Stuff you don't find in guide books
The Rotunda of St Stephen in Prague, was part of the Christianization effort in Bohemia. Constructed in the Benedictine-owned village of Na Rybničku, the rotunda was later owned by Teutonic Knights who reconsecrated it to St Longinus in the 15th century.
In Famagusta, Cyprus, there is a building that used to be a cathedral dedicated to St Nicholas. It saw major events of the country’s history and is now a mosque.
Accidents of geography have determined as much of world history and culture as anything else. Rivers and mountains became natural, then political, borders. The Czech town of Hranice used to be a meeting point between 3 countries.
I’ve have a keen interest in iconography and imagery. Regular readers will know I often write about these things. Sometimes I spot something I haven’t before and, curiosity piqued, I look into it. Which is how I got to know about St Margaret and the dragon.
You’d think a city of Dublin wouldn’t be the place to hide a castle. Yet many Dublin natives had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned Drimnagh castle. This article describes the history of one of Ireland’s few moated castles.
The world is full of magnificent stories and this website is a testament to some fascinating ones. When I travel I always look for these sort of unexpected finds and am rarely disappointed. This article is about Delhi’s mysterious Iron Pillar.
One early scholar of Kabbalah was a 13th century mystic called Abraham Abulafia. He had visions, tried to convince the Pope of his reasoning and lived in Malta.
But who was this strange troglodyte?
Rotundas used to be common in Central Europe. Prague was no exception and it is a shame so many have disappeared. This article explains how archaeologists re-discovered St Wenceslas’ rotunda which stood in the Lesser Town Square (Malostranské náměstí).
The criminals who built Frydberk ? castle terrorised the Bohemian countryside in mediaeval times. Conquered, plundered, turned into a ? brewery and then the Church built a place of worship out of its tower. This is the castle’s amazing story ?
It’s not everyday you find castles still owned by the original family. Czechia’s Český Šternberk ? towers over the town of the same name, and is one of the few in the world to make that claim ?