Near modern-day Shahhat, Libya, is the ancient Greek and later Roman city of Cyrene. The pentapolis, a group of five Greek cities in the area, was its most significant member. Eastern Libya was given the ancient name Cyrenaica, which it has kept up to this day. On a ridge in the Jebel Akhdar uplands, Cyrene is located. The spring, Cyra, which the Greeks dedicated to Apollo, was the source of the name of the city. The numerous colossal temples, stoas, theaters, bathhouses, churches, and sumptuous villas that make up the archaeological remains span several hectares. The Necropolis of Cyrene encircles the city. A dynasty of monarchs known as the Battiads initially ruled the city, which was founded by Greek colonists in the late seventh century BC. They became wealthy and powerful as a result of successive waves of immigration and the export of horses and silphium, a medicinal plant. They had increased their control over the other Cyrenaica cities by the fifth century BC. In the fourth century BC, Aristippus, a student of Socrates, established the Cyrenaics, a school of thought, and it eventually became their headquarters. The city alternated in the Hellenistic Age between serving as the seat of an autonomous monarchy and Ptolemaic Egypt. It transferred to the Roman Republic in 96 BC and was included in the province of Crete and Cyrenaica. During the Kitos War, Jewish fighters destroyed the city in 115 AD. Over the course of the next century, it was gradually restored. The city was damaged by earthquakes in 262 and 365 AD, but some inhabitants persisted into the early Byzantine era [Information Credit : Cyrene,_Libya, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrene,_Libya ] [Image Credit : Archaeological_site, Wikipedia] [Image : Sanctuary of Apollo at Cyrene; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Maher27777] [The copyright holder of the work (Image), release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide; In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: The copyright holder granted anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.] [(Please Relate to Original Image URL for More Usage Property) ] [Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cyrene8.jpg ] #History#Architecture
The word Ostrog in Russian refers to a small fort that is frequently unmanned and made of wood. Palisade walls composed of sharpened tree trunks that were 4-6 meters high surrounded ostrogs. The phrase -- Strogat, which means -- to shave the wood in Russian, is where the name comes from. In contrast to the massive kremlins that served as the central hubs of Russian cities, ostrogs were more limited military fortifications. Ostrogs were frequently constructed inside major fortress lines, like the Great Abatis Line, or in isolated locations. The term Ostrog has been used to describe the forts built in Siberia by Russian explorers since the 17th century, when the Russian conquest of Siberia got underway. Later, many of these forts became sizable Siberian cities. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the term ostrog was frequently used to refer to a prison, and Siberian ostrogs later came to be associated with captivity
[Information and Image Credit : Ostrog_(fortress), Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrog_(fortress) ]
[Image : The tower of Ilimsky ostrog, now in Taltsy Museum in Irkutsk, Siberia; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Dr. A. Hugentobler ]
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[License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en ]
[Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Taltsy_Museum_Irkutsk_Ostrog_Tower_200007280018.jpg ] #History#Architecture
French fortified city Carcassonne is located in Aude district of Occitania. It serves as the prefecture of the department. Carcassonne, which has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age, is situated in the Aude plain between two ancient trade routes that connected the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrénées. Ancient Romans immediately understood its strategic value, and they occupied its hilltop until the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Visigoths conquered Septimania in the fifth century, and in their newly created Visigothic Kingdom, they erected the city of Carcassonne. The Gallo-Roman era and later medieval castle known as the Cité de Carcassonne was renovated in 1853 by the thinker and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. As a result of the extraordinary preservation and restoration of the medieval citadel, it was included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997. Consequently, the economy of Carcassonne is mainly dependent on tourism, but it also depends on manufacturing and winemaking. Since the Neolithic era, people have been aware of its strategic location halfway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. When the Romans fortified the hilltop in 100 BC and subsequently established it as the colonia of Julia Carsaco, Carcassonne started to be recognized strategically. The Visigothic ruler Theodoric II had controlled Carcassonne since 453 when the Romans officially handed up Septimania to him in 462. The county of Carcassonne, a medieval lordship, was in charge of the city and its surroundings. It frequently joined forces with the county of Razès. In France, Arab and Berber Muslim forces invaded the region of Septimania in 719 and overthrew the local Visigoth Kingdom in 720. After the Frankish conquest of Narbonne in 759, the Muslim Arabs and Berbers were defeated by the Christian Franks and fled to Andalusia after 40 years of occupation, and the Carolingian king Pepin the Short came up strengthened. As an Occitan Cathar stronghold during this time, Carcassonne rose to fame for its participation in the Albigensian Crusades. The border province of Roussillon was given to France by the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, which diminished the military importance of Carcassonne. The first fortification to employ hoardings during a siege was Carcassonne. Through square holes in the face of the wall, temporary wooden platforms and walls would be attached to the upper walls of the fortress, protecting the defenders on the wall and allowing defenders to extend past the wall to launch projectiles at the attackers at the wall below, acting much like a permanent machicolation
[Information and Image Credit : Carcassonne, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne ]
[Image : Aerial photograph of the Cité de Carcassonne ]
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#Castles#History#Architecture
South of Veytaux in the canton of Vaud, on an island in Lake Geneva, lies a castle called Chillon Castle. It is located on the slender shore between Montreux and Villeneuve at the eastern end of the lake, providing access to the Rhône-Valley-Alpine region. Among the most popular medieval castles in Switzerland and Europe is Chillon. It was successively occupied from 1536 until 1798 by the House of Savoy, then by the Bernese, and is currently a part of the State of Vaud. It is a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance. Its contemporary equivalent, the Fort de Chillon, is concealed by the mountain-incline. The island of Chillon, an oval limestone rock advancing in Lake Geneva between Montreux and Villeneuve with a steep side on one side and the lake and its steep bottom on the other side, is particularly where the castle of Chillon is located. The location of the castle is significant because it guards the path between the Rhone valley, which provides a direct route to Italy, and the Vaud Riviera, which gives access to the north towards Germany and France. It also provides a glimpse of the Savoyard coast on the other side of the lake. Thus, a garrison could manage traffic on the way to Italy and charge a toll, both militarily and commercially. Since the Roman era, Chillon has served as a military outpost. The construction of the existing castle took place during three eras: the Savoy, Bernese, and Vaudois periods. Initially, Chillon served as a Roman stronghold that protected the important route through the Alpine Alps. In the nineteenth century, archeological digs turned up Roman-era artifacts as well as Bronze Age artifacts. Before a square donjon was erected in the tenth century, the Romans would have fortified the area from a double wooden fence. Although the oldest components of the castle have not been precisely dated, the first documented mention of it dates to the year 1005 A.D. To regulate the route from Burgundy to the Great Saint Bernard Pass, it was constructed. The Counts of Savoy had a fleet of ships on Lake Geneva, and from the middle of the 12th century, the castle served as their summer residence. The dukes of Savoy used the fortress to imprison prisoners during the Wars of Religion in the sixteenth century. A Genevois and Bernese force conquered the fortress in 1536, and all the inmates were freed. Until Chillon was turned into a state jail in 1733, the castle served as the home of the Bernese bailiff. The Lemanic Republic was established in 1798 after the French-speaking canton of Vaud expelled the German-speaking Bernese rulers. To support them in maintaining their independence from the other Swiss, the Vaudois invited French troops. Chillon served as a weapons and ammunition storage facility when the French invaded and occupied. The Romantic aesthetic prompted some 19th-century restoration work on the Castle that sacrificed historical accuracy. A thorough restoration of the monument was started at the end of the 19th century, and as a result, an ethic of monumental restoration was formed. This was one of the first instances where archaeology and history were used to restore a structure in a historically accurate manner
[Information and Image Credit : Chillon_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chillon_Castle ]
[Image : Chillon Castle at nightfall with the Dents du Midi in the background.]
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Wikipedia-Image-Author : Giles Laurent; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for more Image Usage Property)]
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#History#Architecture#Castles
The Königsberg Castle served as a landmark for Königsberg, Germany, the capital of East Prussia, which later became Kaliningrad, Russia since 1946. The castle stood where an Old Prussian fort called Tuwangste once stood close to the Pregel River at a crucial crossing point in Prussian territory. Three Prussian villages in the area were later named —Löbenicht, Sackheim, and Tragheim. The Teutonic Knights replaced the Prussian fort with a temporary one made of earthworks and timber after capturing the area in 1255. By 1257, a brand-new Ordensburg castle made of stone was being built. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the castle underwent numerous rounds of significant expansion and refortification. The Teutonic Order Grandmasters lived in the fortification, which eventually evolved into a castle, and Prussian emperors later made it their home. The splendid palace is described in the 1815 Encyclopaedia Britannica as having a handsome library and a hall that is 83.5 meters long and 18 meters wide without supports to support it. With 284 steps up to the summit and a height of almost 100 meters, the gothic tower of the castle offered panoramic views. This enormous structure, which was surrounded by a sizable quadrangle and was located virtually in the middle of the city, was once the headquarters of the Teutonic Order. In the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, it was expanded and changed. On the Schloßkirche, often known as the palace church, on the west wing, Frederick I was crowned in 1701 and William I in 1861. The Order of the arms of Black Eagle members were inscribed on the walls and columns. The 83 m long and 18 m tall Moscowiter-Saal was located above the church. The apartments of Hohenzollerns and the Prussia Museum were both accessible to the general public every day up until the end of World War II. The museum housed numerous paintings by the artist Lovis Corinth as well as 240,000 exhibits from the Prussian collection, a collection from the Königsberg State and University Library, and more
[Information and Image Credit : Königsberg_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6nigsberg_Castle ]
[Image : Königsberg Castle courtyard in c. 1900] [The Work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. The author of this image from Switzerland is unknown, and the image was published at least 70 years ago. It is therefore in the public domain in Switzerland by virtue of Art. 31 of the Swiss Copyright Act. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)]
[ Art. 31 of the Swiss Copyright Act Link : https://shorturl.at/dnQR3 ]
[Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:K%C3%B6nigsberg_Castle_courtyard.jpg ]
#History#Castles#Architecture
A fortification from the Scaliger era, the Scaligero Castle serves as a gateway to historic area of Sirmione on Lake Garda. One of the best-preserved castles in all of Italy. With 308,459 visits in 2019, it was the 22nd most popular attraction in Italy. On the southernmost point of Lake Garda in Northern Italy, it was constructed in the second half of the 14th century. The Scaligeri, who give it its name, are the Veronese Della Scala family. Construction was started on their behalf. From 1259 through 1387, the family held sway over Verona and a sizable portion of the Venetian region. After the Della Scala family submitted to Venice in 1405, the fortress was later under the jurisdiction of Republic of Venice beginning in the 15th century. It remained a crucial fortification in the region. With the construction of the nearby fortress in Peschiera del Garda in the 16th century, its prominence began to fade. Up to the Italian Union, it was still utilized as a fortification and armory before becoming the municipal government-office of Sirmione. It underwent restoration beginning in 1919, the year it became into a museum and a popular tourist destination. However, it was not completely reconstructed until 2018 after the internal waters of the castle were cleared. The interior docks are the only remaining portion of a fortified port from the fourteenth century
[Information Credit : Scaligero_Castle_(Sirmione), Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaligero_Castle_(Sirmione) ]
[Image : Scaligero Castle Facade, Italy , by Natalia Yefremova, Pexels;
Image-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/scaligero-castle-facade-italy-8986604/ ]
#Castles#History#Architecture
The historic Guaita castle, whose construction goes back to the 11th century, is located in the little state of San Marino. The three tower architectural complex actually consists of more than just the medieval castle. The Guaita, often referred to as the Rocca, is one of three towered summits that look out over San Marino, the capital of the country. Cesta and Montale are the other two. The stronghold is the most well-known and the oldest of the three towers built atop Monte Titano. Since its establishment, it has been used as a prison, and it is shown on the flag and coat of arms of the country. Since 2008, it has been listed as a World Heritage Site. Visitors to the historical site come to admire the one-of-a-kind, century-old building as well as the breathtaking view of the little state. The Guaita tower-name translates to -- The First Tower -- in Italian. It had kept its original appearance by the year 1475. Over the span of 200 years, the gymnast has undergone nearly continual reconstruction beginning at the end of the 15th century. The facility was constructed as a prison and maintained its gloomy status until 1970, making it one of the oldest prisons in the world. The castle is now completely outfitted for tourist use. The superb viewing decks of the tower are located at the summit. It rises about 750 meters above sea level [Information Credit : Guaita, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaita ] [Information Credit : https://www.orangesmile.com/extreme/en/ancient-castles/guaita-tower.htm ] [Image : Large View of Guita Castle] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Commonists] [(Please Also Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fortress_of_Guaita_-_First_Tower_(San_Marino).jpg ] #Castles#History#Architecture
Province of Biscay in Northern Spain is home to the castle known as Butrón, which is situated in Gatika. It was initially built in the Middle Ages, but Francisco de Cubas started an almost total reconstruction of it in 1878 that gave it its current form. The castle is designed after Bavarian castle models and has a fairy-tale appearance. Instead of producing a structure where people could really live, the current structure was constructed as a pastime for its then-owner and to generate something that is visually stunning. Since the towers have limited usable space and many areas of the castle have outdoor connections, it would actually be extremely uncomfortable to live there given the damp Basque weather. There is a park surrounding the structure, which has palm trees and other exotic flora. According to Kate Middleton in a BBC interview with David Ferald, getting married in this fantasy castle was her ambition. It was abandoned before being rebuilt and made accessible to the public. This did not work out, so the building was closed to visitors but the grounds were still accessible. Despite being purchased by INBISA in November 2005, the structure is still covered by the general protection provided by Spanish Law 16/1985 regarding historic buildings in Spain
[Information and Image Credit : Butrón, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butr%C3%B3n ] [Image: Current state of the castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Enekochan]
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[Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fachada_del_castillo_de_Butr%C3%B3n.jpg ]
#Castles#History#Architecture
In the English county of Somerset, Glastonbury Tor is a tor that is close to Glastonbury and is topped by the Grade I-listed, roofless St. Michaels Tower. The location is administered by the National Trust and is a scheduled monument. The Tor has a number of other enduring mythological and spiritual links. It is mentioned in Celtic mythology, particularly in narratives involving King Arthur. The Somerset Levels give way to a conical mound of clay and Blue Lias. It developed as a result of the erosion of nearby softer layers, which revealed the hard sandstone cap. The slopes of the hills are terraced, but the process by which they were created is still a mystery. Neolithic flint tools found at the summit of the Tor indicate that the area has been occupied since prehistory, maybe for an extended period of time. When the nearby ruins of Glastonbury Lake Village were discovered there in 1892, it was established that an Iron Age settlement had existed there between 300 and 200 BC on an easily guarded island in the fens. Although there is no proof that the Tor was inhabited permanently, discoveries like Roman pottery do indicate that it was frequented. The history of the monument and church was attempted to be clarified through archaeological digs during the 20th century, although some details of this history are still unknown. Iron Age to Roman-era artifacts from human visitation have been discovered. On the peak, there were a number of structures built during the Saxon and early medieval eras that have been identified as an early church and hermitage of monks. An ancient head of wheel cross from the tenth or eleventh century has been found. The stone Church of St. Michael was erected on the site in the fourteenth century after the earlier wooden church was destroyed by an earthquake in 1275. Although it has been repaired and partially rebuilt numerous times, the tower still stands
[Information Credit : Glastonbury_Tor, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glastonbury_Tor ]
[Image : Terraces on the Tor; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Rodw;]
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[License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ]
[Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Glastonbury_Tor_from_north_east_showing_terraces.jpg ]
#History#Architecture
The Gwalior Fort, sometimes called the Gwāliiyar Qila, is a hill fort close to Gwalior in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The fort has been around at least since the 10th century, and inscriptions and monuments discovered within the area that today makes up the fort campus suggest that it may have been around as early as the beginning of the 6th century. Uncertainty surrounds the precise time frame of the construction of Gwalior Fort. The fort was supposedly constructed in 3 CE by a native ruler named Suraj Sen. Man Singh Tomar, the Tomar Rajput king, constructed the present-day fort, which consists of a defensive structure and two residences. Throughout its history, the fort has been governed by a variety of different kings. Man Singh Tomar, a Tomar Rajput prince who ruled from 1486 to 1516 CE, constructed the Man Mandir and Gujari Mahal, the latter one for his wife, Queen Mrignayani, and the two principal palaces of the fort, the Gujari Mahal and Man Mandir. One of the names for Gwalipa is where the word Gwalior originates. Legend has it that Gwalipa healed the local chieftain Suraj Sen of leprosy, and out of respect for him, Suraj Sen named the city of Gwalior after him. The king built a fort and gave it the name of the sage out of gratitude. The sage gave the king the title Pal, which means Protector, and informed him that as long as his family holds this title, the fort will remain in their ownership. The fort was ruled by 83 of the descendants of Suraj Sen Pal, but Tej Karan, the 84th, lost power. The inscriptions at fort-campus and monuments suggest that it may have existed as early as the beginning of the sixth century. A sun temple constructed in the sixth century under the rule of the Huna ruler Mihirakula is mentioned in a Gwalior inscription. The Gurjara-Pratiharas constructed the Teli ka Mandir in the ninth century, which is presently found inside the fort. By the 10th century, when it is first recorded in the historical records, the fort had unquestionably been built. At that time, the Kachchhapaghatas were in charge of the fort, most likely as feudatories of the Chandelas. The fort is situated atop a sandstone outcrop on Gopachal, a lonely rocky hill. It is a long, narrow, steep feature. The Gwalior range rock-formations are made of ochre-colored sandstone that has been coated in basalt
[Information and Image Credit : Gwalior_Fort, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwalior_Fort ]
[Image : The Gwalior fort from afar; Wikipedia-Image Author : Rohan Kalbhor ]
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[License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ]
[Wikipedia-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_with_city.jpg ]
#History#Architecture
In the western Highlands of Scotland, about a mile from the settlement of Dornie, is the tidal island with a Scottish castle known as Eilean Donan. The original fortress of the island, constructed in the thirteenth century and used as a stronghold by the Clan Mackenzie and its allies, the Clan MacRae, was taken by them in 1563. However, government ships demolished the castle in 1719 in retaliation for the participation of the Mackenzies in the Jacobite uprisings at the beginning of the 18th century. The original castle was rebuilt in the 20th century by Lieutenant-Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap to become the current structure. One of the 40 National Scenic Areas of Scotland, Kintail, includes Eilean Donan. Eilean Donan is named in honor of the Celtic martyr Donnán of Eigg, who died in 617. There is no sign of the church that Donnán is claimed to have founded on the island. It is probable that around the sixth or seventh century, an early Christian monastic cell was established on the island. A fortification from the Iron Age or the early Middle Ages may have existed on the island, as evidenced by the discovery of stone fragments that have vitrified. During the rule of Alexander II,1214–1249, in the first half of the thirteenth century, a massive curtain-wall castle that encircled much of the island was built. The region around the island served as a good defensive position against Norse expeditions at the time since it was on the border between the Norse-Celtic Lordship of the Isles and the Earldom of Ross. According to a foundation legend, the son of a Matheson chief developed the ability to converse with birds. As a result of this talent and numerous overseas exploits, he amassed wealth, power and the esteem of Alexander II, who commissioned him to construct the castle to protect his domain. The presence of only one person on the island was all that was known about it in 2001
[Information and Image Credit : Eilean_Donan, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eilean_Donan ]
[Image : Castle ruins, sometime before 1911]
[This UK artistic or literary work, of which the author is unknown and cannot be ascertained by reasonable enquiry, is in the public domain because it is one of the following:
• A photograph, which has never previously been made available to the public (e.g. by publication or display at an exhibition) and which was taken more than 70 years ago (before 1 January 1953); or
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[Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eilean_Donan_Castle,_pre_1911.jpg ]
#History#Castles#Architecture
The Wallace Monument, also known as the National Wallace Monument, is a 67-meter tower perched atop Abbey Craig of Scotland, a hilltop that provides a panoramic view of Stirling. It is in honor of Sir William Wallace, a Scottish hero from the 13th and 14th centuries. The public can access the tower by paying a small entrance fee. From the base of the cliff on which it is perched, visitors approach on foot. The last observation platform, with three exhibition rooms inside the body of the tower, is reached after 246 steps from the entrance. Visitors with disabilities are unable to access the tower. Following a fundraising drive that coincided with a revival of Scottish nationalism in the 19th century, the tower was built. William Burns and Rev. Charles Rogers launched the campaign in Glasgow in 1851. After resignation of Rogers about 1855, Burns assumed sole leadership. It was largely supported by contributions from a number of foreign contributors, including Italian national leader Giuseppe Garibaldi, in addition to public subscription. As Grand Master Mason of Scotland, the Duke of Atholl lay the foundation stone in 1861. Sir Archibald Alison delivered a brief address at the ceremony. The monument is a 67-metre sandstone tower constructed in the Victorian Gothic style that was finished in 1869 to the plans of architect John Thomas Rochead for a price of £18,000. The tower is located atop the Abbey Craig, a volcanic outcrop that towers over Cambuskenneth Abbey. It is said that Wallace saw the assembling of the army of King Edward I of England from this location immediately before the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. The entire public is welcome to visit the memorial
[Information and Image Credit : Wallace_Monument, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Monument ]
[Image: The Monument ; Wikipedia-Image-Author :
Finlay McWalter ]
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[Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wfm_wallace_monument.jpg ]
#History#Architecture
Al-Khazneh (Petra-Jordan) is one of the most ornate temples in Petra, a Nabatean Kingdom city which was inhabited by Nabatean Arabs. This structure was hewn out of a sandstone rock face, like the most of the other structures in this historic town, including the Monastery. The building is thought to have served as mausoleum of King Aretas IV of Nabatea in the first century AD. It is among the top tourist destinations in the country of Jordan and the surrounding area. The local Bedouins, who thought it held treasures, gave it the name Al-Khazneh, or The Treasury, in the early 19th century. [Information-Credit : Al-Khazneh, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Khazneh ] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic ; Image Author who Modified : MrPanyGoff, Wikipedia; (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en ; Wikipedia-Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Al_Khazneh_Petra_edit_2.jpg ] #Architecture
In the Rajsamand district of the western Indian state of Rajasthan, Kumbhalgarh, commonly referred to as the Great Wall of India, is a Mewar fortification on the western slope of the Aravalli Hills, only 48 kilometres from Rajsamand city. About 84 kilometres separate it from Udaipur. It is a part of Hill Forts of Rajasthan, a World Heritage Site. Rana Kumbha constructed it in the 15th century. Kumbhalgarh Fort and five other Rajasthani forts were included in the list of forts included in the Hill Forts of Rajasthan category when the 37th session of World Heritage Committee was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2013. Mandan, who served as the principal architect of the fort, described his method of construction in his book Rajvallabh. The fort complex is one of the biggest in the world. The 36 kilometre perimeter walls of the fort of Kumbhalgarh, which was constructed on a mountaintop 1,100 metres above sea level in the Aravalli range, make it one of the longest walls in the world. The thickness of the frontal walls is fifteen feet. There are seven fortified entrances in Kumbhalgarh. The fort contains more than 70 temples, including Jain and Hindu temples. One can view kilometres into the Aravalli Range from the palace-roof [Information Credit : Kumbhalgarh, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbhalgarh ] [Image: Aerial view of a portion of the Kumbhalgarh Fort wall; Wikipedia Image Author : Heman kumar meena ] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_view_of_Kumbhalgarh.jpg ] #Architecture#Castles
The Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt constructed the Lighthouse of Alexandria, also known as the Pharos of Alexandria, during the rule of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, who lived from 280 and 247 BC. Its total height is thought to have been at minimum 330 feet. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the tallest man-made edifice in the world for many centuries. Between 956 and 1323 AD, three earthquakes heavily affected the lighthouse, which eventually turned into a deserted remnant. After the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the still-standing Great Pyramid of Giza, it was the third longest-lasting ancient wonder. It continued to exist in portion until 1480 A.D., when the final of its remaining stones were taken to construct the Citadel of Qaitbay on the site. Pharos was a little island located on the western side of the Nile Delta. On an isthmus facing Pharos, Alexander the Great established Alexandria in 332 BC. Later, a mole—a substantial and mostly stone structure used as a pier, breakwater, or causeway between two bodies of water—was erected to connect Alexandria with Pharos. On the west side of the mole was the port of Eunostos, with its inner basin Kibotos now much enlarged to become the contemporary harbour, and on the east side was the Great Harbour, now an open bay. The lighthouse was was built in the third century BCE. The first Ptolemy established himself as king in 305 BC, following the demise of Alexander the Great, and shortly afterward ordered the construction of the lighthouse. It took twelve years and 800 talents of silver to erect the structure, which was completed under the rule of his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The tower was claimed to have been constructed primarily out of solid slabs of limestone and granite, and the light was emitted by a furnace at the top. On a dive into Eastern Harbour of Alexandria in 1994, a group of French archaeologists found several lighthouse remnants on the ocean floor. The Pharos and other underwater ancient Alexandrian ruins were part of plans for becoming an underwater museum in 2016 by the Ministry of State for Antiquities of Egypt
[Information and Image Credit :: Lighthouse_of_Alexandria, Wikipedia;
Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse_of_Alexandria ]
[Image : Lighthouse of Alexandria by Philip Galle; 1572, Rijksmuseum] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is believed to be in Public Domain in the United States as well. (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)]
[Wikipedia Source-Image-Link : https://bit.ly/3n6bqqk ] #Art#Architecture
In the province of Burgos, the Peñaranda de Duero Castle of Spain is a well maintained Medieval structure. The castle was built in the tenth century, but Counts of Miranda del Castañar renovations in the fifteenth century significantly altered the structure. Only the crenellated arch of Las Monjas remains of the defensive wall that once encompassed the town, which nowadays marks the beginning of the castle. Throughout the 10th century, the fortress played a significant role in fortifying the border between the Moorish state of Al Andalus and the mediaeval Christian Kingdom of Castile. The castle is a small, walled enclosure with a central keep rising four stories high. The keep has three more square towers, two of which flank the ogival arch that serves as the entrance, in addition to battlements, a gallery of machiolations, and a rooftop terrace. Although a large portion of the keep has ornate wooden beams, the walls are made of solid stone ashlar stone. The Castle of Peñaranda de Duero is one of the many historical sites and popular tourist destinations in the region nowadays. There is a nominal entrance fee of between 1 and 2 euros for visitors [Information and Image Credit : Castle_of_Peñaranda_de_Duero, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Pe%C3%B1aranda_de_Duero ] [Image: Peñaranda Castle, Wikipedia-Author: Rowanwindwhistler ] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported; (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [License Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Source-Image-Link: : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CastilloDePe%C3%B1arandaDeDuero20110625111805P1120520.jpg ] #Castles#Architecture
One of the most well-known structures of Budapest is the Halászbástya, or Fishermans Bastion, which is situated in the first district of the city next to Buda Castle. Due to the distinctive view of Budapest that can be seen from the Neo-Romanesque viewing terraces, it is one of the most significant tourist destinations. The infrastructure of the Fishermens Bastion is roughly 140 metres long, with the southern aisle being about 40 metres long, the northern aisle being about 65 metres long, and the elaborate centre parapet being about 35 metres long. Its seven steeply pitched stone towers represent the seven Hungarian chieftains that helped found Hungary in 895 A.D. The old walls, which were once a portion of a castle, were constructed in the 1700s. According to several researchers, the guild of fisherman or halász, who lived under the walls in the area known as Fishtown or Watertown, guarded this portion of the castle walls throughout the Middle Ages. Architect Frigyes Schulek, who was also in charge of restoring the Matthias Church, constructed the current building between 1895 and 1902 in the Neo-Romanesque style at the base of a section of the Buda Castle walls. It has been a part of Várkerület District of Budapest, or Buda Castle District, since 1987 and is one of the World Heritage Sites of the city [Information Credit : Fishermans Bastion, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisherman%27s_Bastion ] [Image: Fishermans Bastion in Budapest, Hungary; Crdeit: Zhenning SHI, Pexels; (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties) [Image-Source-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/fishermans-bastion-in-budapest-hungary-12463748/ ] #Architecture#Castles
On the southern tip of the Danish island of Funen, close to Kvaerndrup, is where one will find Egeskov Castle. The building is the best-maintained Renaissance water castle in Europe. In 1405 A.D., Egeskov was first mentioned. Frands Brockenhuus built the castle building around 1554. Most Danish nobility constructed their homes as fortifications because of the hardships brought on by the Counts Feud, widespread civil unrest, and a civil war that led to the Protestant Reformation. The castle is situated in a small lake with a deepest point of five metres and is built on oaken piles. The drawbridge was initially the only means of entry. The name Egeskov, which means — Oak Forest, comes from a tale that claims it took a whole forest of oak trees to lay the foundation. Since purchasing it from heirs of the Brockenhuus family in 1784, the Bille-Brahe family has owned the estate. The counts Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille, who still possess it, inherited it in 1882. The castle is a Late Gothic structure from the outside. The basic components already exhibit Renaissance architecture. The castle is made up of two long structures joined by a substantial double wall, which enables the defenders to evacuate one building and carry on battling from the other. The double wall is over one metre thick and has a well and a set of hidden stairs. From the two circular corner towers, defenders could strike the flanks of an adversary. Scalding holes, arrow slits, and artillery ports are a few additional mediaeval defences. The bricks used to build the castle are of a huge mediaeval variety known as Monks Bricks. The conical towers are built out of various individual panels. Depressed and round-arched windows, round-arched blank arcading inside the gables, and a double string course between the lofty cellar and the ground floor are all features of the architecture. The building has some of the earliest indoor plumbing designs, which were developed in Europe and had vertical shafts for waste. A water well that is accessible from the kitchen of the servants in the east house is also part of the strong double wall. Massive parallel uncovered beams with some end carving may be found in a few of the major rooms [Information Credit : Egeskov_Castle, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egeskov_Castle ] [Image: Egeskov Castle, Kvrndrup, Denmark ; Credit : Bruna Noronha, Pexels; (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [Image-Source-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/egeskov-castle-kvrndrup-denmark-6270891/ ] #Architecture#Castles
In the western Slovakian region of Trenčín, near the village of Beckov in Nové Mesto nad Váhom District, lies a castle that is in ruins called Beckov Castle. It is a cultural and national landmark, and the restorations that took place between 2002 and the final part of the 20th century gave it its current form. The original name of the castle, in Latin, was Blundix. The term was taken from the Slavic word Bludište, which reflected the challenging topography of the region. Subsequently, the name of the castle was changed to reflect that of the nearby village of Beckov. A klippe of the Hronic nappe that is effectively revealed by the Váh River is the Beckov Cliff. The fortress, which is perched on a rock beside a river, served as strategic outlook of Great Moravia. There was most likely a stone fortress constructed in the middle of the thirteenth century to guard the frontiers of the Kingdom of Hungary. During the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth century, Matthew III Csák acquired ownership of the fortress, which he reinforced. Castellans took over management of the castle after his death in 1321 A.D. Miklós Bánffy received the fortress from Louis I of Hungary in 1379 as gratitude for his participation in conflicts in the Balkans and Italy. Sigismund, King of Hungary, gave the castle to Stibor of Stiboricz of the Clan of Ostoja, a Baron with Polish ancestry, in 1388. Stibor owned 31 castles, but he picked Beckov as his residence and took extra care of it. He had the castle Gothically rebuilt to serve as the residence of his family. To make Beckov a unique place, artists from Veneto, Poland, Germany, and Bohemia worked on it. Stibor also constructed a church that featured magnificent sculptural ornamentation and paintings, including a sculpture of Black Madona that was at the time regarded as one of the most beautiful sculptures of Europe. A family coat of arms carved out of stone was located at the entryway of the chapel. Stibor Stiboric of Beckov received the castle as an inheritance upon the passing of his faher in 1414. Stibor Stiboric eventually left the estate to his daughter Katarína because he did not have a son. The royal council, however, ruled that she could only be given the traditional financial distribution of one-fourth of her the estate od her father. One day before Sigismund passed away in 1437 A.D., he gave Pál Bánffy the castle, perhaps with the understanding that he would wed Katarína, which he did. After the Ottoman Empire defeated the Kingdom of Hungary in the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Bánffy family rebuilt the castle into a Renaissance fortress and aristocratic residence. In 1599, a Tatar siege was effectively repelled by the stronghold. The castle was owned by the Bánffy family until Kristóf Bánffy, the only surviving member, passed away in 1646. After the passing of Kristóf Bánffy, Beckov Castle was progressively converted into a prison and barracks. The interior and roofs of the castle were destroyed by fire in 1729, leaving it in ruins. In 1970, the castle was designated as a national cultural landmark. It underwent renovated in the last decade of the twentieth century, giving it its current appearance
[Information Credit : Beckov_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beckov_Castle ]
[Image : Beckov, Trenčiansky kraj, Slovakia ; Credit: Daniel Pexels ; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License)
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Alnwick, in the English county of Northumberland, is home to Alnwick Castle, a castle and country residence. It was constructed after the Norman conquest and has had numerous renovations and remodels. It is the residence of the 12th Duke of Northumberland. The family of Ralph Percy, the Twelfth Duke of Northumberland, resides in this Grade I listed building. In 2016, the Alnwick Garden, a nearby attraction, and the castle together attracted more than 600,000 tourists annually. Road that crosses the River Aln is protected by Alnwick Castle. The first portions of the castle were built by Ivo de Vesci, Baron of Alnwick, around 1096 A.D. The son of Yves de Vescy, Beatrix de Vesci, wed Eustace fitz John, the constable of Chestershire and Knaresborough. The baronies of Malton and Alnwick were given to him through his marriage to Beatrix de Vesci. When King David I of Scotland took possession of the fortress in 1136 A.D. , it was first referenced. It was characterised as being very strong at this stage. William the Lion, King of Scotland, besieged it twice in 1172 and 1174 A.D. , and after the Battle of Alnwick, William was taken prisoner outside the city walls. Eustace de Vesci of Alnwick, the lord, was charged in 1212 for conspiring against King John alongside Robert Fitzwalter. In retaliation, John ordered the destruction of both Alnwick Castle and stronghold of Fitzwalter, Castle of Baynard, however his directives at Alnwick were not followed. When father of Ivo de Vesci passed away in Gascony in 1253, his descendent John de Vesci inherited to the titles and possessions of his father. King Henry III of England gave a foreign kinsman the wardship of his properties because John was a minor, which greatly offended the de Vesci family. The Percys bought the assets and estates of the family, which had been placed under the care of Antony Bek. The Percy family has owned Alnwick and its castle ever since, first as the earls of Northumberland and then as the dukes of Northumberland, despite the fact that they still kept their Yorkshire holdings and titles. The Percy family had a position of prominence as lords in northern England. Richard II was overthrown and Henry Percy, the First Earl of Northumberland between 1341–1408, also participated in that uprising against him. Following the loss of Harry Hotspur in the Battle of Shrewsbury, Monarch Henry IV pursued the earl who had later rebelled alongside his son against the king. In 1403, the castle gave up under the prospect of bombardment. Castles were rarely attacked during the Wars of the Roses, and most fighting took place on the battlefield. In the years 1461 and 1462, Lancastrian armies held three castles, including Alnwick. Alnwick Castle became increasingly deserted after Thomas Percy, the 7th Earl of Northumberland, was put to death in 1572. Following the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, Oliver Cromwell would utilise the fortress to imprison prisoners. Under the direction of the relocating Percy family, Robert Adam, James Paine, Daniel Garrett, and Capability Brown made numerous changes to the property in the second part of the 18th century. Algernon, 4th Duke of Northumberland, however, altered much of the design of Adam in the nieteenth century. Instead, between 1854 and 1865, he paid Anthony Salvin £250,000 to have the Gothic extensions and other architectural work removed. The kitchen, the Prudhoe Tower, the opulent accommodations, and the design of the inner ward are primarily the responsibility of Salvin
[Information and Image Credit : Alnwick_Castle, Wikipedia;
Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alnwick_Castle ] [Image : Alnwick Castle, by J. M. W. Turner] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1851, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the Life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License) Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link :
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#Architecture#Art
The Doolin Castle of Ireland, built in the sixteenth century, is known as Doonagore Castle. The Doonagore Castle of Doolin is perched on a hill, providing breathtaking panoramas of the landscape. The castle, an apparent round tower dwelling that belongs to the middle of the sixteenth century, has a small courtyard that is surrounded by a protective wall. Boats and ferries making their final dip into Doolin Pier use the castle as a navigational landmark. Sandstone was used in the construction of the modern Doolin Castle. As early as 1300 A.D. , there was a previous castle on this land or quite close by. A Spanish Armada ship ran into trouble off the coast of Doolin in 1588, and it wrecked not far from the castle. Some 170 crew members of the ship were able to escape the burning ship. At the castle or a nearby location known as Cnocán a Crochaire, it is thought that all of the victims were hanged. Early on, the castle was divided amongst two of the most powerful clans of County Clare. Doonagore Castle was later given to an individual named John Sarsfield as a result of the Cromwellian settlement following the Irish Rebellion of 1641. After the Rebellion, the Cromwellian settlement was established. It comprised a multitude of punishments, including execution and land forfeiture, against people who had gotten involved in the 1641 Rebellion. Doolin Castle was transferred to the Gore family in the eighteenth century, many years after it was first acquired. At this juncture, the castle had become dilapidated, and the Gores set out to renovate most of it. Doonagore Castle had once again degraded by the middle of the nineteenth century. Then an Irish-American American private buyer called John C. Gorman decided to capitalize and purchased it.
[Information-Credit : https://www.theirishroadtrip.com/doonagore-castle/ ]
[Image: Doonagore Castle on Green Grass Field ;
Credit: Andrew Mulleady ; Pexels; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License)
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In Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany, Cochem is both the administrative centre of the district and its largest town. Cochem was populated as early as the Celtic and Roman eras. It was originally mentioned in a record in 866 A.D. as Villa cuchema. History has also revealed names like Cuhckeme and Chuckeme in 893 A.D., Cochemo in 1051, Chuchumo in 1056, Kuchema in 1130 A.D., Cucheme in 1144, then Cuchme, and Cochheim or Cocheim in the eighteenth century. An royal estate, Cochem. When the French conquest began in 1794, it was still Electoral-Trier territory that King Adolf of Nassau had committed to the Archbishopric of Trier in 1294. Cochem received town privileges in 1332 A.D., and soon after that the defences of the town, which are still in place today, were constructed. The town experienced a plague epidemic between 1423 and 1425. Elector Lothar von Metternich oversaw the establishment of a Capuchin convent in 1623. The town was under siege during the Thirty Years War, but it was not taken over. The Winneburg Castle was destroyed by fire by soldiers of King Louis XIV in 1689 before the town of Cochem and its castle were taken. Reconstruction took a very lengthy time. French authority of Cochem started in 1794 A.D. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, it was given to the Kingdom of Prussia. Louis François In 1866, Jacques Ravené acquired the abandoned Imperial palace and started to rebuild it. The two fishing villages of Cond and Sehl were only merged with the town during reform efforts in 1932 after a bridge over the Moselle was constructed at Cochem in 1927 [Information Credit : Cochem, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochem ] [Image: Cochem Castle on a Hill near an Old Town by Vish Pix, Pexels; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License) Image-Source-Link: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cochem-castle-on-a-hill-near-an-old-town-13410527/ ] #Architecture
Santa Maria della Salute, also referred to as the Salute or just the Salute, is a minor basilica and Roman Catholic church situated in Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro district of the city of Venice, Italy. The church is noticeable while approaching the Piazza San Marco from the water as it is situated on the small finger of Punta della Dogana, between the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal. The Salute, the most contemporary of the so-known plague churches, is a member of the Gesuati parish. An exceptionally severe plague outbreak struck Venice in 1630. The Republic of Venice committed to erect and consecrate a church to Our Lady of Health as a devotional tribute for the relief by the city from the plague. Baldassare Longhena, an apprentice of the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi, created the church in the then-popular Baroque style. Building work started in 1631. The majority of the works of art kept in the chapel make mention of the Black Death. The dome of the Salute was a big contributor to the skyline of Venice and quickly came to symbolise the city, featuring in works by both residents and visitors, including Canaletto and Francesco Guardi, as well as J. M. W. Turner and John Singer Sargent.
[Information Credit : Santa_Maria_della_Salute , Wikipedia;
Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_della_Salute ]
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#Architecture
In Durham, County Durham, England, there is a cathedral called Durham Cathedral. The Bishop of Durham, who is fourth in the Church of England hierarchy, has his seat there. In 1093 A.D. , work on the current cathedral, which dates to the Norman era, began to replace the former White Church of the city. Both Durham Castle and the cathedral were named UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1986. The relic of Saint Cuthbert was brought to Durham by Lindisfarne monks in the eight century, together with head of Saint Oswald and the remains of Venerable Bede. Three copies of the Magna Carta, as well as some of the most comprehensive sets of early printed books in England, can be found in the Durham Dean and Chapter Library. The Bishop of Durham had the authority of an Earl Palatine from 1080 until 1836 A.D. Powers of an earl comprised asserting military, civic, and ecclesiastical leadership in order to safeguard the Anglo-Scottish border. The cathedral walls were a part of Durham Castle, the episcopal residence. The Durham Cathedral Choir sings every day besides Mondays and holidays, and there are regular Church of England prayers held there. In 2019, 727,367 people visited. William of St-Calais, who was named the first Prince-Bishop by King William the Conqueror in 1080 A.D., was responsible for the design and construction of the current cathedral. He established the Benedictine Priory of St. Cuthbert in Durham in 1083 A.D., and after expelling the secular canons who had been in control of the nearby church and St. Cuthbert shrine , together with their wives and children, he substituted them with monks from the monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow. He split the vast church estates between his own episcopate and the new Priory. Aldwin was named as the first prior by him. In 1093, Bishop William of St. Calais destroyed the old Saxon church and, along with Prior Turgot of Durham, lay the cornerstone for the massive new cathedral!
[Information-Credit : Durham_Cathedral, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link::
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham_Cathedral ]
[Image : Durham Cathedral Under Clear Skies ; Image-Credit: Frank Samet, Pexels ; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License) Image-Source-Link :
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Muckross House, or Teach Mhucrois in Irish, is situated on the tiny Muckross Peninsula between Muckross Lake and Lough Leane, two of the lakes of Killarney, in County Kerry, Ireland, six kilometres from the town of Killarney. It was given to the Irish people in 1932 by William Bowers Bourn and Arthur Rose Vincent. As a result, it established the foundation for the current Killarney National Park and became the first national park in the Irish Free State , which is now the Republic of Ireland. It had 65 rooms and was constructed in the Tudor style. In the 1850s, significant upgrades were made in anticipation of the visit of Queen Victoria in 1861. It is rumoured that the upgrades made in preparation for the visit of the Queen, played a part in the consequent financial struggles of the Herbert family, which led to the selling of the estate. Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, purchased it in 1899 with the intention of preserving the breathtaking surroundings. He did not live there, but rather rented it out as a hunting lodge to affluent groups. Muckross House and its holdings were once more sold to William Bowers Bourn, a prosperous Californian mining industrialist, in August 1911, just before the First World War. As a wedding gift, he and his wife gave it to their daughter Maud and her husband Arthur Rose Vincent. The two stayed there up until the death of Maud from pneumonia in 1929. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bourn, as well as their son-in-law Arthur Vincent, made the decision in 1932 to donate Muckross House and its 11,000-acre estate to the people of Ireland. As the first national park in the Republic of Ireland, it was known as the Bourn-Vincent Memorial Park and served as the inspiration for the current Killarney National Park. Later, the size of the park was significantly increased because to the purchase of property from the estate of the former Earl of Kenmare [Information-Credit : Muckross_House, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link :: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muckross_House ] [Image: North Side View of the Muckross House, Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland ; Original-Image-Credit : Людмила Шалимова, Pexels; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License) Image-Source-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/north-side-view-of-the-muckross-house-killarney-in-county-kerry-ireland-12860074/ ] #Architecture
Sir Thomas Drew created the Graduates Memorial Building, a neo-Victorian structure at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, in 1897. The University Philosophical Society i.e. The Phil, the College Historical Society, and the College Theological Society are some of oldest student organisations of Trinity College. To mark the three hundred years of establishment of the Trinity College Dublin, the Graduates Memorial Building, also known as the Graduates Tercentenary Memorial Building, was built [Citation Needed]. Trinity College Dublin issued a call for proposals in May 1897 for the design of an alternative for the residences of Rotten Row neighborhood. Architecturally, these structures were nearly identical to The Rubrics, which existed from around 1700. The design of Sir Thomas Drew was chosen from among those submitted by Robert John Stirling, Thomas Newenham Deane, and others [Citation Needed]. The building is separated into three houses as a result of its design: Houses 28 and 30, which serve as student apartments, and House 29, which is located in the middle of the structure and is utilised by the societies [Citation Needed]. Rotten Row was razed and construction on the replacement structure started in 1899. It was inaugurated on May 31st, 1902, and its development was partly funded by contributions from alumni [Citation Needed]. The enormous interior of the structure is mostly used for scientific research, debate, and by the three groups that use it. Its four storeys are home to a variety of rooms. A sizable wooden staircase that ascends vertically from the first level to the second story is located in the main entryway. The Debating Chamber, with its two-story high ceiling, carved balcony, and Ionic pillars, is located on the ground level and is commonly utilised by The Phil and The Hist. A bronze relief of George Ferdinand Shaw, a former Phil librarian and senior fellow, is mounted on the west side of the room. The conversation room of the University Philosophical Society, which is situated on the ground level, offers its members a place to gather, chat, and unwind. The paper reading sub-group of the society, The Bram Stoker Club, meets in its chat room [Information Credit : Graduates_Memorial_Building, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduates_Memorial_Building ] [Image: The Graduates Memorial Building in Trinity College Dublin ; Image-Credit : Hamit Ferhat Hazar , Pexels; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License) Image-Source-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/the-graduates-memorial-building-in-trinity-college-dublin-14882267/ ] #Architecture
In Northumberland on the northeast coast of England, close to the settlement of Bamburgh, is a castle called Bamburgh Castle. It is a listed structure of Grade I. From its founding in around 420 to 547 A.D. , the location may have served as the capital of the kingdom of Bernicia, which was centred on the Celtic Brittonic fort known as Din Guarie. It was taken by King Ida of Bernicia in the following year. The fort was controlled by the Anglo-Saxons in 590 A.D. after three exchanges between the Britons and them. Vikings demolished the fort in 993 A.D. , and the Normans eventually constructed a new castle there, the foundation of which still stands today. The fortress belonged to the English king after a rebellion that was supported by its owner in 1095 A.D. resulted in its confiscation. Financial issues in the seventeenth century caused the castle to deteriorate, but several owners rebuilt it in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. William Armstrong, a Victorian manufacturer, eventually purchased it and finished the renovation. The castle is accessible to the general public and still belong to the Armstrong family. The site, which is a portion of the Whin Sill and is built on top of a black rock of volcanic dolerite, once housed a fort belonging to the local Celtic Britons known as Din Guarie. Between the time the kingdom of Bernicia, the sphere of Gododdin people, was established in around 420 and 547 A.D., that the fortress was first mentioned in writing, it may have served as its capital. Ida of Bernicia i.e. Beornice, an Anglo-Saxon tyrant, took control of the castle that year and made it her home. During the war of 590 A.D. , the Britons briefly retook the castle from his son Hussa before regaining it later that year. Æthelfrith, the successor of Hussa, gave it to his wife Bebba in the early 600s, who gave rise to the name Bebbanburh. The initial defence was destroyed by Vikings in 993 A.D. The current castle was based on a new castle that the Normans erected there. During a rebellion led by its lord, Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria, it was besieged but not successfully by William II in 1095. Following that, Bamburgh was given to the reigning English monarch. The stronghold was presumably built by Henry II because it was finished by 1164. Sir John Forster was appointed the first Governor of Bamburgh Castle by King Richard I in recognition of his assistance following the Siege of Acre in 1191 A.D. King David II was imprisoned at Bamburgh Castle after the Scots were routed at the Battle of Neville Cross in 1346. King David II was detained at Bamburgh Castle after the Scots lost the Battle of Neville Cross in 1346. The fortress was governed by Philip of Oldcoates at the time of the civil wars near the end of reign of King John. It was the first castle in England to be destroyed by artillery in the Wars of the Roses in 1464, after a nine-month blockade by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, the Kingmaker, on behalf of the Yorkists. Up until the Crown gave possession of the church and the castle to another Sir John Forster, the Forster family of Northumberland continued to supply the Crown with succeeding governors of the castle. The family maintained possession until Sir William Forster was adjudged bankrupt after his death in 1704, at which point his holdings, along with the castle, were sold to Lord Crew, Bishop of Durham, to pay off the debts. Thomas Sharp, the Archdeacon of Northumberland, served as the board chairman of the trustees appointed by Crewe to manage the castle. After Thomas Sharp went away, John Sharp assumed control of the board of trustees. He renovated the castle keep and courtrooms and built a hospital there. William Armstrong, a Victorian industrialist, purchased the castle in 1894 and finished the repair. Pillboxes were built in the sand dunes to safeguard the castle and its surroundings from German invasion during the Second World War. In 1944, a Royal Navy corvette was given the name HMS Bamborough Castle in honour of the castle. The Armstrong family is still the owner of the castle. The castle was designated as a Grade I Listed property following the War
[Information Credit : Bamburgh_Castle, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamburgh_Castle ]
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In the Swabian Jura region of southern Germany, there is a privately held Gothic Revival castle called Lichtenstein Castle. Its moniker, shining stone or bright stone, refers to its Carl Alexander Heideloff-designed aesthetic. The castle has a view of the Echaz valley, which is close to Honau in Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg. The 1840–1842 construction of the present castle was motivated by the 1826 novel Lichtenstein by Wilhelm Hauff. A couple of hundred metres away are the remnants of an older mediaeval fortress. On the cliff above the origin of the river Echaz, a fortress that belonged to a family of ministerials of the counts of Achalm and afterwards the counts of Württemberg was built starting approximately 1100 A.D. Due to their hostility toward the Free Imperial City of Reutlingen, the castle and the lords of Lichtenstein who lived there were frequently attacked. The original castle was demolished twice: initially during the 1311 A.D. imperial civil war and once between 1377 and 1381 A.D. by Reutlingen residents. A second castle was erected around 1390, about 500 metres from the remnants of the old one. The location chosen was the same as for the existing building. it was One of the finest defences of the Late Middle Ages. The castle lost its status as the ducal seat in 1567 A.D. and fell into decay despite characteristics like early casemates that rendered it virtually impenetrable. After the death of the very last descendant of the Lichtenstein family in 1687 during the Great Turkish War, it was seized by the Tyrolean line of the Habsburgs during the Thirty Years War period i.e. 1618– 1648 A.D. The Hallway of the castle still houses the coat of arms of the family, which is a pair of golden angel wings on a blue backdrop. The castle was taken over by King Frederick I of Württemberg in 1802, who leveled it down to its very foundations and built a hunting lodge in its place. Johann Georg Rupp oversaw the construction of the New Lichtenstein Castle, which got under way in 1840. With a curtain wall and courtyard to complete the castle complex, this building, whose design was profoundly affected by Count Wilhelm, stood up to three stories tall on the 1390 underpinnings of the ancient castle. In 1857, a barbican and a sizable outer bailey with corner bastions and towers were built. When the castle was finished in 1842, the king was present for its dedication. It was the official residence of the Dukes of Urach starting in 1869.
[Information-Credit : Lichtenstein_Castle_(Württemberg), Wikipedia;
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The Normandy region of France includes the tidal island and mainland municipality of Mont-Saint-Michel. The island is 7 hectares in size and is located at the mouth of the Couesnon River close to Avranches, about one kilometre off the northwestern coast of the nation. The mainland portion of the commune spans 393 hectares. There were 29 people living on the island as of 2019. The commune was situated on an island just a few hundred metres from the mainland, making it accessible at low tide to the numerous pilgrims who visited its abbey but defendable as an incoming tide left potential attackers stranded, drove them away, or drowned them. The island escaped capture during the Hundred Years War after a tiny garrison successfully repelled an English full-scale invasion in 1433. Louis XI converted it to a jail after seeing the negative effects of its natural defence. Throughout the Ancien Régime, the abbey was frequently used as a jail. Because of its distinctive appeal, UNESCO added Mont-Saint-Michel and its surrounding harbour to its list of World Heritage Sites in 1979. Each year, more than 3 million individuals go there. The commune is home to more than 60 structures that are designated as historical sites in France. The trans-channel culture that had persisted since the Romans left in 460 A.D. was put to an end to when the Franks raided Mont-Saint-Michel in the sixth and seventh centuries, serving as an Armorican stronghold of Gallo-Roman culture and authority [Without Citation]. Mont-Saint-Michel belonged to the realm of Neustria from around the 5th to the 8th centuries, and was a significant location in the Neustrian marches in the early 9th century [Without Citation]. In the Treaty of Compiègne, the king of the Franks consented to give the Bretons the Cotentin peninsula and the Avranchin, including Mont-Saint-Michel, which is customarily connected to the city of Avranches, as he was unable to protect his country against Viking attacks. A brief era of Breton control over the Mont began at this point. In 933 A.D., William I Longsword acquired the Cotentin Peninsula from the struggling Duchy of Brittany, giving the hill new critical implications. The Bayeux Tapestry, which honours the 1066 Norman invasion of England, depicts this as making the mount unmistakably a part of Normandy. The bid for the English throne by William the Conqueror was supported by the monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel in 1067. The Kingdom of England repeatedly attacked the island during the Hundred Years War but failed to take it because of the superior defences of the abbey. But there were hardly any monks living there by the time of the French Revolution. Initially used as a prison to house ecclesiastical opponents of the republican government, the abbey was eventually closed down. It was followed by jailing of prominent political prisoners as well. However soon, a drive to repair what was seen as a national architectural gem was started in 1836 by notable people, including Victor Hugo. In 1863, the prison was ultimately shut down. German troops seized Mont-Saint-Michel when occupying France during World War II, using the St. Auburn church as a lookout position. After the initial Allied assault of D-Day, many worn-out German soldiers sought refuge in fortresses like Mont-Saint-Michel. Eventually Allied troops arrived at Mont-Saint-Michel on August 1, 1944. Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay were included to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979. They were judged according to standards including relevance to culture, history, and architecture, as well as to the beauty of both man-made and natural structures! [Information-Credit : Mont-Saint-Michel , Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont-Saint-Michel ] [Image: Le Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandie, Frankreich; Image-Credit : Jan , Pexels; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License) Image-Source-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/mont-saint-michel-in-france-13526276/ ] #Architecture
Among the biggest and finest maintained fallen Cistercian monasteries in England is Fountains Abbey. It is situated in North Yorkshire, close to the community of Aldfield, some 3 miles to the southwest of Ripon. The abbey, which was established in 1132 A.D. and ran for 407 years till being dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539, was one of the richest monasteries in England during that time. The National Trust bought Studley Royal Park, which includes the remains of Fountains Abbey, in 1983. English Heritage is in charge of upkeep for the abbey. Saint Robert of Newminster was one of 13 monks exiled from Abbey of St Mary of York, following a disagreement and riot in 1132 A.D. They were given shelter by Thurstan, the Archbishop of York, who also gave them property in the valley of the River Skell, a branch of the Ure. The confined valley provided all the natural elements required for the construction of a monastery, including protection from the elements, building materials like stone and wood, and a source of flowing water. The monks gave the area the name Fountains because it was nourished by six springs. The monks made an application to join the Cistercian order after suffering through a difficult winter in 1133 A.D. The community had more than 500 houses by the start of the thirteenth century and had been a rapidly expanding reform action since the close of the preceding century. Fountains, following Rievaulx, became the second Cistercian monastery in northern England in 1135. The Fountains monks were forced to submit to leadership of St. Bernard at Clairvaux Abbey in Burgundy. The party was taught how to observe the seven Canonical Hours in conformity with Cistercian usage by Geoffrey of Ainai, a monk sent from Clairvaux, and was also trained how to build wooden structures in keeping with Cistercian tradition! [Information Credit : Fountains_Abbey, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountains_Abbey ] [Image: Fountains Abbey, Ripon, North Yorkshire, England; mage-Credit : Lewis Ashton , Pexels; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License) Image-Source-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/fountains-abbey-ripon-north-yorkshire-england-10413532/ ] #Architecture
On an island in the river Suir stands Cahir Castle, one of the biggest castles of Ireland. The Thomond King Conchobar Ua Briain began construction on it in 1142 A.D.. The castle, which is now located in the heart of Cahir, County Tipperary, is well-maintained and offers multilingual audiovisual displays and guided tours. The cathair or stone fort, which gave the area its name, was located on and close to the site of the castle. The O Brien family built the main structure of the castle in the thirteenth century. The castle was constructed in two sections, the side along the street having been completed 200 years prior to the side containing the current audio-visual exhibition. The castle, which was given to the wealthy Butler family in the late fourteenth century, was expanded and renovated between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. It was largely repaired in the 1840s after it was reduced to ruins in the late 18th century. In 1840, the Great Hall underwent a partial rebuild. James Butler, the newly appointed Earl of Ormond, received the castle in 1375 as payment for his allegiance to Edward III. Even though his offspring were not themselves aristocratic, his son James by his second marriage, the second Earl, left the estates around the baronies of Iffa and Offa West to his children. By the time the first of the Barons Cahir was established in 1542 A.D., this practice had changed. This Butler dynasty line supported the Roman Catholic Irish in the Elizabethan wars, in contrast to their Anglican relatives. The forces of earl of Essex took control of the fortress in 1599 following a three-day siege, and Sir Charles Blount was given command of it for a full year. In 1601, Lord Cahir allied himself with the Earl of Tyrone; he was accused of treason but eventually granted a full clemency. In 1627, the son-in-law of Cahir, Lord Dunboyne, murdered his distant cousin, James Prendergast, at the castle as part of a family succession issue. He was prosecuted for the murder but found not guilty. The fortress was under attack twice during the Irish Confederate Wars. Upon his victory at the Battle of Knocknanauss in 1647, Murrough O Brien, 6th Baron Inchiquin, demanded the surrender of George Mathew, the guardian of the young Lord Cahir. During invasion of Ireland by Oliver Cromwell in 1650, he again submitted to him without exchanging fire. The last Lord Cahir passed away in 1961, and the Irish government acquired ownership of the castle! [Information-Credit : Cahir_Castle, Wikipedia ; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahir_Castle ] Image: Tower of Cahir Castle in Ireland ; Image-Credit : Людмила Шалимова , Pexels; Image-Source-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/tower-of-cahir-castle-in-ireland-12860067/ (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License)] #Architecture
A destroyed medieval castle known as Ogrodzieniec Castle can be found in Podzamcze, close to Ogrodzieniec, in the Polish Jura area of south-central Poland. In its storied record, the castle, which dates to the fourteenth century, has undergone numerous reconstructions. It is located atop Castle Mountain, the tallest hill in the Kraków-Czstochowa Upland at about 515.5 metres. The remains are accessible to tourists and are located along the Trail of the Eagles-Nests, a hiking route that links several well-known castles in the area. The Mountainous fortifications of the Ogrodzieniec Castle have been there since the early twelfth century, during the rule of Boleslaus III Wrymouth. The first fortification on the summit of the hill was constructed during his tenure. At the time of Mongol Invasion of Europe in 1241 A.D. , the rampart and foundation of the original keep, which were primarily composed of wood and dirt, was completely destroyed. The Wlodek Sulima family moved into this new gothic fortress in the middle of the fourteenth century. The castle blended in well with the landscape because it was surrounded by three large boulders. A small space between two of the boulders acted as a gateway, and the protective walls were constructed to complete the loop created by the rocks. Ibram and Piotr Salomon, two well-to-do citizens of Cracovia, purchased the castle and surrounding grounds in 1470 A.D. Between 1530 and 1545 A.D., Seweryn Boner built a Renaissance castle to replace the older fortress. Remnants of the Renaissance lily frescoes can still be seen on the ground floor. Folklore in the area claims that the Ogrodzieniec Castle is plagued by the spectre known as the — Black Dog of Ogrodzieniec, who is sometimes seen at night wandering the ruins while dragging a hefty chain.
[Information-Credit : Ogrodzieniec_Castle , Wikipedia ; Wikipedia-Link
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In the German hills above the Moselle between Koblenz and Trier, Eltz Castle is a mediaeval fortress. A lineage of the House of Eltz, who had resided there since the twelfth century, still owns it. The only castles in the Eifel region that have never been razed are Eltz Castle, Bürresheim Castle and Lissingen Castle. The Elzbach River, a tributary of the Moselle on the north side, surrounds the castle on three sides and is 70 metres high. The castle was built in an area that, during the Roman era, served as a vital commerce route connecting prosperous farmlands with their marketplaces. The region was taken by the Franks after the Western Roman Empire fell in the late fifth century. However, as dominion of Charlemagne was divided, his son Louis the Pious received the region in 814 A.D. During this time, a straightforward royal hall with an earthen fence stood on the site. On the location of the previous manor hall, House of Eltz started construction on the Platteltz, a Romanesque keep, some hundred years later. The earliest portion of the castle is still this one. Under Frederick Barbarossa, the castle played a significant role in the Holy Roman Empire by 1157 A.D. The manor is what is known as a — Ganerbenburg, or a manor that is owned by a group of shared heirs. This is a castle that has been divided into numerous portions, each of which belongs to a separate family or offshoot of a family. This typically happens when several owners of one or more regions collaborate to create a castle to serve as a residence for themselves. Flora-Fauna-Habitat and Natura 2000 have designated the Eltz Forest nearby as a nature reserve!
[Information-Credit : Eltz_Castle, Wikipedia ; Wikipedia-Link
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Image: Eltz Castle on a Misty Day ; Image-Credit : Taylor Marx
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In Connemara, County Galway, Ireland, a Benedictine monastery known as Kylemore Abbey was established in 1920. The English Benedictine Congregation has owned the monastery since 2022. It was established for Benedictine Nuns who had left Belgium during World War I. For the family of affluent London doctor Mitchell Henry, whose ancestors worked in the textile industry of Manchester, England, Kylemore Castle was constructed in 1868. After visiting Ireland on their romantic getaway in the middle of the 1840s, he and his wife Margaret settled there when they bought the land surrounding the Abbey. He entered into politics and served as the MP of County Galway from 1871 to 1885. Samuel Ussher Roberts helped James Franklin Fuller construct the castle. Beginning in 1867, the structure of the castle required a total of 100 men and four years to complete. The castle comprised around seventy chambers, a floor area of over 40,000 square feet, and a main wall that was about two to three feet thick. After Henry went back to England, the Abbey continued on his property. The Duke and Duchess of Manchester purchased the castle in 1903, and they lived there for a while before being forced to sell the property due to gambling debts. After being compelled to escape Ypres during World War I, nuns bought the Abbey fortress and its surrounding territories. The Abbey and the University of Notre Dame in the US have been working together since 2015. Notre Dame students attend curriculums held at the abbey, which was recently refurbished by the university [Information Credit : Kylemore_Abbey, Wikipedia ; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kylemore_Abbey ] [Image : Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, County Galway, Ireland ; Image-Credit : Philippe Bonnaire ; Pexels; Image-Source-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/kylemore-abbey-connemara-county-galway-ireland-6354317/ (Please Relate to Source-Image URLs for More Usage Property and Licenses)] #Architecture
The Irish village of Slane is home to Slane Castle, which is situated in the Boyne Valley in County Meath. Since it was constructed in the late eighteenth century on land that Brigadier-General Henry Conyngham initially bought in 1703 A.D. , the castle has served as the homestead of the Conynghams. Inside its premises, the Slane Festival is held. The ruins of Hermitage of St. Erc, a multi-story chapel built in the fifteenth century, are located on the east side of the castle demesne, between the River Boyne and the village-Church-of-Ireland in Slane. The Hermitage of St. Erc is about 500 metres west of a historic well. This well is claimed to have been sanctified by the God Dian Cecht so that the Tuatha Dé Danann may bathe in it and be treated, purportedly healing all deadly wounds aside from decapitation, according to one of the most important works of Irish mythology, the Cath Maige Tuireadh. Slane Castle had been owned by the Flemings, Hiberno-Normans who had sided with the Jacobites in the War of the Grand Alliance, before the House of Stuart was overthrown in 1688. As a result, after the Williamite triumph, their estate was selected for seizure. Slane Castle was built under the command of William Burton Conyngham and his nephew The 1st Marquess Conyngham, overlooking the River Boyne a few kilometres upstream from Newgrange and the scene of the infamous Battle of the Boyne. The main contributors to the rebuilding, which began in 1785, were Francis Johnston, James Wyatt, and James Gandon. The Gothic Gates on the Mill Hill, which are positioned to the east of the castle, were also designed by Francis Johnston. The Slane Estate in County Meath has been associated with the Ulster-Scots Conynghams for more than 300 years, since the family acquired it after the Williamite Confiscations in 1701 A.D. The family relocated their primary hereditary seat south at that time from County Donegal in west Ulster to Slane. U2 from Ireland stayed there to create and record their album The Unforgettable Fire in 1984. A fire indede in the castle in 1991 significantly damaged the structure and destroyed the eastern portion that faced the River Boyne. Ten years of repair work resulted in the reopening of the castle in 2001. A cannon connected to the castle was discovered in the nearby River Boyne in 2003. [Information and Image Credit : Slane_Castle , Wikipedia] [Image: Slane Castle seen from within its grounds] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : catherinecronin , from Kinvara, Co. Galway, Ireland ; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en ]
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One of the most recognisable and well-preserved mediaeval castles of Latvia is Cēsis Castle. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword built the core of the castle 800 years ago. The Teutonic Order, the subsequent owners of the Cēsis Castle, enjoyed the most success during this time. It developed into one of the major administrative and commercial hubs of the Teutonic Order in Livonia and served as the residence of the Landmeister in Livland. The castle is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Baltic states and the most visited historical landmark in Cēsis. The Livonian chapter of the Teutonic Order took control of Cēsis Castle in 1237 A.D.. The Csis Castle received extensive refurbishment under the new governor. The previous defences were progressively replaced with a massive square castle i.e. castellum, which was constructed around a courtyard and featured four ranges. The necessity for -- fortified convents -- that were simple to defend and where the residence of the brethren was as little as possible led to the importation of this Teutonic Order castle form from Prussia. As part of the castle complex, outside baileys were constructed to add extra security and make room for numerous service buildings. Cēsis became one of the biggest and mightiest castles of the Teutonic Order as a result of the major restoration. According to an architectural examination of Cēsis Castle, there were three main construction phases. On the location of the existing castle, the Brothers of the Sword erected a stone chapel, chapter house and additional structures , probably made of wood, during the first half of the thirteenth century. One of the few remaining components from this initial stage of building is a chapel with Romanesque corbels, which is located in the eastern corner of the convent castle. Teutonic Knights started converting the structure into a convent-style castle in the late fourteenth century. The castle had four ranges grouped around a quadrangle and provided all the necessary functional amenities for a militant religious community, including a chapel, refectory, dormitories, chapter-house, kitchen and services. The walls of the castle were gradually changed to withstand artillery as firearms were developed. Around 1500 A.D. , three round towers were constructed, two in the outer baileys and one in the northern corner of the covenant castle. The Master-Chamber, located on the first level of the west tower, was richly embellished at the same period with an extraordinary brick vault and painted plasterwork. According to data given by the Cēsis Culture and Tourism Center, 100 000 people visited the castle in 2016. Cēsis Castle is accessible to the public all year round! [Information and Image Credit : Cēsis_Castle , Wikipedia] [Image : Cēsis Castle in 2017] [Images Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International ; Wikipedia Image Author : CesisCastle ; (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CesuPils_2017-09-10.jpg ] #Architecture
The home of the Clan MacDonnell, Dunluce Fortress is a now-defunct mediaeval castle in Northern Ireland. Between Portballintrae and Portrush in County Antrim, it is situated on the rim of a basalt protrusion and is connected to the mainland by a bridge. The Vikings may have been attracted to this location where an early Irish fort formerly stood because of the incredibly steep drops that encircle the castle along both side. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency is in charge of Dunluce Castle. The monument is located in the townland of Dunluce, which is part of the jurisdiction of Coleraine Borough Council. The earthworks are a designated historic monument and are located close to Dunluce Castle. The earliest fortress at Dunluce was constructed in the thirteenth century by Richard g de Burgh, second Earl of Ulster. It is first mentioned as a possession of the The McQuillan in a document from 1513 A.D. A fortification that the McQuillans built here when they were made rulers of the Route is represented by two enormous drum towers with a combined diameter of around 9 metres on the eastern side of the castle. From the thirteenth century until the MacDonnell took over as Lords of Route after the McQuillans lost two significant conflicts with them in the middle and late sixteenth centurie, the McQuillans held that position. Later, the heads of the Clan MacDonnell of Antrim and the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg from Scotland made Dunluce Castle their residence. The second child of Good John of Islay, Lord of the Isles and sixth chief of the Scottish Clan Donald, was Chief John Mor MacDonald. The second marriage of John of Islay to Princess Margaret Stewart, a child of King Robert II of Scotland, resulted in the birth of John Mor MacDonald. After James MacDonald, the 6th head of the Clan MacDonald of Antrim and Dunnyveg, passed away in 1584 A.D. , one of his younger brothers, Sorley Boy MacDonnell, took control of the Antrim Glens. The castle was taken by Sorley Boy, who kept it for himself and renovated it in the Scottish manner. Sorley Boy pledged his loyalty to Queen Elizabeth I, and King James I appointed his son Randal as the first Earl of Antrim. About four years later, a storm caused the neighbouring rocks to become the wreckage of the Girona, a galleass from the Spanish Armada. The cannons of the ship were placed in the gatehouses, and the remaining cargo was auctioned to provide money for the restoration of the castle. Rose, a granddaughter of MacDonnell, was born there in 1613 A.D. According to a local tradition, the wife of the owner rejected to live in the castle any more when a portion of the kitchen near to the cliff face crumbled into the sea. A kitchen lad was said to have been the sole one to survive when the kitchen collapsed into the sea because he was sitting in the kitchen corner that was spared. The kitchen of the manor house, on the other hand, is still there and undamaged. The oven, fireplace, and entranceways are still visible. The north wall of the residential structure did not fall into the water until some point in the eighteenth century. The south, west, and east walls are still in place. Up to the destitution of the MacDonnells in 1690 as a result of the Battle of the Boyne, Dunluce Castle served as the residence of the Earl of Antrim. Since then, the castle has decayed, and pieces have been salvaged to be used as building materials for surrounding structures. [Information and Image Credit : Dunluce_Castle ; Wikipedia] [Image : Dunluce Castle, 2018] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Iain Irwin ; (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URL for More Usage Properties)]
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#Architecture
The sixteenth-century tower house known as Dunguaire Castle is located close to Kinvara, which is also often written as Kinvarra, in County Galway, Ireland. The Dun i.e. Fort of King Guaire, the fabled King of Connacht, is where the name of the place comes from. The defensive wall of the castle and 75-foot tower have both been repaired, and the lands are open to visitors in the summer. The Ó hEidhin i.e Hynes clan, chiefs of Coill Ua bhFiachrach i.e. the region around Kinvara, and also that of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne (a kingdom located in what is now the south of County Galway), according to 19th-century Gaelic scholar John O Donovan, were responsible for building Dunguaire. John O Donovan mentioned so both in his Ordnance Survey letters for County Galway, and his book, The Genealogies, Tribes and Customs of the Hy-Fiachrach. Uí Fiachrach Aidhne is contiguous with the diocese of Kilmacduagh, which covers the portion of County Galway between the Burren (a karst/glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland) and Galway Bay to the west and Slieve Aughty (a mountain range in the western part of Ireland) to the east. Guns in the Heather, a 1969 Walt Disney film, included Boyne Castle, which was modelled after Dunguaire Castle. Additionally, it served as the Scottish castle residence of the main character in the 1979 movie North Sea Hijack. The Road of the Dishes, also known as Bothar na Mias and involving King Guaire, is another well-known mythology in the area. Visitors may also book or prebook a banquet in the castle, which is available from April to October and includes a four-course meal and recreation.
[Information and Image Credit : Dunguaire_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image : Dunguaire Castle Exterior]
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East Sussex, the Bodiam Castle of England is a medieval castle with moat from the fourteenth century that lies close to Robertsbridge. With the approval of Richard II, it was constructed in 1385 A.D. by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III, supposedly to safeguard the region against French invasion during the Hundred Years War. Bodiam Castle has a quadrangular layout and no keep; instead, its numerous chambers are placed around the outside defending walls and inner courts. Towers with battlement sections on top identify its corners and entryway. The architecture of the castle, its features, and setting amid a man-made watery backdrop show that presentation was as vital to the design as fortification. It served as both as the family residence of Dalyngrigge and the administrative hub for the manor of the Bodiam. Bodiam Castle was owned by the Dalyngrigges family for numerous decades until their line died out, at which point it was married over to the Lewknor family. When Richard III of the House of York became king in 1483 A.D., an army was sent to sack Bodiam Castle because Sir Thomas Lewknor had backed the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses. It is unknown if the blockade proceeded, although it is assumed that Bodiam was abandoned with little opposition. When Henry VII of the House of Lancaster became king in 1485 A.D. , the castle was seized but later returned to the Lewknors. The castle was owned by the Lewknor family until at least the sixteenth century. Lord Thanet had control of Bodiam Castle by the time the English Civil War broke out in 1641 A.D. He backed the Royalist side and sold the castle to assist pay the fines Parliament imposed against him. After then, the castle was destroyed, and it remained a scenic ruin until John Fuller bought it in 1829 A.D. After then, the castle was destroyed, and it remained a scenic ruin until John Fuller bought it in 1829 A.D. Until being sold to George Cubitt, 1st Baron Ashcombe and later to Lord Curzon, who both conducted additional renovation work, the castle was partly renovated under his direction. As a Grade I listed structure and Scheduled Monument, the castle is conserved. Since 1925, at the bequest of Lord Curzon, The National Trust has owned the property, which is accessible to the general public!
[Information and Image Credit : Bodiam_Castle ; Wikipedia] [Image : Bodiam Castle , Robertsbridge, East Sussex]
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The Carrowmore complex of megalithic structures is located on the Coolera Peninsula, west of Sligo, Ireland. They were constructed in the Neolithic period, around 4000 BC i.e. during New Stone Age. With thirty still standing tombs, Carrowmore is one of the greatest collections of megalithic tombs of Ireland and one of the Big Four megalithic tomb groupings, along with Carrowkeel, Loughcrew and Brú na Bóinne. The summit of Knocknarea to the west, which is the centre of an old ritual panorama, is Carrowmore. It is a National Monument that is protected. Carrowmore is the centre of a prehistoric ceremonial scene that is characterized by the mountain of Knocknarea to the west and the large mound of Miosgán Médhbh on top. It is situated on a tiny plateau between 36.5 and 59 metres above sea level. Four passage tombs are located in the summits of the Ballygawley Mountains, which form the eastern edge of the peninsula and are located in the Carns townland to the east. There are currently thirty landmarks in Carrowmore. Originally, there might have been additional monuments in the site, but some of them perished as a result of land clearing and quarrying in the eighteenth, nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. The compound is roughly 600 metres east-west and one kilometre north-south in dimensions. The monuments were composed of a central megalith that resembled a dolmen, five upright orthostats, and a small pentagonal burial chamber that was enclosed by a capstone that was roughly conical in shape. A circle of boulders with a diameter of 12 to 15 metres encircled each of these. The graves are often made of gneiss, and the boulder circles comprise 30 to 40 of these stones. A second, inner boulder circle can appear occasionally. The intended alignment of the dolmen is shown by the passage or entrance stones that stretch from the primary component. They approach the general direction of the central mound but are not pointed in the direction of the points of the compass. Four instances have pairs of monuments. Each monument was constructed on a little, level platform made of stone and dirt. One of the factors contributing to the lifespan of the dolmens is the skillfully constructed stone packing that encircled and secured the upright stone-bases. The roof, which is now gone, might have been supported on corbels or made of stone slabs.
[Information and Image Credit : Carrowmore, Wikipedia] [Image : Tomb 13 with Maeve Cairn in the background ]
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#Architecture
Whitby Abbey was a monastery that converted to a Benedictine abbey in the seventh century. The abbey building was located on the East Cliff above Whitby in North Yorkshire, England, the capital of the mediaeval Northumbrian kingdom, with a view of the North Sea. The abbey and its belongings were seized by the crown between 1536 and 1545 as part of Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. Since then, sailors have resorted to utilise the remnants of the abbey as a marker near the headland. The massive building fragments have been under the care of English Heritage since the twentieth century and are now a Grade I Listed structure; the site museum is located in Cholmley House. Oswy, King of Northumbria during the Anglo-Saxon era, established the first monastery as Streoneshalh in 657 AD. As founding abbess, he chose Lady Hilda, abbess of Hartlepool Abbey and grandniece of Edwin. In allusion to a supposedly former Roman town on the site, the name Streoneshalh is said to mean Fort Bay or Tower Bay. Alternative explanations, such as the name referring to colony of Streona, have been put out in place of this assertion, which has never been confirmed. The great Northumbrian poet Caedmon lived in the twin monastery of Celtic monks and nuns around 614-680 A.D.The successive invasions of Ingwar and Ubba between 867 and 870 A.D. resulted in the destruction of Streoneshalch monastery, which remained abandoned for more than 200 years. A soldier of William the Conqueror Reinfrid converted to Buddhism and made his way to Streoneshalh. He went to William de Percy for a land grant and received the abandoned monastery to start a new monastery. At the nascent monastery, which adhered to Benedictine tradition, Serlo de Percy, the brother of the founder, joined Reinfrid. For many years, the Benedictine abbey flourished as a centre of study. Henry VIII dismantled this second monastery in 1540 as part of the Monastery Dissolution. Sir Richard Cholmley next purchased the abbey. The Cholmley family and their successors, the Strickland family, continued to own it. In 1920, the Strickland family donated it to the British government. English Heritage is now the owner and caretaker of the ruins. [Information and Image Credit : Whitby_Abbey , Wikipedia] [Image : Whitby Abbey at sunset] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Ackers72 (Please Also Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link :
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A big man-made vertical stone known as a menhir standing stone, orthostat or lith is generally from the middle Bronze Age in Europe. Although they are found all across Europe, they are most prevalent in Western Europe, particularly in Ireland, Great Britain, and Brittany, where there are around 50,000 instances, and northwestern France, where there are another 1,200 such relics. They may be found separately as monoliths or in groups with other stones that resemble them. Menhirs come in a wide range of sizes, but they frequently slope toward the summit. Dating standing stones is typically a challenge. They were built across many different prehistoric eras as a component of the greater megalithic cultures in Europe and the surrounding territories. Menhirs are sometimes referred to as megalithic artifacts when they are found in clusters, frequently in the shape of a circle, oval, henge, or horseshoe. These were locations for historic religious rituals and occasionally included cemeteries. More dispute has surrounded the precise purpose of menhirs than almost any other prehistoric topic in Europe. They have been theorised to have served as early calendars, territorial markers, components of intricate ideological systems, mnemonic systems for oral traditions, or even as tools used by Druids to perform sacrifices. Archaeologists in the nineteenth century adopted the French name menhir as their own. The French military officer from the eighteenth century is credited with popularising the term in archaeology. Maen and hir, two Breton terms, are combined to form the word. They are known as maen hir, or long stones, in contemporary Welsh. Megalithic artwork can be found inscribed on several menhirs. Although they frequently featured representations of tools like stone axes, ploughs, crooks of shepherds and yokes, this frequently transformed them into humanoid stelae. All of these themes, with the exception of the stone axe, are called primarily for simplicity and none of them actually depict what they are named after. Some menhirs were dismantled and integrated into later passage burials, where new megalithic sculpture was carved on them without much consideration for the earlier images. [Information and Image Credit : Menhir, Wikipedia] [Image : Large Menhir situated in County Cork, Ireland, halfway between Millstreet and Ballinagree.] [The work (Image) has been released into the public domain by its author, Ceoil (Wikipedia) at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: Ceoil grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.] [Source-Image-URL :: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ballinagree.jpg ] #Architecture
Fore Abbey is a Benedictine abbey remnants close to Fore hamlet in County Westmeath in Ireland, to the north of Lough Lene. Saint Feichin established the abbey around 630 CE, and it was active for more than 900 years. The monastery is thought to have accommodated up to 300 Benedictine monks from Normandy and 2000 students by 665 CE i.e by the year of the yellow plague. Over the years, the look and configuration of the place have changed due to fire devastation and architectural alterations. The English spelling of the Irish word Fobhar, which means Water-Springs, is Fore. The spring or well of St. Feichin, located adjacent to the old church and at a small distance from the abandoned monastery, is where the name of the place comes from. The place is referred to the Repose of Fechtnach of Fobar in the Annals of Inisfallen. In the neighbouring valley, Hugh de Lacy, the Norman landowner and Lord of Meath, constructed a Benedictine priory in the thirteenth century. Fore Abbey is the greatest group of 300 Benedictine to have travelled to and resided in Ireland. Several of the structures that are still standing today date from the fifteenth century and have been repaired during this century. St. Feichin and St. Taurin, the abbot of the mother monastery in Évreux, Normandy, were honoured with the dedication of this priory. The monastery is also renowned for what the locals refer to as its seven wonders, which include 1. The monastery being constructed on top of the bog or wetland. 2. The race-less mill, which according to legend, St. Fechin forced water to emerge from the ground to power a mill with no obvious source of water; in actuality, Lough Lene water seeps from within the ground. 3. Water that runs upward which again according to legend, St. Fechin used his staff to make the water flow uphill. The three-branched tree or the flame-resistant tree. Its nickname -- The Copper Tree, comes from the coins that pilgrims bury there. The water in the sacred well of St. Fechin that does not evaporate. 6. The anchorite present in a cell. 7. The lintel-stone that prayers of St. Fechin caused to rise. [Information and Image Credit : Fore_Abbey, Wikipedia] [Image : Fore Abbey] [The copyright holder (Wikipedia Image-Author : JohnArmagh) of the work (Image), released the work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: the copyright holder grant anyone the right to use the work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. (Please Relate to Wikipedia Source Image URL for More Usage Properties)] [Wikipedia Source Image URL :
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In the Indian state of Rajasthan, in the Rishabhdeo town of the Udaipur District, sits the Kesariyaji Tirth, or Rishabhdeo Jain temple. Both the Digambara and the sects of Jainism see the temple as a significant pilgrimage site. When Rawal Khuyan was the ruler of Mewar in 874 CE, the temple was built. Due to its location along a crucial commerce route from the coast to the state of Mewar, the temple enjoyed the support of wealthy merchants. The temple appears to have undergone repairs and modifications between the 14th and 15th centuries, according to an inscription from 1422 CE. The architecture of the temple is elaborate. The main sanctuary of the temple is a sizable domical building, and 52 smaller shrines are arranged along its axis. There are statues of Charbhuja i.e. four-armed Vishnu, Parshvanatha and Somnath Shiva along the parikrama trail. With nine seats and idols of Ajitnatha, Sambhavanatha, Sumatinatha and Neminatha the pillared porch has a Nava chowki. The shafts of the pillar have intricate carvings. Amalaka sits atop the Shikara of the temple. The temple also boasts a -- Torana -- with intricate carvings! [Information Credit :: Kesariyaji, Wikipedia] [Image-Credit : Lost Temples, Facebook] [Source-Link from where Image Availed :: https://www.facebook.com/LostTemple7/photos/a.175491056474407/1108669386489898/ ] #Architecture
Trim Castle is a 30,000 square metre castle located on the south bank of the River Boyne in Trim, County Meath, Ireland. Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter constructed it over the course of 30 years as the centre of the Lordship of Meath. Through the state organisation the Office of Public Works, the Irish government currently owns the castle and is in responsibility of its maintenance. The castle is listed as one of County historic sites of Meath. Land of Meath was originally possessed by the church, but Henry II of England gave it to Hugh de Lacy in 1172 as one of the new administrative regions of the country. On top of the hill, De Lacy constructed a massive ringwork fortress that was fortified by a sturdy double fence and an outside ditch. There might have been more defences surrounding the cliffs that surrounded the stronger high position. Under the current stone gate on the west flank of the castle, there is a portion of a stone-footed timber gatehouse. The location was picked because it is elevated and looks out over a River Boyne fording point. Around 25 miles from the Irish Sea, the region was a significant early mediaeval ecclesiastical and royal centre that was accessible by water up the River Boyne. The Norman poem The Song of Dermot and the Earl makes reference to Trim Castle. Hugh Tyrrel, baron of Castleknock, one of top lieutenants of De Lacy, was given control of the castle when he left Ireland. Walter de Lacy, Son of Hugh , inherited him as Lord of Meath after his passing in 1186. His work on the castle did not stop there; it was finished in the 1220s, most likely in 1224. At the end of the 13th and the commencement of the 14th centuries, the castle underwent its second stage of growth, adding a new main hall, a new forebuilding, and stables to the keep. The Mortimer family finally received the castle, and they held it there until Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, ended the male line in 1425. Following the death of Richard of York at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, his son, King Edward IV, assigned London goldsmith Germyn Lynch to serve as his delegate at Trim as the warden and master worker of the new problems of moneys and coins within the Castles of Dublin and Trim, as well as the town of Galway, in 1461. Trim Castle hosted a mint and hosted seven sessions of the Irish Parliament in the fifteenth century. At the period, it served as administrative hub of Meath and the northernmost point of The Pale. It went into decay and was left to collapse in the 16th century, but it was redefended in the 1640s during the Irish Confederate Wars. The castle was given to the Wellesley family after the conflicts of the 1680s, and they owned it until Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, gave it to the Leslies. The Dunsany Plunketts eventually acquired it through the Encumbered Estates Court. The Dunsany family owned the castle and its surroundings up until 1993, when Lord Dunsany, after much deliberation, gave the land and buildings to the State, keeping only the privileges to the river and to fish there.
[Information and Image Credit : Trim_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image : The Keep and Curtain Walls of Trim Castle ] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic ; Wikipedia-Image-Author :: Andrew Parnell (Please Also Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia Source Image URL ::
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In Saxony-Anhalt region of Germany, Wernigerode Castle is a particular Schloss that is situated in the Harz highlands above the town of Wernigerode. It is among the most commonly popular destinations in Saxony-Anhalt and is accessible to the general public. Adalbert of Haimar, Count of Wernigerode, a Saxon nobleman, is first mentioned in a deed from 1121, which also serves as the first record of the settlement, which was established in conjunction with the deforestation of the region around a century earlier. The castle was constructed by the counts as their house on a terrain south of the town; it was first described as a castrum in 1213 A.D. The Wernigerode holdings passed to the neighbouring County of Stolberg in 1429, when the dynasty went extinct. The castle was often pledged while serving as the headquarters of the Amt administration. Wernigerode once more served as the county seat of the Stolberg-Wernigerode County after the Stolberg-Stolberg line split in 1645 A.D. However, during the Thirty Years War, the counts encountered opposition from the populace and were forced to relocate to the adjacent Ilsenburg House. It was not until Count Christian Ernest had the castle reconstructed as a Schloss in the Baroque style in 1710 A.D. that he was able to return the seat of government to Wernigerode. Despite having to submit to King Frederick William I of Prussia in 1714, he ruled for 61 years. Although its origins are much ancient, the current structure, which was completed in the late 19th century, is similar in architecture to Schloss Neuschwanstein. Count Otto had the Schloss exhaustively reconstructed once more in a Neo-Romantic design known as historicism, completing the project in 1893. Count Otto served as the first president of the Prussian Province of Hanover from 1867 to 1893, as well as the Prussian House of Lords from 1872 to 1878 and the German Vice-Chancellor from 1878. A chapel that was part of the overall complex was constructed in 1880 in accordance with designs created by renowned Vienna architect Friedrich von Schmidt! [Information and Image Credit : Wernigerode_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Andreas Tille; (Kindly Also Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Original Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WernigerodeCastleWinter.jpg ] #Architecture
Among the most notable Renaissance castles in Northern Europe is Glücksburg Castle. The castle was the administrative centre for the ducal lines of the Glücksburg family and, for a while, the main residence of the monarch of Denmark. The structure is in the northern German town of Glücksburg on the Flensburg Firth. The building is a water fortress. The castle gave rise to the ducal house of Glücksburg, whose members are related to practically all European dynasties. The castle is currently one of Schleswig Holstein, the most well-known landmarks of Germany. There is a public museum housed inside the castle. When the double monastery of St. Michael auf der Berge was liquidated in Schleswig in 1192, the foundation of the current castle grounds officially began. The monks left and relocated to Guldholm on Langsee, and the nuns moved to the St. John Monastery in Schleswig, which is still in use today. The monks established a new Cistercian monastery in Glücksburg between 1209 and 1210. There was an old motte-and-bailey castle close to the monastery, and some of it is still standing today. At the centuries that followed, the monks lived in and took care of the so-called Ryd Abbey and the vast grounds. At the very same time, the nearby town of Flensburg still possessed a number of castles in addition to the substantial, militarily significant Duburg fortification, which was constructed in 1411 A.D. The Rüdekloster was secularised after the Reformation in 1538, and Danish King Christian III acquired ownership of it in 1544. The administrator lived in the monastic structures. The Duburg fortification near Flensburg started to deteriorate from the start of the 16th century. [Information Credit : Glücksburg_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Image-Credit : List_of_castles_in_Germany, Wikipedia] [Image : Glücksburg Castle ]
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The County Clare of Ireland is home to the two-stage tower house known as Ballinalacken Castle. Although its exact age is unknown, it was probably constructed in the 15th or early 16th century. It is situated on a limestone rock facing the routes from Lisdoonvarna to Fanore and Doolin in the Burren territory. The existing tower house is like Leamaneh Castle in that it took a while to build. The lofty eastern tower, which was probably built in the 15th century, is the earliest portion. Daniel Turlough petitioned the English Commission in 1654 to prevent the home from being demolished in the wake of the 1641 uprising and following Cromwellian reorganisation. The addition at Ballinalacken was eventually erected by him or his son Teigue. A bawn encircles the fortress, which is accessed through a corbelled, machicolated doorway. The tower house alone appears to have been built in two parts that were later joined. The entryway with a top machicolation is located in the eastern wing, which is smaller and one level taller. A lodge for porters is located in front of the circular staircase leading to the three floors of windows-lit bedrooms. A wall walk can be accessed from the top floor. There is a beautifully carved Tudor chimney in the main section originating from 1641. This machicolations of the wings have numerous musket holes. [Information and Image Credit : Ballinalacken_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image : Ballinalacken Castle in 2006] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported ; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for more Image Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Source Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ballinalacken_castle.jpg ] #Architecture
In Srirangam, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India, there is a Hindu temple called Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple that is devoted to Lord Ranganatha, a manifestation of Lord Vishnu. The temple, which was built in the Hindu architectural style and which the Alvars praise in their Naalayira Divya Prabhandam, holds the distinct reputation of being the most important of the 108 Divya Desams devoted to the god Vishnu. Srirangam is a locality in the capital city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Srirangam is a river island that is bordered by the Kaveri River and her distributary Kollidam on two sides. This is the largest temple complex in India and a popular pilgrimage site for Hindus, particularly Srivaishnavites. Since Ramanuja and the time of his forebears Nathamuni and Yamunacharya at Srirangam during the 11th century, the temple has had a significant impact on the history of Vaishnavism. Its location on an island between the Kollidam and Kaveri rivers has made it susceptible to flooding and the ravaging of invading armies, which have frequently taken control of the area and turned it into a military camp. With a religious singing and dancing history, it was one of the centres of the early Bhakti movement. However, this practise ended in the fourteenth century and was only partially resurrected decades later. The 155-acre temple complex contains 81 shrines, 21 towers, 39 pavilions and numerous water tanks, making it the biggest operating Hindu temple in the world. A historical window into early and mid-medieval South Indian culture and society, the temple complex is a notable archaeological and epigraphical landmark. Numerous engravings indicate that this Hindu temple worked as a massive financial and charitable organisation that maintained a free kitchen, funded local infrastructure improvements, and operated as educational and medical institutions in addition to being a spiritual centre! [Information Credit : Ranganathaswamy_Temple,_Srirangam, Srirangam ; Wikipedia] [Image-Credit: Lost Temples , Facebook ; Source-Image-Link : https://www.facebook.com/LostTemple7/photos/a.175491056474407/1100747303948773/ ] #Architecture
The Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia is home to the Hindu temple compound Prambanan, built in the ninth century. It is devoted to the Trimūrti or Trinity, which is the expression of God as the Creator i.e. Brahma, the Preserver i.e. Vishnu, and the Destroyer i.e. Shiva. The temple complex is situated on the border between the provinces of Yogyakarta and Central Java, some 17 kilometres northeast of the city of Yogyakarta. The temple complex is the second-largest Hindu temple monument in Southeast Asia after Angkor Wat and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is distinguished by its tall, peaked architecture, which is typical of Hindu architecture, as well as by the centre structure, which stands at a towering 47 metres high inside a sizable complex of separate temples. The Prambanan temple complex, which was originally made up of 240 temple buildings, is thought to be a masterpiece of the classical era of Indonesia and displays the magnificence of ancient Hindu art and architecture of Java. The initial structure of the Prambanan temple, the greatest Hindu temple in prehistoric Java, was finished in the middle of the ninth century. It was probably started by Rakai Pikatan and King Lokapala, who succeeded him, inaugurated it. Rakai Pikatan initially constructed a temple there in 850 CE (around 907 Vikram-Samvat calendar), and Ruler Lokapala and Balitung Maha Sambu, the Sanjaya king of the Mataram Kingdom, greatly expanded it. The Shivagrha edict from King Lokapala in 856 AD (around 913 Vikram-Samvat calendar), which describes a Shiva temple complex that mimics Prambanan, is related to the temple complex. This edict states that the Shiva temple was dedicated on November 12, 856 AD (around 913 Vikram-Samvat calendar). The temple was constructed to venerate Lord Shiva, and this inscription states that its original name was Shiva-grha or Shiva-laya i.e the Realm of Lord Shiva. The Shivagrha edict claims that during the building of the temple, a public water project was launched to alter the channel of a river near the Shivagrha temple. On the western side of the Prambanan temple complex, a river known as the Opak River currently flows from north to south. According to historians, the river was once curled farther to the east and was seen to be too close to the main temple. Today, the Prambanan compound draws numerous tourists from all over the world! [Information and Image Credit : Prambanan , Wikipedia] [Image : Prambanan Temple Compounds] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Cmichel67 ] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Source-Image-URL :: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prambanan_Temple_Yogyakarta_Indonesia.jpg ] #Architecture
A noteworty historical landmark, Dublin Castle is a key Irish government facility, conference venue and tourist destination. Off the Dame Street in the heart of Dublin, it is situated. By the Dubh Linn i.e. the Dark Pool, that gave Dublin its name,was constructed the fortress. When the castle was erected, the River Liffey was much broader, and the castle was adequately guarded by both the rivers. The pool is situated along the lower course of the River Poddle before its merger with the River Liffey. However, the Poddle today flows beneath the complex. All along its history, Dublin Castle has served in a variety of capacities. It was initially constructed as a defensive structure for the Norman city of Dublin before becoming a house for the official. By 1230 A.D., the castle was mostly finished. It had a traditional Norman courtyard design, with a centre square devoid of a keep, strong defensive walls enclosing it on all sides, and round towers guarding each corner. The castle, which was situated southeast of Norman Dublin, served as one of the points on the outer perimeter of the city and used the River Poddle as a natural line of defence along two of its sides. The northeastern Powder Tower of the castle was directly bordered by the city wall, which circled the entire city north and westwards before rejoining the castle at the southwest Bermingham Tower. The Poddle was artificially directed into the city to flood the moat through archways, where the surrounding walls of the castle met the city heights of the fortress. Below the structures from the 18th century, one of those archways and a portion of the wall still exist and are accessible to the public. It served as the location for the Irish administration of the British government until 1922. Although there has been a castle on the spot since the reign of King John, the first Lord of Ireland, the majority of the existing edifice originates from the 18th century. When Ireland was ruled by the Lordship of Ireland between 1171–1541, the Kingdom of Ireland in 1541 A.D. and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1800–1922 A.D.), the Castle functioned as the administrative centre if the country. [Information and Image Credit : Dublin_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image : Dublin Castle and Black Pool] [Images Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported ; Wikipedia Image Author : Pi3 124 ; (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URL for More Usage Properties)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dublin_Castle_and_Black_Pool.jpg ] #Architecture
The town of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, on the northern bank of Belfast Lough, is home to Carrickfergus Castle, a Norman fortress in Northern Ireland. The fortress, which was repeatedly besieged by the Scottish, native Irish, English and French, served a significant military function up to 1928 and is still among best-preserved prototypes of a mediaeval buildings in Northern Ireland. Due to the prior presence of water around three-fourth of the circumference of the castle, it had a strategic purpose. Today, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency looks after it as a state-owned historical monument. After conquering eastern Ulster, John de Courcy established Carrickfergus as his headquarters in 1177. He reigned as a minor king there till 1204, when he was overthrown by another Norman explorer named Hugh de Lacy. De Courcy primarily founded the inner ward, a tiny bailey at the tip of the headland with an east gate and a tall polygonal curtain wall. The great hall was one of many structures there. The castle controlled Carrickfergus Bay and the land accesses into the walled town that grew underneath it from its commanding position on a rocky headland, which was first almost completely encircled by sea. Because of its beautiful Romanesque double window frame, a chamber on the first level of the east tower is thought to have housed the chapel of the castle. The castle continued to serve as the primary residence and governmental hub for the Crown in the north of Ireland even after the Earldom of Ulster was abolished in 1333. Upgrades were made to allow for artillery during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, such as outwardly spread gunports and cannon embrasures. French invaders under Francois Thurot took control of the town in 1760 after severe battle inside it. They ransacked the town and castle before fleeing, only to be apprehended by the Royal Navy. It was continually garrisoned for roughly 750 years until 1928, when the British Army handed control to the nascent Northern Ireland government for conservation as a historical monument. [Information and Image Credit : Carrickfergus_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image : An 18th century depiction of the castle] [The Work (Image) is in the Public Domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer; Image-Author : Nicolas Ozanne (1728-1811); The Image is in Public Domain in the United States as well (Please Relate Source-Image URL for more Usage Property] [Source-Image-URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vue_de_Carrickfergus_en_Irlande_fin_XVIIIeme_siecle.jpg ] #Architecture
The Rock of Cashel, sometimes referred to as Cashel of the Kings is a significant historical site in the Irish town of Cashel, County Tipperary. Over many centuries prior to the Norman conquest, the Rock of Cashel served as the customary residence of the Munster monarchs. Muirchertach Ua Briain, the King of Munster, gave his castle on the Rock to the Church in 1101 A.D. Having o ne of the most outstanding assemblages of Celtic art and mediaeval architectural constructions to be encountered anywhere in Europe, the gorgeous compound has a distinct personality. The majority of the structures on the existing site are from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, leaving few traces of the earlier structures. The 90-feet circular tower, which dates to around 1100 and is in good condition, is the earliest and highest component of the structure. Its shallow base, typical of round towers, made it necessary for its entrance being 12 feet above the ground. For security purposes, current conservationists patched in a portion of the tower with masonry. The chapel of King Cormac Mac Carthaigh was built in 1127 and dedicated in 1134. It is a remarkable building with vaulted ceilings and large arches that combines distinctive native characteristics with modern European style. The twin towers along either flank of the intersection of the nave and chancel are highly indicative of the Germanic influence of the two carpenters sent by the Irish Abbot of Regensburg, Dirmicius of Regensburg, as this design is otherwise unheard of in Ireland. Additionally noteworthy aspects of the structure include the spectacular north doorway and chancel arch, the oldest steps in Ireland, interior and exterior arcading, a barrel-vaulted roof, a carved tympanum over both doorways and both interior and exterior arcading. Among the best-preserved Irish frescoes from this era can be found there. The majority of the sandstone used to build the Chapel has become flooded over the years, severely affecting the interior frescoes. The chapel had to be completely surrounded in a water-resistant building with interior dehumidifiers to dry out the stone as part of the rehabilitation and conservation process. Limited public visits are currently available. The Cathedral is an aisleless, cruciform-shaped structure that was constructed between 1235 and 1270 A.D. It has a central tower and extends westward to a sizable residential fortress. In the fifteenth century, the Hall of the Vicars Choral was constructed!
[Information and Image Credit : Rock_of_Cashel, Wikipedia] [Image : Rock_of_Cashel, View from the bottom] [Images Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, Wikipedia-Image-Author : Giorgio Galeotti; Kindly Relate to Source Image URL for More Usage Property] [License-Link :
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[Source-Image-URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rock_of_Cashel_-_Tipperary,_Ireland_-_August_16,_2008.jpg ] #Architecture
On May 9, 1131, Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow, erected Tintern Abbey. Upon the Welsh side of the River Wye, that at this point separates Monmouthshire, Wales, from Gloucestershire, England, it is located close to the Monmouthshire village of Tintern. Following the Monasteries being dissolved in the sixteenth century, the abbey went into ruins. Since the eighteenth century, poems and paintings have honoured its remains. Cadw took over control of the management of the site in 1984. Approximately 70,000 individuals per year go to Tintern Abbey. The legend of Tewdrig, King of Glywysing, who withdrew as a hermit above the river at Tintern is documented by the Monmouthshire author Fred Hando. He later reappeared to command the army of his son in the battle of Pont-y-Saeson, where they defeated the Saxons. It was only the second Cistercian establishment in Britain and the first in Wales after the Waverley Abbey. With the construction of the inaugural wireworks by the Company of Mineral and Battery Works in 1568 and the later extension of factories and furnaces along the Angidy valley, the nearby area underwent industrialization after the collapse of the Abbey. As a result, there was some pollution at the Abbey site and local labourers resided inside the ruinous structures. Tintern Abbey was acquired by the Crown from the Duke of Beaufort in 1901 for £15,000, and the location was designated as a significant national historic site. The eighteenth century development of tourism had resulted in some repairs being made to the remains, but it was not until recently that archaeological inquiry started and the Abbey underwent professional maintenance and repairs. The Office of Works was given control of the ruins in 1914 and they made significant repairmen of the structures and a section of rebuilding! [Information and Image Credit :: Tintern_Abbey, Wikipedia] [Image: Tintern Abbey] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported ; Image-Author Wikipedia : Saffron Blaze (Please Relate to Individual Source Image URL for More Usage Properties) ] [License-Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Source Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tintern_Abbey_and_Courtyard.jpg ] #Architecture
The Irish town of Askeaton is located in County Limerick. The Desmond Castle, which is located in the middle of the town on a rocky island in the river Deel, is the main attraction of the town. Since Hamo de Valoignes, the Irish justiciary from 1197 to 1199, received the castle and its powers, the magnificent structure has guarded Askeaton. The king of Thomand, Dónal Mór, is said to have given the castle and possessions to William de Burgo in the Annals of Inisfallen. In 1348, Maurice FitzGerald, The First Earl of Desmond, paid 40 shillings for the barony of Lystifti. From that period does come the current structure. The Earls of Desmond would rise to prominence in Munster. They observed the Brehon Laws, behaved in a Gaelic way, communicated n Irish, clothed and participated in games in an Irish way. They even rode and hunted in Irish customs and valued Irish poets. For more than 200 years, the FitzGeralds, the Earls of Desmond, dominated Munster from the castle, which served as their political stronghold. The unfortunate Gerald FitzGerald, the 14th Earl of Desmond, operated from his strong center of power at Askeaton in 1559. The Irish lords revolted and waged a defensive war across Munster, while the English attempted to enforce a doctrine of submission on them. Gerald, also known as The Rebel Earl, enjoyed the support of his adherents, but as the horrors of the English invasion become intolerable, they gradually turned their backs on him. On November 11, 1583, he fled with a small group of retainers and was eventually killed. When Lord Justice Sir William Pelham assumed control of Askeaton and Munster, the FitzGerald era finally came to an end. Captain Edward Berkley eventually handed over the control of the fortress to the English government. [Information and Image Credit : Askeaton, Wikipedia] [Image : Askeaton Castle and River Deel] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International ; Wikipedia-Image Author : Mike Mc Carthy ; (Please Relate to Individual Source Image URL for More Usage Properties)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Source-Image-URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Askeaton_Castle_west_view.jpg ] #Architecture
Kilkenny Castle of Ireland was constructed in 1195 to guard a river crossing and the intersection of many major roads. It served as a reminder of the Norman conquest and, in its original configuration in the thirteenth century, would have been a key feature of the defences of the Town, together with four massive circular corner towers and a sizable moat, a portion of which is still visible today on the Parade. The Office of Public Works presently oversees the castle and grounds after the property was sold to the people of Kilkenny in 1967 for £50. The public is welcome to visit the adjacent gardens of the castle and grounds. A place for conferences is the Parade Tower. Since the days of Richard de Clare the Second Earl of Pembroke, often renowned as Strongbow who built the first fortress and most likely a wooden building in the 12th century, Kilkenny Castle has been a significant location. On what may have once been the home of Mac Giolla Phádraig monarchs of Osraighe, the Anglo-Normans built an earlier castle in 1173. Strongbow was given the lordship of Leinster, which included Kilkenny. Isabel, an heiress and the daughter of Strongbow, wed William Marshall in 1189. The seneschal of Kilkenny, Sir Gilbert De Bohun, possessed the castle. He acquired the county of Kilkenny and the castle from his mother in 1270. In 1300, Edward I made him an outlaw, but he was allowed to return in 1303 and he controlled the fortress till his demise in 1381. In 1391, the Butler family purchased it from the crown after it had been seized and not given to his heir Joan. The Butlers of Ormonde, a family with considerable clout, moved into the Castle as their home. James purchased Kilkenny Castle in 1391 and positioned himself as the ruler of the region thanks to the growing fortune of the family. Elizabeth Preston, the wife of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at the time, acquired ownership of the castle in the seventeenth century. However, the castle deteriorated by the 18th century, reflecting the declining finances of the Butler family. [Information and Image Credit : Kilkenny_Castle , Wikipedia][Image : Kilkenny Castle view between 1890 and 1900] [The work (Image) is in the Public Domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1927] [Please Relate to Original Source Image URL for more Usage Properties] [Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kilkenny_Castle._County_Kilkenny,_Ireland-LCCN2002717434.jpg ] #Architecture
The Palace of Sassanian Emperor Ardashir Pāpakan is a castle located on the mountainside where Dezh Dokhtar is located. It was constructed in AD 224 by King Ardashir I of the Sassanian Empire and is situated two kilometres north of the ancient city of Gor in Pars, ancient Persia, or modern-day Iran. Artakhsher Khwarah is also known as the Glory of (King) Ardasher. After Ardashir founded the Sassanian Empire, the old city where the palace is located was renamed Peroz, which literally translates to Victorious. [Information-Credit : Palace_of_Ardashir, Wikipedia] [Image : Palace of Ardeshir Babakan, the founder of Sasanid dynasty, in Firouzabad, Iran] [The copyright holder of the Work (Image) released the work into the Public Domain; Author : Ali Parsa , Wikipedia] [Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ardeshir.jpg ] #Architecture
Croft Castle is a country residence located in the village of Croft,Herefordshire, England . The castle and the estate, which had been in the possession of the Croft Family since 1085 CE, were lost to them in the 18th century until being repurchased by the family in 1923. It was left to the National Trust in 1957. The estate is also individually designated as Grade II*, while the castle is a Grade I listed structure. The nearby Church of St. Michael is Grade I listed. Since the Croft family built the estate there has been a building there, serving as the residence of the Croft family and Croft baronets. The Mortimers of Wigmore and Ludlow, who lived next door to the Croft family, were good friends. On neighbouring Croft property, the Battle of Mortimer Cross took place in 1461. The Welsh Wyvern, a black dragon that has been wounded, was adopted as the crest of the Croft family in the fifteenth century as a reference to their Glyndwr ancestry. Following the South Sea Bubble, the Croft family experienced financial hardship and sold the land to Richard Knight in 1746. (1693–1765). Thomas Johnes listed Croft Castle for sale in 1799. It was purchased by Somerset Davies, a Ludlow-based MP ,c. 1754–1817, whose lineage, the Kevill–Davies, in 1923 handed Croft back to Katherine, Lady Croft. Croft Castle faced possible demolition in 1957. Following the acquisition of artwork and furnishings for the showrooms by Michael, Lord Croft, and the establishment and funding of the Croft Trust by his sister Diana, the castle was made accessible to the public in 1960. The Croft Family members still continue to reside in the residence. [Information and Image Credit : Croft_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image : Croft Castle in 2010] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported; Image-Author : Tabbipix, Wikipedia] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ]
[Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CroftCastle04ps.jpg ] #Architecture
County Clare in Ireland is home to the enormous fifteenth-century tower house known as Bunratty Castle. Shannon Heritage manages the castle and the nearby folk park as both a tourist destination. The Irish pronunciation of the word Bunratty, Bun Raite, is — River Basin of the Ratty. This river empties into the close-by Shannon estuary beside the castle. The Annals of the Four Masters mention a Norsemen trading camp that was reportedly destroyed by Brian Boru in 977 as the first habitation at the location. Such a camp, according to local lore, was situated on a rise southwest of the present castle. Its precise location and proof of its existence are unknown because no traces of this settlement have ever been discovered. Robert De Muscegros received the cantred or region of Tradraighe i.e. Tradree from King Henry III of England sometime before 1250. In 1251, De Muscegros felled over 200 trees in the woods of the King at Cratloe. Again, the precise location of this is uncertain, but it is possible that these were used to build a motte and bailey fortress, that would be the earliest castle at Bunratty. The privilege to host markets and an annual fair in Bunratty is granted to de Muscegros by a later mention in state papers, which dates to 1253. Consequently, it has been believed that the location served as the nerve centre of early Norman rule in southeast Clare. Later, King Henry III was returned or perhaps reclaimed these estates, and in 1276 he gave them to Thomas De Clare, a Strongbow descendent. On the property, De Clare erected the first stone building notably the second castle. This castle, which had a sizable solitary stone tower and walls painted lime white, was inhabited from roughly 1278 to 1318. It was located on or adjacent to the location of the current Bunratty Castle, near the river. Around 1,000 people lived in Bunratty around the end of the 13th century. Limerick served as a crucial port for the English Crown in the fourteenth century. The location was thus once more secured to prevent Irish attempts on the Shannon estuary access. The MacNamara family constructed the fourth castle, the current building, after roughly 1425. One Maccon Sioda MacNamara i.e. the MacNamaras, the chieftain of Clann Cuilein, is thought to have built it. The O Briens, the most resourceful clan in Munster, and eventually the Earls of Thomond, acquired control of Bunratty Castle in 1500. The Royal Irish Constabulary temporarily utilised the castle as barracks in the middle of the 19th century. The 7th Viscount Gort bought the castle in 1956 and had it renovated with help from the Office of Public Works. He rebuilt the roof of the castle, preventing its destruction. Featuring sporting furniture, tapestries and artwork from the early 1600s, the castle was made public in 1960. [Information and Image Credit : Bunratty_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image: Bunratty Castle, Wikipedia] [The Work (Image) has been released into the public domain by its author, Jon Sullivan http://pdphoto.org/ (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URL for More Usage Properties)] [Source Image URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bunrattybig.jpg ] #Architecture
One of the most impressive megalithic structures of Scotland is the cross-shaped group of standing stones known as the Callanish Stones or namely Callanish I. It was built circa 3000 BCE. Details about the primary stone circle and other adjacent smaller structures, designated as Callanish II to X is available at a contemporary visitor information spot. Apparently, these stone-structures were ancient pre-Christian buildings in Gàidhealtachd of Scotland or in the Celtic kingdoms. These s tanding stones similar to Stonehenge that are vertical and located in Callanish on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, or Western Isles, are thought to be older than Stonehenge and have been there for now more than 5000 years. They are thought to represent symbols of sun worship. They were a centre for ceremonial practice during the Bronze Age and were thought to have been established in the late Neolithic period. The stone circle comprises thirteen stones and measures 11.4 metres in diameter. The stone circle is more of a ring with a flattened eastern edge than a perfectly round formation. The main monolith is located 0.8 metres west of the actual origin of the stone circle. The monolith, which appears as the rudder of a ship, is around seven tonnes heavy. A chambered tomb measuring 6.4 metres in length is located between the eastern and central monoliths of the stone circle. This is wedged between the eastern stones and the main monolith and was constructed after the stone circle. The numerous pottery shards discovered show that the tomb was utilized for many centuries. These pottery shards comprised multiple sherds of beaker vessels and shards of grooved ware in addition to the native Hebridean pots. [Information Credit : Callanish ; Scottish_mythology; Callanish_Stones; Wikipedia] [Image-Credit: Callanish_Stones; Wikipedia] [Image: Chambered tomb of Callanish Stones] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported; Image-Author :- Nachosan, Wikipedia] (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Callanish_I_2011_17.JPG ] #Architecture
Boyne valley tombs, also known as Brú na Bóinne, is a region in County Meath, Ireland, situated where the River Boyne makes a curve. One of the most significant Neolithic archaeological landscapes in the world is found there, along with more than 90 more structures, including the enormous Megalithic passage graves of Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth. The Boyne Culture is the name given to the archaeological culture connected to these locations. The location has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. The region is situated in a bend of the River Boyne, around eight kilometres west of Drogheda in County Meath, Ireland. North of Dublin, it is situated around 40 kilometres away. The Boyne river surrounds the Brú na Bóinne site on its southern, western and eastern direction. In addition, a minor branch of the Boyne, the River Mattock, also flows along the northern tip, encircling Br na Bóinne with water almost entirely. All but two of the prehistoric settlements are on this river peninsula. Although there have been people living in this area for at least 6,000 years, the earliest significant buildings date to the Neolithic era, about 5,000 years ago. A system of Neolithic mounds, chamber tombs, standing stones, henges and other ancient enclosures can be found at the location, some of which date back as far as the thirty-fifth to thirty-second centuries BCE. This means that the structure precedes the Egyptian pyramids and was constructed with complexity and a proper working understanding of science and astronomy, which is particularly clear in the passage grave at Newgrange. The north bank of the river is where the bulk of the structures are located. The construction of the passage tombs began approximately 3,300 BCE and ended around 2,900 BCE. The three biggest tombs at Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth could have been built to be visible from one another as well as from the accesses through the northern and southern banks of River Boyne. Up until the initial Bronze Age, when a number of embankment, pit and wooden post circles—commonly known as Henges—were constructed, the region was still utilized for dwelling and ritual. Compared to earlier Bronze Age artefacts, only some burnt mounds, cist burials and ring ditch burials are relatively unnoticeably found in later Bronze Age. Also o nly occasional activity during the Iron Age is visible in the form of cemeteries at Knowth and at Rosnaree. Near Newgrange, precious Roman devotional gifts including coins and jewellery have been discovered. [Information and Image Credit : Brú_na_Bóinne, Wikipedia] [Image: Newgrange Passage Grave] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported; Author : Shira; (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ]
[Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Newgrange.JPG ] #Architecture
Dover Castle is a Grade I listed mediaeval castle located in Dover, Kent, England. It was established in the 11th century, and because of its defensive importance throughout its timeline it has been called the — Key to England. It is reportedly the biggest castle in England, a claim that Windsor Castle also makes. Before the Roman invasion in AD 43, this site may have been fortified with earthworks during the Iron Age or earlier. This is hypothesised based on the unique layout of the earthworks, which does not seem to fit the mediaeval castle perfectly. Iron Age occupancy in the area of the castle has been revealed by excavations, but it is unclear whether this is connected to the fort on the hill. The location is also home to one of the two Roman lighthouses or pharoses of Dover, the highest and most comprehensive standing Roman building in England and one of the just three Roman-era lighthouses that are still in existence today. It is also touted as being the oldest standing structure in Britain. The five-level, eight-sided tower, which was constructed in the first century, was layered with red bricks, Kentish ragstone and tufa. After being transformed into a belfry in the Saxon era about 1000 A.D., having a new upper tier erected around 1430 A.D. and being largely renovated in 1913–1915, the castle lighthouse has endured the test of time. On the opposite Western Heights, across from Dover, are the meagre remnants of the other Roman lighthouse, also known as the Bredenstone. William the Conqueror and his troops proceeded to Westminster Abbey for his crowning in October 1066, following the Battle of Hastings. They travelled in circles, passing via Romney, Dover and Canterbury. Dover has been a founding member of the Cinque Ports from its founding in 1050; it Is possible that it was this that originally caught the eyes of William and earned Kent the title of Invicta. Eight knights were chosen on a tenured basis in 1088 to protect Dover Castle. The castle started to take on a distinctive shape during the era of Henry II. This period is represented by the great keep, the inner and outer baileys, etc. The keep was constructed by Maurice the Engineer. The King invested approximately £6,500 in the castle between 1179 and 1188, a significant sum given that his annual income was probably in the neighbourhood of £10,000 at the time. A group of insurgent lords encouraged the future Louis VIII of France to claim the English throne in 1216, during the First Barons War. Although he made considerable progress in penetrating the defences of the castle, he ultimately failed. It was maintained for the king during the English Civil War but was later seized by Parliamentarian supporters in 1642 without a single fire being shot. Dover Castle served as a key observation post for the cross-Channel sightings of Anglo-French Survey, which linked the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the Paris Observatory using trigonometric computations. During the Napoleonic Wars at the end of the 18th century, there was extensive renovation. For the extra forces and their gears, Dover needed barracks and storage spaces as it transformed into a garrison town. To the south of the castle, brand-new quarters for the officers were built between 1856 and 1858. The tunnels were transformed first as an air-raid shelter and then into a military control station and an underground hospital after the Second World War began in 1939. Dover Castle is still protected from unsanctioned changes as a Scheduled Monument, making it a Nationally Important historic structure and archaeological site. [Information and Image Credit : Dover_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image : An Aerial View of the Castle; Author: Chensiyuan, Wikipedia] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [License-Link :
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[Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1_dover_castle_aerial_panorama_2017.jpg ] #Architecture
Altamont House in County Carlow in Ireland is a historic structure distinguished by its beautiful gardens. The Robinsonian-style gardens are frequently alluded as the gardening crown jewel of Ireland. The early history of the house is unknown, however some people assert that it was originally constructed as a convent, maybe as early as the 16th century. The St George family erected the portions of the house that face the east and the centre portion, which is still standing, dates from the 18th century. Most of these adjustments to the house involved turning it around to face a recently constructed road. Benjamin Burton Doyle, the High Sheriff of Carlow, resided there in the 1780s. The lake was added to the gardens and house in the 1840s by the Dawson Borrer family as a relief-work for the surrounding population, who also renovated and remodelled the mansion during the Irish famine. After purchasing Altamont in 1923, Feilding Lecky Watson expanded the grounds. Rhododendrons were the main focus of Watson and he exchanged specimens with Sir Frederick Moore of the National Botanic Gardens in addition to growing seedlings from all over the world. Daughter of Watson Corona North carried on the horticulture profession of her father after he passed away in 1943. The garden, which has an ice age glen, bog garden, arboretum and views of the Blackstairs Mountains, Wicklow Mountains and Mount Leinster, is located on the banks of the River Slaney. The various conditions provide ecosystem for a wide variety of species and some of the oaks are estimated at 500-years of age. Wild bluebells, snowdrops and a variety of rare azaleas, rhododendrons and magnolias may all be found in the garden. A Wellingtonia, also known as the Sequoiadendron giganteum or Giant Redwood, was erected in the garden to honour the victory at Waterloo. Early in the 1990s, a trust was established to protect the 100-acre estate. Corona North passed away, and the Irish State assumed possession of the home and grounds, which are now managed by the Office of Public Works. [Information and Image Credit : Altamont_House, Wikipedia] [Image: Altmont House; Author : Anna Maria 4574, Wikipedia] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [License-Link :
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The Leighlinbridge Castle castle is situated on the River Barrow in the Irish hamlet of Leighlinbridge, County Carlow. Hugh de Lacy built the Leighlinbridge Castle, often known as the Black Castle of Leighlinbridge, in 1180 to protect the river crossing. John de Clahull repaired it in 1181, and Edward Bellingham rebuilt it once again in 1547 after the Cavanaghs destroyed it in the fourteenth century. During the Irish Confederate Wars in 1650, Cromwellian forces led by Colonel Hewson stormed the fortress once more. For the Normans, the first fortress was constructed about 1181. The initial structure of the castle, along with the nine-arched bridge over the River Barrow, served as the primary landmark of the town, and it has been said that the creation of this important castle-site was a major factor in the growth of Leighlin-Bridge. The Carmelites arrived in Ireland for the first time in the early 1270s and built their first friary in Leighlinbridge, close to the castle. Edward Bellingham transformed a Carmelite friary into a new fort in the 1540s. In addition to establishing a stable at the castle with about two dozens of horses, Bellingham turned the fort into a major military hub for all of Leinster. The surviving foundation of the castle was a four-sided enclosing wall measuring 315 by 234 feet in the 1840s. This wall was about 7 feet thick, surrounded on the three sides by a ditch or moat and on the fourth-side by the river. The ruins of the castle are gradually crumbling, but a 50-feet tall shattered tower and some parts of the enclosure wall on one side are still visible. A more recent classification of the Black Castle describes it as a limestone tower house with three stories, the lowest of which is vaulted and the roof encircled by mural-lined walls with passageways. [Information Credit : List_of_castles_in_Ireland ; Leighlinbridge_Castle ; Wikipedia]
[Image Credit : Leighlinbridge_Castle ; Wikipedia] [Image : The Black Castle on the River Barrow in Leighlinbridge ] [Image : The copyright holder of the work (Image), released the work into the Public Domain; Author : Sarah777 , Wikipedia; (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [Original Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Leighlinbridge3836.jpg ] #Architecture
The Ballyloughan Castle is a deserted castle with one of the finest gatehouses of Ireland that is close to Bagenalstown. The architecture of the castle implies that it was constructed by a Norman lord about the year 1300 and was most likely deserted in the fourteenth century. The castle was inhabited by the Kavangh family toward the end of the 16th century, after which it was owned by the Bagenals and then, in the 19th century, by the Bruens. This ruined castle in County Carlow is now designated as a National Monument. There is still a twin-tower gatehouse, the hall, and the foundation if the corner towers from around 1300. In close proximity to Mount Leinster, Ballyloughan is situated at the western extremity of a glacier ridge. The walls of the castle, which are up to 50 feet high and 5 feet thick in some parts, have a roughly square shape. Although the majority of the characteristics of the castle are typical of building from the 13th century, there is no information available about its early history. [Information Credit : List_of_castles_in_Ireland ; Ballyloughan_Castle] [Image Credit : Ballyloughan_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image : Exterior of Ballyloughan Castle] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International; Author : VisionsofthePast ; (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link :
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The County Carlow in Ireland is home to the Carlow Castle, which is close to the River Barrow. It is a National Monument of Ireland and was constructed between 1207 and 1213. This castle first appears in writing in 1231, although the architect is not identified. It is usually believed that William Marshal the Elder constructed the castle during his stay in Ireland from 1207 to 1213. The towered keep of the castle at Carlow, which consisted of a large rectangular tower and four smaller three-quarter-circular towers at the corners of the rectangle encompassing it, was the very first of its type in Ireland. However, there have been questions raised over whether the Carlow castle supported the traditional purpose of the Keep i.e. acting as a last-resort haven. There have been questions raised over whether the Carlow castle supported the traditional purpose of the Keep i.e. acting as a last-resort haven. Since there is no towered veil, gate house or unseparated great hall, it purposely deviates from the modern standard in England and continental Europe. The same time period saw the construction of comparable castles in Ferns, Lea and Terryglass. The walls of the inner castle were 9 feet thick, the towers had a 15-feet diameter and the interior part of the castle spanned 16 by 9.2 metres. The castle was chose to be given to the crown in 1306, awarded to Thomas Plantagenet in 1312, confiscated again by the crown in 1537 because the landlords were away, purchased by the Earl of Thomond in 1616 and then passed through many hands before being taken by Oliver Cromwell in 1650 before being given back to the Earl of Thomond. To make more room for the purpose of converting it into a lunatic asylum, the castle was extensively devastated in 1814 because of the use of explosives. The two adjacent towers and the exterior face of the west wall were all that could be saved. [Information and Image Credit: Carlow_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image: Carlow Castle at Early Morning] [The Image is Availed Under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)][License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ]
[Original Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carlow_Castle_early_morning.jpg ] #Architecture
Henry VIII built Pendennis Castle, an artillery fort, between 1540 and 1542 close to Falmouth, Cornwall, England. It was a component of the Device programme of the King that protected the Carrick Roads canal at the mouth of the River Fal from French and Holy Roman Empire assault. As the Spanish threat grew, the earlier castle was surrounded by a ring of substantial stone ramparts and bastions, which allowed for the expansion of the original, circular keep and gun platform. The Royalists controlled Pendennis during the English Civil War, and Parliament finally took control of it in 1646 after a protracted siege. Charles II restored the castle after his return to the throne in 1660 and the castle survived the interregnum. Defences of Pendennis were upgraded and improved in the 1730s and again in the 1790s due to ongoing worries about a potential French invasion; at the time of Napoleonic Wars, the castle could accommodate up to 48 guns. In order to bolster these defences, new, quick-firing weapons were added as well as an electrically powered minefield that was placed across the River Fal and controlled from Pendennis and St. Mawes were introduced again in the 1880s and 1890s. The castle was rearmed twice during World War I, but it did not see any action. It was rearmed again during World War II, when it was used to defend against German Luftwaffe aircrafts, but by 1956 it had become outdated and was decommissioned. As the Ministry of Works took charge of it, they demolished several of the most advanced military structures and made the area accessible to tourists. [Information and Image Credit : Pendennis_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image: 16th-century Keep and Gun Platform of Pendennis Castle] [Image Availe Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for more Image Usage Property)] [Link to License :
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[Source Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pendennis_Castle_keep.jpg ] #Architecture
In Edinburgh, Scotland, there is a castle called Edinburgh Castle. It is situated on Castle Rock, that has been home to people since at minimum the Iron Age, though it is unknown what kind of early community it was. Dating back to at least the reign of David I in the twelfth century, there was a royal castle on the rock, and the location remained a royal home until 1633. The residential use of the castle started to decrease starting in the fifteenth century and by the seventeenth century, it was mostly being utilised as military barracks with a sizable army-staff. Since the early nineteenth century onward, its significance as a piece of national history of Scotland was progressively acknowledged, and during the past 150 years, numerous restoration initiatives have been undertaken. The 14th-century Wars of Scottish Independence and the 1745 Jacobite uprising both made its mark on the Edinburgh Castle, one of the most significant fortifications in the Kingdom of Scotland. Twenty-Six sieges were found to take place over a period of its 1,100-year history, as was discovered in a research work of 2014. The Scottish National War Memorial and the National War Museum of Scotland are located at the castle, which also holds the Scottish regalia known as the Honours of Scotland. Even though its purpose is now primarily a ceremonial and administrative service, the British Army is still in charge of several areas of the fortress. Regimental museums are housed in a few of the structures of the castle, which helps promote it as a tourist destination. [Information and Image Credit : Edinburgh_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image: As seen from the West Port region, the Castle is constructed on a Volcanic Rock] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for more Image Usage Property)]
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In the heart of Kraków, Poland, sits a castle residence called the Wawel Royal Castle. It was constructed at the request of King Casimir III the Great and is made up of a variety of buildings from various eras arranged around the central courtyard with an Italianate design. Being one of the biggest in Poland, the castle exhibits practically every architectural style from the medieval, renaissance, and baroque eras of Europe. The most important cultural and historical site in the nation is Wawel Royal Castle and Wawel Hill. The left bank of the Vistula River , at an elevation of 228 metres, is home to a walled architectural complex that includes the castle. The complex is home to a large number of structures with significant historical and societal significance, such as the Wawel Cathedral, in which Polish royals were crowned and interred. Along with the earliest instances of Romanesque and Gothic architecture in Poland, some oldest stone structures date to 970 AD. The existing castle was initially constructed in the fourteenth century, and it was later enlarged. As a component of Historic Center of , Wawel was named the first World Heritage Site in 1978. Wawel Castle, which served as the palace of the Polish kings and a representation of the nation for many years, is currently regarded as one of the top art museums of the nation. [Information and Image Credit : Wawel_Castle, Wikipedia] [Image : View of the Wawel complex at night, including the cathedral in the center-left and the castle on the right.] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Poland (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for more Image Usage Property) ] [Source Image-URL :
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The Shore Temple, a collection of temples and shrines, was built around 725 AD and faces out onto the Bay of Bengal. It is situated at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India, around 60 kilometres south of Chennai. It is a structural temple from the eighth century AD that was constructed of granite blocks. The location was a bustling harbour at the time of its construction when Narasimhavarman II of the Indian Pallava dynasty ruled. It has been a part of the Mahabalipuram Group of Monuments since 1984, and from 1984 it has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the earliest structural (as opposed to rock-cut) stone temples of South India. The location of Mahabalipuram was referred to as the Seven-Pagodas by Marco Polo and subsequent waves of European traders who travelled to Asia. The Shore Temple is thought to be one of them. For seafarers, the temple presumably served as a landmark. The name was known to sailors because it resembles a pagoda. The architectural innovations of King Narasimhavarman II, which began with the monolithic Rathas and cave temples in the middle of the seventh century, culminated in this architectural temple complex. The impression of the shape of its sister temples off the coast, after the Tsunami of 2004 that slammed this shoreline, suggests that this sanctuary was the end of a line of temples that appeared to exist now in the inundated coastline. The Cholas, who controlled Tamil Nadu after defeating the Pallavas, carried on the tradition of the architectural style of the Shore Temple in the temple-bodies they later erected. [Information and Image Credit : Shore_Temple, Wikipedia] [Image : Shore Temple Complex] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [Original Source Image URL :
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The Ateshgah of Baku, also known as the Fire Temple of Baku, is a religious building that resembles a castle and is located in Surakhany town, a suburb of Baku, Azerbaijan. Atashgah, a toponym in Persian, literally translates as House of Fire. Azerbaijani borrows the word Atesh and from Persian. The temple was a centre of worship for the Zoroastrian, Hindu, Sikh, and Persian religions, according to Persian and Indian inscriptions. The Persian term for fire is Atash. The tetrapillar-altar in the centre of the pentagonal structure, features a courtyard enclosed by monk-quarters and was constructed between the 17th and 18th centuries. Due to the declining Indian population in the region, it was deserted in the late nineteenth century. Zoroastrians from the Northwestern Indian Subcontinent, who engaged in trade with the Caspian region, used Baku Ateshgah as a place of pilgrimage and as a philosophical hub. Some claim that the architecture of the temple is in the traditional Sasanian fashion. They considered ateshi (fire), badi (air), abi (water), and heki (earth) to be the four sacred elements. In terms of their respective religions, Jonas Hanway, an early European critic, lumped Zoroastrians, Sikhs, and Hindus together as ::- These opinions, with a few alterations, are still maintained by some of the posterity of the ancient Indians and Persians, who are called Gebers or Gaurs, and are very zealous in preserving the religion of their ancestors; particularly in regard to their veneration for the element of fire. There is also a controversy over whether the Atashgah was originally a Zoroastrian or a Hindu edifice because fire is revered in both religions (under the names Agni and Atar, respectively). Zoroastrian academics have specifically noted the trident set atop the structure as a cause for interpreting the Atashgah to be a Hindu site (as the Trishula, which is frequently mounted on temples). Given though the trident emblem is not connected to Zoroastrianism, an Azerbaijani presentation on the history of Baku, which refers to the sanctuary as a Hindu temple, defines the trident as a Zoroastrian symbol of — Good thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds. In 1975, the compound was transformed into a museum. [Information and Image Credit :: Ateshgah_of_Baku, Wikipedia] [image : 1. Atəşgah, Azerbaijan; 2. Guebre Ceremony in Ateshgah Temple] [Images Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International and Public Domain Work (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [Original Source Image URLs : 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jahlinmarceta_baku_temple.jpg 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Guebre_ceremony_in_Ateshgah.jpg ] #Architecture
Architectures of Belarus :: [Image 1: Nesvizh Castle dating from the Polish –Lithuanian Commonwealth 2 : Mir Castle in Mir, Belarus is UNESCO World Heritage Site; 3 : The National Opera and Ballet of Belarus Building dating from 1930s; 4: Gomel Palace Built during the Reign of Catherine the Great for Pyotr Rumyantsev] Belarusian architecture have a rich heritage which spreads over different periods of history and is characterized by various styles and the versatile history, geography, religion and national identity of the country. Of these the Nezvizh Castle dates from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Era and was the residential Castle of the Radziwiłł family and is 183 meters above sea level. The Castle and the Surrounding Environment is regarded as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005. The Mir Castle is 164 meters above sea-level and was built in 16th CE in late Brick Gothic style. This too belongs to Polish-Lithuanian period and is too inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. The National Opera and Ballet of Belarus Building was the first permanent theatre founded in Belarus in 1933 based on the Belarusian Opera and ballet school. The theatre was designed by the famous Belarusian architect from Leningrad, Iosif Langbard. The Rumyantsev-Paskevich Residence or the Gomel Palace has its grounds stretching for 800 meters along the steep right bank of the Sozh River. The Palace is attributed with a Neo-Classical design and is credited to Ivan Starov. [Info and Image Credit: Architecture_of_Belarus, Wikipedia] [Images Availed Under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International and Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported] [Source Image URLs :
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The period of Romanesque art in Europe was from 10th – 12th C.E. before the Rise of Gothic Art. The terminology is a 19th Century coinage by Art-Historians, particularly for Romanesque Architecture, considering the basic characteristic similarities with Architectural Styles of Rome. The similarities were particular in round-shaped arches, tunnel vaults, exedra and foliage ornamentation. But the Romanesque style also developed many distinct variations. Though the architectural style of late antiquity continued in France, Spain and Italy, it was Romanesque Art which found wide-spread acceptance in whole Catholic Europe. While paintings of Romanesque art had drawn inspiration from Byzantine art, the Insular-Art of the British Islands contributed to its anti-classical features. Exhilarating styles were continued to be practiced in both painting and sculpture outside the sphere of Romanesque architecture and had influence of Byzantine theme of iconography. Stained glasses, illuminated-manuscripts and wooden-crucifix (a German innovation of this period) showed originalities. As Europe grew more prosperous during this era, high quality of art was no longer confined to some royal courts and selected group of monasteries. It blossomed inside small churches in cities, villages as well as those on pilgrimage routes. Romanesque sculpture transpired into areas of metalwork, enamels and ivories. Figurative sculpture and architectural relief work is a trademark of late-Romanesque period and mostly biblical in subject matter. Romanesque painting included Wall-Painting and Illuminated Manuscripts and other visual arts included Embroidery (Tapestry) and Stained Glasses. [Info and Image Credit : Romanesque_art, Wikipedia ; Image License Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International and 3.0 Unported 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Leon_(San_Isidoro,_pante%C3%B3n).jpg 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Santiago_Catedral_P%C3%B3rtico_da_gloria_GDFL6.JPG ]
Gothic Art was Medieval form of Art chiefly born out of Northern France and had its origin in Romanesque Art of 12th Century. It was facilitated by simultaneous evolution of Gothic Architecture and then had its spread all across West, North, Central and Southern Europe. However its impact in Italy was relatively less were classical styles remained mainstream. Gothic art had its birth in Île-de-France, France at the Abbey Church of St Denis. This form of art quickly grew out in to architecture and sculpture. It impacted both individual and structural size as well as art of textiles and paintings. Religious orders like chiefly the Cistercians and Carthusians helped in promoting and disseminating the Gothic style across Europe. Painting as a different style of Gothic Art developed some time after gothic architecture and sculpture had developed. Gothic painting was most observable in following medium namely mural paintings, illuminated manuscripts, panel-paintings and stained glasses. Etymologically the word Gothic was rather used negatively as another term for the word Barbaric. The critics of Gothic art considered it as rather crude and not refined enough compared to the aestheticism of Classical Art. Renaissance authors even considered to some degree the Sack of Rome by the Gothic tribes as the triggering point for the destruction of the Classical world and along with all values and merits held with it. During early renaissance period, Italian architects and authors even considered the Gothic art trickling down the Alps from the north art in analogy to the coarse invasion of the Barbarians of Rome and similar opposition to the Classical art revival. [Image and Info Source: Wikipedia, Gothic_Art ; Images availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International and 3.0 Unported ] [1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Torun_SS_Johns_Mary_Magdalene.jpg 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sainte_Chapelle_Interior_Stained_Glass.jpg ]
The Chalukya dynasty was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty, known as the "Badami Chalukyas", ruled from Vatapi (modern Badami) from the middle of the 6th century. The Badami Chalukyas began to assert their independence at the decline of the Kadamba kingdom of Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the reign of Pulakeshin II. After the death of Pulakeshin II, the Eastern Chalukyas became an independent kingdom in the eastern Deccan. The rule of the Chalukya dynasty is an important milestone in the history of South India and marks the golden age in the history of Karnataka. The political atmosphere of South India has shifted from a small kingdom to a great empire with the rise of the Badami Chalukya dynasty. A kingdom based in southern India took control and integrated the entire region between the Kaveri and Narmada rivers. With the rise of this empire, efficient administration, foreign trade and commerce were born, and a new style of architecture called "Chalukya Architecture" was developed. Kannada literature, which enjoyed royal support in the 9th-century Rashtrakuta court, found enthusiastic support for the Jain and Veerashaiva traditions of the western Chalukya dynasty. In the 11th century, Telugu literature was sponsored during the Eastern Chalukya Rule. (Credit: Info + Image Chalukya_dynasty , Wikipedia) [Image : 1. Vaishnava Cave Temple, Badami, 578 CE 2. Bhutanatha temple complex, at Badami 3. Virupaksha temple in Dravidian style at Pattadakal, built 740 CE 4. Aihole – Durga Temple ]
