eclectic imaging

St Sebastian in Bonn, Germany. Built immediately after the...

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 01:16:21 +0100

St Sebastian in Bonn, Germany. Built immediately after the Kulturkampf between 1888 and 1908 in a historistic style. Sebastian’s narthex, a small outer front hall, is featuring a row of columns with beautifully modeled capitals. They depict the four evangelists, framed by a pious angel and a roguish devil.

The octogon of Aachen Cathedral, base level. Wishing you a very...

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 19:06:55 +0100

The octogon of Aachen Cathedral, base level.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

This is a shot I’ve taken almost ten years ago: a...

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 23:23:23 +0100

This is a shot I’ve taken almost ten years ago: a panoramic view of the Forum Romanum in Rome. I really recommend visiting this astounding place: you almost physically feel the connection to times long ago, and you feel how close you get to them. You will find many ruins of Roman cities in Europe, but you won’t find a similar place like this forum, that is residing in the heart of the eternal city for more than 2000 years.

Now for something completely different: La Maddalena in Rome is...

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 23:12:07 +0100

Now for something completely different: La Maddalena in Rome is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene. It is situated at a very beautiful square I unfortunately failed to photograph adequately (next time!) and Rome’s only true Rococo church.

The following decades were under the banner of restoration. In...

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 00:20:52 +0100

The following decades were under the banner of restoration. In architecture, as well as in politics: several autocratic principalities (or better: dictatorships) and a lot of kingdoms were constituting that part of Europe formerly known as Germany. The old empire was broken, there was no emperor, no (more or less) united German state, and the prince-electors and prince-bishops had lost their power, their dioceses, and the greatest part of their property.

(There was just that short episode, when the defeated French...

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 00:15:54 +0100

(There was just that short episode, when the defeated French army annexed the cathedral in 1813 and used it as pigsty and sickbay. The greatest part of the wooden equipment was used up in those days.) 1814 the spook was over.

But, as so often in history, it was one man who did the...

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 00:13:28 +0100

But, as so often in history, it was one man who did the magic: Joseph Ludwig Colmar (see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Ludwig_Colmar) rebuilt and reconsecrated the cathedral. With a little help from Napoleon Bonaparte. Colmar’s influence also helped saving Speyer Cathedral.

Most of the treasures were destroyed or sold; the new era of...

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 00:07:25 +0100

Most of the treasures were destroyed or sold; the new era of freedom, equality, and fraternity was needing money. All these secularized churches and monasteries were quite valuable; and if not the buildings itself, so was the ground they were built on.

For centuries, the bishops of Mainz were entombed in the...

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 00:04:02 +0100

For centuries, the bishops of Mainz were entombed in the cathedral. Their epitaphs are still decorating the walls and pillars till today. After the fall of Mainz in 1793 and the following French occupation this era was ended. The cathedral was secularized, became a military depot, and a few years later there were even plans to completely knock it down

In 1767, a thunderbolt was hitting the cathedral, and once more...

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 00:01:05 +0100

In 1767, a thunderbolt was hitting the cathedral, and once more it burnt down. Reconstruction was headed by Franz Ignaz Michael Neumann, son of Balthasar Neumann, a famous Baroque architect. Everything could have been nice after that, but then the Frenchmen came. The greatest parts of the city of Mainz, including the cathedral, were destroyed by cannon fire in 1793.

1086 the cathedral burnt down, again. The following 200 years...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 23:44:00 +0100

1086 the cathedral burnt down, again. The following 200 years were a roller coaster ride between rebuilding and ruining. The Romanesque cathedral was finished and consecrated in 1239, and we can only barely guess how big the builder’s relief must have been.

The 13th century meant the beginning of the Gothic era in Germany (the first building operations for the gothic style Cologne Cathedral would start only 9 years after the finishing of Mainz Cathedral). By 1500 St Martin (that’s the cathedral’s name) was crowned with a gothic style crossing tower and flanked by gothic style chapels. Like this one, St Mary’s chapel.

While this altar in St Mary’s Chapel is mainly 19th century work, the figures aren’t. Flanked by saints Boniface and Martin, Mary has a surprisingly ‘modern’ face and figure: a young, attractive, and self-conscious mother. From 1515.

Shortly before Willigidis’ cathedral was about to be...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 23:32:24 +0100

Shortly before Willigidis’ cathedral was about to be consecrated, it burnt down. They built another one. 1036 the first cathedral was finally finished.

Mainz Cathedral has lost an incredible amount of art and...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 23:27:10 +0100

Mainz Cathedral has lost an incredible amount of art and religious treasures in its long history. While the legendary Benna Cross was downright dissolved due to the ruinous policy of some bishops, other losses were caused by misfortune, fire, and wars.

Mainz Cathedral has two choirs: a western and an eastern one....

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 23:15:01 +0100

Mainz Cathedral has two choirs: a western and an eastern one. The reason for this is not fully understood, but the western is the more important one. Here are high altar and choir stalls located, here already the early cathedral imitated St Peter’s in Rome, which is also occidented, facing west.

There is no such Halloween in Germany, but that doesn’t...

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:42:03 +0100

There is no such Halloween in Germany, but that doesn’t mean the dark months weren’t filled with fear and horror. My grandparents, who were living a bit closer to the run of seasons than we usually do today, were feeling a certain uneasiness in those days, briefly lit up by Christmas, that didn’t leave them until the return of spring. While we are trying our best to ignore the horror in the darkness - there is a cure against everything, right? - the darkness is in fact an important part of our life. Monsters are living there, and sometimes they’re coming to get us. Our visit to Mainz Cathedral last week was a lesson in darkness, meaning the absence of light as well as its hidden horrors. And how to defeat them.

Mainz Cathedral is old, really old. The city had its first...

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:39:55 +0100

Mainz Cathedral is old, really old. The city had its first mentioned bishop in the 4th century; churches, it seems, have always been where there is the cathedral now. When the world was awaiting apocalypse around 1000 AD, bishop Willigis ordered the first version of the cathedral. To hell with Armageddon, a church had to be built! Now!

It was a gloomy day. When we arrived at Mainz Cathedral almost...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 00:30:43 +0100

It was a gloomy day. When we arrived at Mainz Cathedral almost all light was gone. The few spotlights and the grey light coming through the windows were creating a mood somewhere between morbidity and concentration. Mainz Cathedral is a Romanesque building, but the Gothic and Baroque age have left their traces, too. Moving around the pillars with their many epitaphs and statues, that seemed to follow us with their lifeless eyes, made us feel like guests of this noble society of bishops and aristocrats. And they told us of splendor, faith, and power, but also of misery, war, and death.

Okay,

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 00:27:47 +0100

So my absence didn’t scare you away. I see there’s still some interest, I think I should continue what I’ve started. I can’t promise to post something every day, but there are so many photos in my stock. So let’s get started.

Renaissance (?) paintings in one of San Clemente’s side...

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:37:36 +0100

Renaissance (?) paintings in one of San Clemente’s side chapels.

The nave of San Clemente, Rome, Italy

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 23:14:57 +0100

The nave of San Clemente, Rome, Italy