Tuesday, 24 June 2025

Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France

This sites includes 78 structures and some of them were already in the UNESCO World Heritage list. I've already been in Périgueux, Bordeaux and in Clermont-Ferrand but I'd love to do the whole route.


Routes of Santiago de Compostela
This postcard arrived from Portugal sent by Martinha

Santiago de Compostela was the supreme goal for countless thousands of pious pilgrims who converged there from all over Europe throughout the Middle Ages. To reach Spain pilgrims had to pass through France, and the group of important historical monuments included in this inscription marks out the four routes by which they did so. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/868/


Saint-Front Cathedral

Saint-Front Cathedral is located in Périgueux, the capital of the historic Périgord and Préfecture of the Dordogne department. - in: https://travelfranceonline.com/saint-front-cathedral-perigueux-dordogne/


Saint-Front Cathedral
The Saint Front Cathedral was designed on the model of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. The layout of the cathedral is in the form of a Greek cross. Its five domes with turrets show a direct architectural relationship with oriental religious buildings, which served as inspiration for the architects of Saint-Front Cathedral. The domes of Saint-Front Cathedral were once different in size, but were redesigned by architect Paul Abadie to have one size, and to be symmetrical. The pillars carrying the load of the superstructure are 6 meters wide. The domes are inaccessible to the public. - in: wikipedia


Basilica of Notre-Dame du Port

The Basilica of Notre-Dame du Port is a Romanesque basilica, formerly a collegiate church, in the Port quarter of Clermont-Ferrand, between Place Delille and the cathedral. From the 10th century to the French Revolution it was served by a community of canonsregular until the 13th century, and thereafter secular.
According to tradition, the church was founded by the bishop of ClermontSaint Avitus, in the 6th century and was rebuilt in the 11th or 12th centuries after being burned down by the Normans. The establishment here of a community of canons took place no earlier than the middle of the 10th century, under bishop Étienne II of Clermont. - in: wikipedia


Basilica of Saint-Sernin

The Basilica of Saint-Sernin (OccitanBasilica de Sant Sarnin) is a church in ToulouseFrance, the former abbey church of the Abbey of Saint-Sernin or St Saturnin. Apart from the church, none of the abbey buildings remain. The current church is located on the site of a previous basilica of the 4th century which contained the body of Saint Saturnin or Sernin, the first bishop of Toulouse in c. 250. Constructed in the Romanesque style between about 1080 and 1120, with construction continuing thereafter, Saint-Sernin is the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe, if not the world. The church is particularly noted for the quality and quantity of its Romanesque sculpture. - in: wikipedia


Tour Pey-Berland
Bordeaux Cathedral (FrenchCathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux) is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Andrew and located in BordeauxFrance.
The cathedral was consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1096. Of the original Romanesque edifice, only a wall in the nave remains. The Royal Gate is from the early 13th century, while the rest of the construction is mostly from the 14th-15th centuries.
A separate bell tower, the Tour Pey-Berland, stands next to the cathedral. - in: wikipedia

Mont Saint-Michel
This postcard was sent by Ulla

Le Mont-Saint-Michel (EnglishSaint Michael's Mount) is an island commune in Normandy, France.
The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times and since the 8th century AD has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. The structural composition of the town exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it: on top, God, the abbey and monastery; below, the great halls; then stores and housing; and at the bottom, outside the walls, houses for fishermen and farmers. - in: wikipedia


Vézelay Abbey

Vézelay Abbey (FrenchAbbaye Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay) was a Benedictine and Cluniac monastery in Vézelay in the Yonne department in northern BurgundyFrance. The Benedictine abbey church, now the Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (Saint Mary Magdalene), with its complicated program of imagery in sculpted capitals and portals, is one of the outstanding masterpieces of Burgundian Romanesque art and architecture. - in: wikipedia

Bourges Cathedral
This postcard was sent by Jordi

Bourges Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in BourgesFrance.
The present Cathedral was built as a replacement for a mid-11th-century structure, traces of which survive in the crypt. - in: wikipedia

Pont Valantré
This postcard was sent by Julie

The Pont Valentré is a 14th-century six-span fortified stone arch bridge crossing the river Lot to the west of Cahors, in France. It has become a symbol of the city.
It was built between 1308 and 1378 with six Gothic arches and three square bridge towers. It opened for use in 1350. It was originally fortified at both ends; the western tower has not survived. - in: wikipedia


Amiens Cathedral
This postcard was sent by Axel

The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens (FrenchBasilique Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens), or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and seat of the Bishop of Amiens.
The cathedral contains the alleged head of John the Baptist, a relic brought from Constantinople by Wallon de Sarton as he was returning from the Fourth Crusade. - in: wikipedia

Thursday, 19 June 2025

The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement

This site is located in 7 countries of 3 different continents! I've been once at the Immeuble Clarté and three times at the "Petite Villa au bord du lac Léman", both in Switzerland.


The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier

Chosen from the work of Le Corbusier, the 17 sites comprising this transnational serial property are spread over seven countries and are a testimonial to the invention of a new architectural language that made a break with the past. They were built over a period of a half-century, in the course of what Le Corbusier described as “patient research”. (...) These masterpieces of creative genius also attest to the internationalization of architectural practice across the planet. - in: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1321


Villa Le Lac

This small detached house, designed for Le Corbusier’s parents, was built in 1923-24 from plans drawn up by Le Corbusier and by his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret fully illustrate the ideas for which their authors were already renowned at that time. The Villa “Le Lac” foreshadows three of the “five points for a new architecture”: the use of the roof as a sun deck or garden, the open plan and the ribbon window.
The house, as it stands today, has remained quite true to the original plan. - in: http://www.villalelac.ch/en/history.html

Maison Guiette
This postcard was sent by Veerle

Maison Guiette also known as Les Peupliers, is a house in AntwerpBelgium, designed by Le Corbusier in 1926 and built in 1927. It was the studio and living quarters of René Guiette, a painter and art critic. One of the Franco-Swiss architect's lesser-known works, it is an early example of the International Style.

Maison Guiette
This postcard was sent by Hanko

Rene Guiette asked Le Corbusier to design a house modelled on the 1925 Pavilion de l'Esprit Nouveau. Guiette drew lifelong inspiration from the house using gouache and experimental photography. - in: wikipedia


Weissenhof Estate
This postcard was sent by Steffi

The Weissenhof Estate (or Weissenhof Settlement; in German Weißenhofsiedlung) is a housing estate built for exhibition in Stuttgart in 1927. It was an international showcase of what later became known as the International style of modern architecture. - in: wikipedia


Studio-Apartment in the Molitor Building

Built between 1931 and 1934, the Studio-Apartment at the top of the Molitor Building in Paris is a compact, carefully considered evocation of his “Five Points of New Architecture” — support columns, gardens on roofs, open floors, façades that are floating, and windows that are horizontal for optimal light.
Le Corbusier lived here until his death in 1965, and it’s preserved the way he left it by the Fondation Le Corbusier. - in: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/le-corbusier-s-studio-apartment


Chapel Notre Dame du Haut

Notre Dame du Haut (FrenchChapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut de Ronchamp) is a Roman Catholic chapel in RonchampFrance. Built in 1954, it is one of the finest examples of the architecture of Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier and one of the most important examples of twentieth-century religious architecture. The chapel is a working religious building and is under the guardianship of the private foundation Association de l’Œuvre de Notre-Dame du Haut. - in: wikipedia


Palace of Assembly, Chandigarh
This postcard was sent by Prashant Alex

Palace of Assembly is a legislative assembly designed by noted architect Le Corbusier and located in Chandigarh, build around 1950s India. It is part of the The Capitol Complex, which comprises three buildings — Legislative Assembly, Secretariat and High Court. This building was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. - in: wikipedia


National Museum of Western Art
This postcard with matching stamp was sent by Satoko


The National Museum of Western Art is the premier public art gallery in Japan specializing in art from the Western tradition.
The Main Building was designed by the Swiss architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris (1887–1965), who is more popularly known as Le Corbusier. It is the only representative example of his work in the Far East; and the New York Times review of its opening suggested that the building itself presented an "artistic significance and beauty" which rivaled the paintings inside. - in: wikipedia


I'm still missing a postcard from Argentina, but I have one that shows the seven countries

The work of Le Corbusier inscribed (in red what I have individually):
  • Maisons La Roche et Jeanneret - France
  • Petite villa au bord du lac Léman - Switzerland
  • Cité Frugès - France
  • Maison Guiete - Belgium
  • Maisons de la Weissenhof-Siedlung - Germany
  • Villa Savoye et loge du jardiner - France
  • Immeuble Clarté - Switzerland
  • Immeuble locatif à la Porte Molitor - France
  • Unité d’habitation Marseille - France
  • La Manufacture à Saint- Dié - France
  • Maison du docteur Curutchet - Argentina
  • Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut de Ronchamp - France
  • Cabanon de Le Corbusier - France
  • Complexe du Capitole - India
  • Couvent Sainte-Marie-de-la-Tourette - France
  • Musée National des Beaux-Arts de l’Occident - Japan
  • Maison de la Culture de Firminy - France

Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun

Sometimes is hard to tell exactly from where are the views shown in the postcards. In the case of these first two I have no doubt that they are from the ancient villages in Southern Anhui, but not sure if they are from Xidi or from Hongcun. The sender of the first postcard says it is Xidi and the sender of second says it is Hongcun. However, after googling some images, I think they are both from Hongcun.

Ancient Village in Southern Anhui

Xidi (Chinese西递) is a village in Yi County of the historical Huizhou region of Anhui province, China.
First built during the Huangyou era (1049–1053) of Song Dynasty Emperor Renzong, the village was originally called Xichuan (West River), owing to the various water courses flowing through it.
The rise of the village was closely tied to the fortunes of the Hu family. By 1465 CE, during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), family members had started in business as merchants, leading to construction of major private buildings and a public infrastructure. By the middle of the 17th century, the influence wielded by members of the Hu family expanded from commerce into politics. The prosperity of Xidi peaked in the 18th and 19th centuries, at which time the village comprised about 600 residences.

Ancient Village in Southern Anhui
Hongcun (Chinese宏村pinyinHóngcūnlit. "Hong village") is a village in Yi County in the historical Huizhou region of southern Anhui Province, China, near the southwest slope of Mount Huangshan.

Hongcun
This postcad was sent by Mengqi
The village is arranged in the shape of an ox with the nearby hill (Leigang Hill) interpreted as the head, and two trees standing on it as the horns. Four bridges across the Jiyin stream can be seen as the legs whilst the houses of the village form the body. Inside the “body”, the Jiyin stream represents the intestines and various lakes such as the “South Lake” (Nanhu) form the other internal organs.
The architecture and carvings of the approximately 150 residences dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties are said to be among the best of their kind in China. One of the biggest of the residences open to visitors, Chenzhi Hall, also contains a small museum. - in: wikipedia

Mount Huangshan

Huangshan is known as the loveliest mountain in China and is also famous for the Chinese tea

Huangshan Mountain
Huangshan (Chinese黄山), is a mountain range in southern Anhui province in eastern China. Vegetation on the range is thickest below 1,100 meters (3,600 ft), with trees growing up to the treeline at 1,800 meters (5,900 ft).

Mount Huangshan

The area is well known for its scenery, sunsets, peculiarly-shaped granite peaks, Huangshan pine trees, hot springs, winter snow, and views of the clouds from above. Huangshan is a frequent subject of traditional Chinese paintings and literature, as well as modern photography. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of China's major tourist destinations. Huangshan is also the famous place for Chinese teas of high quality, such as Huangshan Maofeng, Keemun Black, and Blooming Tea.

Huangshan pine
Pinus hwangshanensis, or Huangshan pine, is a pine endemic to the mountains of eastern China, in the provinces of AnhuiFujianGuizhouHubeiHunanJiangxi, and Zhejiang; it is named after the Huangshan Mountains in Anhui, from where it was first described.
Pinus hwangshanensis is an evergreen tree reaching 15–25 metres (49–82 ft) in height, with a very broad, flat-topped crown of long, level branches.
Huangshan pines typically grow at moderate to high altitudes on steep, rocky crags, and are a major vegetation component in the exceptional landscapes of eastern China. Many specimens are venerated for their unique rugged shapes, and are frequently portrayed in traditional Chinese paintings. - in: wikipedia