The last post on the Sharing is Caring week in my blog. However this would not be the last time I would be sharing an article, blog, journal etc.
I am thrilled to share this one as this is very special to me. This post talks about the Medieval Europe. An alarming subject for me. I always want to visit the east of Europe than the west. But I had a chance to go to the west first and I did not stop. I love the west too. However I have some perception about the eastern Europe and I want to go there to see if it is true.
In this article from www.tripoto.com, the author is Rama Arya shares about the beautiful squares of some less travelled destinations in the eastern Europe. She goes to Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. So much I read about this countries and how they united to become one and then broke down to smaller nations.
Her itinerary is as below and I hope would be mine one day :
Cesky Krumlov
The small town of Český Krumlov dating back to the 13th Century in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic has to be my favorite. Its towering castle perched atop the hill, overlooking the painted Renaissance and Baroque architecture clustered around the Vltava River, is its crowning glory. The castle is the second largest in the country, comprising of forty buildings and palaces built around five castle courts and a castle park, spanning an area of seven hectares. Český Krumlov’s second gem is the Church of St. Vitus (15th Century) with frescoes from the same period. A climb up the castle’s round tower for just the right picture, a candle at the church, lazing in the old town square awash with golden sunshine, and a steak by the river – it was not just another day for me.
Telč
Whilst Český Krumlov is prettiness personified, Telč, also in southern Czech Republic, is Renaissance grace. Largely untouched since the 16th Century, pastel buildings with high gables and arcades line the long urban cobbled square with the Renaissance chateau and church towers at its two ends. Imagine candy pink, warm peach, dove grey, powder blue, lemon yellow and lime green edifices embellished with white stucco around a large sun kissed square :) That – is Telč.
Sopron
Eastern Europe’s medieval squares continue on to Sopron in Hungary, with its walls and foundations going back to the Roman empire. There is often something particular about a place that lingers on within us, long after we leave it. With Sopron, it was the Benedictine Church for me. Set up by the Franciscan friars in 1280, it has absorbed Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque influences over the centuries, and moved from its original Franciscan order to the current Benedictine one in 1802. It is neither grand nor artistically profound. Yet a sense of continuity hovers over it with serenity …
Eger
Eger in Hungary is, yet again, inimitable in itself. Well-known as a wine growing center, its thermal baths and Turkish Minaret reflect the 91 years of Ottoman rule (1596-1687). In around 1000 AD, St. Stephen, first king of Hungary, founded a bishopric in Eger. The town’s religious importance led to the construction of a castle for its protection in 1248, built around a Romanesque cathedral. The castle, famous for repelling the Turks’ attack during the Siege of Eger (1552), is in ruins today. The Romanesque church no longer exists. Instead, the classical 19th Century Eger Basilica in the town center stands grand and towering, surrounded by numerous later churches.
I am thrilled to share this one as this is very special to me. This post talks about the Medieval Europe. An alarming subject for me. I always want to visit the east of Europe than the west. But I had a chance to go to the west first and I did not stop. I love the west too. However I have some perception about the eastern Europe and I want to go there to see if it is true.
In this article from www.tripoto.com, the author is Rama Arya shares about the beautiful squares of some less travelled destinations in the eastern Europe. She goes to Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. So much I read about this countries and how they united to become one and then broke down to smaller nations.
Her itinerary is as below and I hope would be mine one day :
Cesky Krumlov
The small town of Český Krumlov dating back to the 13th Century in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic has to be my favorite. Its towering castle perched atop the hill, overlooking the painted Renaissance and Baroque architecture clustered around the Vltava River, is its crowning glory. The castle is the second largest in the country, comprising of forty buildings and palaces built around five castle courts and a castle park, spanning an area of seven hectares. Český Krumlov’s second gem is the Church of St. Vitus (15th Century) with frescoes from the same period. A climb up the castle’s round tower for just the right picture, a candle at the church, lazing in the old town square awash with golden sunshine, and a steak by the river – it was not just another day for me.
Whilst Český Krumlov is prettiness personified, Telč, also in southern Czech Republic, is Renaissance grace. Largely untouched since the 16th Century, pastel buildings with high gables and arcades line the long urban cobbled square with the Renaissance chateau and church towers at its two ends. Imagine candy pink, warm peach, dove grey, powder blue, lemon yellow and lime green edifices embellished with white stucco around a large sun kissed square :) That – is Telč.
Sopron
Eastern Europe’s medieval squares continue on to Sopron in Hungary, with its walls and foundations going back to the Roman empire. There is often something particular about a place that lingers on within us, long after we leave it. With Sopron, it was the Benedictine Church for me. Set up by the Franciscan friars in 1280, it has absorbed Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque influences over the centuries, and moved from its original Franciscan order to the current Benedictine one in 1802. It is neither grand nor artistically profound. Yet a sense of continuity hovers over it with serenity …
Eger
Eger in Hungary is, yet again, inimitable in itself. Well-known as a wine growing center, its thermal baths and Turkish Minaret reflect the 91 years of Ottoman rule (1596-1687). In around 1000 AD, St. Stephen, first king of Hungary, founded a bishopric in Eger. The town’s religious importance led to the construction of a castle for its protection in 1248, built around a Romanesque cathedral. The castle, famous for repelling the Turks’ attack during the Siege of Eger (1552), is in ruins today. The Romanesque church no longer exists. Instead, the classical 19th Century Eger Basilica in the town center stands grand and towering, surrounded by numerous later churches.
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