Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Reims

1 December 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  10 minutes

© G.Garitan/MathKnight/cc-by-sa-3.0

© G.Garitan/MathKnight/cc-by-sa-3.0

Notre-Dame de Reims (meaning “Our Lady of Reims”), sometimes known in English as Rheims Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is famous for being the traditional location for the coronation of the kings of France. The cathedral church is thought to have been founded by Bishop Saint Nicasius in the early 5th century. Marking an important conversion, Clovis, King of the Franks, was baptized a Christian here about a century later. Construction of the present Reims Cathedral began in the 13th century and concluded in the 15th century. A prominent example of High Gothic architecture, it was built to replace an earlier church destroyed by fire in 1221. Although little damaged during the French Revolution, the present cathedral saw extensive restoration in the 19th century but was severely damaged during World War I. The church was again restored in the 20th century. Reims Cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral, a major tourist destination, receives about one million visitors annually.   read more…

Chapel of Reconciliation in Berlin

9 November 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Immanuel Giel

© Immanuel Giel

The Chapel of Reconciliation (German: Kapelle der Versöhnung) is a place of worship in Berlin, Germany. It stands on the site of the old Church of Reconciliation (German: Versöhnungskirche), on Bernauer Strasse in the Mitte district. The church was completed in 1894 as an imposing brick-built building by the architect Gotthilf Ludwig Möckel, in the Gothic revival style. It sustained some damage in the Second World War, and still had a deactivated American bomb in the basement discovered during its reconstruction in 1999, but the church survived the war.   read more…

Abbey of Montecassino

6 November 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  14 minutes

© Ludmiła Pilecka/cc-by-3.0

© Ludmiła Pilecka/cc-by-3.0

Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about 130 kilometres (81 mi) southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the west of the town of Cassino and 520 m (1,706.04 ft) altitude. Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is best known for its abbey, the first house of the Benedictine Order, having been established by Benedict of Nursia himself around 529. It was for the community of Monte Cassino that the Rule of Saint Benedict was composed.   read more…

Tiberias in Israel

2 September 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Pacman

© Pacman

Tiberias is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Established around 20 CE, it was named in honour of the second emperor of the Roman Empire, Tiberius. In 2019 it had a population of 45,000.   read more…

Mariazell in Styria

14 August 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Mariazell Basilica © Bwag/cc-by-sa-3.0-at

Mariazell Basilica © Bwag/cc-by-sa-3.0-at

Mariazell is an Austrian city located in the southeastern state of Styria. Well known for being a hub of winter sports, 143 kilometres (89 miles) north of Graz. It is picturesquely situated in the valley of the Salza, amid the north Styrian Alps. It is a site of pilgrimage for Catholics from Austria and neighboring countries to the east. The object of veneration is an image of the Virgin Mary reputed to work miracles, carved in lime-tree wood. This was brought to the place in 1157, and is now enshrined in a chapel adorned with objects of silver and other costly materials. The large church of which the chapel forms part was erected in 1644 as an expansion of a smaller church built by Louis I, King of Hungary, after a victory over the Ottoman Empire in 1363.   read more…

Chapel of Saint Michel d’Aiguilhe in France

17 July 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© W. Bulach/cc-by-sa-4.0

© W. Bulach/cc-by-sa-4.0

Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe (St. Michael of the Needle) is a chapel in Aiguilhe, near Le Puy-en-Velay in France. The chapel is reached by 268 steps carved into the rock. It was built in 969 on a volcanic plug 85 metres (279 ft) high. The surface on top of the plug is 57 metres (187 ft) in diameter.   read more…

Chapel of Notre Dame in West Jerusalem

19 June 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  4 minutes

Notre Dame of Jerusalem © Mislishka/cc-by-sa-3.0

Notre Dame of Jerusalem © Mislishka/cc-by-sa-3.0

The “Chapel of Our Lady of Jerusalem” (French: “Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Jérusalem”) or “Chapel of Notre Dame”, is a religious building affiliated with the Catholic Church which is located in the “Complex of Notre Dame of Jerusalem” (formerly known as “Notre Dame de France”, or “Our Lady of France”) which was built by French religious between 1893 and 1894 in West Jerusalem, as part of a larger group of buildings known as the “Hospice of Our Lady of France”, which was built mostly in stone with “defensive” purposes.   read more…

Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki

20 April 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Matthew Duncan/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Matthew Duncan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Temppeliaukio Church is a Lutheran church in the Töölö neighborhood of Helsinki. The church was designed by architects and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Built directly into solid rock, it is also known as the Church of the Rock and Rock Church.   read more…

Nazareth, home town of Jesus

1 April 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  7 minutes

Grotto of Annunciation © Ramessos/cc-by-sa-3.0

Grotto of Annunciation © Ramessos/cc-by-sa-3.0

Nazareth is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as “the Arab capital of Israel”. Nazareth Illit (lit. “Upper Nazareth”), declared a separate city in June 1974, is built alongside old Nazareth. In the New Testament, the town is described as the childhood home of Jesus, and as such is a center of Christian pilgrimage, with many shrines commemorating biblical events. With the exception of the Old City, the two Nazareths are architecturally uninspired, as are most of the other development towns of Israel, too. In March 2010, the Israeli government approved a $3 million plan to develop Nazareth’s tourism industry. New businesses receive start-up grants of up to 30 percent of their initial investment from the Ministry of Tourism.   read more…

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