St. Peter's Church, Utrecht, Netherlands

The Pieterskerk (St. Peter's Church) is one of the oldest in Utrecht. Its construction began in 1039 and it was inaugurated on 1 May 1048 by Bernold, Bishop of Utrecht (although the lost west towers were probably only finished about a century after the inauguration). Characteristic of the Romanesque style in which it is built are the church's large nave pillars, each hewn from one piece of red sandstone, and the crypt under the choir. The building is now used by the Walloon Church.

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User Reviews

Paul Vergeer (21 months ago)
Prachtige grotendeels Romaanse kerk die tijdens de restauratie prachtig hersteld is, waarbij voormalige katholieke elementen weer zichtbaar gemaakt zijn. Teruggevonden (onder de vloer) uit de bouwtijd stammende beeldhouwwerken zijn weer terug geplaatst. Mooie crypte, muurschilderingen die weliswaar aangetast zijn, maar toch weer zichtbaar gemaakt. Werkelijk een juweel in de Utrechtse binnenstad in een nog zichtbare, voorheen ontoegankelijke imuniteit. Het bezoeken meer dan waard.

Guus Dodemont (21 months ago)
Mooi gebouw wordt gerestaureerd, Momenteel in gebruik voor TV opnames. Onder andere tv programma, van onschatbare waarde. Voor omroep MAX.

Ahmed Al-Ammouri (2 years ago)
It was nice

Edgar Here and There (2 years ago)
Well worth a visit

Pieter van der Valk (3 years ago)
The oldest church in Utrecht. Rich history. The church is now a welcome location for concerts. Take your time to look at all the details and visit the garden. And thank the congregation of this l'Eglise Wallonne for taking care of the church so well.

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The St Sophia's Cathedral was built between 1045-1050 inside the Novgorod Kremlin (fortress). It is one of the earliest stone structures of northern Russia. Its height is 38 m. Originally it was taller, for during the past nine centuries the lower part of the building became concealed by the two-metre thick cultural layer. The cathedral was built by Prince Vladimir, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, and until the 1130s this principal church of the city also served as the sepulchre of Novgorodian princes. For the Novgorodians, St Sophia became synonymous with their town, the symbol of civic power and independence.

The five-domed church looks simpler but no less impressive than its prototype, the thirteen-domed St Sophia of Kiev. The cathedral exterior is striking in its majesty and epic splendour evoking the memories of Novgorod's glorious past and invincible might. In the 11th century it looked more imposing than now. Its facade represented a gigantic mosaic of huge, coarsely trimmed irregular slabs of flagstone and shell rock. In some places (particularly on the apses), the wall was covered with mortar, smoothly polished, drawn up to imitate courses of brick or of whitestone slabs, and slightly coloured. As a result, the facade was not white, as it is today, but multicoloured. The play of stone, decorative painting and the building materials of various texture enhanced the impression of austere simplicity and introduced a picturesque effect.

The two-storied galleries extend along the building's southern, western and northern sides, with a stair-tower constructed at the north-eastern corner. The cathedral has three entrances - the southern, western and northern, of which the western was the main one intended for ceremonial processions. A gate standing at the entrance is known as the Sigtuna Gate (mid-12th century); according to legend, it was brought from the Swedish town of Sigtuna in 1187. The second name of the gate derives from the town of Magdeburg, where it was made. The two leaves are decorated with biblical and evangelical scenes in cast bronze relief. In the lower left corner there are portraits of the craftsmen who created this superb specimen of medieval Western European bronze-work. An inscription in Latin gives their names, Riquin and Weissmut. The small central figure - judging from an inscription in Slavonic - is a representation of the Russian master craftsman Avraam, who assembled the gate.

There is yet another bronze gate in the cathedral, called the Korsun Gate. Made in the 11th century in Chersonesos, Byzantium, it leads from the southern gallery into the Nativity Side-Chapel. Legend has it that the gate was handed over to Novgorod as a gift of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (c. 978 - 1054).

The interior of the cathedral is as majestic as its exterior. It is divided by huge piers into five aisles, three of which end in altar apses. In the south-western corner, inside the tower, there is a wide spiral in relatively small, modest buildings of the 12th - 16th centuries.

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