Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Einhorn

Tangermünde Castle was first mentioned in 1009 as "civitate Tongeremuthi" because this is where the Tanger (Tongera) flows into the Elbe. The city was first mentioned in 1275. From 1373 to 1378 Tangermünde was the second seat of Emperor Charles IV, who appointed his 12-year-old son Wenzel Elector of Brandenburg in 1373. After the death of Emperor Charles IV, there was a turbulent development in the Mark, until the Hohenzollerns were enfeoffed with the Mark as electors in 1415 and initially resided in Tangermünde. The heyday of the Hanseatic city was the 15th century, when the city gates and the town hall were built in the North German brick Gothic style. At this time, St. Stephen's Church was expanded into a Gothic hall church. The city lost the Elector's favor after the uprising of 1488, when the citizens rebelled against the beer tax. In 1617 the city burned down almost completely. After the fire, many magnificent half-timbered houses were built. Due to the Thirty Years' War, however, the city became a rather insignificant country town. - The predecessor of St. Stephan was a Romanesque basilica. It was in existence by 1188. Parts of this original building were reused in the construction of the present church. The transept of the former building gave the width of the new nave. Emperor Charles IV, who lived in Tangermünde between 1373 and 1378, founded a house of Augustinian Canons, to which he gave the church as a source of income. The canons conducted the services. During the late Middle Ages the construction took place in several phases of today's triple-aisled Gothic hall church. Firstly, after 1350, the northern wall of the nave and the southern wall were built, and in about 1405, the roof and the rib vaults. The prominent octagonal pillars are unusual. The south tower remains uncompleted to this day. In 1450 work began on the construction of the new choir, followed by the outside walls of the new ambulatory and also the arms of the transept. Only then was the old choir removed. The choir was roofed in 1475. The city-wide fire from 1617 damaged the church and the top part of the north tower collapsed. It was not restored until after 1714, when the tower received its present Baroque roof. A "Biblia Pauperum" (Bible for the poor) was attached to the north gallery of the church in 1620. In this way, the parishioners who could not read were able to experience the stories of the Bible in pictures. Noah's Ark. In the backdrop the elephants are approaching the ark.

Otranto occupies the site of an ancient Greek city. It gained importance in Roman times, as it was the nearest port to the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. After the end of the Roman Empire, it was in the hands of the Byzantine emperors until it surrendered to the Norman troops of Robert Guiscard in 1068. The Normans fortified the city and built the cathedral, that got consecrated in 1088. When Henry VI., son of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, married Constanze of Sicily in 1186 Otranto came under the rule of the Hohenstaufen and later in the hands of Ferdinand I of Aragón, King of Naples. Between 1480 and 1481 the "Ottoman invasion" took place here. Troops of the Ottoman Empire invaded and laid siege to the city and its citadel. Legends tell that more than 800 inhabitants were beheaded after the city was captured. The "Martyrs of Otranto" are still celebrated in Italy, their skulls are on display in the cathedral. A year later the Ottoman garrison surrendered the city following a siege by Christian forces and the intervention of Papal forces. Otranto had been one of the last Byzantine strongholds in Apulia, but finally, Robert Guiscard could take it. It had probably been such a stronghold, as Otranto had hosted an autocephalous bishopric, only dependent on the patriarchal see of Byzantium since 968. So (Roman) Catholicism had to perform something "convincing" for the so-long (Byzantine) Orthodox Christians. One was to erect a huge church. The Otranto Cathedral, seen in the center, was erected over the ruins of a Paleochristian church from 1080 on and was consecrated in 1088. It is 54 meters long by 25 meters wide and is built on 42 monolithic granite and marble columns. I had returned to Otranto to see the unbelievable, breathtaking mosaic again. It was created by a monk named Pantaleon and his workshop between 1163 and 1165. Pantaleon lived at the monastery San Nicola di Casole, located a few kilometers south of Otranto. The mosaic covers the nave, both aisles, the apse and the presbytery. This sums up to a total of 1596 m². About 10 000000 (10 million!) "tesserae" were used. There are scholars, who have counted up to 700 different "stories", that are told here. Though, these "stories" are often disputed, as today's interpretations are mostly very "vague". German historian Carl Arnold Willemsen published the most important book about the mosaic in Italian " L'enigma di Otranto", that since the 1970s is translated into many languages. I followed his theories. The unicorn was a very rare species in the Middle Ages. As I have uploaded so many photos taken in Otranto already, I will upload now only a few. If you want to see more click here: www.ipernity.com/doc/323415/album/1333378