Building sights in Europe
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A
St Spiridon's Monastery
One block west at B-dul Independenţei 33 is St Spiridon's Monastery. The body of Grigore Ghica III, killed in 1777 for opposing the Turks, lies inside the monastical complex, minus the head, which presumably came to rest in the sultan's sitting room.
reviewed
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B
Evangelical Church
The circular dome of the 18th-century Evangelical Church proudly overlooks a busy junction. The dome is in fact the largest in Warsaw, and the church is renowned for its excellent acoustics and is the venue for a variety of musical events.
reviewed
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C
Synagogue
Chişinău's only remaining working synagogue is close to the remains of the yeshiva, at Str Habad Lubavia 8. Before WWII there were over 70 synagogues in Chişinău, each serving a different trade. Glass blowers worshipped at this one.
reviewed
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D
Kollegiengebäude I
The university quarter, in the area west of Martinstor, consists of an eclectic mix of old and new buildings. The Kollegiengebäude I has Art Nouveau elements, while the Alte Universitätsbibliothek (Old University Library) is resolutely neo-Gothic.
reviewed
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E
Igreja Matriz
The elegant Igreja Matriz - also known as the sé - dates from the 15th century, though it has since had several reincarnations. Note its unusually sculpted Romanesque towers and Gothic doorway, carved with figures of Christ and the Evangelists.
reviewed
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F
Turning Torso
In the distant northwest of the city, you may catch sight of the eye-boggling Turning Torso, a brand-new apartment block that twists through 90 degrees from bottom to top. Inaugurated at the end of August 2005, it's now Sweden's tallest building at 190m high.
reviewed
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G
Domschatz-kammer
reviewed
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H
Lorettokapelle
The design of the little Loreto Chapel emulates the Gnadenkapelle in Altötting. Outside the prim church ensemble of St Nikolai and Lorettokapelle, the covered walkway protects some pretty nifty 'Stations of the Cross' made of Nymphenburg porcelain.
reviewed
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I
Amalienburg
The royal gardens take the form of a magnificently landscaped English-style park. They contain a number of follies, including the Amalienburg, a dainty hunting lodge with a domed central room and the Pagodenburg Chinese teahouse.
reviewed
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Haus Kandinsky/Klee
The Haus Kandinsky/Klee is most notable for the varying pastel shades in which Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee painted their walls (re-created today). There's also biographical information about the two artists and special exhibitions about their work.
reviewed
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J
Great Count’s Church
Built during the early 1900s, Great Count’s Church has a distinctly modernist, even art-nouveau flair, with an exotically tiled interior of metallic hues. The cross on the top is made of crystal, supposedly donated from the local glassware factory.
reviewed
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K
Cattedrale di Santa Maria
Overlooking Piazza Duomo, the oversized Cattedrale di Santa Maria is an odd mishmash of Moorish, baroque, Renaissance and other influences. Of greater interest is the campanile around the back, a fine example of Catalan-Gothic architecture.
reviewed
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L
Church of Agios Titos
The Church of Agios Titos was constructed after the liberation of the Crete in AD 961 and was converted to a Catholic church and then a mosque. Twice rebuilt after being destroyed by the big fire in 1554 and then the 1856 earthquake, it has been an Orthodox Church since 1925.
reviewed
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M
Akureyrarkirkja
Dominating the town from high on a hill, Akureyrarkirkja was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson, the architect responsible for Reykjavík’s Hallgrímskirkja. The church continues his geological theme, but is less blatantly ‘basalt’ and has a more traditional interior.
reviewed
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N
Ermida de São Brás
From the town walls you can see, a few blocks to the southeast, the crenellated, pointy-topped Arabian Gothic profile of the Ermida de São Brás, dating from about 1490. It's possibly an early project of Diogo de Boitac, considered the originator of the Manueline style.
reviewed
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O
National Institute for Science & Technology
On the Palace of Parliament's west side, walk back past B-dul Unirii to the building's south side to find the half-finished National Institute for Science & Technology, of which Elena Ceauşescu was president; half-done or abandoned buildings like this litter Bucharest.
reviewed
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P
Chiesa di San Francesco
The Chiesa di San Francesco was one of the first churches in Italy to be built in the French Gothic style. Features include the tomb of Pope Alexander V and a remarkable 14th-century marble altarpiece depicting sundry saints and scenes from the life of St Francis.
reviewed
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Q
Opera House
The landmark of the northern part of the city, the Opera House is surrounded by parks, cafés, nightclubs and shops. The building has two main halls: the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall and the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, thoroughly upgraded in 2003.
reviewed
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R
Craenenburg Café
Notable at Markt 16 is Craenenburg Café. In this building the Hapsburg heir Maximilian of Austria was imprisoned by the leaders of the city in 1488 after attempting to restrict their privileges. When Maximilian later became emperor, he took revenge by directing trade to Antwerp.
reviewed
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S
Holy Trinity Church
At the heart of the Old Town, Holy Trinity Church is a magnificent 15th-century building with a striking central tower, and a long, tall, unified interior worthy of a cathedral. It features huge areas of windows, built to keep the weight of the walls down as the soil here is unstable.
reviewed
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T
Arminius Markthalle
Moabit’s few charms can be explored on an easy stroll. From Turmstrasse U-Bahn station, the area’s commercial spine, head northwest to the Arminius Markthalle, the most authentic among Berlin’s three surviving fin de siècle market halls.
reviewed
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U
Obel
The 29-storey Obel, Belfast's tallest building, soars above the waterfront at Donegall Quay. It's the latest stage in the ambitious Laganside Project to redevelop and regenerate the centre of Belfast. All 182 apartments in the building were sold in advance, within 48 hours of being released.
reviewed
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V
Orthodox Church
Rising from behind a clump of trees just off Praga’s main thoroughfare, Al Solidarności, are the five onion-shaped domes of the Orthodox Church. Built in the 1860s in Russo-Byzantine style, its small nave still retains original Byzantine portraits and gold upon gold.
reviewed
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W
Monastiri Tou Karolou
The restored 16th-century Monastiri Tou Karolou has a pleasant courtyard café, which hosts occasional live music and cultural events. The old monastery is now the home, atelier and hairdressing salon of Hania's famous formerly Paris-based celebrity hairdresser-cum-sculptor Karolos Kambelopoulos.
reviewed
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X
Duomo Vecchio
The most compelling of all Brescia’s religious monuments is the 11th-century Duomo Vecchio, a rare example of a circular-plan Romanesque basilica, built over a 6th-century church. Interesting features include fragmentary floor mosaics and the elaborate 14th-century sarcophagus of Bishop Berado Maggi.
reviewed