Contributions of the group Stone Faces

Felsenschwein

nobody@ipernity.com (HH-volker 2) — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 14:40:21 +0000

HH-volker 2 has posted:

Medusa

nobody@ipernity.com (Francis Taylor) — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 22:46:16 +0000

Francis Taylor has posted:

Part of a Roman mosaic floor from Sousse, in Tunisia.

Schwedische Königin (?)

nobody@ipernity.com (HH-volker 2) — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 14:24:48 +0000

HH-volker 2 has posted:

Tor am Riksdaghuset in Stockholm.

Girona - Sant Pere de Galligants

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 21:09:09 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

The Benedictian monastery Sant Pere de Galligants was built, outside the city walls, from 962. The monastery in 1117 was united to the Abbey of Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse (now France, 170kms north), but kept an own abbot and so at least some autonomy.

In 1362, when the monastery was enclosed within Girona´s city walls, it was redesigned to a more defensive shape. It started to decay from the 15th century, and in 1592 it was united to the also crumbling monasteries of Sant Miquel de Cruïlles and San Miguel de Fluviá. In 1835 the monastery was given up, the abbot and the last four monks left. In 1857 the Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya moved in.

Using the remains of on older church, the construction of the three nave basilica started in 1130. On the left side of the main portal of the basilica (just seen), now the entrance to the museum, is this long nosed person, pulling his stylish beard, a gesture that is often connoted to masturbation.

Albenga - Duomo di Albenga

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 23:43:42 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

Albenga is on the Gulf of Genoa. It was built around the 4th century B.C. Founded in BC and was the capital of the Ingauni, a Ligurian tribe. The area became Roman and Albingaunum received 45 BC. Roman citizenship under Julius Caesar. After the end of the Roman Empire, the city suffered from Visigoth raids, which partially destroyed and plundered Albenga.

Albenga established itself as a medieval municipality in 1098. That same year, Albenga, with her own banner and troops joined the First Crusade and was granted free trade rights by the King of Jerusalem. Later, after Frederick Barbarossa's invasion of northern Italy, the city supported him and joined the Ghibelline coalition, which was never abandoned in the centuries that followed. In 1159 Albenga received the imperial investiture for its entire territory.

Today the city is characterized by more than ten slender family towers. A church was founded here as early as the fifth century. The current structure dates from the Middle Ages and was built around 1100, with a major remodeling in the second half of the 12th century and another in 1582. The bell tower was rebuilt in its current form in the 1390s.

Guarding the door and supporting the lintel.

Stein Monster - Rocky Monster

nobody@ipernity.com (HH-volker 2) — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 14:38:33 +0000

HH-volker 2 has posted:

Schmerz-Stein

nobody@ipernity.com (HH-volker 2) — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 13:36:45 +0000

HH-volker 2 has posted:

Im Geotop Baumhecke bei Eichelsachsen/ Hessen

Inowrocław - Kościół Imienia Najświętszej Maryi Panny

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 19:58:36 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

In 1185 the village was mentioned as "Novum Vladislaw", probably founded by inhabitants of Włocławek who had fled from the regular floods. It received the town rights in 1238, just before a year later the town was burned down by the Pomeranians. In 1321, a Polish-Teutonic trial was held in Inowrocław regarding the Teutonic occupation of Gdańsk Pomerania, while the city itself was occupied by the Teutonic Knights from 1332 to 1337. In the 15th century, extensive salt deposits were discovered and the town developed into an important place in medieval Poland.

Inowrocław was occupied and plundered by Swedish troops during the Deluge in the 1650s, and was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia in February 1772.

Despite Germanisation attempts in the 19th century, the city was an important center of the Polish resistance. It flourished after the establishment of a railway junction in 1872 and a spa in 1875. The city and the region were given the Germanized name Hohensalza in 1904. After WWI Poland regained independence and the historic name Inowrocław was restored.
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Sometimes this church is called "Ruina" (ruin), but it is (today) in good condition. The construction of the church was probably started in the second half of the 12th century, which could be related to the income from salt production. In the beginning, a stone nave and a choir room were built. In the second phase of construction, at the beginning of the 13th century, the brick towers were erected.

The width of 12.40 m is, significant for a single-nave church. Similar churches are known in Brandenburg and Saxony. In1233, a synod, was held here, which suggests that the construction work was completed. In the 14th century, the choir was extended to the east and the semicircular apse was replaced by a polygonal end with buttresses.

From the 16th century on the church began to lose importance and in 1779, the eastern wall of the choir room collapsed along with a part of the vaults. In 1792 the partially collapsed southern tower was rebuilt, and the choir was closed with a straight wall during the reconstruction.

In 1816 the church was closed because of imminent dilapidation. In December 1834 it was destroyed by fire and turned into a ruin. In the early 20th century it was reconstructed and the Gothic choir and Baroque fixtures were removed and the semicircular Romanesque apse was reconstructed.

The outer walls have carvings and bas-reliefs depicting grotesque human and devilish masks, fantastic animals, and crosses. They may have been carved from pre-Christian cult stones and re-embedded in the walls of the Christian church. So pagan devils were banned into the walls.

Cēsis - Svētā Jāņa baznīca

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 19:39:12 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

Cēsis (German: Wenden) is known since the 11th century, when the Livonian Brothers of the Sword built a castle here, that later served as the residence for the Order's Master.

In 1577, during the Livonian War, the garrison destroyed the castle to prevent it from falling into the control of Ivan the Terrible, who was defeated in the Battle of Wenden in 1578. In 1620 Wenden was conquered by Sweden. It was rebuilt but destroyed again in 1703 during the Great Northern War by the Russian army.

The church was built in the 13th century. It was consecrated in 1284. During the Reformation the church was demolished and Images and statues were destroyed in an iconoclasm. The church was destroyed by Polish troops in the 16th century, and only bare walls remained after a fire of 1607. In 1629 the restoration of the Lutheran faith began in Cēsis and the church was returned to the Lutherans. Extensive restoration work took place in the 1630s.

There are some strange sculptures in the church. Here is an older one. Probably from the 13th century.

Tartu - Jaani kirik

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 21:43:01 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

Tartu (German Dorpat) is the second-largest city in Estonia, after Tallinn.

In the early 11th century Yaroslav I the Wise, Prince of Kiev, invaded the region and after a victorious battle with the locals built his own fort there, Tartu probably remained under Kievan control until 1061, when the fort was burned down by an Estonian tribe. Soon afterwards the fort was rebuilt.
During the Northern Crusades at the beginning of the 13th century, the fort was captured by the crusading Brothers of the Sword — and recaptured by Estonians. In 1224 the fort was besieged and conquered for one last time by the Teutonic crusaders. Subsequently, Dorpat became a commercial centre of considerable importance during the later Middle Ages and the capital of the semi-independent Bishopric of Dorpat.

German merchants and artisans settled alongside the bishop's fortress. In the 1280s Dorpat joined the Hanseatic League.

In 1558, tsar Ivan the Terrible invaded Tartu beginning the Livonian War. His forces encircled the town. After a heavy bombardment, the town surrendered. In 1582, the city became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1598. A Jesuit grammar school "Gymnasium Dorpatense" was established in 1583.

In the effect of the Polish-Swedish War, in 1625 Tartu was captured by Sweden. The city became part of the Dominions of Sweden, which led to the foundation of the University of Tartu in 1632 by king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. So the University of Tartu is Estonia´s oldest and still most renowned university

In 1704 the town was taken by the Russian army. In 1708 the fortifications and houses, including the remains of the bishop's castle, were blown up, all movable property was looted and the citizens were deported to Russia. In 1721, the city became part of the Russian Empire and was known as Derpt. A great fire in 1775 destroyed most of the buildings in the centre. The city was rebuilt along Late Baroque and Neoclassical lines.

Shortly after the conquest and Christianisation of the Brothers of the Sword, a presumably wooden church was built on the site of today's St. John's Church. The oldest parts of the present church building date from the 14th century.

Century. The church survived the iconoclasm of 1524/26 largely unscathed. During the Livonian War (1558-1583) the church was badly damaged but later rebuilt. The Great Northern War also left traces of destruction. In 1704, Russian troops occupied the Swedish city of Tartu. In 1708, the troops systematically destroyed the city. The upper part of the tower was destroyed, as well as the nave and the presbytery. Reconstruction of the destroyed church began in 1737 and it was rebuilt as a three-nave basilica. In 1944, during the Second World War, the church was set on fire and largely destroyed by bombing. In 1952, the north wall of the nave collapsed.

Reconstruction work did not begin until 1989.

The most outstanding feature of the church is its wealth of terracotta figures. According to today's estimates, there were about 2,000 different sculptural elements in Jaani kirik in the Middle Ages, of which only about a third have survived to this day. They are located both inside the church and on the exterior walls. The figures are unique in Europe in their number, size, and artistic design. The oldest are over 700 years old. The original figures are now kept in the neighbouring museum, which has made copies for the church.

Originally, the sculptures were painted - but both the polychromy and the texts carved in clay have been almost completely destroyed.

Tartu - Jaani kirik

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 19:32:41 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

Karja - Katariina kirik

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Sat, 15 Jan 2022 20:39:17 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

Karja's St. Catherine's Church is located in the area of the neighbouring village of Linnaka.

Around 1254, there was already a wooden church on the site. It was destroyed in 1343. The present church was built in the Gothic style between 1340 and 1350, probably by a French-influenced master from the Swedish island of Gotland. The hall church built by him has a single nave. The church has been preserved almost unchanged in its original form.

It is claimed, that this church is one of the country churches with the most sculptures carved in stone in the whole of northern Europe.

Valjala - Martini kirik

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 16:48:46 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

The Northern Crusades brought Christianity to the island and construction of the church started following the Livonian Crusade, in 1227. The first church was a smaller chapel built near the site of the Valjala Stronghold. The chapel was later extended and still forms the nucleus of the current church. Remnants from this earliest period of the building include Romanesque fragments of murals. In 1240, the church was expanded and it got its present form of a single-nave church.

In 1343 the church was damaged during the St. George's Night Uprising. Restoration works and other additions to the church henceforth were more clearly Gothic in form. The church was now built to be able to function as a refuge in times of trouble, as well as a church. There are rooms above the vaults that are constructed so that they could only be reached using a ladder that could be pulled up.

The tower dates from the 17th century. Some remains of older, trapezoidal grave slabs are carved into the walls of the tower. The baroque spire was built in the 1770s, but was destroyed after a lightning strike in 1922 and replaced by a new one four years later.

Pöide - Maarja kirik

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 14:21:59 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

In the 13th century, Danes and Germans had brought Estonia and Livonia under their rule in various crusades. The new lords brought Christianity with them and introduced a system of taxes and duties. The Estonian and Livonian population was largely subjugated and made unfree.

In April 1343, the Estonian population rose up against the foreign rulers for the first time. During this uprising, which was ultimately suppressed, the Ordensburg, owned like the whole island of Saaremaa by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, in Pöide, was destroyed.

It is believed that the first church was completed in the 1230s. It was adjoined the Ordensburg. The round-arched portals indicate a transitional style between Romanesque and Gothic. The round apse of the early church also points to the Romanesque style. In the 13th or early 14th century, a vault was added to the original church in both directions.

After the Soviet occupation in 1944, the church was plundered and vandalized. In 1948 it was closed for the congregation. Renovation started in the late 1950s.

Riga - Rīgas Doms

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 22:40:29 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

Riga is the capital of Latvia. With a population of more than 600.000 about a third of all Latvians live here. A settlement of the Finno-Ugric Livs existed on the bank of the Düna. At the end of the 12th century, merchants from Gotland came to trade here.

Albert von Buxthoeven, a fierce missionary, was the first bishop in Riga from 1201 to 1229. Riga developed as the hub of Russian trade and the starting point of the German colonization of the Baltic.

The merchants who settled here after the subjugation of the surrounding peoples rapidly gained influence. In 1225, they were able to elect the city bailiff themselves, when the City Council existed already.

After the Reformation, the power of the archbishops came to an end. After the outbreak of the Livonian War in 1558 the city favoured the status of a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. It was only when the imperial support failed to materialize that the renewed advance of Russian armies led the city to pay homage to Poland's King Stephen Báthory in 1581, who in return confirmed the city's traditional freedoms and privileges.

The 40-year Polish-Lithuanian rule, under which the citizens of Riga successfully resisted anti-Reformation efforts ended with the conquest of the city by Gustav II Adolf of Sweden in 1621. The Swedish crown treated Riga by its rank as the second-largest city in the kingdom and had it lavishly fortified. During the Russo-Swedish War (1656-1658), Riga withstood the Russian siege and maintained its position as one of the most important cities in Sweden until the beginning of the 18th century. During this period the city enjoyed extensive self-government.

Rīgas Doms (Riga Cathedral) was built at the instigation of the first bishop of Riga, Albert von Buxthoeven. The church replaced Riga's first cathedral, a wooden building within the Riga city walls, which was destroyed in a fire in 1215. For more than 300 years, the cathedral was the cathedral of the Riga diocese.

Originally, the church stood on a small elevation outside the city walls. Due to several reconstructions, the original shape of the church is hardly recognisable today.

The archbishop's position in the city was weakened when the citizens turned to the Reformation and Wolter von Plettenberg, the Teutonic Order's landmaster in Livonia, certified Riga as a Lutheran confession in 1525. With the disintegration of Old Livonia in the Livonian War of 1561, the first Catholic archbishopric of Riga also fell in 1563. From then on, the cathedral served the (German-speaking) Evangelical Lutheran congregation. From 1959 to 1962, the cathedral served as a concert hall.

Anklam - Marienkirche

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 23:01:09 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

Anklam was originally a Wendish fortress, as there was a Scandinavian and Wendish settlement here in the early Middle Ages.

Later the town became part of the Duchy of Pomerania. During the German eastward expansion, the abandoned fortress was developed into a settlement. The town has significance as a shipping port on the river Peene. It was elevated to the status of a town in 1244 and joined the Hanseatic League in the same year and prospered through membership.

The town suffered greatly during the Thirty Years' War when Swedish and imperial troops fought over it for twenty years. During this and subsequent wars, the town was repeatedly ravaged by fires and the plague. After the war, Anklam became part of Swedish Pomerania in 1648 but in 1676 it was conquered by Frederick William of Brandenburg.

In 1713 Anklam was sacked by soldiers of the Russian Empire. With the Stockholm Treaty of 1720, the southern parts of the town were ceded to Prussia, while a smaller part north of the Peene remained Swedish.
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The Marienkirche was first mentioned in 1296. The construction probably began 40 years earlier. It was a Romanesque church with a double tower, which can be classified as much older and was then rebuilt in Gothic style. The Romanesque tower is still recognisable in the masonry of its Gothic successor. By the end of the 15th century, St. Mary's Church had acquired its present appearance.

The design of the tower changed over time. In 1816, the pointed spire, which had been destroyed by fire, was replaced by a lower pyramidal roof. In 1884, the low spire also burnt down after a lightning strike, whereupon the four gables of the tower were rebuilt and substantially raised, and the Marienkirche was provided with a Gothic pointed spire, which reached a height of about 100 metres. The new spire was completed in 1888. During a bombing raid in 1943, this construction was destroyed and only three of the former four gables remained standing. After the war, the tower was given a simpler gable roof with only two gables and today has a height of 64 metres.

A detail of the portal (previous upload).
The workers here had a sense of humour.

Stralsund - Nikolaikirche

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 19:53:23 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

Slavic Ranen lived on the island of Ruegen and the mainland opposite the island. They were independent heathens up to the middle of the 12th century, and so maybe the last non-Christian people in Central Europe.

In 1168 Danish King Valdemar I defeated the Ranen and destroyed "Jaromarsburg" their main sanctuary. After the Danish victory, the Slavic princes became feudatories of the Danish crown and accepted the Christian faith.

They founded Strale, which prospered because of the rich herring stocks in the waters, many merchants settled here who saw this as their basis for trade. Already in 1234 Slavic Prince Wizlaw I granted the village the town charter (Lübsches Stadtrecht). Stralsund now became an important trading town in the Baltic region, mainly due to settlers from Westphalia. The German settlers clearly outnumbered the Slavic population already around 1300. From 1325 on Stralsund belonged to Pomerania-Wolgast. In the 14th century, it was the most important Hanseatic city in the southern Baltic region after Lübeck.

The 15th century was Stralsund's heyday. Long-distance trade was the most important economic factor. Around 1450, 350 merchants were involved in such trade. In 1488, 50 skippers founded the "St. Marienbruderschaft der Schiffer", the forerunner of the still existing "Stralsund Schiffercompagnie".

As early as 1525, the majority of Stralsund's citizens converted to the Protestant faith. After the Thirty Years' War Stralsund belonged to the Kingdom of Sweden for almost 200 years. In 1815 Stralsund came to Prussia.
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The town hall and the Nikolaikirche form an impressive architectural ensemble. The planning and construction of the church went hand in hand with the planning of the town hall. The city council was even the trustee for the construction of the new church. The church was initially built as a hall church but following the example of Lübeck's Marienkirche, the unfinished Nikolaikirche was rebuilt into a basilica around 1270.

From the beginning, the church was built with brick produces in the region. Around 1308, the enclosing wall of the choir was closed. This is the result of dendrochronological investigations.

With the start of construction work on the new choir pillars, the eastern part of the predecessor church, which had still been used until then, was finally demolished. An invoice from 1314 for the ridge turret of the choir indicates the date of completion of this section.

Construction of the tower to the west began as early as 1300. Around 1314, when the tower had reached the height of the choir enclosure at 13 metres, the council decided to have two towers built.

Around 1350, the construction of the nave between the two towers was completed.

The image of "Anna Selbdritt" shows St. Anne together with her daughter Mary and the Christ child. The sculpture is 2.24m high.

The sculpture is made of wood and stucco. A dendrochronological examination of the oak wood substantiates the assumption that the sculpture was made after 1260.

Saint Anne sits on a throne, carrying her daughter Mary on her left arm. The Christ child sits upright, legs crossed, on her thigh, with her right hand supporting his back. The facial features of both women are sparsely but finely drawn; Mary's head is smaller than that of her mother Anna. The right arm of Anna, the left hand of Mary as well as the head, both forearms and two toes on the left foot of the Child Jesus are missing.

Rostock - Marienkirche

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 17:53:33 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

With more than 200.000 inhabitants Rostock is the largest city in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Small Slavic settlements existed already in the 8th century. A settlement named Roztok was founded in the 11th century by Polabian Slavs. This town was burnt down by troops of the Danish king Valdemar I in 1161. Afterwards the place was settled by German traders.

After 1226 Rostock became the seat of the Lordship of Rostock.

In the 1250s the city became a member of the Hanseatic League. In the 14th century it was a powerful seaport town with 12,000 inhabitants and the largest city in Mecklenburg. Ships for cruising the Baltic Sea were constructed in Rostock. Until the last Hansa Convention in 1669, Rostock took a leading role in the Baltic Sea behind Lübeck.
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Marienkirche is a large Brick Gothic church. Built in the 13th century, it was enlarged and modified at the end of the 14th century into the present basilica. The first reference to a church on this site is in 1232, which is thought to be the predecessor of the current building. The triple-nave cross-shaped basilica is in Brick Gothic, a building style typical of the Hanseatic port cities. The huge tower with a baroque lantern at the top was not completed until the end of the 18th century.

In 1419, the University of Rostock was founded, the oldest university in the Baltic Sea area. It was ceremoniously opened in the Marienkirche. The parish priest of the church, Nikolaus Türkow, was personally involved in the founding of the university and the church remained closely associated with it for a long time. Even today, the "professors' pews" indicate that St. Mary's Church had the function of a university and council church until the turn of the century around 1900.

Horse fountain

nobody@ipernity.com (Francis Taylor) — Sun, 19 Sep 2021 08:32:26 +0000

Francis Taylor has posted:

Seen at the entrance to the Roman fort at Vindolanda, near Hadrian's Wall.

Stourpaine monument

nobody@ipernity.com (Francis Taylor) — Sun, 22 Aug 2021 12:30:24 +0000

Francis Taylor has posted:

A monument to John Straight, former vicar of Stourpaine, who died in 1680.