Genoa’s Lost Debtors’ Prison
Genoa’s medieval debtors’ prison no longer exists. Yet its story still explains how money, war and a royal hostage shaped the Mediterranean.
When Bohemia reached the Adriatic
Bohemia wasn't always a land-locked nation, which may surprise some cartographers. For a short time in the 1th century, one Bohemian king built a chain of power from Prague towards the Adriatic. How did he do that?
The Fruttuaria Abbey
A King Died Here. Then the Church Buried It. Then a Plumber Found It Again. The Abbazia di Fruttuaria has been a monastery, a political pawn, a makeover project, and a school. What lies beneath the floor is one of the most remarkable archaeological finds in northern Italy — and almost nobody knows about it.
Andorra
Microstates are fascinating. There’s always a story behind them, and their continued existence in today’s world for that matter. Andorra, sandwiched between Spain and France, is one such microstate. For that, we've a strategic masterstroke born of military need and religious pragmatism.
A Medieval Marriage That Never Was
The idea that noble medieval families' marriages were all political is neither new nor surprising. It's rare to see situations where the wife-to-be is the one who ended up benefiting as much as her husband.
This article is about Cypriot Alice of Ibelin, her bethrotal and marriage.
The significance of the little bridge
Prague's Můstek neighborhood and metro station has a fascinating story behind it. This area represents a remarkable convergence of medieval history and modern urban development. What appears today as a bustling transit hub and shopping district used to be a crucial defensive boundary between different sections of a growing medieval city. Visitors can still see the remnants of this history today.
This article explains the history and the legends behind this neighbourhood.
The Abbey of Bourgueil
In 990, Emma of Blois leveraged her dowry and family alliances to found an abbey in Bourgueil, France. The abbey grew into a regional powerhouse over the next 500 years influencing daily life.
The Púchov Culture
A fascinating and complex culture in late Iron Age Europe is the Púchov culture. It shows remarkable cultural synthesis and adaptation in the mountanous regions of present-day Slovakia and eastern Moravia.
This article examines how this evolved from Celtic foundations, merged other European influences and shaped the cultural landscape of the Carpathian basin till the 2nd century.
Banning Bohemian gargoyles
Gargoyles are an important architectural feature in Gothic buildings around Europe. These ornate water spouts depict grotesque creatures or human figures. As practical as they were, they seem to have existed from the 14th to the 16th century in Bohemia.
St Clements in Pořiči
Near Prague's city centre, but not quite close enough, St Clement's church is possibly one of the oldest religious structures in the city. It is more than 1000 years' old.