Built on the ancient ruins of a Roman cemetery, where 11,000 virgins associated with the legend of Saint Ursula were supposedly buried. Inside the church is a reliquary featuring the bones of these martyred girls. The story of Saint Ursula is now considered to be fiction. It’s thought that there were originally 11 girls accompanying St. Ursula but over the years the letter M was mistaken for the Roman numeral for 1000.
In Gothic architecture, a gargoyle is a carved figure with spout to move water away from the building and prevent damage from rainwater eroding the mortar between the bricks.
A gargoyle is often times a fantastic creature, an animal or grotesque creation.
The French word gargouille which means throat or gullet leads to the name and gargoyle calls to mind the sound of the water rushing out it’s mouth as it gargles.
A carved figure that does not act as a rainspout is called a Chimera or grotesque.
The medieval market place in Bremen features many old and interesting buildings. In addition to the Rathaus, The Cathedral of St. Peter has 1200 years of history. Among it’s many treasures are the remains of the old choir stalls built in 1630. The oldest portion of the cathedral dates bate to the 11th century.
Early each day to the steps of Saint Paul’s
The little old bird woman comes
In her own special way to the people
She calls, “Come, buy my bags full of crumbs
I grew up in and around Boston. I went to Emerson College in Boston and worked for various theatre companies around Boston.
One thing I love to do when I go home for a visit is to walk around the city. I always find something new and unique to photograph.
For a city as old as Boston, it can be magical in broad daylight.
High above Boylston Street, this Angelic face watches the masses of people below.
A winged Lion stands guard over the old Armory.
These Gargoyles stare out from their perches high above Wall St.
I imagine that they come to life at night when the city is still and all of us humans have gone to bed.
Did you know the Canary Islands are named for Dogs and not little yellow Birds ?
The Church of San Francisco dates back to the 18th century. It’s adjacent convent now houses The Museum of Fine Arts.
Like many Cruise Ship ports, Tenerife offers a variety of activities for tourists, Bingo Parlors, Casinos and Shopping !
The theater Circulo de Amistad of Santa Cruz de Tenerife opened in 1904. Architecturally, it is a curious building where the bourgeois architecture of the XIXth century and the Art Nouveau architecture of the Canary Islands meet. The building houses a social organization known as “The Recreation” where members enjoy dominoes, swimming, card games, volleyball and a myriad of other sports and activities.
Just a few steps off of the Calle Castillo, I found this unusual building.
Balconies were on almost every building I saw.
Incredible colors and tiles
St Michaelis also has a vast crypt- the largest in Europe- which contains the mortal remains of a number of illustrious people, including the composer Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. The crypt is dark and the ceiling is low, so watch your step.
A Statue of Martin Luther stands watch outside of St. Micheal’s. Unlike St Petri, St. Michael’s welcomes visitors and offers a stunning view of the city from it’s bell tower.
St. Michael’s victory over the Devil looms over the main entrance. If this statue doesn’t scare you enough to go to church, I don’t know what will.
If you take the stairs to the bell tower (Instead of the elevator) you get a great view of this work of art from behind.
A massive pipe organ dominates the main Church.
The main Altar
I would suggest you take the elevator UP and the stairs DOWN and not the other way around, it was one long climb.
From the Observation Deck there is another climb even higher. The view was worth the trip.
Looking out towards the ship yard and river.
The view towards the Old City. The Rathaus is the spire on the far left, next is St. Petri’s, St. James and St. Nikolia’s.
The Church of St. Peter’s in Hamburg dates back as far as 1195. Napoleon used the Church as horse stable. It survived WW I mostly intact. The bronze lion-head door handles, the oldest work of art of Hamburg, date from the foundation of the tower in 1342. Don’t try to go inside, unless you’re there for Mass, they have a sign telling sightseers to go to another church, St. Michael’s, if they only want to look around.
Travels With Ackbar 