Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Neo Gothic

With around 250,000 inhabitants, Porto is the largest city in the north of Portugal. More than 1.7 million people live in the "Greater Porto area", the metropolitan region. The historic centre of Porto was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Port wine is named after Porto because the wineries of Vila Nova de Gaia on the south bank of the Douro River are the centres for packaging, transporting and exporting the fortified wine. I have uploaded many photos from previous visits. So I will limit myself and only upload a few. The Livraria Lello (Lello bookshop) is one of the most beautiful bookshops in Europe and the world. The Livraria Chardron bookshop was opened here in 1869. In 1894, José Pinto de Sousa Lello bought the building. Together with his brother António Lello, he founded the bookshop and publishing house Lello & Irmão. The bookshop opened in 1906. The bookshop was extensively renovated in 1995. It has been a listed building since 2013. In 2008, the British newspaper The Guardian voted the most beautiful bookshops in the world, awarding the Lello bookshop third place. The Art Nouveau building with its neo-Gothic façade was designed and built by Xavier Esteves.

Słupsk (Stolpe) was a Pomeranian settlement in the early Middle Ages. The Dukes of Pomerelia granted the town charter (Lübsches Stadtrecht) in 1265. A decade later merchants and craftsmen from Westphalia and Holstein founded a new settlement. In 1294 Polish and Bohemian rulers tried to succeed in Pomerelia. Wenceslaus III awarded Stolp to the Brandenburg Ascanians After the fatal attempt on Wenceslas III's life, Wladyslaw I Ellenlang (aka "Ladislaus the Short") reasserted himself as ruler of Pomerelia in 1306 and declared themselves Brandenburg vassals in 1307. In 1308, the Brandenburg margraves invaded and tried to militarily enforce their previously acquired rights. However, they were ousted from Gdansk and the eastern parts of Pomerelia by the Teutonic Knights. However, they were able to hold their ground in the land of Stolp. In 1309, the Duchy of Pomerelia was divided between two feudal states. The western part went to the Brandenburgs, the larger rest including Danzig to the Teutonic Order. After Stolp became prosperous, the citizens acquired the port of Stolpmünde in 1337. In the 14th century the city was pledged to the Teutonic Order by the Pomeranian dukes, who were short of money because of numerous wars. Because the dukes could not redeem the town, but the inhabitants did not want to live under the rule of the Order, the citizens themselves raised the enormous redemption sum of 6,766 silver marks. In devastating fires of 1395 and 1477 the town burned down. In 1478 the plague raged in the town. A dispute with the dukes that lasted for years impoverished the town and forced it to leave the Hanseatic League. During the Thirty Years' War, Stolp was conquered by Swedes in 1630. Wallenstein's troops occupied the town in 1637, and Swedish troops drove them out and completely ruined Stolp. After the war ended in 1648, Stolp fell to Brandenburg in the Peace of Westphalia. The Ratusz (Town Hall) was constructed in 1901 under Prussian rule in the Gothic Revival style. The tower stands 56 meters tall.

The valley of the Rhine seen from the 14th floor of a hotel in Lahnstein. Schloss Stolzenfels (Castle Stolzenfels) is seen in the backdrop. In the 13th century the castle protected a toll station. Destroyed in 1689, during the Nine Years' War, the ruin was used as a quarry during the 18th century. In 1823, the ruin was given as a gift to Frederick William IV of Prussia. In 1822, the Rhineland had become a province of Prussia. Frederick William, who had traveled along the Rhine, had been fascinated by the beauty and romance of the valley. So Frederick William had the castle rebuilt as a Gothic Revival palace.