Details
Founded: ca. 1400Category: Religious sites in Estonia
Historical period: Danish and Livonian Order (Estonia)
Rating
5/5 (based on Google user reviews)
According the legend the church of St. Olav in Vormsi was originally built in 1219 in the guidance of Valdemar II, the King of Denmark. Although, the oldest parts of the church has been dated to the year 1400 (approximately). It has been renovated and reconstructed several times, at least in 1632, 1772 and 1929. The St. Olav’s church is unique for the fact that it has no belfry; the bell hangs above the door under the high ridge.
In the churchyard you can see several old tombs of the Swedish inhabitants, who lived in the Vormsi island until World War II. A bit furthrer is an old graveyard with the largest collection of wheel crosses in Estonia. The oldest cross dates back to 1743, the freshest one to 1923. All crosses are handmade by the peasants. Many of the wheel crosses bear clear writings but many of the crosses are of primitive treatment and have many grammatical errors. The crosses often bear the village names, sometimes also farm names, but almost always family marks. The wheel crosses often bear several dates which all show dates of death. Death dates were probably marked on an old family cross when the wooden cross on the grave decomposed. In 1977, Ministry of Arts started the inventory of wheel crosses.
References:The Baths of Caracalla were the second largest Roman public baths, or thermae, in Rome. It was built between AD 212 and 217, during the reigns of Septimius Severus and Caracalla. They would have had to install over 2,000t of material every day for six years in order to complete it in this time.
The baths remained in use until the 6th century when the complex was taken by the Ostrogoths during the Gothic War, at which time the hydraulic installations were destroyed. The bath was free and open to the public. The earthquake of 847 destroyed much of the building, along with many other Roman structures.
The building was heated by a hypocaust, a system of burning coal and wood underneath the ground to heat water provided by a dedicated aqueduct. It was in use up to the 19th century. The Aqua Antoniniana aqueduct, a branch of the earlier Aqua Marcia, by Caracalla was specifically built to serve the baths. It was most likely reconstructed by Garbrecht and Manderscheid to its current place.
In the 19th and early 20th century, the design of the baths was used as the inspiration for several modern structures, including St George's Hall in Liverpool and the original Pennsylvania Station in New York City. At the 1960 Summer Olympics, the venue hosted the gymnastics events.
