centuries
In Torun is full of beautiful places!
Torun is one of the most beautiful cities in Poland, situated on the North of the country on the banks of the Vistula river. Gothic architectural monuments located in the Old town of Torun, in 1997 were listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO. During the second World war, the city is not substantially affected, so all the old buildings and the building retains its original appearance.
Archaeological excavations confirm that the first settlements on the territory of present city was founded in 1100 BC but the name Torun gave the settlement the knights of the Teutonic order, who arrived here in the early thirteenth century. and who built a castle here. Toruń city rights received in 1233 over the centuries, the city remained an important center of trading routes and several times changed its owners: toruń was a part of not only Poland, but also Prussia and Sweden.
Torun – the city is famous for gingerbread, a genuine Gothic structures and Nicolaus Copernicus. Here, in 1473 G. was born the famous astronomer and mathematician, the author of the geocentric system of the world, which marked the beginning of the 1st scientific revolution. The Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun is one of the most prestigious Universities in Poland. Continue reading
The most magnificent Gothic cathedrals in France
Chartres Cathedral
The Cathedral in Chartres (XII-XIV centuries) is considered one of the most beautiful in Europe. Chartres, where the precious relics of our lady, enjoyed the special protection of king Louis IX, who gave the Cathedral a large window-rose. Stained glass Windows donated to the Cathedral, the artisans of the city.
In the construction of the Cathedral was attended by many people: for example, in 40-ies of the XII century Norman thousands of pilgrims came to Chartres and a few months to destroy stone blocks in the walls of the Cathedral reach two to three meters long and one meter in height. The Western facade is the only thing that survived from an earlier building. Its creation dates to 1170. The façade is adorned with three richly decorated with magnificent stone carvings of the portal belonging to the XII century. From the North and South facades of the building you can see is very typical of French Gothic, a huge, round lace box, in which the openings in lead casements inserted stained glass. The diameter of the Windows of the transept is 13 meters. A screen similar to this entered art history under the name “rose”. It first appeared in the Chartres Cathedral, Continue reading
Gothic rebus
One of the most beautiful buildings of Paris, praised by Victor Hugo, the legends and myths. A mystical image of Notre-Dame-de-Paris became an international symbol of the middle Ages, where magic is intertwined with faith and the deeper meaning of the true doctrine eternally encoded in the unique sculptures and stained glass Windows.
Notre Dame Cathedral, a magnificent structure, is able to simultaneously accommodate up to nine thousand members, is built on the Western edge of the île de La Cité in the XII century.
1. On the site of a pagan temple
For a thousand years before Christ there lived a small Gallic tribe. 400 years later the Romans came here, for which island surrounded by the waters of the Seine, was a natural fortress. On the spot where now stands the Cathedral, they erected the temple of Jupiter. Continue reading
