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 Porto, in between the Igreja do Carmo and Igreja dos Carmelitas, there exists a hidden, narrow three-storey house called Casa Escondida. Some claim this house inspired J.K. Rowling, but did it?
The Cippi of Melqart, discovered in Malta, are priceless because they were the key to deciphering Phoenician script.
This article explains who Melqart was, what cippi are and what this Maltese Rosetta Stone is all about.
Europe is full of ruins that paint a delightful picture of its turbulent past. It’s not every day you can see ruins that are as artificial as a fast food joint. Prague’s ruins of Baba are one such fake ruin.
I’ve written about Czech ossuaries before, and I’ve visited the one in Paris, but few know there is a Maltese chapel of bones. Well, there used to be one anyway.
We are so focused on preserving historical buildings that we often don’t realise how many already disappeared for one reason or another.
Orsi tower used to stand guard at the mouth of Valletta’s harbour, and is one such lost building.
Prague’s early chapels and churches seem to all have been rotundas. At least, that’s all we seem to have left. Close to the Vltava river,Read More
In Malta, it won’t take long before someone tells you that Valletta is the ‘new’ capital city and Mdina is the ‘old’ one. Few know that the same thing almost happened in Gozo, Malta’s second island.
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.
Many people marvel at European historical sites. Few realise that what we see today may be quite different from what was in use. People restored, rebuilt or enhanced many sites over the years. Sometimes the restoration and re-imagining of some historical sites is a crucial part of the story. This article explains the changes in Bouzov castle, in Czechia.