This rather strange castle in Lublin in eastern Poland was built in the 16th century and rebuilt in the English neo-gothic style after a fire in the early 19th century. From 1820 to 1945 it was a prison. Its saving grace is a Byzantine chapel which dates back to the 15th century. Ce château un …
Category Archives: Architecture
Postcard #10 – Trompe l’œil in Poznan
You may remember my trompe l’œil photo taken in Germany but I think this one taken on Ostrow Tumski (Cathedral Island in Poznan is a whole other dimension. It wasn’t mentioned in either of our guidebooks! Below is Poland’s first cathedral, built in 968 but destroyed and rebuilt several times. Vous vous rappelez peut-être de …
Postcard from Malta: The Three Windmills – Les trois moulins
Today we visited the town of Zurrieq which has four 18th century windmills. The best preserved is Xarolla which has sails and still works, while the others, Marmara, Qaret (2 photos, taken from the back and front) and Salib only have the base and tower left. We didn’t get as far as Salib. Aujourd’hui nous avons …
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Postcard from Malta – Tarxien Temples
Four megalithic temples built between 3600 and 2500 BC and interconnected were unearthed in 1914. The main temple above is the only known example of a six-apse temple. Quatre temples mégalithiques construits entre 3600 et 2500 av. J.-C.et reliés entre eux étaient exhumés en 1914. Le temple principal ci-dessus est le seul exemple connu d’un …
Joan of Arc’s House – La maison de Jeanne d’Arc
This is the house in Orleans where Jacques Boucher, the Duke of Orleans’ finance minister, hosted Joan of Arc when she came to free the city in 1429. Below is the statue of Joan on Place du Martroi. Cette maison à pans de bois était celle de Jacques Boucher, trésorier général du duc d’Orléans, qui …
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The Royal Staircase – L’escalier Royal
Even on a rainy day the monumental spiral staircase in the François 1st wing, built in the 16th century, remains majestic. Même un jour de pluie l’escalier monumental dans l’aile François 1er qui date du 16ème siècle est majestueux.
A Royal Door – Une porte royale
–Considering that François Ier , the owner and perhaps the design of Château de Chambord was born in 1494 and died in 1547, this door with his emblem, the salamander, must be about 500 years old. Etant donné que François 1er, le propriétaire et peut-être le concepteur du château de Chambord est né en 1494 et mort en 1547, …
Wings Everywhere – Ailes partout
Château de Chambord has the most wonderful details. This is up on the rooftops among the chimneys. Le château de Chambord a des détails merveilleux. Celui-ci se trouve sur la terrasse parmi les cheminées.
The Lily of the Valley – Le Lys dans la vallée
Sunday’s bright sun took us on a bike route to the heart of Touraine and Château de Saché which provided Honoré de Balzac, one of France’s most prolific writers, with the inspiration for several of his novels including Le Père Goriot, Louis Lambert and César Birotteau. From 1825 to 1848 he stayed there regularly, away …
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Sign of Nobility? – Signe de noblesse ?
When we were visiting Saint Saturnin churchyard, we saw this gate and a visitor said she had read that the ball on the top is a symbol of nobility. Lorsque nous avons visité l’aître de Saint Saturnin nous avons vu ce portail. Un des visiteurs nous a dit qu’elle a lu que la boule sur …