Michalská brána

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Michalská brána (Michael's Gate)
Michalská
Staré Mesto (Old Town)
Bratislava, September 2017

“In Bratislava, Slovakia, Michael's Gate (Slovak: Michalská brána, German: Michaelertor, Hungarian: Mihály kapu) is the only city gate that has been preserved of the medieval fortifications and ranks among the oldest town buildings. Built about the year 1300, its present shape is the result of baroque reconstructions in 1758, when the statue of St. Michael and the Dragon was placed on its top. The tower houses the Exhibition of Weapons of Bratislava City Museum. In the medieval times the town was surrounded by fortified walls, and entry and exit was only possible through one of the four heavily fortified gates. On the east side of the town, it was the Laurinc Gate, named after Saint Lawrence, in the south it was the Fishermen's Gate (Rybná brána, Fischertor, Halász kapu). This was the smallest gate of the four, used mainly by the fishermen entering the city with fish caught in the river Danube. On the west side it was the Vydrica Gate (Vydrická brána, Weidritzer Tor, Vödric kapu), also called the Dark Gate or Black Gate, since it was like a tunnel—dark and long. In the north, there was St. Michael's Gate named after St. Michael and the St. Michael church that stood in front of it (outside the town wall). Later on it was put down and materials gained from it were used in the building of additional town walls.” (Michael's Gate, Wikipedia)

The Queen of Time

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The Queen of Time by Gilbert Bayes
Selfridges
Oxford Street
London, September 2016

“In the days before mobile phones it was common practice to arrange a rendezvous beneath some well-known clock and in October 1931 Selfridges unveiled what one writer called ‘London’s newest meeting place’. Other commentators hailed it as ‘one of the sights of London’ and a ‘horological masterpiece’. Nowadays most Oxford Street shoppers barely notice it. Several reputable websites claim the clock was created as early as 1908 but even the first (the eastern) part of the building wasn’t completed until 1909 and at that time Harry Gordon Selfridge envisaged an entirely different central feature, with a large dome crowning the storefront. The western and (ultimately domeless) central sections both had to wait until after the First World War, opening in 1920 and 1926 respectively, by which time the architect Albert D Millar had conceived the idea of a clock and sculpture grouping. The statue of the Queen of Time standing on the prow of the Ship of Commerce and attended by nymphs was the work of Gilbert Bayes, a leading exponent of the New Sculpture movement, which influenced Alfred Gilbert’s statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus. Bayes at first planned to create his 11-foot-tall queen in terracotta but he eventually chose to use bronze, decorated with gilding, blue faience and Doulton stoneware.” (The Queen of Time, Hidden London)

A Foggy View

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A foggy view of Florence
from Piazzale Michelangelo
Florence, December 2017

St. Michael's Wing

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Detail of the St. Michael's Wing
Hofburg, Michaelerplatz
Vienna, September 2017

Louve capitoline

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Louve capitoline (Capitoline Wolf)
Square Paul-Painlevé
Place Paul-Painlevé
Quartier de la Sorbonne, 5th arrondissement
Paris, July 2011

MiCo Milan Convention Centre

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MiCo Milan Convention Centre by Mario Bellini, 2008
Piazzale Carlo Magno
Milano, May 2018

“Featuring two plenary rooms, one with seating for 4,000 and the other for 2,000 and an Auditorium that seats 1,500, it is the ideal venue for large-scale performances and for international conferences requiring a large number of rooms. In the same way, the exhibition halls offer 54,000 square metres of exhibition space and can also be set up as extra plenary rooms accommodating more than 5,000 people. The conference rooms feature the full range of technologies. A parking lot for more than 1,100 cars and an heliport are included.” (CityLife, Wikipedia)

Bride, groom, and the others

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Bride, groom, and the others
Széchenyi István tér
Budapest, September 2017