Showing posts with label Religious Sites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religious Sites. Show all posts

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Cologne

Cologne is only an hour's drive or less from Aachen and we arrived about 2:30 in the afternoon. We parked a few miles out in the suburbs and took the tram into the centrum and back. We visited Cologne in 1979, then as now, mostly for the great cathedral.
Monster cathedral; I don't know where it ranks on the
Vatican's "mine's bigger than yours" list, but it is a bit
overwhelming both outside and inside
















Chapel of the 3 Magi in the ambulatory; windows are the
oldest in the cathedral, 13th century











The center two windows date from 1265 and
depict corresponding scenes from the Old
Testament (prophecies) and the New
(realizations)



















The Gero Cross, donated by Archbishop Gero
in 976; it is the oldest remaining monumental
crucifixion



















Shrine of the 3 Magi; Fred Barbarossa donated
the bones of the 3 Magi, which became the
major relics of the cathedral and made it a major
pilgrimage site; late 12th, early 13th, actually
antedate the present cathedral



















Beautiful mosaic floor throughout















North side windows, 1507-1509





































Notable for the coats of arms of their donors; this one notable
for its elephants; or possibly a contribution of a political
action committee of the current Party of Greed and Hate















Ever popular crucifixion of St. Peter



















Extremely rare fully rotated view











From the stern to the bow: immensity, yet light and lightness









We skipped the German-Roman museum this time; we think
we have seen our fair share of Roman stuff















The twin towers; Vicki poses for scale; they
are each 505 feet high--fifty stories




















Cologne in 1945; it was the target for some 262 Allied
bombing raids; most were nuisance or diversionary raids, but
also included the first "thousand bomber" raid and other
major attacks; Germans nowadays joke that the Brits and
Americans were trying to hit the cathedral...which suffered
no major damage




















We cross the Rhine and head for Holland

Aachen

From Eupen we were only a short distance to Aachen, a town I had always wanted to see but never quite got around to seeing. We got to Aachen by 9 Sunday morning and easily found a parking place on the street just 3 blocks from the main square and cathedral. But the cathedral was in service, so to speak, and not open to visitors until 12:30. So we strolled about (shops were open), bought some of the decadent local gingerbread cookies, and bided our time.

Why Aachen? you ask. Several reasons. Aachen (aka Aix-la-Chappelle) was Charlemagne's capital; the "father of Europe," he who battled the Moors in Spain and who conquered and unified much of Europe late in the 8th century. The Aachen cathedral is also the oldest around in this part of the world, dating from 800, and it is widely regarded as the beginning of truly European art and architecture; the Carolingian Renaissance. Its central structure was Charlemagne's royal chapel, copied very closely on what he and his artistic advisors had seen at San Vitale in Ravenna. So we had to see it.
But first, Aachen's Rathaus...















The right tower of which is thought to have included (up to
13m), part of Charlemagne's great hall and throne room















The cathedral itself, although relatively small, is difficult to
see and photograph















The brass model helps; it's the central dome that is of chief
interest, being the oldest (although the rest is pretty old too);
the tower and choir are later add-ons; truly a hodge-podge, but
an understandable one
















In a 2009 excavation, two large wooden pegs were found in
the cathedral's foundations; dendrochronology showed them
to be from c. 781
















Inside the dome; very similar in lay-out to San Vitale; mosaic
and gold everywhere; but little of the mosaic is more than
geometric design...almost more Islamic than Christian; see our
posts from June 27, 2011, or search vitale
















Later Medieval windows near the altar



















Altar; lots of gold; Pantokrator and 4 evangelists















Mosaic over the altar area; no Pantokrator!















More mosaic designs; no Bible stories going on here; could
just as well be Islamic...















This mosaic by the entrance was of great interest...Roman-
looking figures, all of them Roman river gods...Tigris,
Eurphrates, etc.
















Pulpit of Emperor Henry II; (looks gold but is
actually copper); 13th













12th century chandelier, a gift of Frederick Barbarossa, whose
coronation occurred in Aachen, as did those of most of the
Holy Roman Emperors



















In the narthex, a She-wolf, 2nd century

Monday, July 11, 2011

Autun, 2011

We first visited Autun in 1979, probably en route to the Cote d'Or. I remember visiting the Roman amphitheater at Autun, but not much more. This time we camped across the lake from the amphitheater (in the city's free camperstop) but came to Autun to see its 11-12th century cathedral and in particular the reliefs that adorn it.
But first, another random Burgundy chateau from the road















At Autun, another hemmed-in city cathedral, difficult to get
any full view















As I said, it's mostly the reliefs that are of interest, 12th
century; this the west door tympanum, a Last Judgment















Hellish detail (Heaven is so boring)















Interior; great light and color, not huge, but very old















Very old windows



















I love these older buildings; you can look up
and nearly everything you see is architectural,
and there is little mystery in how everything
fits and hangs together





















The reliefs at Autun are some of the earliest intact in
Medieval Europe; here, Simon Magi falls as Paul and Peter
(keys) and Satan look on with satisfaction (we last saw
Simon Magi in a 12th century mosaic in Palermo)

















A few other examples: Cain killing Abel















Judas hanging (with devilish assistance)















An angel tells the three kings that mum's the word with
Herod















Amazingly, the reliefs apparently all are by the same hand;
and, most amazingly, we know his name: "Gislebertus hoc
fecit"--"Gislebertus made this"--the first time in the Middle
Ages that an artist signed his work

















View of Autun from the cathedral















Autun was founded by Augustus; here the remains of one of
the Roman gates















But before Romans, there were Gallic Celts; here is the ruin
of the so-called Temple of Janus, an apparent Celtic temple

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Cluny

Cluny was on the way to our next destination, Autun, so we dropped by. Its abbey was one of the greatest of the middle ages, whose leaders could intimidate kings and popes alike. The great church--the largest in Christendom until the present St. Peter's was built--was laid low, destroyed nearly entirely, by the Revolution. Atheists do bad things too. Rebecca and Rachel may remember Cluny as the site of France's national equestrian school. We visited in 1989.
And on the way to Cluny was Macon, and the Rhone














And the first of many beautiful chateaux















From a book cover, this is what the great church looked
like at its height; really a hodge-podge...
















And here you are standing at the entrance to the narthex
of the great church
















Not much remains




















Ditto
















Just a transept tower or two; sic transit,
Gloria