Elne Cathedral, Elne, France

The Romanesque style Elne Cathedral was consecrated in 1069. In 1285, during the Aragonese Crusade, French troops sacked the town and massacred the townspeople who had taken refuge in the cathedral.

Work began on rebuilding the cathedral in the 14th century but was never finished, which explains the irregular appearance of the main facade - the tower on the right was built at this time but not the tower on the left, so a much smaller tower was added later instead. The cathedral is notable for the lack of decorative stonework on the outside.

The cloisters were also built over the course of three hundred years, which explains why some parts are more ornamented than others - despite this the closters are very beautiful, with marble arches featuring interesting capital stones surrounding a nicely maintained garden. The cloisters now also contain a Museum of History and a Museum of Archaeology.

References:

francethisway.com

Bengtskär Lighthouse

Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.

German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.

After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.

Amer Alhaj (4 years ago)
Top

Jesus E. Gabaldon (4 years ago)
Wonderful romanic building and excellent tour and service. Worth the trip...

Kitty Dee (4 years ago)
Historic, many stories to this town.

Giuseppe Mennella (5 years ago)
One of marvellous romanic style church in the Eastern Pyrenees. In the church there are some Retablos and the cloister is very nice

Eleanor C. (5 years ago)
Wonderfil views Pleasant parking nearby

Elne Cathedral

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Bengtskär Lighthouse