Sagrada Familia Church in Spain, Barcelona

 Spain - Barcelona  Comments Off
Jun 092013
 

Introduction :
Sagrada Familia is a large Roman Catholic church located in the city of Barcelona in Spain. It is an unfinished masterpiece designed by the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi and construction began in 1882. Despite the church still being under construction, it was already appraised world wide as the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture as well as making it into the list of the 12 treasures of Spain. The Sagrada Familia was also designated as a World Heritage Site since 1984 while still in the midst of construction under the Works of Antoni Gaudi due to its outstanding and creative contribution to the development of architecture and building technology during his time.

Standing out in the city of Barcelona
Standing out in the city of Barcelona
Image attribution to Federick @ Flickr

View of the church from the garden
View of the church from the garden
Image attribution to melaniejo @ Flickr

Entrance of the church at the streets
Entrance of the church at the streets
Image attribution to cristinavalencia @ Flickr

The sophisticated details of the ceilings
The sophisticated details of the ceilings
Image attribution to Stevo1000 @ Wiki

History :
The Sagrada Familia was built from the inspiration of a church at Loreto in Italy by Catalan author who was the founder of the Spiritual Association of Devotees of St. Josheph after visting Vatican in 1872. The original designer was Francisco Paula del Villar but in 1883 Antoni Gaudi took over the design of the church and changed it dramatically. When Gaudi died in 1926, the church was still half completed and construction halted during World war II and the Spanish Civil War. The full construction of the Sagrada Familia is estimated to be completed between 2026 and 2028.

The symbolic details of the facade
The symbolic details of the facade
Image attribution to Brianza2008 @ Wiki

Closer look on the detailed cravings at the facade
Closer look on the detailed cravings at the facade
Image attribution to marit17461 @ Flickr

Stained glass windows in the church
Stained glass windows in the church
Image attribution to vtveen @ Flickr

Majesty interior of the church
Majesty interior of the church
Image attribution to norimaki @ Flickr

Getting there :
The nearest international airport to the Sagradra Familia is the Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) and it only takes around 45 mins to reach the attraction by car or train.

Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, Bavaria

 Germany - Bavaria  Comments Off
May 132013
 

Introduction :
Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th century built palace located on a hill above the village of Hohenschwangau in the southwest state of Bavaria in Germany. It was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat palace and was open to the paying public since his death in 1886. Built on a fairytale landscape, the castle has been one of the most popular attractions in Germany with more than 1.3 million tourists annually and has been the inspiration for several of Disneyland’s movies.

Overview of the Neuschwanstein Castle
Overview of the Neuschwanstein Castle
Image attribution to Ximonic @ Wiki

Close look at the unrealized chapel at the upper courtyard
Close look at the unrealized chapel at the upper courtyard
Image attribution to ashleypalmero @ Flickr

Scenery as viewed from the castle
Scenery as viewed from the castle
Image attribution to kwestfield @ Flickr

Eastern side of the castle
Eastern side of the castle
Image attribution to nordix @ Flickr

History :
The construction of the Neuschwanstein Castle began in 1869 and was unfinished at the time of King Ludwig II’s death in 1886 but was completed without the planned saints figures in 1892 in simplified form. It was one of the main source of revenue for the Bavarian royal family after the king’s death when the public could pay to visit the castle. The Neuschwanstein Castle survived both WWI and WWII due to its remote located and served as a depot for Nazi war loots until 1944.

Bird eye view and the surroundings
Bird eye view and the surroundings
Image attribution to jeffwilcox @ Flickr

The watch towers of the castle
The watch towers of the castle
Image attribution to bigbirdz @ Flickr

Fine details at the throne hall
Fine details at the throne hall
Image attribution to Kolling @ Wiki

Getting there :
The nearest airport to the Neuschwanstein Castle is the Munich Airport (MUC) which is 128 km away from the attraction

Meteora hanging monasteries in Greece, Thessaly

 Greece - Thessaly  Comments Off
Apr 162013
 

Introduction :
Meteora is a series of rock towers located just beside the city of Kalambaka in the Thessaly region of Greece. The main attractions in the Meteora is the monasteries built at the top of the rock towers and perched onto high cliffs which made it looked like hanging monasteries as the name Meteora was given. There are a total of 6 monastries built on top of the rock towers and those still intact today are the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron, Varlaam, Rousanou, Nicolas Anapausas, St Stephen and Trinity. Due to its unique artistic values and amazing architectural properties, the Meteora was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1988 and is a world famous tourist attraction in Greece today.

Entrance to the Crac des Chevaliers
Holy Monastery of Varlaam was built to house to finger of St John and shoulder blade of St Andrew
Image attribution to Dido3 @ Wiki

Viewing the Meteora from a hotel at Kalambaka
Viewing the Meteora from a hotel at Kalambaka
Image attribution to mahnke @ Flickr

Steep cliffs and landscapes around the Meteora
Steep cliffs and landscapes around the Meteora
Image attribution to davide78 @ Flickr

Holy Monastery of St Stephen
Holy Monastery of St Stephen
Image attribution to quicksilver @ Flickr

History :
THe earliest inhabitants in the region dates back to almost 50,000 years ago during the pre historic times. From the 9th century, a group of hermit monks moved up to the rock pillars at the Meteora and were the first people to settle in there. The great Meteoron monastery was built between 1356 and 1372 by Athanasios Koinovitis who brought a group of followers to the Meteora in 1344. Towards the end of the 14th century, more than 20 monasteries were built as an ideal refuge for the hermit monks seeking retreat from Turkish occupation. The Holy Monastery of Valaam was built in 1517 and was believed to house the finger of St John and shoulder blade of St Andrew. Despite having up to 24 monasteries at one time, bombings in World War II destroyed many sites and only 6 monasteries remain today with only four of them inhabited by less than 10 people each.

The landscape and surroundings looking down from the hanging monastery
The landscape and surroundings looking down from the hanging monastery
Image attribution to fran001 @ Flickr

The Great Meteoron Monastery was the first to be built at the Meteora
The Great Meteoron Monastery was the first to be built at the Meteora
Image attribution to Fingalo @ Wiki

The town of Kalambaka for residing tourists visiting the Meteora
The town of Kalambaka for residing tourists visiting the Meteora
Image attribution to Fingalo @ Wiki

Beautiful sunset at Meteora
Beautiful sunset at Meteora

Getting there :
The nearest airport to Meteora is the Nea Anchialos National Airport (VOL) which serves the city of Volos and is a 2 hours drive away from Kalambaka where the Meteora is just beside it. The nearest international airport is the Thessaloniki International Airport (SKG) which is 216 km from the Meteora and can be connected by buses, trains or renting a car and driving there yourself.

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