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The most beautiful Gothic cathedrals.
Aachen Cathedral – one of the Imperial cathedrals of Germany, which for centuries were crowned monarchs to reign.
He began his history of about 800 years, when king Charlemagne ordered the start of construction. In those days Germany consisted of many small principalities of different incomes. The money for this grandiose construction was found only in the Empire of Charles. It is no wonder that there was a rumor that the devil himself gave her money for such a Grand construction. And that the devil demanded his victim the first person to come to the Cathedral. Then the wily citizens let the first wolf. Damn greed rushed at him, and only then saw the switch.
In the year 805 by Pope Leo the Third consecrated the Cathedral. And in the year 814 Charlemagne found his refuge in the crypt of the Cathedral. But that was only the beginning. Then over the centuries the body of the monarch was transferred to various parts of the Cathedral. Continue reading
Peru and Bolivia long before the Incas
Another type of masonry, which attracted our attention in Cusco, has left a very ambiguous impression. This clutch of relatively small (although sometimes reach hundreds of kilograms) of mainly rectangular blocks of granite or basalt, laid without any mortar.
On the one hand, this style of masonry radically different from the megalithic polygonal. In addition, some of the houses where there are areas of walls with similar walls date back to the period already already after the Spanish conquest. On the other hand, there are a number of reasons, which makes you wonder about the possibility of creating of the masonry is not Spanish, and not even by the Incas, and a very different civilization.
First, the Spaniards, in full compliance with the building traditions and skills of the Old world – widely used solution. Laying stone blocks on each other without mortar for them it was unusual and even strangers. Continue reading
Fortifications
Founded in the year 1044 by Prince Yaroslav . Novgorod Kremlin — the oldest surviving in Russia Kremlins.
The history of the first Novgorod fortress dates back to the mid XI century . It was located on a small hill between two ravines where is now the Cathedral of St. Sophia with the adjacent area. When the princes of Novgorod, Vladimir Yaroslavich and Mstislav Vladimirovich (XI-XII century), the Kremlin has expanded and reached today’s size. Since ancient times there has been massive ramparts, on which at the end of the XV century were built stone walls and towers on the Italian sample.
To walk round the Kremlin in just half an hour. The length of its walls is 1350 m . the thickness reaches four. Of the twelve nine towers have survived . Five (the number of all administrative districts of Novgorod the Great) of them were travel and was a small architectural ensembles: a tower, gate Church. Continue reading
