
If you want to see some pictures from St. Paul - click here! ![]()
St. Pauls cathedral is perhaps London most awe-inspiring monument with the worlds third biggest dome, which completely dominates silhuet of London with its elegant and powerfull line. The embossed classic peace of the church underline in a spread erection which shows the proud dome unaffected by smoke and flames under Blitzen in 1941.
When you step into the church, you are unwillingly afflicted by the unreal golden light, which filters through large windows under the dome. In the floor, right under the domes centre, there is closured a memorial tablet over Wren drawed by his soon with the inskription: "Si monumentum reqeris, circumspice" (do you search for the sanctuary, so loke around). Wren is buried under one single black corpsestone in Crypten, where a videolecture explain the churchs constructional history from laying of the foundation stone in 1675, to the last stone crownded the lantern on the top of the dome in 1708. Crypten is unusual large and fills all most likewise much as the church in area. In the middle of Crypton Lord Wellingtons has massive sepulchral monument found room next to Lord Nelsons renaissancesacophagus. The sacophagus stood empty until 1805, when Nelson was buried in it. Nelson got killed at Trafalger and his body was carried home to England preserved in a barrel with alcohol. The coffin inside the sacophagus is made of tree from the flagship lOrient of the French navy, which got captured with the battle in the Nile. You must definitively see Wrens original model to the church, "The Great Model", in The Treasure in cryptens westend.
After the visit in the crypt the trip comes to the 259 steps up to the Whispering Gallery under the dome; when you have reached the top you dont have the breath to more than whisper, but it is not for that reason it had got the name "the Whispering Gallery". The round gallery right under the vaulted dome leads the sound around in a circle, so a person on the other side clearly can hear you whispering with a couple of seconds delay (but with many tourists, who all talk at the same time, is it difficult to hear your partners whispering).
If you have any energi left, can you continue up to Stone Fallery at the foot of the dome on the outside and wider by the carpenterworks, which separate the interior domeshell from the exterior leadroofed treeshell. Between those two exists there is a third shell or a cone of brick, which carries the elegant lantern highest on the dome with the last gallery, the Golden Gallery. The last winding leads up to the dome with the gilded cross 111 m over the earth.
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This page was last updated on august 29, 1998 |