Church of St. Nicolas

Barfleur : premier port du Royaume Anglo-Normand au Moyen-Âge (notrebellefrance, HD)

Ancien port romain viking, Barfleur comptait neuf mille habitants au temps de la puissance normande et resta le premier port du Cotentin au Moyen Age. Ceinte de remparts dont il ne reste rien, la ville fut brûlée par Edouard III d'Angleterre en 1348, puis incendiée à plusieurs reprises aux XVe et XVIe siècles. Elle retrouva une certaine prospérité au lendemain de cette période troublée, grâce à la pêche et au commerce assuré par son petit port. La plupart des maisons des ruelles du vieux Barfleur et du bord du quai datent des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. Ce sont des demeures bourgeoises robustes, dont les façades en granit gris de la région forment un bel alignement. Elle étaient à l'origine recouvertes de chaume, mais ce matériau abondant dans ce pays d'élevage a été remplacé par de l'ardoise. Le bourg possède également des habitations plus modestes coiffées de schiste bleu, lui aussi originaire du pays, d'où surgit une grosse cheminée latérale. La massive église St Nicolas domine la mer sur un éperon. A l'image des maisons du bourg, elle est un sobre édifice en granit.

Romania Travel Guide - Visiting the Church of Harman

Take a tour of Harman Fortified Church in Harman, Romania -- part of the World's Greatest Attractions travel video series by GeoBeats.

This church outside of Brasov, Romania is from a time when houses of worship were also places of refuge.

Romania is a country that is home to many fortified churches, such as Harman's.

The oldest parts of the Harman Fortified Church were built in the thirteenth century by Saxon colonists.

Mostly in the fifteenth century, Baroque defensive structures, such as a curtain wall and towers, were added.

These defenses were necessary, even on churches, because of threats of invasion from neighboring nations.

Both as a fort and as a church, the Harman Church is an amazing place.

Riquewihr Church Bells Ringing Feb 2013

Church bells ringing in Riquewhihr Alsace France.

Band of Brothers Ste Marie du Mont

Description

Louis XIV of France | Wikipedia audio article

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Louis XIV of France

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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates



SUMMARY
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Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 1638 – 1 September 1715), known as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand) or the Sun King (Roi Soleil), was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who reigned as King of France and Navarre from 1643 until his death in 1715. Starting on 14 May 1643 when Louis was 4 years old, his reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in European history. In the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV's France was a leader in the growing centralisation of power.Louis began his personal rule of France in 1661, after the death of his chief minister, the Italian Cardinal Mazarin. An adherent of the concept of the divine right of kings, which advocates the divine origin of monarchical rule, Louis continued his predecessors' work of creating a centralised state governed from the capital. He sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism persisting in parts of France and, by compelling many members of the nobility to inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles, succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy, many members of which had participated in the Fronde rebellion during Louis' minority. By these means he became one of the most powerful French monarchs and consolidated a system of absolute monarchical rule in France that endured until the French Revolution.
Louis encouraged and benefited from the work of prominent political, military, and cultural figures such as Mazarin, Colbert, Louvois, the Grand Condé, Turenne, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, André Charles Boulle, Molière, Racine, Boileau, La Fontaine, Lully, Marais, Le Brun, Rigaud, Bossuet, Le Vau, Mansart, Charles, Claude Perrault, and Le Nôtre. Under his rule, the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to Huguenots, was abolished. The revocation effectively forced Huguenots to emigrate or convert in a wave of dragonnades, which managed to virtually destroy the French Protestant minority.
During Louis' reign, France was the leading European power, and it fought three major wars: the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession. There were also two lesser conflicts: the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions. Warfare defined the foreign policy of Louis XIV, and his personality shaped his approach. Impelled by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique, Louis sensed that warfare was the ideal way to enhance his glory. In peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. He taught his diplomats that their job was to create tactical and strategic advantages for the French military.

Lowestoft

Lowestoft (/ˈloʊ.əstɒft/, /ˈloʊstɒft/ or /ˈloʊstəf/) is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is 110 miles (177 km) north-east of London, 38 miles (61 km) north-east of Ipswich and 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Norwich. It is situated on the edge of the Broads system and is the major settlement within the district of Waveney with an estimated population of 58,560 in 2010.


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