Couple of Pictures
Damn, it's been too long since I posted. Well, here are some pictures from my trip to Germany ...
This is the "Dom" or Cathedral of Magdeburg. The city of Magdeburg, where my brother is living and going to school, is almost due west of Berlin. It was in the western part of the old East Germany.
(NOTE: Please ignore the dates saying January of 2002!)
This is the earliest Gothic Cathedral in Germany, begun in the very early 13th century. The "Gothic" style of construction began in France, but the Archbishop of Magdeburg (one of the most powerful churchmen in German at the time) liked the style and decided to use it for the new cathedral when the old one burned down. The cathedral was seriously damaged on several occasions, most recently in World War II, but it has always been repaired and restored.
This cathedral is also the burial place of Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. He was a major figure of early medieval Europe, who established the precedent of the rulers of Germany taking the title of "Holy Roman Emperor" which would last until 1806. Magdeburg was his main base on the eastern edge of the Germanic lands, and a stronghold for German-speaking Christians in an area that at the time was largely populated by pagan Slavic peoples. He sponsored the building of the original cathedral, and his tomb was moved to the new cathedral in the 13th century. Modern archaeological excavations have revealed traces of what may have been a small palace of his near the cathedral.
This is a view of the side of Magdeburg Cathedral, with gargoyles. It's actually not a full Gothic style, because it doesn't have the "flying buttresses" that true 100% Gothic churches usually have. Overall, though, the style is mainly Gothic - I figure that the builders were probably being a little conservative, seeing as how nothing in this style had ever been built in this part of Europe before.
I've got to go to work, I'll post more pictures later.
This is the "Dom" or Cathedral of Magdeburg. The city of Magdeburg, where my brother is living and going to school, is almost due west of Berlin. It was in the western part of the old East Germany.
(NOTE: Please ignore the dates saying January of 2002!)
This is the earliest Gothic Cathedral in Germany, begun in the very early 13th century. The "Gothic" style of construction began in France, but the Archbishop of Magdeburg (one of the most powerful churchmen in German at the time) liked the style and decided to use it for the new cathedral when the old one burned down. The cathedral was seriously damaged on several occasions, most recently in World War II, but it has always been repaired and restored.
This cathedral is also the burial place of Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. He was a major figure of early medieval Europe, who established the precedent of the rulers of Germany taking the title of "Holy Roman Emperor" which would last until 1806. Magdeburg was his main base on the eastern edge of the Germanic lands, and a stronghold for German-speaking Christians in an area that at the time was largely populated by pagan Slavic peoples. He sponsored the building of the original cathedral, and his tomb was moved to the new cathedral in the 13th century. Modern archaeological excavations have revealed traces of what may have been a small palace of his near the cathedral.
This is a view of the side of Magdeburg Cathedral, with gargoyles. It's actually not a full Gothic style, because it doesn't have the "flying buttresses" that true 100% Gothic churches usually have. Overall, though, the style is mainly Gothic - I figure that the builders were probably being a little conservative, seeing as how nothing in this style had ever been built in this part of Europe before.
I've got to go to work, I'll post more pictures later.