Basel Münster Postcard

The Basel Münster (Basler Münster) is one of the main landmarks and tourist attractions of the Swiss city of Basel. Originally a Catholic cathedral and today a reformed Protestant church, it was built between 1019 and 1500 in Romanesque and Gothic styles.

Basel Münster Postcard

The late Romanesque building was destroyed by the 1356 Basel earthquake and rebuilt by Johannes Gmünd. This building was extended from 1421 by Ulrich von Ensingen, architect of the cathedral towers at Ulm and Strasbourg. It adds definition to the cityscape with its red sandstone architecture and coloured roof tiles, its two slim towers and the cross-shaped intersection of the main roof.

SOURCE:
Basel Münster Wikipedia Entry

St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral Postcard

The St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral is located at the Treurenberg hill in Brussels, Belgium. The church patron saints, archangel St. Michael and the martyr St. Gudula, are also the patron saints of the city of Brussels.

St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral Postcard

In 1047, Lambert II, Count of Leuven founded a chapter in this church and organized the transportation of the relics of Saint Gudula, before then housed in Saint Gaugericus Church on Saint Gaugericus Island. The south tower contains a 49-bell carillon by the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry on which Sunday concerts are often given.

SOURCE:
St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral Wikipedia Entry

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Postcard

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is situated in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. The cathedral is the reputed burial-place of Saint James the Great, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. Construction of the present cathedral began in 1075 under the reign of Alfonso VI of Castile (1040-1109) and the patronage of bishop Diego Peláez. It was built mostly in granite. The cathedral has been embellished and expanded between the 16th and the 18th century.

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Postcard(PH Wish from Vera Masterkova)

The postcard shows the 12th century Portico da Gloria behind the western facade. This Portico da Gloria in the narthex of the west portal is a remains from the Romanesque period. It is a masterwork of Romanesque sculpture built between 1168 and 1188 by Master Mateo. The vigorous naturalism of the figures in this triple portal is an expression of an art form, varied in its details, workmanship and polychromy (of which faint traces of colour remain).

SOURCE:
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Wikipedia Entry

Saint Isaac's Cathedral Postcard

Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor in Saint Petersburg, Russia is the largest cathedral in the city and was the largest church in Russia when it was built (101.5 meters high). It was dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great who had been born on the feast day of that saint. The church on St Isaac's Square was ordered by Tsar Alexander I, to replace an earlier Rinaldiesque structure. The cathedral took 40 years to construct, under Montferrand's direction, from 1818 to 1858.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral Postcard(PH Wish from Vera Masterkova)

The severe neoclassical exterior expresses a traditional Russian-Byzantine formula: a Greek-cross groundplan with a large central dome and four subsidiary domes. It is similar to Andrea Palladio's Villa La Rotonda, with a full dome on a high drum substituted for the Villa's low central saucer dome.

SOURCE:
Saint Isaac's Cathedral Wikipedia Entry

Cathedral of San Fernando Postcard

The Cathedral of San Fernando is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church located in San Antonio, Texas. The cathedral is also known as the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria y Guadalupe. The church was named for Ferdinand III of Castile, who ruled in the 13th century.

Cathedral of San Fernando Postcard(PH Wish from Karen Brzezinski)

The original church of San Fernando was built between 1738 and 1750. The walls of that church today form the sanctuary of the cathedral. The baptismal font, believed to be a gift from Charles III is the oldest piece of liturgical furnishing in the cathedral. In 1868, the cathedral was considerably enlarged in the Gothic style, the addition forming the existing nave. The carved stone Stations of the Cross were added in 1874. The striking stained glass windows were added in 1920.

SOURCE:Cathedral of San Fernando Wikipedia Entry