2014 Germany Trip - St Peter's Dom aka Worms Cathedral (Wormser Dom)

Location: Worms, Germany

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:

List of all 2014 Germany Trip | Worms places I went to

If there is a reason to visit Worms, a city not mentioned in most travel itineraries to Germany then the Worms Cathedral would be the reason. Officially named as St Peter's Cathedral, this is one of numerous churches dotting the city and its most important due to its significance as the seat of the Catholic Prince-Bishopric of Worms. Of course, what drawn me to Worms in the first place is also my reason for visiting this cathedral - Worms Cathedral was a historical witness to the Diet of Worms of 1521, where Martin Luther was condemned as a heretic through the Edict of Worms. This was the turning point and the beginning of the Reformation Movement.

The frontal view of Worms Cathedral

2014 Germany Trip - Cathedral of Trier (Trierer Dom)/Cathedral of St Peter (Hohe Domkirche St. Peter zu Trier) @ Trier (UNESCO World Heritage)

Location: Trier, Germany

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:

List of all 2014 Germany Trip | Trier places I went to

<- previous: Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche) (UNESCO World Heritage)

next: Porta Nigra (UNESCO World Heritage) ->

Visiting Liebfrauenkirche would naturally lead to another tour to the Cathedral of Trier next door. The structure is so humongous that it is easily be mistaken as a fortress. Compared to the former, the cathedral had lighter shades to its exterior but since both churches were basically next to each other and joined, it could confuse visitors that there were one church instead of two.

Cathedral of Trier

2014 Germany Trip - Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche) @ Trier (UNESCO World Heritage)

Location: Trier, Germany

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:

List of all 2014 Germany Trip | Trier places I went to

<- previous: St Gangolf's Church

next: Cathedral of Trier (UNESCO World Heritage) ->

I was confused at first: was that 2 churches or 1 huge connected church? It turned out to be both. From the outset, both the Liebfrauenkirche and Trier Cathedral were distinguished from each other yet inseparable - the former distinctly angular where the latter had more curves, the former a gothic work while the latter a Romanesque beauty. They were operated as 2 separate churches but they were connected structurally, freely accessible between each other internally. They had both been designated as part of Trier's single UNESCO World Heritage Site entry.

Liebfrauenkirche on the foreground, with Trier Cathedral at the back. They can usually be differentiated by the color tone of the building material - the former usually darker while the latter usually fairer.

2014 Germany Trip - St Gangolf's Church @ Trier

Location: Trier, Germany

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:

List of all 2014 Germany Trip | Trier places I went to


<- previous: Main market (Hauptmarkt)

next: Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche) (UNESCO World Heritage) ->

Trier has no shortage of churches just like any other German cities with a long history. In fact they even had their churches differentiated by political affiliations due to the fact that the archbishops of past were both religious as well as secular leaders of a city. The Church of St Gangolf was the citizen's church and the second oldest church in Trier, second only to Trier Cathedral.

The Baroque portal that led me from Main Market square into the Church of St Gangolf.

2014 Germany Trip - Aula Palatina/Basilica of Constantine (Konstantinbasilika) @ Trier (UNESCO World Heritage)

Location: Trier, Germany

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:

List of all 2014 Germany Trip | Trier places I went to

<- previous: Imperial Baths (UNESCO World Heritage)

next: Electoral Palace and Palace Gardens ->

Most of the UNESCO heritage site of Roman architecture in Trier were in ruins, with Aula Palatina the sole exception. The iconic building of red brick is also called Basilica of Constantine as it was built by Emperor Constantine I as his palace and throne room. Its purpose transformed into a religious one after the fall of the Roman Empire, first used by the Bishop of Trier as his residence during the Middle Ages, and then currently used by Church of The Redeemer.

Aula Palatina as viewed from Konstantinplatz

2014 Germany Trip - St James's Church (Evangeliches-Lutheran Kirchengemeinde St. Jakob)

Location: Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:

List of all 2014 Germany Trip | Rothenburg itinerary | Rothenburg places I went to

My wife once asked me why I loved photographing churches. My reply to her was that I photographed not just churches, but most of the religious places, especially those which are historically rich in value and pleasing in aesthetics and architecture. To most people one church is no more different from another. For me however they each tell a different story. The stained glass weaves biblical lore and the spires, from the ornate to the simplistic, project the architect’s pride and dreams. St James’s Church in Rothenburg, one of its most important, is so similar yet so different.

St James's (St Jakob in German) Church

2014 Germany Trip - Würzburg Cathedral (Würzburger Dom)

Location: Würzburg, Germany

German: Dom is German for cathedral; a cathedral is a church which a Bishop chose as his seat of authority, otherwise it is no different from a church and is not reflected fully in its architecture

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:

List of all 2014 Germany Trip | All Würzburg attractions

In hindsight I should have visited this cathedral, but at that moment the Neumünster Church was right next to it, and having confused which was which, I entered the church instead of the cathedral. As a consolation, I took some exterior shots of the Würzburg Cathedral even though its interior was a total miss.

The entrance of the Würzburg Cathedral. The famous façade of the cathedral misled me to the assumption that this was a modern church, leading to me missing it totally. If one were to stand at the Old Bridge of Würzburg, you could stare straight down the street with an unblocked view of this façade.

2014 Germany Trip - Marienkapelle and Falkenhaus @ Würzburg

Location: Würzburg, Germany

Full experience of my visit to Würzburg can be accessed through the list below.

2014 Germany Trip - Würzburg | Stift Haug | Würzburg Residenz | Court Garden | Würzburg Cathedral (Würzburger Dom) | Würzburg's Old Main Bridge (Alte Mainbrücke) | Neumünster Church (Kolegiatstift Neumünster) | Marienberg Fortress (Festung Marienberg)

More about Germany can be read through the list below:

Willkomen in Deutschland! | EU, Schengen and Euro | German Turn and Tilt Window 

There is more than one reason why I loved Würzburg. There was the UNESCO Heritage listed Würzburg Residenz, and there was the magnificent view of Marienberg Fortress perched high atop the hills overlooking the town. Wandering around the old town is fun by itself, as I encountered various beautiful buildings, most of them churches that towered over the mortal man.

While strolling in the old town I came across Marktplatz, a square where two buildings with their eye-catching architecture bound not to be missed by tourists. The deep crimson of Marienkapelle's (St. Mary's Chapel) Gothic architecture stood in towering contrast to the three-storey tall lightly beige façade of Falkenhaus' (Falcon House) Baroque architecture, promising a photogenic opportunity against the clear blue skies.

The tall crimson Gothic architecture of Marienkapelle stood in stark contrast against the lower Falkenhaus with its lighter tone and Baroque architecture. The latter houses the city library as well as the Tourist Office. The three gabled Rococo façades with their beautiful curls are the reason why the Falkenhaus stole the attention of most passer-bys.

2014 Germany Trip - Stift Haug @ Würzburg

Location: Würzburg, Germany

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:

List of all 2014 Germany Trip | All Würzburg attractions

This is not a church high on most list for a visit to Würzburg, yet it was the first I stumbled onto while on my way to Würzburg Residenz, and its beauty mesmerized me. From afar the dome top of the church was unmistakable, a remarkably beautiful Baroque structure standing tall amongst the modern dwellings and shop houses.

The dome of Stift Haug is inspired by another famous religious building, St Peter's Basilica.

2013 Hanoi Trip - St Joseph's Cathedral (Nhà thờ Lớn Hà Nội)

Location: Hanoi, Northern Vietnam.

Vietnamese: Nhà thờ Lớn Hà Nội (Nhà thờ is Vietnamese for 'church')

Full experience of my visit to Hanoi can be accessed through the list below:

Attractions:   One Pillar Pagoda | Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum | Thang Long Water Puppet Theater | Lý Thái Tổ Garden

Dining:          New Day Restaurant | Sketch Coffee | Bánh Cuốn Gia Truyền | Dương Hoa Kem Caramen | Thu Nga Kem Xôi & Chè Thái Lan

More about Hanoi can be read through the list below:
Vietnamese Dong

It was hard to not be captivated by the neo-Gothic facade which greeted us after we stumbled out of the maze of crowded streets into the expanse of a small plaza. If not for the ever busy street filled with endless motorcycles and dark complexions, we would have thought we arrived in France instead of Vietnam. Digging up the name of the building from my memories of local attractions was relatively easy, for there are no Catholic church in Hanoi more famous or enduring than St Joseph Cathedral.

St Joseph Cathedral in an afternoon, with schoolkids enjoying themselves in the small plaza in front of the church.