Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: christmas tree

Christianity had reached Trier early and so since Roman times monks had lived here. In 977 the monks adopted the Rule of St. Benedict. The Benedictian Abbey was named after St. Eucharius, as the relics of St. Eucharius and St. Valerius, the first Bishops of Trier, were kept here. During the demolition work of the predecessing church a tomb containing the relics of Apostle Matthias (St. Mathew) were discovered! Legends arose, that there were sent to the monastery by Empress Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, who had lived in Trier. The monastery´s name was changed to "Abtei St. Matthias" immediately and this was a center of pilgrimage from then on. Though "perfectly" placed to the North of Europe it never gained the importance of Santiago de Compostela (about 1800 kms southwest) or Rome (1200 kms south). There are still pilgrims today, heading to this church, offering the only grave of an Apostle north of the Alps. When I started to walk to Santiago, I started exactly here. The abbey existed upto 1794, when the last monks left it. The abbey got secularised and sold to a local entrepeneur. In the 1920s monks returned to St. Matthias. Today the church is used as an abbey- and a parish church. St. Matthias, seen today is the result of many renovations and rebuildings over the centuries, but it is still a Romanesque structure. Christmas trees light the central nave with the gothic vaulting. The destinations of the pilgrims is the crypt. There are stairs leading down, but St. Matthias is the only church I ever visited, that offers an electrical lift for tired and exhausted pilgrims.

Early sunset in winter - St. Peter's Basilica in late daylight. St. Peter's Basilica is of course part of Vatican City (officially the "State of Vatican City") a walled enclave within the city of Rome. But with an area of about 44 hectares, and a population of about 850 it is the smallest state in the world and so I merge it into Rome and Italy. St. Peter's Basilica of today replaced "Old St. Peter's Basilica", that existed from the 4th to the 16th century, when the construction on the new basilica started. Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in "Old St. Peter" in 800. (New) St. Peter's Basilica, designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture, completed in 1590. It is one of the largest churches worldwide . Seen in the center of the "St. Peter's Square" is the Vatican Obelisk, that was originally taken by Caligula from Heliopolis in Egypt. Next to the obelisk is a christmas tree and a large crib.

The Monasterio de San Pedro el Viejo ("Saint Peter the Old") is a former Benedictine monastery, built within the 12th century. A church had existed here (built on the place of a Roman temple) since Visigothic times and even, when the Moors hold Huesca, this church was in use. Christian troops conquered Huesca in 1096 and from 1117 on Benedictines with obvious ties to Cluny reconstructed the church and erected a monasterio here. The Benedictian monastery needed a decent cloister. This got erected adjoining the church around 1140. Many of the capitals were carved by the "Master of Agüero" (aka "Master of San Juan de la Peña") or his workshop. The doors below this tympanum lead from the cloister to the nave of the church. At least three chrismons can be found on tympana in San Pedro el Viejo. This one, hold by two angels, is one of them. Below are the Magi, adoring the Virgin and Child. The scene seems like "organized" by a family-photographer. All pictured persons here face the audience. Even the Magi, who is just handing over his present, has turned his face to the onlooker. Joseph, who can often be found contemplating (sleeping) in this scene, is greeting the audience. The Magi can often be found along the pilgrim-routes. Cluny, the burgundian abbey, that was highly important to develop these routes, may have "distributed" this scene. Just like the Magi followed the "Star of Bethlehem", the pilgrims followed the camino on their way to CompoSTELLA. The scene is framed by two objects, that look like christmas-trees, but they must stand for something different, as Christmas trees were "invented" in the Alsace around 1500.