Santa María de Baiona Church, Baiona, Spain

The fortified-looking church of Santa María of Baiona, with a Ogival Romanesque style, was built in the 13th century and had the category of collegiate church from 1482 to 1850.

It is divide up in three naves with their respective rectangular apses. The main nave resembles the Cistercian style of Santa María de Oia monastery. Two buttresses flanked the front door in the main façade: three pairs of columns, flat tympanum and archivolts. Windows are Romanesque; there is a marvellous Romanesque rose window up in the main façade. In 1841 several crosses of different styles formerly placed around the village were moved to the portico.

References:

baiona.org

Religious sites in Spain

User Reviews

Jose Antonio Martínez Pérez (27 days ago)

Manuel Óscar Veiras García (34 days ago)
Beautiful church and the best that is visitable

Carlos M. Jardon (49 days ago)
Very pretty and well preserved

Juan Antonio Moraga Ramirez (2 months ago)
Precious. Wonderful to see it. From the harbor promenade you have to climb a bit but it is 400 m

Mark Auchincloss (18 months ago)
Beautiful 13th Century Roman style church in the corner of Santa Liberata Square which is normally open. To the left of the altar is a statue of the Apostle Saint James. The Church is next to the Camino de Santiago so many pilgrims pass through and can go to mass. Pilgrims can also buy the credential or get it stamped by the priest, Manuel but only when he or a nun is around so be patient ! At Christmas there's an amazing nativity scene with hand made models.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

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Derbent Fortress

Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.

Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.

A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.

The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.

In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.

In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.

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