The church sits in a small town 85 km northwest of Savonlinna, surrounded by birch forest and lake country. From the outside it looks like a traditional Finnish wooden church, white with an ocher cross. Then you see the scale. The spire reaches 37 metres. The nave is 27 metres high inside. The building can […]
Five centuries of construction produced one of the most extraordinary buildings on earth. Milan’s Duomo is a mountain of white marble covered in 135 spires and more than 3,400 statues. From the rooftop terraces you can walk among the pinnacles, coming face to face with saints and gargoyles carved in exquisite detail. The interior is […]
Categories: Cities, Italy, Religious Monuments, Sights, Sights
The longest Gothic cathedral in Europe stretches over 170 metres from its west front to the eastern Lady Chapel, a testament to the ambition and faith of its medieval builders. Winchester Cathedral is one of the greatest churches in the world, a repository of over a thousand years of English history. It was here that […]
Categories: Religious Monuments, Sights, Sights, United Kingdom
The Piazza del Popolo opens before you, a vast oval of cobblestones framed by twin Baroque churches and dominated by the 3,600-year-old Egyptian obelisk at its centre. On the northern edge of this square, tucked against the ancient Aurelian Wall, stands the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. From the outside it appears modest, a […]
Categories: Cities, Italy, Religious Monuments, Rome, Sights, Sights, Virtual Travel
St. Mary’s Church in Gdańsk (Bazylika Mariacka) is the largest brick Gothic church in the world, a colossal 14th-15th-century basilica in the heart of Poland’s most beautiful Baltic city whose soaring nave, 78-metre tower, and capacity of 25,000 worshippers make it one of the most awe-inspiring religious buildings in northern Europe. Built over 159 years […]
The twin spires of Cologne Cathedral rise 157 metres above the city, visible from the Rhine bridges long before you reach the old town. This Gothic masterpiece took 632 years to complete, from the laying of the foundation stone in 1248 to the final topping-out ceremony in 1880. The cathedral survived 14 bombing hits during […]
Categories: Germany, Religious Monuments, Sights, Sights
Beaufort Castle is one of Luxembourg’s most impressive medieval ruins, a dramatic 12th-century fortress complex perched on a rocky spur in the Mullerthal region, complete with a beautifully preserved Renaissance château built into its walls. Known locally as Buerg Beaufort, this dual-era castle offers visitors a rare opportunity to explore both a medieval fortress and […]
Categories: Luxembourg, Sights
Ulm Minster (Ulmer Münster) is a Gothic masterpiece that holds a remarkable world record: at 161.5 metres, its soaring spire is the tallest church tower in the world, higher than Cologne Cathedral, higher than the Sagrada Família, and the tallest building of any kind built before the Eiffel Tower. Located in the modest, often-overlooked city […]
Categories: Germany, Religious Monuments, Sights, Sights