The goldfields city of Bendigo in Victoria Australia is home to one of the country’s finest cathederals, The Sacred Heart Cathedral. Built using a Gothich Revival style and designed by William Tappin the groundbreaking was in 1897 but the cathederal was not completed for some 80 years in 1977. The Roman Catholic church. The sandstone for the building was mined from near Geelong (the home of Tripandom). Sacred Heart Cathedral is 75 metres long and has a ceiling height of 24 metres. The main spire is 87 metres high and was the last piece to be constructed using a lighter steel frame and masonary veneer than the original plans had specified to cut weight and cost. Another highlight of the cathederal is the large pipe organ, built by Bishop & Son of London, was installed in 1905.
Posts Tagged ‘Church’
Bendigo’s Sacred Heart Cathedral
Moscow’s Magnificent
Saint Basil’s or the Cathedral of Intercession of Theotokos on the Moat is probably the most known piece of architecture in Moscow. This magnificently coloured cathedral with its onion like domes is one of the world’s great religious buildings. The church celebrates Russian Orthodox and its beginnings date back to 1555 although the vivid colours and architecture were not a feature until the 1680’s and happened in stages over nearly 200 years. The building is meant to be inspired by a bonfire and its architecture is so unique there were no known similarities to it anywhere. It is rumoured that the architect Postnik Yakovlev was blinded by Ivan the Terrible so he would not design anything as magnificent ever again. The building today is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site which includes the two other major Moscow landmarks Red Square and the Kremlin. The cathedral has been pretty lucky to survive until today. Napoleon was so taken with the St Basil’s that he wanted to dismantle it and move it to Paris but legend tells he didn’t have the technology or manpower to do it. Unhappy with Russia having it and not Paris he then decided no one should have it and ordered it to be blown up. The story goes a sudden shower extinguished the gun powder fuses and the cathedral was saved. St Basil’s was nearly lost in the 1930’s too. Stalin’s Red Square development team planned to knock the structure down to make way for a new grand square luckily the plan didn’t come to fruition. Read the rest of this entry »
The Berliner Dom
The Berliner Dom or Berlin Cathedral as we know it, dates back to 1451 although it has been rebuilt several times, with the current building dating back to 1905 which in fact it was severely damaged by World War II and only finally fully restored in 1993 although in smaller and far less grand. The Cathedral is located in Colln and part of the central Mitte Island which houses many of Berlin’s most historic buildings and museums. Today the cathedral’s magnificent dome stands 115 metres and the building is 114 metres long. It is built from Silesian Sandstone. Many visitors come to the Dom to see the beautiful mosaics and the Sauer’s Organ. For those wanting to see the view from the top of the dome there is a 270 step climb which is well worth the effort for the amazing sight.
