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.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Paul Vergeer (2 years 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 (2 years ago)
Mooi gebouw wordt gerestaureerd, Momenteel in gebruik voor TV opnames. Onder andere tv programma, van onschatbare waarde. Voor omroep MAX.

Ahmed Al-Ammouri (3 years ago)
It was nice

Edgar Here and There (3 years ago)
Well worth a visit

Pieter van der Valk (4 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 first historical record of Lednice locality dates from 1222. At that time there stood a Gothic fort with courtyard, which was lent by Czech King Václav I to Austrian nobleman Sigfried Sirotek in 1249.

At the end of the 13th century the Liechtensteins, originally from Styria, became holders of all of Lednice and of nearby Mikulov. They gradually acquired land on both sides of the Moravian-Austrian border. Members of the family most often found fame in military service, during the Renaissance they expanded their estates through economic activity. From the middle of the 15th century members of the family occupied the highest offices in the land. However, the family’s position in Moravia really changed under the brothers Karel, Maximilian, and Gundakar of Liechtenstein. Through marriage Karel and Maximilian acquired the great wealth of the old Moravian dynasty of the Černohorskýs of Boskovice. At that time the brothers, like their father and grandfather, were Lutheran, but they soon converted to Catholicism, thus preparing the ground for their rise in politics. Particularly Karel, who served at the court of Emperor Rudolf II, became hetman of Moravia in 1608, and was later raised to princely status by King Matyas II and awarded the Duchy of Opava.

During the revolt of the Czech nobility he stood on the side of the Habsburgs, and took part in the Battle of White Mountain. After the uprising was defeated in 1620 he systematically acquired property confiscated from some of the rebels, and the Liechtensteins became the wealthiest family in Moravia, rising in status above the Žerotíns. Their enormous land holdings brought them great profits, and eventually allowed them to carry out their grandious building projects here in Lednice.

In the 16th century it was probably Hartmann II of Liechtenstein who had the old medieval water castle torn down and replaced with a Renaissance chateau. At the end of the 17th century the chateau was torn down and a Baroque palace was built, with an extensive formal garden, and a massive riding hall designed by Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach that still stands in almost unaltered form.

In the mid-18th century the chateau was again renovated, and in 1815 its front tracts that had been part of the Baroque chateau were removed.

The chateau as it looks today dates from 1846-1858, when Prince Alois II decided that Vienna was not suitable for entertaining in the summer, and had Lednice rebuilt into a summer palace in the spirit of English Gothic. The hall on the ground floor would serve to entertain the European aristocracy at sumptuous banquets, and was furnished with carved wood ceilings, wooden panelling, and select furniture, surpassing anything of its kind in Europe.

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