, aprumados de merlões sobre as cornijas, rasgam-se janelas geminadas. Na fachada Sul, abre-se um portal de quatro arquivoltas com gablete simples e colunas capitelizadas com lavores zoofitomórficos. Os alçados, tanto das naves laterais como da nave central, estão coroados de ameias.
No interior, o templo tem naves separadas por arcos quebrados, assentes em colunas com capitáis lavrados. Os arcos do transepto são mais altos que os do corpo da igreja. O tecto é de madeira. Iluminam o interior janelas geminadas, nas naves laterais.
Possui ainda janelões de mainel e arco apontado, nas paredes do tramo final junto a cabeceira e na abside; simples e altas frestas, nos ábside. Oito janelas do clerestório e um óculo sobre o arco da capela-mor iluminam o espaço superior da nave axial. A capela-mor tem abóbada de pedra, de nove nervuras, a que correspondem colunas aneladas, nas paredes.
Abóbadas nervuradas cobrem os absidíolos. Na capela-mor encontra se uma campa rasa brasonada (armas dos Almeidas e Vasconcelos) e, em arcossólio adossado a parede direita, a arca tumular de frei Cristóvão de Cernache (1569).
Na parede fronteira situam-se os nichos que guardam os túmulos de frei Lopo Pereira de Lima (1684) e de frei Diogo de Melo Pereira (1666). No absidíolo do lado do Evangelho, encontra-se o túmulo de frei João Coelho, com estatua jazente.
Na capela do ferro, situada do lado da Epístola, localiza-se a campa rasa do fundador, frei Estévão Vasques (1336), encimada por uma placa de bronze contendo o epitáfio do defunto em caracteres leoneses.
Nesta placa estão ainda gravados motivos decorativos, destacando-se a rara apresentaçao da Anunciação da Virgem, pois figura a alma de Jesus, em forma de Menino, voando do Padre Eterno para o seio de Maria.
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I took this photo yesterday, with my Sony W 50 digi cam.
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TEXTO tirado daki:
From Wikipedia: Khor Virap is significant in Armenian history because it is the where Saint Gregory the Illuminator (the patron-saint of Armenia) was imprisoned in a deep dungeon for 13 years by the then pagan Armenian King Trdat III.
Humor Monastery located in Mănăstirea Humorului, about 5 km north of the town of Gura Humorului, Romania. It is a monastery for nuns dedicated to the Dormition of Virgin Mary, or Theotokos. It was constructed in 1530 by Voievod Petru Rareş and his chancellor Teodor Bubuiog. The monastery was built over the foundation of a previous monastery that dated from around 1415. The Humor monastery was closed in 1786 and was not reopened until 1990.
The church has been inscribed by UNESCO on its list of World Heritage Sites, as one of the Painted churches of Moldavia.