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the Royal monastery of Poblet in Tarragona is the final resting place of many kings- visitors are allowed to see part of the monastery- some parts are off limits because it is still a real monastery!!!!
This monastery -- Snagov Monastery -- is located about 25 miles north of Bucharest in Ilfov County. (It's close enough that I'm including it as a Bucharest album.)
So what's the deal with Snagov Monastery? Honestly, I don't know. It seems there's no consensus on much of anything here, other than that the monastery exists. Nobody is sure when it was built, exactly, and that may have part to do with the reason it was built...if you choose to believe that, too.
This is (or not?) Vlad Tepes's final resting place. (For sake of argument, I'll say it is, though...who knows?) Vlad's English sobriquet is Vlad the Impaler (Tepes in Romanian), and he was...rather cruel. By the time of his death, he had many enemies, and it seems he was beheaded as his form of demise. This monastery was possibly built Vlad himself (at his orders, that is), or at the request of his grandfather.
Vlad's "tomb" in the middle of the church floor. Well...as he had a lot of enemies, one thought is that his burial spot was hidden. Some say he was -- and still is -- buried here, but deep under the floor, and animal bones were buried above him to throw off anyone who found the location. Well...the place was excavated, animal bones were found, and (I guess?) they didn't dig deeper. Short answer...nobody knows and it serves tourism's interests not to confirm. I'll leave it at that.
As for the aesthetics of the monastery, it's a standard Greek Orthodox church on the inside. That means...lots of paintings covering 100% of the wall. (This small monastery, though, is not a great example of Romanian churches; the churches up in Transylvania at Maramures are all much better representations. The painted monasteries there are all UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Having said all of that, if you're in Bucharest, this is worth seeing just for the fun of it. Day trips are cheap and easy.
Po Lin Monastery is a Buddhist monastery located in Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong. The main temple houses 3 bronze statues of the Buddha representing his past, present and future lives as well as many Buddhist scriptures.
Oudong Buddhist Monastery.
Oudong was once the royal residence and capital of Cambodia for around 250 years up to 1866. It is about 40 km. north-west of Phnom Penh.
It sits at the foothill of Mt. Phnom Oudong. We weren't going to see the mountain which happens to be dotted with stupas and shrines though. We were going to visit the very large Oudong Buddhist monastery and meditation centre.
Phuktal Monastery or Phuktal Gompa (often transliterated as Phugtal) is a Buddhist monastery located in the remote Lungnak Valley in south-eastern Zanskar, in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, in Northern India. It is one of the only Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh that can still be reached only by foot. Supplies to the monastery are brought on horses, donkeys, and mules in the warmer months, and in the frozen winters, they are transported through the frozen Zanskar River. A road is expected to be built up to the monastery, however, for now, it is a day's walk from Village Cha or Village Khangsaar, the end of the road leading from Padum.
Reting Monastery was founded by Atisha's chief disciple Dromtönpa in 1057 in the Reting Tsampo Valley north of Lhasa as the seat of the Kadampa lineage. He brought some of Atisha's relics with him. It was the first major monastery of the Sarma revival.
Tsongkapa (1357 – 1419) reformed the Kadampa School which then became known as the Gelug School and Reting became an important Gelugpa monastery, the seat of the Reting Rinpoche.
The Reting Rinpoches were responsible for the successful search and discovery of the 14th Dalai Lama. The Reting Rinpoches were among the candidates for Regent during the minority of a Dalai Lama. Thus, the Reting Rinpoche was Regent between 1845 and 1855 and, again, from 1933-1947. The latter Regent, the Fifth Reting Rinpoche, was involved in the search for the present Dalai Lama and became his Senior Tutor, later abdicated his position and was found guilty of colluding with the Chinese and died in a Tibetan prison in 1947. In fact his Shugdenpa accusers who were in power are generally held responsible for his murder were colluding with the Chinese Ambon. They also destroyed the Gelug Reting Monastery and killed many in Lhasa. The political confusion which followed aided the rapid collapse of Tibet after the Chinese invaded.
The Sixth Reting Rinpoche died in 1997. The Chinese announced in January 2001 that a new incarnation had been chosen as the Seventh Reting Rinpoche, just two days after the Karmapa Lama began his flight to India. This incarnation has not been recognised by the Dalai Lama who believes he is a pawn in the attempt by the Chinese to control the Buddhist religion in Tibet.
Reting was devastated by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution, and has only been partially restored.
The monastery has a rich religious and cultural past spanning more than two centuries. It was founded in 1773-1775 and became one of the richest, most beautiful, and largest monasteries in Moldova.
Several churches were build on the monastery’s premises: St. Demetrius, a wooden church built in 1775 by Ioan Curchi; Naşterea Domnului, a stone church built in 1810; the winter church of St. Demetrius built in 1844; the summer church Naşterea Domnului built in 1872; and the winter church of St. Nicholas (unfinished), built in 1936-1939.
Monastery's main church, the cathedral Naşterea Domnului (1872), was built in baroque style, inspired by the church of St. Andrew in Kiev, which was designed by Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The cathedral has the highest dome in Moldova, rising to a height of 57 meters. (moldovaholiday.travel)
monasterio de Obarra in Huesca. This beautiful monastery is located in a narrow canyon and before modern times it was very difficult to travel to this place. For more info, check this link:
66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:Gj_113B_MBcJ:www.caiaragon.co...
Drepung Monastery is located at the foot of Mount Gephel about three miles from Lhasa, and is one of the great three university monasteries of Tibet.
Heinävesi
The monastery was established in its present location in 1940. However, the tradition of the Valamo monastery dates back to 1717. The monastery was then originally established on Valaam, Lake Ladoga, Russia. (Wikipedia)
The Cistercian monastery of Vyšší Brod is located about 30 km to the south of Český Krumlov, on the right bank of the Vltava river. The monastery church with its adjacent buildings was constructed step-by-step from the mid 13th century and it was finished in the later half of the 14th century. The oldest part is the one floor sacristy dated about 1270.
The Arkadi Monastery (in Greek: / Moní Arkadhíou) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery, situated on a fertile plateau 23 km (14 mi) to the southeast of Rethymnon on the island of Crete in Greece.
The current catholicon (church) dates back to the 16th century and is marked by the influence of the Renaissance. This influence is visible in the architecture, which mixes both Roman and baroque elements. As early as the 16th century, the monastery was a place for science and art and had a school and a rich library. Situated on a plateau, the monastery is well fortified, being surrounded by a thick and high wall.
The monastery played an active role in the Cretan resistance of Ottoman rule during the Cretan revolt of 1866. 943 Greeks, mostly women and children,[1] sought refuge in the monastery. After three days of battle and under orders from the hegumen (abbot) of the monastery, the Cretans blew up barrels of gunpowder, choosing to sacrifice themselves rather than surrender.
The monastery became a national sanctuary in honor of the Cretan resistance. 8 November is a day of commemorative parties in Arkadi and Rethymno. The explosion did not end the Cretan insurrection, but it attracted the attention of the rest of the world.
Arkadi Gorge
The Arkadi Monastery is located in the Rethymno regional unit, 25 km southeast of Rethymno. The Monastery is situated on a rectangular plateau on the northwest side of Mount Ida (Crete), at an altitude of 500 m.[2] The Arkadian region is fertile and has vineyards, olive groves and pine, oak and Cyprus forests. The plateau on which the monastery rests is surrounded by hills. The west side of the plateau stops abruptly and falls off into gorges. The gorges start at Tabakaria and lead to Stavromenos, to the east of Rethymno. The Arkadian gorges have a rich diversity of plants and native wildflowers.[3]
The Arkadian Plateau
The area the monastery is located in first developed in antiquity. The presence of Mount Ida (Crete), which is a sacred mountain because it was legendarily the childhood home of Zeus, made the area attractive to early settlers. Five km to the northeast, the city of Eleftherna had its cultural peak in the time of Homer and in classical antiquity, but its influence was also felt in the early Christian and Byzantine periods.
The closest village to the monastery is Amnatos, located three km to the north. The villages that surround Arkadi are rich in Byzantine relics that prove the early wealth of the region. The Moni Arseniou monastery, which is several km north of Arkadi, was also an example of the grand Cretan monasteries.
Arkadi Monastery is in the shape of a nearly rectangular parallelogram. The interior resembles a fortress and is 78.5 metres long on the north wall, 73.5 metres on the south wall, 71.8 metres on the east wall and 67 metres on the west wall. The total area of the monastery is 5200 m².
The Emperor Arcadius, who founded the monastery according to tradition.
The exact date of the founding of the monastery is not precisely known. According to tradition, the foundation of the monastery is sometimes attributed to the Byzantine emperor Heraclius and sometimes to the emperor Arcadius in the 5th century. And, according to the second version, the monastery took its name from the name of the emperor. However, in Crete, it is common for monasteries to be named after the monk that founded the building, which lends support to the theory that Arkadi may have been founded by a monk named Arkadios. Other such monasteries are Vrontisiou, Arsiniou and Aretiou.
According to Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, the monastery was built on the site of an ancient city, Arcadia. Legend tells that after the destruction of Arcadia, all the springs and fountains stopped flowing until a new city was built.[5][Note 1] However, in 1837, Robert Pashley found evidence to suggest that it was impossible for the monastery to have been built on the ruins of another city,[6] so this idea has lost credence.
In 1951, the professor K. Kalokyris published an inscription dating to the 14th century and verified the hypothesis that a monastery was dedicated to Saint Constantine in this period. The inscription was located on the pediment of a church that predates the current one, over the entrance door. It read:
"The church carrying the name of Arkadi is consecrated to Saint Constantine. wikipedia
Jvari (Cross) Monastery is a Georgian Orthodox monastery of the 6th century near Mtskheta (World Heritage site), eastern Georgia. The name is translated as the Monastery of the Cross. Jvari Monastery stands on the rocky mountaintop at the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers, overlooking the town of Mtskheta, which was formerly the capital of the Kingdom of Iberia.
Prohor Pčinjski (Serbian Cyrillic: Прохор Пчињски) is an 11th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery in the deep south of Serbia, located in village Klenike, Pčinja District near the border with Macedonia. It is situated at the slopes of Kozjak at the left side of the Pčinja river.
Battleground park
The park slopes away to the south and south-west of the Abbey and is laid to pasture, the site of the battlefield lying beneath the Abbey and the parkland immediately to its south. The character of the park is that of a largely open landscape with few trees. Towards the south-east, c 200m from the southern boundary of the precinct, a chain of ponds extends c 400m south-westwards. There are three smaller ponds, connected by the scrub-lined feeder stream to a large (c 1.5ha) pond. The smaller ponds are shown on Richard Budgen's map of 1721 and on Gardner and Gream's of 1795; they may have their origin in monastic stew ponds and are referred to as such on Budgen's map. The large pond, known as New Pond, appears on the Tithe map of Battle c 1840 where it is recorded as 'the new fish pond'. The park is enclosed on the north-west boundary by a belt of woodland known as the Long Plantation which is shown on the Tithe map but not on Budgen's of 1721.
A number of field boundaries are maintained within the park, some surviving from the pattern shown on the Tithe map. Neither Budgen's map nor the Tithe map show much evidence of the establishment of a park; by the date of the OS 1st edition of 1873 however there is extensive cover of parkland trees over the south-west half of the site. In the C19, the Duchess of Cleveland planted a number of Turkey oaks in the park and many new trees were planted in the mid 1990s to replace those destroyed in the storm of 1987.
[Historic England]
Battle Abbey
A monastic site with a few surviving features of C16 and C19 gardening activity, set within a C19 park laid out in and around the site of the Battle of Hastings.
Battle Abbey was established as a Benedictine foundation in c 1070 by William the Conqueror, as a memorial to his victory over the English at the battle which took place on the site in 1066. The Abbey church was completed by 1094, followed by the remaining permanent buildings of the cloister and outer court. The Abbey was originally endowed with all the land within a league (c 2.5km) of the high altar, which was sited on the spot where King Harold fell. The existence of the Abbey led directly to the establishment of the town of Battle.
Considerable alteration and reconstruction of the Abbey took place in the late C13 and continued throughout the Middle Ages. In 1538, at the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII, the Abbey and a substantial area of land was given to Sir Anthony Browne, the King's Master of the Horse. Browne demolished the Abbey church, chapter house and part of the cloister and adapted the west range of buildings as a residence. Browne died in 1548 and his son was created first Viscount Montague. The estate remained in the hands of this family until the sixth Viscount sold it in 1715 to Sir Thomas Webster. It was owned for a period from 1857 until 1901 by the Duke and Duchess of Cleveland until bought back into the Webster family by Sir Augustus, the eighth Baronet. In 1922 he leased the west range of the cloister buildings to Battle Abbey School which still occupies them. The estate was purchased for the nation in 1976 and is in the guardianship of English Heritage.
[Historic England]
Stauropigial Monastery of St. Onuphrious in Jableczna, 2004.06.25.
Liturgy served near Belarusian Border, close to river Bug.
Starts at 4.00 AM.
Procession to the chapel
More on www.orthphoto.net
We didn't go into the monastery, I'm not sure if it was open to visitors. But there was a talented water glass musician in the courtyard.
Everyone should have a two-week honeymoon in Europe on a double-decker bus with 60 of their closest friends! That’s what Johnny and I did in July of 1996. We traveled with the Morris Beachy Singers and performed in Prague, Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, and Lucerne. It was wonderful!
this beautiful monastery was founded and built by the Cistercians- it is now a tourist destination and luxury hotel.
The monastery was built in 1152, it is called Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Rueda- the Royal Monastery of Our Lady of the Waterwheel. The monks designed and built a giant waterwheel to move the water from the Ebro river up to the monastery. There are still channels and ditches, the gardens have an intricate irrigation system.
Fra klosteret regeredes Montenegro fra 1500-tallet af en række af "vladikaer", fyrstbiskopper, der var næsten helt selvstændige i forhold til Osmannerriget. Da de var munke, efterfulgtes de af deres nevøer. Det nuværende kloster er fra 1700-tallet og er stadig landets kirkelige centrum.
From the monastery Montenegro was ruled from the 16th century by a succession of "Vladikas", prince-bishops who were almost completely independent from the Ottoman empire. As they were monks, they were succeded by their nephews. The present monastery is from the 18th century and is still the ecclesiastical centre of the country.
The Sinaia Monastery, located in Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, was founded by Prince Mihail Cantacuzino in 1695 and named after the great Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai in Egypt.
As of 2005, it is inhabited by 13 Christian Orthodox monks led by hegumen Macarie Boguș.
It is part of the Bucharest archdiocese.
Its architectural style is Byzantine
The monastery gave its name to the town of Sinaia.
The monastery consists of two courtyards surrounded by low buildings.
In the centre of each courtyard there is a small church built in the Byzantine style.
One of them —"Biserica Veche" (The Old Church)— dates from 1695, while the more recent "Biserica Mare" (The Great Church) was built in 1846.
The monks possess a library that is a repository for valuable jewels belonging to the Cantacuzino family, as well as the earliest Romanian translation of the Bible, dated 1668.
Prince (Spătarul) Mihail Cantacuzino founded the monastery upon his return from a pilgrimage to Mount Sinai.
The first buildings were completed between 1690 and 1695.
It was designed to serve as a monastery as well as a fortified stronghold on the route from Brasov to Bucharest.
The initial plan was for the monastery to hold 12 monks, to imitate the Twelve Apostles, but in time the number of monks grew.
In the midst of the Russo-Turkish War, 1735–1739, before deserting the monastery, monks hid the valuables by burying them inside a bell.
During a battle, the Turks defeated troops stationed within the walls of the monastery.
The Ottomans burned the area and broke through the wall in two places.
Until 1850, Sinaia consisted of little more than the monastery and a group of huts.
In 1864, however, the monastic estate was assigned to the Board of Civil Hospitals (Eforia Spitalelor Civile), which opened a hospital and several baths, and helped develop mineral springs in Sinaia.
In 1948, the monastery was put under the patronage of the Archdiocese of Bucharest from the Board of Civil Hospitals.
The Romanian Patriarch, Justinian Marina, restored the buildings between the years 1951 and 1957 with money from the Archdiocese.
During this period, the whole monastery was fitted with running water, electricity, and natural gas.
Thanks to the efforts of King Carol I, the Great Church of the monastery became the first church to use electric lights inside.
Under the leadership of Hegumens Ioasaf and Paisie, construction of The Great Church began in 1842 using funds allocated by the monastery and was completed in 1846.
This smaller structure was enlarged by the Board of Civil Hospitals during a period from 1897 to 1903.
All these efforts gave the building the appearance it has today.
Created by architect George Mandrea, the structure utilizes the Moldavian style and the Brâncovenesc style from Walachia.
It is said that the belt of three green enamel lines that encircle the building represent the unity of the Holy Trinity in one God and the unity of the Three Romanian Kingdoms in one country.
The gold mosaic paintings inside were created by Danish artist Aage Exner in a typical neo-Byzantine style.
The main illustrations show five persons:
Iosif Gheorghian mitropolit primat – he re-opened the building in 1903
Carol I of Romania – shown dressed as an officer, with his right hand upon a rock pillar with a missing piece.
This symbolizes the missing Romanian territories at that time
Elisabeth of Wied – Queen consort of Romania, known in the literary world as Carmen Sylva
Princess Maria of Romania – Queen Elisabeta's only child, who died at an early age
Mihail Cantacuzino – builder of the Old Church
The furniture was made of wood (sycamore, maple, and oak) by Constantin Babic and his students at the Bucharest Art School (Ṣcoala de Arte si Meserii).
The King's throne displays the royal emblem and the motto Nihil sine Deo (Nothing without God).
The Queen's throne is embossed with the letters E.D. Both thrones are gold-plated.
The two Russian icons, of Saint Serghei and Saint Nicholas, were a gift from Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in 1903.
They were presented to the Hegumen Nifon Arhimandritul for the baptism of Prince Nicholae, son of King Ferdinand.
A remarkable piece adorning the monastery is the epitaphios by Anna Roth, made of silk and gold on a cotton base.
It took three years (from 1897 to 1900) to finish.
During the leadership of Hegumen Nifon Popescu (1888–1909), a large bell tower was added to the monastery walls.
It was completed in 1892.
The 1,700-kilogram bell was brought from the Colţea Tower in Bucharest.
To the left of the bell tower atthe entrance lies the Museum.
In 1895 the museum of the monastery was opened, the first exhibition of religious objects in Romania.
It holds collections of icons and crosses from the 17th century, the very first Bible in Romanian (Bucharest, 1688), and many other precious objects.
The New Church dates back to 1846, but was renovated and enlarged in the following decades at the initiative of King Carol the 1st who used the monastery as a summer residence until the inauguration of the nearby Peles Castle.
Given the constant presence of its royal guests, the Great Church was adorned with the large-scale painted portraits of Queen Elisabeta and King Carol the 1st and two royal seats close to the altar.
The large proportions of the New Church and combination of typical elements of the ‘Brancovenesc’ style — the small porch with carved stone columns and ornated portal — and the Moldavian church style — high and solid walls similar to a fortress — create a one of a kind church in Southern Romania, a symbol of the cultural unity of the Romanian provinces.
Drepung Monastery is located at the foot of Mount Gephel about three miles from Lhasa, and is one of the great three university monasteries of Tibet.
Selime Monastery is undoubtedly one of the best places to visit and is the biggest monastery in Cappadocia region with a cathedral-size church. It is thought that it took over 200 years to shape this huge monastery and it is dating back to 8th or 9th century.