Great Buildings Archives - ToursMaps.com ®

St. Basil’s Cathedral MOSCOW, RUSSIA

editor — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 23:59:32 +0000

POSTNIK YAKOVLEV This unique building, usually known as St. Basil’s Cathedral, but more correctly called the Cathedral of the Protection of Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat, is one of Russia’s most distinctive sights. Built by Tsar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) to commemorate his defeat of the Mongols at the Battle of Kazan in 1552, it stands just outside the Kremlin in Red Square, in the heart of Moscow. Its extraordinary onion-shaped domes, painted in bright colors, create a memorable skyline, making St. Basil’s a symbol both of Moscow and of Russia as a whole. Although the cathedral looks

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Doge’s Palace VENICE, ITALY

editor — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 22:59:32 +0000

GIOVANNI & BARTOLOMEO BON From the 7th to the 18th centuries the city of Venice was an independent republic with an elected nobleman, the Doge, as its head, advised by an assembly who made and passed laws. In 1297 a change in the law increased the number of noblemen in the legislative assembly, and the presiding doge decided to upgrade the Doge’s Palace, near St. Mark’s Square, so that the larger meetings could take place there. In 1309 work started on the new palace, a structure of shimmering beauty that is one of the world’s great domestic buildings. The first

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FORTIFIED PALACE GRANADA, SPAIN

editor — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 20:59:24 +0000

ARCHITECT UNKNOWN The fortified palace of the Alhambra (“red fortress”), set squarely on a hill in the upland city of Granada, is one of the wonders of Islamic architecture. It was built by southern Spain’s Muslim rulers, the sultans of the Nasrid dynasty, in the 13th and 14th centuries. Seen from a distance, its massive crenellated towers rising above the solid, red brick-and-stone walls that gave the palace its name, the Alhambra looks plain and forbidding. Yet inside, it is one of the world’s most intricately decorated buildings, and its arcades, columns, ceilings, doors, and archways are testimony to the

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Looking at Buildings

editor — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 19:29:41 +0000

Buildings are among the largest structures made by human beings, and the most ubiquitous. Apart from agriculture, no human activity has changed the face of the Earth more than architecture. All around the world there are buildings from across the ages, some dating back thousands of years. Fascinatingly diverse, they range from simple wooden churches to magnificent Gothic cathedrals, and from grandiose palaces to minimalist modernist villas. The astonishing variety of buildings stems in part from the different cultural traditions that have developed around the world. Western architecture, with its succession of styles from classical to Gothic, is one of

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FLORENCE CATHEDRAL ITALY

editor — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 18:59:20 +0000

1296-1436 CATHEDRAL FLORENCE, ITALY VARIOUS ARCHITECTS Florence was one of the richest cities of late medieval Italy. At the end of the 13th century, the city council decided to replace the old church of Santa Reparata with a large new cathedral. They appointed an architect, Arnolfo di Cambio, and work began in 1296, but construction was interrupted when Arnolfo died in 1310. In the 1330s work on the building continued under a succession of different architects, including the great artist Giotto. In the following decades the cathedral slowly grew until most of the main structure was complete except for the

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Villa La Rotonda COUNTRY HOUSE VICENZA, ITALY

editor — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 18:39:36 +0000

ANDREA PALLADIO Set on a hilltop in northern Italy, the supremely elegant Villa La Rotonda is the most famous of the country houses designed by the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio for noble families from Venice and the surrounding area, the Veneto. In these houses, which served as rural retreats for sophisticated clients, details drawn from classical Roman architecture were combined with a very formal geometry in which, for example, rooms might be planned as perfect circles or squares. La Rotonda is in some ways the most perfect of these villas. It has inspired the admiration of architects and visitors alike

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CASTLE BURGHAUSEN, GERMANY

editor — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 16:59:19 +0000

ARCHITECT UNKNOWN At just over a half-mile in length, this colossal Bavarian stronghold is the longest medieval castle in Europe and a fine example of late-medieval architecture. Constructed on the site of an earlier fortified wooden building, it was substantially altered during the Middle Ages, especially under the powerful Dukes of Bavaria-Landshut, who lived there from the 13th to the 15th century. Many of the castle’s buildings date from this period and are in the Gothic style. Burghausen Castle stands on a long, narrow ridge overlooking water on both sides. It is essentially a chain of enclosed spaces called courtyards-the

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CATHEDRAL CHARTRES, FRANCE

editor — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 15:59:16 +0000

ARCHITECT UNKNOWN During the night of June 10, 1194 disaster struck the northern French city of Chartres when a fire swept through its streets. Much of the walled city was destroyed, and the cathedral sustained severe damage-only the west front and crypt survived. The task of rebuilding it according to the original ground plan began almost immediately, and the new cathedral was largely complete by 1223. It subsequently survived major conflicts, including the French Revolution, but the various restoration works that have taken place over the years have not altered the essential unity of its design. The building remains an

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BORGUND STAVE CHURCH NORWAY

editor — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 14:59:16 +0000

ARCHITECT UNKNOWN The stave churches of Norway are masterpieces of architecture, built almost entirely of wood. The finest examples of them are tall buildings with multiple tiered roofs, such as the one at Borgund in southwestern Norway. Stave churches first appeared following the arrival of Christianity during the reign of King Haaken the Good (c. 934-61 ce). Most buildings of the time in Scandinavia were made from wood, and the builders of the region’s first churches used their traditional material to create places of worship with a unique atmosphere. At first, Norway’s early Christians built their churches by constructing walls

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CASTLE NEAR HOMS SYRIA

editor — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 13:59:09 +0000

ARCHITECT UNKNOWN High on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Homs Pass in the Syrian desert stands the formidable Krak des Chevaliers, one of the finest and best preserved castles of the Middle Ages. Between the 11th and 13th centuries the rulers of Europe embarked on the Crusades, a series of unsuccessful attempts to recapture the Holy Land from the ruling Muslims, ostensibly to make Jerusalem safe for Christian pilgrims arriving there from the West. During these expeditions the Crusaders built a series of castles as military bases in areas that are now in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. Krak des

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