Ziggurats, Towers and Spires

Kronborg Castle by Helsingör, Denamrk.
Hamlet´s castle.
In the basement is Holger Danske(Ogier the Dane ). The day Denmark is in real danger he will rise and save Denmark.

Istanbul

I think this picture represents some kind of pinnacle of thought.



Ancient ideas are modernized, a process of progressions.

Beautiful picture!!


In the basement is the giant Finn. He was furious that a church was going to be buildt and he wanted to tear it down. But in embrassing a pillar he became small and stone.

We're just back from some days of. Visited the foremer residence of the dukes of Saxony-Altenburg.

That (marked) tower, a so-called "Hausmannsturm", is about 40 meters high .... and without steps. (That made it easier to get the canons up)

Always fun to learn something new.
Runde Taarn was/is an astronomical observatory. so need for taking canons up or down.


In 1716, The Czar Peter the Great ascended the corridor on horseback while visiting Copenhagen.
In 1902, a Beaufort car was the first motorised vehicle to ascend this Round Tower.
A medal in the Round Tower's collection of medals indicates that the first bicycle race held in the tower took place as early as 1888, possibly in connection with The Nordic exhibition of Industry, Agriculture, and Art.
In 1911, the newspaper Socialdemokraten arranged a bicycle race down the Round Tower.
In 1971, Ole Ritter won a bicycle race against Leif Mortensen up the Round Tower in a time of 55.3 seconds.
In 1993, Henrik Djernis won a bicycle race against Jens Veggerby in a time of 50.05 seconds.
In 1989, Thomas Olsen went up and down the Round Tower on a unicycle in 1 minute and 48.7 seconds, which is a world record.[6]

Reflection, Ghent, Belgium

What a lovely picture - it is raining outside so it is a pleasure to look at it.

The Viking hero, Leif Eriksson. Who can name the location?

Reykjavik Iceland

That was a tricky question. Looked at pictures of Leif Eriksson statues and they all seem to bee outside.
That was fun

There''s also one of Leif Ericson at the Charlesgate end of the divider island down the middle of Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. No one is quite sure why he's there. See that little stone pseudo-Viking dragon boat he's standing in?

Nere's one I like--I guess it's kind of the opposite of a tower or a spire, since you've got to go down underground, not up, to get to it:

the statue of Holger Danske, (in the Charlemagnic cycle, he's Ogier le Danois, Holger the Dane, who died defending Charlemagne). In legend, he lies sleeping under Helsingborg Castle in Denmark (aka Hamlet's Elsinore), from where he will rise in Denmark's darkest hour to defend his beloved country, much like King Arthur is supposed to lie sleeping somewhere in England. The statue, ddep below Elsinore, shows him in his long sleep, armed and ready to return at need



As I remember, one of the groups in the Danish Resistance to the Nazis in WWII was called the Holger Danske Brigade

You are correct about the Holger Danske resistance group.
I think Leif in Bostonlooks more like some kind of Roman soldier than a Viking.

In the 1880's, a local Massachusetts professor believed that he had found the remainder of Norse settlements in Massachusetts. The excitement was shared by many, including sculptor, Anne Whitney. In 1887 her statue of Leif Erikson was completed and placed on Commonwealth Avenue.

More interested that "Vinland" was indeed Boston, was Eben N. Horsford. He was an American scientist best known for his interest in Viking settlement in North America and his reformulation of baking powder. Horsford had a theory that Erikson sailed through Boston Harbor, up the Charles River to Cambridge. The Longfellow Bridge over the river is also adorned with Viking ships, referring to the hypothetical voyage.

Contrary to the believers, the first Norse settlement was found in Newfoundland, Canada in the 1960's. All that has been found in the United States is a coin, discovered in Maine. Although the statue is grounded in inaccurate research from centuries past, it is still a reminder of Boston's interest in the Vikings in the 1880's.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

Läckö Castle, a nationa monument now.
I often dream about living in a place with a tower, but the buildings around are far too big. I don´t need that much space just need the tower

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A4ck%C3%B6_Castle

Didn't Walter do a photoshopped Neuschwanstein as an April Fool joke this year, significantly expanded--"they've built a whole new tower on Neuschwanstein"? {and wasn't it Walt Disney's inspiration for the enchanted castle in the original Disneyland?}

Geez, saab, I'm sorry, I hadn't realized I was poaching your material, and on the same page too, not even from long ago--I completely missed your pic of Holger Danske.

I first ran into Holger in a fantasy novel "Three Hearts and Three Lions" by the science-fiction writer Poul Anderson which came out sometime in the 60s, which featured a modern avatar of him, living today while the original slept on. Loved the book when I was considerably younger, and had to visit his statue when I went to Denmark.

Holger Danske is good enough to be shown twice.
Did anybody show you Hamlet´s grave by Helsingør? Of course he is not buried there.....

Yes Walter did that - a good idea.

Another one Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany