Venta Brick Bridge, Kuldīga, Latvia

The clay brick bridge across the Venta built in 1874 is one of the longest of this type of bridge in Europe. The bridge was built according to the road standards of the 19th century (500 feet long and 26 feet wide) so that two carriages could pass each other. The bridge was repaired in 1926 after it was damaged by the Germans during World War I.

References:

Wikimapia

Part of the Russian Empire (Latvia)

User Reviews

Valdas Ozelis (20 months ago)
Yra ka pamatyti tikrai gražu.

Phibappé Tengelgren (2 years ago)
Walked from Kuldiga bus station to the waterfall and took like 25 mins. It's a very clam city and it's quite nice. Upon arriving the river and the bridge over, will see the waterfall full view. It's the widest waterfall in Europe but it's quite short in terms of the height. But still it's a nice place to spend a half day along with the city. We went also close to the waterfall from the side next to the venta rumbas, many teens were there to play with the waterfall.

Manuela Heinze (2 years ago)
Eine sehr schöne alte Brücke, die, zwar kleiner, aber entfernt an die Karlsbrücke in Prag erinnert. Der Breite Wasserfall ist ebenfalls sehr sehenswert, allerdings durch die Trockenheit in diesem Jahr wenig imposant. Ich stelle es mir jedoch unglaublich schön vor, im Sommer dort unterhalb Baden zu gehen. Wir waren am 24.09.2018 dort und es war leider schon kalt und regnerisch.

Szymon B (2 years ago)
Nice place, old-stylish bridge. Especially interesting and lively during St. John's night.

Mateusz Matula (2 years ago)
Must see :)

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Dan Lundberg

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Hagios Demetrios

The Church of Saint Demetrius, or Hagios Demetrios, is the main sanctuary dedicated to Saint Demetrius, the patron saint of Thessaloniki. It is part of the site Palaeochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessaloniki on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO since 1988.

The first church on the spot was constructed in the early 4th century AD, replacing a Roman bath. A century later, a prefect named Leontios replaced the small oratory with a larger, three-aisled basilica. Repeatedly gutted by fires, the church eventually was reconstructed as a five-aisled basilica in 629–634. This was the surviving form of the church much as it is today. The most important shrine in the city, it was probably larger than the local cathedral. The historic location of the latter is now unknown.

The church had an unusual shrine called the ciborium, a hexagonal, roofed structure at one side of the nave. It was made of or covered with silver. The structure had doors and inside was a couch or bed. Unusually, it did not hold any physical relics of the saint. The ciborium seems to have been a symbolic tomb. It was rebuilt at least once.

The basilica is famous for six extant mosaic panels, dated to the period between the latest reconstruction and the inauguration of the Byzantine Iconoclasm in 730. These mosaics depict St. Demetrius with officials responsible for the restoration of the church (called the founders, ktetors) and with children. An inscription below one of the images glorifies heaven for saving the people of Thessalonica from a pagan Slavic raid in 615.

Thessaloniki became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1430. About 60 years later, during the reign of Bayezid II, the church was converted into a mosque, known as the Kasımiye Camii after the local Ottoman mayor, Cezeri Kasım Pasha. The symbolic tomb however was kept open for Christian veneration. Other magnificent mosaics, recorded as covering the church interior, were lost either during the four centuries when it functioned as a mosque (1493–1912) or in the Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 that destroyed much of the city. It also destroyed the roof and upper walls of the church. Black-and-white photographs and good watercolour versions give an idea of the early Byzantine craftsmanship lost during the fire.

Following the Great Fire of 1917, it took decades to restore the church. Tombstones from the city"s Jewish cemetery - destroyed by the Greek and Nazi German authorities - were used as building materials in these restoration efforts in the 1940s. Archeological excavations conducted in the 1930s and 1940s revealed interesting artifacts that may be seen in a museum situated inside the church"s crypt. The excavations also uncovered the ruins of a Roman bath, where St. Demetrius was said to have been held prisoner and executed. A Roman well was also discovered. Scholars believe this is where soldiers dropped the body of St. Demetrius after his execution. After restoration, the church was reconsecrated in 1949.

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