Faith · Monarchies · Observations · Heritage
In 2002 this golden enkolpion of the House of Romanov, containing particles of the relics of 40 saints, was transferred to the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord at Uktus in Yekaterinburg. The cross had been kept for decades in a priestly family. The relic was presented to the
NB! · Aristocracy · Heritage
This is the key to the Bastille: in 1790 the Marquis de Lafayette presented it to his old friend George Washington. Washington hung the key in his house at Mount Vernon, where it hangs to this day
NB! · Archaeology · Monarchies · Museums · Heritage · Paris · Rome
A long-awaited reunion! A copy of the finger recently discovered in the Louvre is being fitted to the hand of the Emperor Constantine in the Capitoline Museums
NB! · Faith · Art · Heritage
An Apostle refuses the cup of drink or the food at the Last Supper. The beautifully preserved stone reredos of the 1400s from Somerton church survived Puritan iconoclasm by being hidden behind boards
NB! · Aristocracy · Architecture · Observations · Heritage
The grand staircase of Princess Olga Paley's neoclassical Palace in Tsarskoye Selo. A Russian Trianon in utter dereliction, it now belongs, it seems, to some orthopaedic institute or other
Archaeology · Museums · Heritage · Paris · Rome
In 1858 the Louvre acquired part of the collection of the bankrupt Marquis Giampietro Campana. His property was divided between the English, the Russians and the French, and enriched the national museums. Among other things, France came into possession of an enormous bronze finger, 38 centimetres long. As early as
Archaeology · Moscow · Heritage · Science
After the opening of the tomb of Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, expert analysis showed that the remains of the "murdered" son contain 32 times the normal level of mercury. As for fractures of the bones, no conclusions were drawn owing to
Faith · London · Monarchies · Heritage
According to the legend of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, when he died (in the early tenth century), he was buried in Winchester's old cathedral, the Old Minster, but the monks all but lost their wits and began to complain of being troubled by the royal ghost.
NB! · Aristocracy · Monarchies · Heritage
NB! · Faith · Heritage · Humour
The foreskin of Jesus is one of the mysterious relics of the Catholic world. The product of Christ's circumcision is otherwise known as the Holy Prepuce. One subtlety: the modern Church knows of no fewer than 18 prepuces
NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage
Bronze plaques telling the stories of houses and lanes have been installed on Prechistenka. At least some use has been found for all that paving
NB! · Almaty · Heritage · Society
A monument to the polutorka in Alma-Ata. Caption: the GAZ-AA lorry, a symbol of the labour and martial glory of veteran motorists. The vehicle was erected by Akan Kamelbekov, Honoured Innovator of Kazakhstan