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Top Historic Sites in Europe, Part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of my Top Historic Sites in Europe series! I’m glad you came back to check out some more fantastic sites. Europe is a region that has had human activity for over 37,000 years and is just full of history. Last week we looked at 10 famous sites in Europe and why they’re worth visiting. Today we’re looking at 10 more of the amazing places around Europe that you really shouldn’t miss. England – Tower of London The Tower of London has had a lively history in the thousand years it has been standing and has been used for a variety of purposes over the years, ranging…
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The Great Mosque of Cordoba
In the southern half of Spain, in one of the oldest cities in the region, lies one of the most unique structures in religious history. Beginning in 152 BC, in a city that would become the capital of the Islamic Emirate and, for a time, the most populous city in the world, a sacred edifice was erected that has fascinated the public for generations. First, it was a temple built by the Romans, next it was converted to a Catholic church by the Visigoths and then it became an Islamic mosque built by Abd al-Rahman I in 784 AD before being altered in a way that has never been done…
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The Stavelot Triptych
During the Middle Ages, religious travel was becoming popular. As more people began pilgrimages to seek out religious relics, different churches and monasteries began working to draw visitors and gain additional funding through donations left by the devout. Since very few churches or cities could lay claim to such renowned relics as were in Jerusalem and Rome, many commissioned elaborate housings for the small relics they did have in an attempt to draw visitors. It was during this time, roughly 1156 AD, that a small abbey in what is now known as Belgium commissioned local Mosan artists to create a reliquary to hold their small, precious relics. This is now…
