Old Town of Toruń

We will visit today yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site in Poland - the medieval Old Town of Toruń.

The city plan still looks like it did centuries ago.

The heart of the Old Town is of course around the Town Hall. Next to it you will quickly notice a monument devoted to the most famous inhabitant of the city - the astronomer Mikołaj Kopernik (Nicolaus Copernicus).

It is not the only monument on the square. This fiddler seems to be entertaining frogs. Actually this is a personification of a legend. Centuries ago, frogs have literally invaded Toruń. There was no way to get rid of them. Until a poor lighterman came to the city, playing his woodel violin to make some money. The frogs were enchanted by his music and followed him out of the city walls into a large pond, never to return.

It is possible to climb up the clock tower of the Town Hall. Shall we? The buildings around the Market Square were the pride of the medieval merchants.

One of the sides is populated by churches. The tall tower belongs to the church of the Holy Spirit.

Toruń lies by the Vistula river.The church by the river is the basilica of Saint John the Evangelist and Saint John the Baptist (it seems to me as if there was an agreement that the church should be devoted to a Saint John but they could not reach an agreement which, so they went for both).

There is also one devoted to Saint Jacob and Saint Philip (again two!).

It is of course part of the Way to Santiago de Compostela.

In the Middle Ages the balance of powers was truck between church and the secular rulers, kings or princes. But Toruń belonged, like Malbork, to the Teutonic Knights so to some extent both the church and the secular power.

Unfortunately today the castle is in ruins.

Though one dungeon was renovated. 

Next to the ruins runs a little brook where the castle mill used to produce flour.

All medieval cities were surrounded by high walls. Toruń is not an exception.

To enter the city, visitors had to use one of the city gates.

The walls are encrusted with towers. The most famous is the leaning one. Just like in Pisa.

The day is lovely. Let's sit by the river and enjoy the sunlight before moving back to exploring Toruń.

Aachen

Over the last weeks we have seen several fantastic places in Germany. Today we will finish our trip in yet another UNESCO World Heritage site - Aachen. Its cathedral was built in eighth century and due to its uniqueness was inscribed on the UNESCO list back in 1978, during the very first session.

The city of Aachen was founded by Charlemagne or Charles the Great who has ruled half of the Europe and was crowned as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Since Charlemagne was French, in his time the city was known as Aix-la-Chapelle, with reference to thermal baths that were located there and that provided healing and relief to the king.

The baths are still working today.

Just have a look at this impressive list of guests. And it is only one of many tables like that in the bath building.

Do you want to try yourself - here it comes, the world famous healing water from Aix-la-Chapelle.

Do you feel refreshed? Then let's move to see more of the famous city. I propose we follow the carolingian path.

Of course it is not the only path that crosses Aachen. I am sure that you will not be surprised to find out that Aachen lies on the path to Santiago.

This street looks interesting. And I think that I see the "Karolus" sign further down the road. Let's turn left.

Finally, we arrive in the proximity of the cathedral. As you may see, its main part has an unusual shape of an octagon. It is a former chapel built by Charlemagne next to the Aachen Palace.

Actually it is not so easy to spot it from the outside. In fact, it is not easy at all to see the real shape of the cathedral since it is surrounded by buildings and trees.

Here you can see the whole construction from a better perspective.

Do you want to go inside? Of course, let's go! Have you noticed those strange rectangular shapes with grass in it? This is not grass, these are healing and kitchen herbs described by Charlemagne himself, which we have already seen in Marksburg last week. They grow here happily in the shadow of the Aachen cathedral.

But now it is time to admire the cathedral from the inside.  Let's take the main entrance.

First, we need to pass by the long, rectangular atrium sided with huge stained glass windows.

But the heart of the cathedral is the hexagonal Palatinate Chapel, where numerous emperors and German kings were crowned.

From the dome, hangs the Barbarosssa chandelier, donated by Emperor Frederick I and his wife in the middle of the eleventh century.

The upper part of the dome is ornamented with golden paintings.

Have you noticed that I told you that the Aachen cathedral was born as a palace chapel? I am sure you would love to visit Charlemagne's palace. Unfortunately it did not survive to our days. But on its side, one of its main halls where the emperor used to hold his (probably long and fascinating) speeches, was converted into Aachen's Town Hall.

Impressive, isn't it? Over the centuries, the building has burnt and suffered severe damages during the war. It was reconstructed and remains the seat of the mayor of Aachen.

And if the mayor decides to look through his window, he can spot the one who is surely his (or her) role model. The one and only. Charlemagne himself.

Tongeren

I wonder how many of you know in which country Tongeren is located. Any guesses? Well my friends, one thing for sure - this will be a new country on our map. As a hint, you can look at the flags on the Town Hall of Tongeren - they are black, yellow and red. Welcome to the Kingdom of Belgium!

Tongeren is a small, sleepy town with a population of around thirty thousand people. But it is exceptional in more than one way. First, it is the oldest town in Belgium, founded by the Romans in 15 BC. The Roman heritage of the region can be discovered in the Gallo-Roman museum.

I am sure that the first part of the name brought some memories. And no, Asterix was never in Tongeren. But Ambiorix was. He was the chief of a local tribe who tried to push back the Romans. But unfortunately they did not have the magic potion.

The second reason why Tongeren is exceptional is that it has not one but two UNESCO World Heritage Sites! The first one is related to the cathedral.

This time, it is not the church itself that has deserved the recognition of UNESCO but the tower, called beffroi or belfry. This tower was actually built by the city not by the religious movements and it was meant to protect the inhabitants, for example by raising the alarm in case of fire.

Obviously the gothic Basilica of Our Lady itself is also worth seeing. After all, it took over three hundred years to build it.

 Inside it is tall and rather dark.

It is one of many German churches on the Route of Santiago.

Just outside the church I noticed a huge book surrounded with flowers. It was dedicated to Our Lady of Tongeren, called the Queen of Tongeren.

Let's take now one of these nice streets and look for the second UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Here comes the sign. Any guesses which is ours?

Begijnhof or beguinage was a commune of women who lived together for religious reasons, even though they were not nuns.

They were building small nice houses. In former Netherlands, beguinage typically comprised one or more courtyards surrounded by houses in which women could live together and provide each other protection.

Obviously they also had their own churches. The one in Tongeren was built in 1294 and is devoted, not surprisingly, to a female saint - Saint Catherine.

The beguinage in Tongeren is nowadays a museum.

Unfortunately as I arrived, the museum was already closed. Maybe I will be more lucky in another location one day - there are 13 of them on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

I hope that you have enjoyed this walk through Flanders in this really nice town of Tongeren.