Saint Michael's Church, Luxemburg, Luxembourg

Saint Michael's Church is the oldest extant religious site in Luxembourg City. The first church was built on the site in 987 as the castle chapel for the Count of Luxembourg. However, over the following centuries, the building was destroyed, rebuilt, and renovated several times. Its current appearance dates to 1688, and unites Romanesque and Baroque architectural styles, pre-dating the national Moselle Baroque style. The building has been restored since then, preserving its original form.

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in Luxembourg

User Reviews

Ivans Borodenoks (2 years ago)
Beautiful church

Tony Duffy (3 years ago)
Dating back to 987, this is the oldest church in Luxembourg. Beautiful building and very atmospheric inside.

MissSJ (3 years ago)
Église Saint-Michel is the oldest remaining Christian-religious location of the Luxembourg city. The current building dates from 1688 encountering many severe damages over the centuries. Fortunately, the original design was preserved despite countless restoration.

Shame A Name (3 years ago)
... one of the oldest catholic churches, beautiful stained glass windows.

Issa Maalouf (3 years ago)
One of the oldest church in Luxembourg in one of the oldest area there... It is quiet and peaceful... We prayed there and discovered this old and beautiful and small church in Luxembourg.... You can notice from the walls, the statues and the icons that it is very old but well preserved... It is a must see when you visit Luxembourg city... It is highly recommended...

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The Palazzo Colonna is a palatial block of buildings built in part over ruins of an old Roman Serapeum, and has belonged to the prestigious Colonna family for over twenty generations.

The first part of the palace dates from the 13th century, and tradition holds that the building hosted Dante in his visit to Rome. The first documentary mention notes that the property hosted Cardinal Giovanni and Giacomo Colonna in the 13th century. It was also home to Cardinal Oddone Colonna before he ascended to the papacy as Martin V (1417–1431).

With his passing, the palace was sacked during feuds, and the main property passed into the hands of the Della Rovere family. It returned to the Colonna family when Marcantonio I Colonna married Lucrezia Gara Franciotti Della Rovere, the niece of pope Julius II. The Colonna"s alliance to the Habsburg power, likely protected the palace from looting during the Sack of Rome (1527).

Starting with Filippo Colonna (1578–1639) many changes have refurbished and create a unitary complex around a central garden. Architects including Girolamo Rainaldi and Paolo Marucelli labored on specific projects. Only in the 17th and 18th centuries were the main facades completed. Much of this design was completed by Antonio del Grande (including the grand gallery), and Girolamo Fontana (decoration of gallery). In the 18th century, the long low facade designed by Nicola Michetti with later additions by Paolo Posi with taller corner blocks (facing Piazza Apostoli) was constructed recalls earlier structures resembling a fortification.

The main gallery (completed 1703) and the masterful Colonna art collection was acquired after 1650 by both the cardinal Girolamo I Colonna and his nephew the Connestabile Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna and includes works by Lorenzo Monaco, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Palma the Elder, Salviati, Bronzino, Tintoretto, Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carracci (painting of The Beaneater), Guercino, Francesco Albani, Muziano and Guido Reni. Ceiling frescoes by Filippo Gherardi, Giovanni Coli, Sebastiano Ricci, and Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari celebrate the role of Marcantonio II Colonna in the battle of Lepanto (1571). The gallery is open to the public on Saturday mornings.

The older wing of the complex known as the Princess Isabelle"s apartments, but once housing Martin V"s library and palace, contains frescoes by Pinturicchio, Antonio Tempesta, Crescenzio Onofri, Giacinto Gimignani, and Carlo Cesi. It contains a collection of landscapes and genre scenes by painters like Gaspard Dughet, Caspar Van Wittel (Vanvitelli), and Jan Brueghel the Elder.

Along with the possessions of the Doria-Pamphilij and Pallavacini-Rospigliosi families, this is one of the largest private art collections in Rome.

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