Romania's Black Church in Brasov

by Lauren Axelrod

Around 1384, the German community of Brasov began construction on the Black Church, or Biserica Neagră , in Romania. Originally a Roman Catholic Cathedral, the church was converted to Lutheranism during the 16th century by Johannes Honter, a Transylvanian reformer during the Reformation.

Now the time has come in which the Lord will awaken a new people unto himself.
~Johannes Honter

The Black Church was devastated by a fire in 1689 when the Hapsburg Forces invaded during the Turkish War. The walls of the church became blackened by smoke damage, and thereafter the church was known as the Black Church of Romania.

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Copyright ©2011 Michele Cameron Drew. All rights reserved.

Beautiful Auckland, New Zealand: Travel on the Tide

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Auckland is one of the largest cities in New Zealand and a very prominent tourist hub, thanks to the number of things to see and do in and around the city. Whether you want an activity...

Read the full article here from Time Traveler's beautiful blog: Travel on the Tide ~



Copyright ©2010 Michele Cameron Drew. All rights reserved.

Pittock Mansion: Portrait of an American Castle

 Pittock Mansion: Portrait of an American Castle
by Michele Cameron Drew

In 1914, Edward Foulkes designed an incredible castle on forty-six acres and nearly one thousand feet above the Portland, Oregon skyline.  Henry and Georgiana Burton Pittock completed Pittock Mansion with an immense sweeping view of mountains, city, beautiful architecture, art and antiques which captured the eyes of tourists and Portland residents alike.

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Copyright ©2010 Michele Cameron Drew. All rights reserved.

Joan of Arc's Homeland: Domremy and Vaucouleurs

Joan of Arc’s Homeland: Domremy and Vaucouleurs
by Francois Hagnere 

Around Nancy in Lorraine, let us discover the homeland of Joan of Arc where her heroic epos began.

Domrémy was a border town in the Middle-Ages, surrounded by ramparts. As it became a “Royal Town” in 1365, it was governed in the name of the King of France by the Lord Robert de Baudricourt. This is when Joan of Arc, a young peasant aged 16, came and talked to this governor on  May 13, 1428 and stated she was the only person capable of delivering France from the British. Baudricourt just laughed and ordered the young girl be taken back to her father “with a good slap in her face”. However, Joan of Arc proclaiming her mission, gained the people little by little, to...

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Copyright ©2010 Michele Cameron Drew. All rights reserved.

Hammond Castle: One of America’s Great Haunted Mysteries

Hammond Castle: One of America’s Great Haunted Mysteries
by Michele Cameron Drew

Imagine being a ten-year old little girl and being surprised with an amazing visit to a "castle in the clouds". Hammond Castle was all that a medieval castle had to offer and far more. My sense of adventure was intrigued as I learned about the place… 

Thirty-something years ago, my dear mother packed us all into the car for road trips and we would head off to these exotic never-never lands that she liked to escape to on occasion.  Little did I know at about ten years old that this trip would change the face of life as I knew it.  We headed up route 128 from Boston, seemingly for parts unknown and landed somewhere in the middle of the woods in Gloucester, MA.

I was bored out of my mind an hour into the trip and began my protest from the rear seat. I was abruptly told that no back-seat drivers were allowed, when suddenly we came over a hill and down into a wooded area and then I saw it.  Looming high above the great Atlantic was a giant stone building.  The entrance was formidable with two stone towers that seemed to end at the sky!

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Hammond Castle: One of America’s Great Haunted Mysteries

 


Copyright ©2010 Michele Cameron Drew. All rights reserved.

World's Most Impressive Buildings

by nobert soloria bermosa

See 18 of the most amazing buildings in the world.

This article is focused on the largest and tallest buildings ever built based on different category, type and/or function. Amazing features of each building are also included.

1. World's Largest Civilian Administrative Building, World's Most Expensive Administrative Building and World's Heaviest Building

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According to the Guinness World Records, the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania, a multi-purpose building containing both chambers of the Romanian Parliament, is the world's largest civilian administrative building, most expensive administrative building, and heaviest building.
Features:

• The Palace measures 270 m by 240 m, 86 m high, and 92 m under ground.
• It has 1,100 rooms, 2 underground parking garages
• It is 12 stories tall, with four additional underground levels
• The building is constructed entirely of materials of Romanian origin.
• Estimates of the materials used include one million cubic meters of marble;
• 3,500 tons of crystal - 480 chandeliers, 1,409 ceiling lights and mirrors were manufactured;
• 700,000 tons of steel and bronze for monumental doors and windows, chandeliers and capitals; 900,000 m³ of wood (over 95% domestic) for parquet and wainscoting, including walnut, oak, sweet cherry, elm, sycamore maple;
• 200,000 m² of woolen carpets of various dimensions (machines had to be moved inside the building to weave some of the larger carpets);
• velvet and brocade curtains adorned with embroideries and passementeries in silver and gold.

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The City of Lights

by Jimmy Smith

A closer look at Paris.

History
The earliest known occupation of what is now Paris was around 4200 B.C. by the Celtic Simons. The Celtics flourished until they were conquered by roman forces in 52 B.C. When the Romans took over they named the city Lutetina. While under roman rule the city began to grow rapidly and in the year 212 the city was renamed Paris. In the early fourth century the city was attacked by barbarians forcing the Romans to build a wall to protect the city. In 1789 the city was Paris was part of the French Revolution where the monarch was overthrown by the Russians.

image source

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Copyright ©2009 Michele Cameron Drew. All rights reserved.

Hearst Castle: The Incredibly Extravagant Estate of Newspaper Magnate William Randolph Hearst

by Michele Cameron Drew

Once an amazing ocean retreat for the upper echelon of wealthy celebrities throughout history, particularly in the 1920s and 30s, Hearst Castle is now one of the most visited attractions in California and the United States.


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Location

Ninety miles south of Carmel at the southernmost part of the Big Sur coast near San Simeon and Cambria, in San Luis Obispo County, lies Hearst Castle, the fascinating and magnificent estate of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.

History

Built from 1919-1947 by well known architect Julia Morgan of San Francisco, on a 40,000-acre ranch, purchased by William Randolph Hearst's father, wealthy miner George Hearst in 1865. It was designed around the eccentric style of William Randolph Hearst. His love of antiques with functionality is something not to be missed.

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Once an amazing ocean retreat for the upper echelon of wealthy celebrities throughout history, particularly in the 1920's and 30's, an invitation to visit the castle was a highly coveted item. Hearst Castle is now one of the most visited attractions in California and the United States.

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[Hearst Castle: The Incredibly Extravagant Estate of Newspaper Magnate William Randolph Hearst]

Copyright ©2011 Michele Cameron Drew. All rights reserved.

The King of Lighthouses: Cordouan

by Francois Hagnere

For this French lighthouse, close to the Médoc coast, keywords are durability and decor. Columns, frontons, arched doorways and carved stone are an ode to the ocean.

The Cordouan lighthouse is located 7 kilometers at sea, on a rocky tableland, at the mouth of the Gironde river and faces the Atlantic ocean and the French coasts of Médoc and Charente-Maritime. It was listed a Historical Monument in 1862 at the same time as the cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris.

The Cordouan lighthouse, Atlantic Coast of France.

Image source : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Cordouan.jpg

The name would come from Cordoba, when in the Middle-Ages, the Spaniards installed commercial activities in the region and wished to protect their ships.

In the XIVth century, Edward, the Black Prince, Governor of the then British province of Guyenne, ordered the construction of a tower. A hermit was in charge of maintaining the fire on top. The edifice was soon abandoned and fell into disrepair. Two hundred years later, the hazards to navigation threatened the Bordeaux wine trade and the Maréchal de Matignon, in presence of the famous Montaigne decides to build a lighthouse.

Louis de Foix will be the engineer-architect of this « royal work » devoting his wealth and efforts over a period of 18 years followed by his ruined son. François Beuscher will fulfill the contract 27 years after its signature.

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Today's Reading List

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As I opened up the Triond page,
I could not believe my eyes.
Today's friends reading list,
Caught me by suprise:

BC shows us Young Inventors,
Papaleng with What's in Song?
Bren with Writers on Writing,
Reilly with Forty Years On,
Arizona with gorgeous gems,
Louie on promoting your work,
Glynis takes us to Cyprus,
Adam Henry's got writer's block.
stickman has goofy gadgets,
Liane with angelic rhyme,
Aardaerimus: lovely flowers,
Wow, I had a really good time!

I hope you've enjoyed today's reading list,
I've gathered it with a smile.
Now off to find something to write today,
For I fear that I've fallen behind.

My Poetry

Older Poetry on Authspot

Poetic Expression - my poetry blog

Poetry on the Spectrum

The White House: A Highly Coveted Mansion

by Francois Hagnere

It was restored and expanded many times in its history and the Oval Office is redecorated each time a new President is elected. But why was this official residence called the White House?

It was only in 1901 that the Executive Mansion, as it was then called, received its final name: the “White House”, under Theodor Roosevelt. According to the legend, the name “White House” would come from “White Plantation House” where George Washington met his wife Martha in New Kent, Virginia. But in reality, it was painted white since the very beginning.

George Washington and his brother-in-arms, the French engineer Pierre Charles Lenfant (who gave the plan of Washington) made their decision about the location of the new

residence and James Hoban was chosen as an architect. Washington judged it too small however and Hoban expanded the house adding a reception hall, the present East Room, inspired by Mount Vernon. A portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart (1797) can be seen in this room used for press conferences, entertainment and ceremonies. The first President of the United States never occupied the house, he died one year earlier.

The work was performed between October 1792 and November 1800 by slaves, Scottish and Italian emmigrants in the neo-Palladian Style (currently known as Georgian Style in English-speaking countries). The first President to live in the White House was John Adams. It was very much damaged in 1812 as the British tried to recuperate their colonies.

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Truth Cuts the Deepest

by DM PARKER

Have you ever wished you could find an old house with an attic full of treasures?

It was the spring of the year and the spring of a new life. I had just married the woman of my dreams and moved into the house of her dreams an old country style house now displaced in the middle of a slowly developing suburb but a house with promise and style. Yes, it needed some work, but she loved it and I loved her and together we could conquer anything.
We explored our Victorian stronghold arm-in-arm and sought to discover all its secrets. From top to bottom we explored and laughed and loved. The spring and summer flew by in blissful love and oh, the things we found in the attic and the half cellar that went under the back half of the house. Old lanterns and trunks filled with vintage costumes, a jewelry box that had been stuffed behind the brick chimney with wedding rings…too many wedding rings and bobbles for the ears. The one thing that intrigued me the most was a dagger, with a long tapered blade, a bone handle, brass guard and pommel, the kind you see in those old American Civil War photos. The blade was coated with a thin layer of rust, so I decided to restore it to a workable condition. My beautiful bride smiled shaking her head saying,” Boys will be boys,” and laughed in her melodic manner. I labored on that blade with a piece of steel wool all the rest of that day and for the next two days when I blundered and cut the palm of my hand. The pain from that incising ran through my body like electricity all the way to my chest. I dropped the blade and it stuck between my feet into the hardwood floor. There was blood. Oh my there was blood, but I reminded myself that any cut to the hand would produce blood beyond the seriousness of the cut, so I washed my hand in cold water to stop the bleeding and wrapped it in gauze then placed the dirk on the mantel above the fireplace in a display stand I had made for it. I had finished my labor of love and brought new life to the blade. My wife was concerned with my injury, but I assured her that the grievance was superficial and to her frustration I ignored her imploring to take me to hospital. Shortly after is when the dreams started...

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An Amazing Exhibition: Made in Chambord

by Francois Hagnere

In the majestic Château of Chambord in the French Loire Valley, discover an exceptional collection of eponymous objects.

As you enter the Royal Domain of Chambord in the heart of the French Loire Valley, you suddenly discover the stately silhouette of the Château de Chambord. François the First's exceptional estate is a pure gem of the French Renaissance. It appears in a wonderful setting with its grey slate roofs, its bastion towers, finely carved pinnacle turrets, and fireplaces (as many as days in a year) reminding us of an « art de vivre » when beauty had connections with utility.

The Château de Chambord - Photo Copyright: Wikipedia

The construction of the château began in 1519, in the early years of the Renaissance and is supposed to have been inspired by Italy. The great architect Viollet-le-Duc, however said that there was nothing italianate about Chambord in thought or form. The King in his passion spent a fortune on the château, even when money got rare, he always found a solution (if you see what I mean) for Chambord and the works

never stopped. François the First likes to entertain courtiers and dignitaries and goes hunting in his immense and deep forests abounding in game. Later Molière wrote here his « Monsieur de Pourceaugnac » within a few days. The play that at first Louis XIV did not appreciate, was saved by Lulli who simply jumped onto his harpsichord, thus making the king burst out laughing.

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Marseilles: Longchamp Palace to the Glory of Water

by Francois Hagnere

An extraordinary water tower and palace was built in the XIXth century in Marseilles to welcome water in the Mediterranean city with the new Provence canal.

Situated in the heart of Marseilles (France), at the top of the Longchamp Boulevard in prolongation of the world-famous Canebière, water was staged and honored in 1862 with the construction of the Longchamp Palace (Palais Longchamp in French). When the water of the Durance River entered the mediterranean city at the end of the XIXth Century, bringing fertility, fecondity and more hygiene, the architect of the Basilica of « Notre-Dame de la Garde » Henri Espérandieu (1829-1874) built an extraordinary water tower inaugurated in 1869 with fireworks and orchestras. A massive triumphal arch with in its center the allegoric group of the Durance River and all the symbols related to water and its benefits (namely wheat, vine, fishing) welcomes the river coming from the new Provence Canal. The palace with its colonnade and grotto is surrounded by exceptional gardens, cascades and fountains. The chariot drawn by Camargue bulls, the chubby-cheeked cherubs, the bas-reliefs with tritons are reminiscent of the Baroque Period. The Longchamp Palace is in the eclectic style so dear to artists of the late XIXth Century. Renowned French sculptors like Antoine Louis Barye (lions and tigers at the entrance) or Jules Cavelier (monumental fountain) worked here.

Two museums are housed on each wings of the water tower: the Museum of Fine Arts (whose hall of honor was decorated by Puvis de Chavannes - see my article: Male Nude by Puvis de Chavannes) presenting paintings, sculptures and drawings from the XVIth to the XIXth centuries with works by Perugino, Carrache, Tiepolo, Guercino, Philippe de Champaigne, Rubens, Corot, Courbet, Millet, Puget and Rodin, and the Natural History Museum.

Marseilles : Palais Longchamp. Copyright: photos-provence.fr

Marseilles, Palais Longchamp, the allegoric group of the Durance River and the statues of vine and wheat. Note the fisherman's net and fish on the column. The bulls from Camargue draw the chariot. Copyright: photos-provence.fr

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