Wandering in St Johns

The Anglican Cathedral of St John the Baptist stands at 16 Church Hill in the city of St Johns, Newfoundland. There's a small entrance on Gower Street between Church Hill and Cathedral Street. That's the entrance I used when I went in to look at the inside.

The Cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador.
This is the main entrance on Church Hill. And this is where you would go to meet up with the St Johns Haunted Hike.

 As you can see, Cathedral Street is pretty steep.
This parish was founded in 1699. At least six wooden churches have stood on this site, destroyed by accidental fire, military operations or the rigorous Newfoundland weather. And before the churches, the land was used for public hangings up to the 1750s. The first stone church was begun in 1843, but only got as far as the cornerstone being laid. The present Cathedral was begun in 1847. The Nave was built 1847-1850, and served as the whole cathedral for the next 35 years, when the Chancel, Transepts and Sanctuary were added 1880-1885.

The Great Fire of 1892 caused extensive damage to the Cathedral and destroyed most of the town, leaving 11,000 people homeless. The roof timbers ignited causing the roof to collapse, and bringing the walls down with it. The heat melted the lead in all the stained glass windows except one, which can be seen in the Sacristy. The Cathedral was restored 1893-1905.

Looking towards the Cathedral from the back of the Masonic Hall, the red brick building on the right. These photos were taken in July sunshine. I think there would be some snowflakes flying today!

Elgin Cathedral

Elgin Cathedral is known as "The Lantern of the North" and is one of Scotland's most ambitious and beautiful medieval buildings.

Begun in 1224, Elgin was the principal church of the bishops of Moray. The cathedral was damaged by fire in 1390, following an attack by Robert III's brother Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, who was also known as "The Wolf of Badenoch".

The cathedral lost its roof shortly after the Protestant Reformation of 1560, and later its central tower fell. 

But the cathedral’s fortunes began to change when it became a visitor attraction in the early 1800s. There are guided tours around the ruins but I just wandered around enjoying the atmosphere.

Wandering in a graveyard may sound gruesome, but I loved seeing all the old grave markers and trying to imagine the lives of the people who lived in this community and came to this cathedral to worship. The tombstones tell so many stories.

 This saucy little fellow was found hiding behind a wall when some restoration was going on. Make sure you read the explanation in the next photo. And before you ask.... yes, I looked, of course I did, and yes.... anatomically correct!

Prague - Czech Republic

Back to my summer trip to Europe. The final destination of the Men of Note concert tour was the beautiful city of Prague, capital city of the Czech Republic.

Prague Castle (Pražský hrad) was founded in the 9th Century and has been a symbol of the Czech state for more than a thousand years. It covers 45 hectares including palaces, offices, museums, St Vitus Cathedral, fortifications and extensive gardens.

The view from the palace gardens over the Old City, pretty spectacular.

Our bus driver dropped us off on the castle grounds, thank goodness. I may not have made it up to the top in time for lunch if I had to trudge up this steep hill.

We enjoyed lunch outside on the castle terrace overlooking the city. I can't remember what these Czech dishes were called on the menu but they were pretty good, typical food of the area, lots of meat and dumplings. Stodgy but yummy!

Building the Charles Bridge across the Vltava River commenced in 1357, and was completed at the beginning of the 15th century. Despite occasional flood damage, the bridge withstood wheeled traffic for 500-odd years – thanks, legend says, to eggs mixed into the mortar.  The Old Town Tower stands at the entrance to Old Town, and the bridge is decorated with 30 statues of Saints.

St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna

St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom) is visible everywhere in the downtown area of Vienna, and is one of the tallest churches in the world. It is HUGE! If you have lost your bearings in the small streets, just look for the tower. Construction started in the 12th Century on the ruins of two earlier churches. It's the most important religious building in Vienna. And it's shown on Austrian 10 cent euro coins.

St. Stephen's Cathedral is just over 107m long and 34m wide. The tallest of the four towers is 136m high and to get to the top requires climbing 343 steps. Warning: don't attempt it if you have bad knees. The towers are home to 13 bells. The bell called The Pummerin was cast from a cannon captured from the Turks in the 1600s, and is the second biggest free swinging chimed church bell in Europe.

The north side of the roof shows the coats of arms of the City of Vienna and the Republic of Austria. The Imperial double headed eagle of the Hapsburgs appears on the other side. 230,000 glazed ceramic tiles make up the steep roof. 

At the Capistran Chancel, an 18th Century sculpture shows St. Francis trampling on a beaten Turk, under a golden sunrise. St Francis looks pretty happy. I feel rather sorry for the Turk.

There's the Imperial Hapsburg double headed eagle on the roof.

Stephansplatz at night. 

More pictures to come.
If you have visited Vienna, please leave me a comment and tell me about it.

England Part X - Salisbury, Wiltshire

When in Salisbury's Market Square, it's a tradition to eat at Stoby's Fish & Chips.
Stoby's was originally an open yard between two buildings, and was enclosed with a wall either end and a roof to create a building about 250 years ago.

It's the narrowest restaurant I've ever been in, measuring about 12' wall to wall.

The fish'n'chips is yummy.

The gooey green stuff is mushy peas. Never tasted any? You've missed a traditional British treat!

The jewel of Salisbury is the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Salisbury Cathedral has the tallest spire in the UK, and the building was completed in only 38 years, from 1220-1258.

It also has has the largest cloister and the largest cathedral close in Britain covering 80 acres. It contains the world's oldest working clock dating from AD 1386 and has one of the four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta.

The gentleman in the middle (above) is Bishop Poore, who oversaw the early years of the building's construction, beginning in 1220. He is holding a model of the Cathedral.

And this poor chap (below) isn't having much fun being bitten by a vengeful little monster of some kind... click to see the detail.

The spire and tower weigh 6,397 tons and were added to the building between 1310-1333. Most large spires of this magnitude fell down years ago, but buttresses, bracing arches and iron ties have been added as support over the centuries enabling Salisbury to boast the tallest surviving pre-1400 spire in the world. The large supporting pillars at the corners of the spire bend inwards under the strain.

The only day in the whole year when the Cathedral is closed is when they prepare for the annual flower show.

Yes, that's the day I was there, so I couldn't go inside. Just my luck!

However, Stonehenge is only a short bus ride away, but that's another story.

Please scroll down for previous posts about my vacation in England.