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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
The Church Of The Transfiguration
Picturesque village (and the city with the Magdeburg law) War lies with the highway Cherkassy-Kanev 30 km from the regional center. Unique terrain, where spreads the village is flat, partly swampy valley where the Robins and Moshny changes dramatically mountainous (up to 202 m) long ridge — Monogramy — here the first glacier in the last ice age. In Monohoro in the 19th century the owners of these lands Vorontsov ordered to build a large Park in the English style, to adorn his pavilions, rotundas, a high tower of Svyatoslav, and at the foot of the mountain is a luxurious Palace and even a zoo on the other side of the ridge — complex Sosnogorskogo ascension monastery. But the turbulent 20th century with its revolutions and wars did not spare either the Palace or the convent or the tower with the rotundas.
However, War has not ceased to be an interesting tourist attraction, because of the tireless count Vorontsov and his family in the village remained other architectural attractions, among which the main, one of the most interesting and unexpected sacred sites in Ukraine is the Church of the Transfiguration contained virtually in the heart of this rather big village. Continue reading
Lace Gothic Prague Castle
The place is known to everyone, and it is called Prague Castle. Today our tour guide will be already known by our previous walking man – Dr. Frantisek Kadlec, Director of the tourism Department of the Administration of Prague Castle. So, in order to understand when and why the Gothic style appeared in the Czech Republic in General and Prague in particular, let us look a little into history.
Then Charles IV decided to invite to Prague architect and the first architect who comes to Prague for the construction of the Prague Castle became a French architect Mathieu of Arras. In 1344 he laid the first stone of the future Gothic Cathedral. The Gothic style was very different from its predecessor is quite simple Romanesque style. Now we are in the so-called Third courtyard of Prague Castle, and the very structure of St. Vitus Cathedral speaks eloquently about what Gothic architecture is very luxurious and magnificent.
Mathieu of Arras was destined to work on the construction of the Cathedral for eight years. He died in 1352. Then Charles IV was forced to seek a new architect, and he found him in the person of a young native Austrian city of Gmunden Peter Parler, who at the time of arrival to Prague was only 23 years old. Continue reading
