Saturday, March 17, 2012

Fortress

An early post for this Sunday - traveling again!


"A Mighty Fortress is Our God
A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing..."
...song in the public domain

When visiting Ireland, seeing the churches so much older than our country, I couldn't help but think of this old hymn by Martin Luther...

Not sure of the location of this one - somewhere on the road from Dublin to Westport!

Another from the road - the walls still standing but the roof missing.  See the elaborate cross headstones?

St. Kevin's Church at Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains outside Dublin.

Glendalough was established in the 6th century by St. Kevin, a hermit priest.   Other priests soon joined him and the location became a monastic settlement.  The buildings that survive are from the period between around 900 AD and 1100 AD.  It was a fascinating afternoon spent there, among buildings and artifacts over 1,000 years old!

The Round Tower of Glendalough
This tower still stands perfectly straight - in the 1800s the top was struck by lightning and the stones fell inside the tower.  It was reconstructed with the original stones.




Gateway - the massive stone entry way to the sanctuary.  It was absolutely amazing to stand under this and realize it was so old and had been standing for over 1000 years!
What is left of one of the monastery buildings...

One of the gravestones inside the monastery walls.


When I see these magnificent pieces of history, still visible after all these years, I cannot help but think about the never-failing love of our Father, strong, and outlasting even these stone walls!

May you always rest in the unfailing love of the Father.


Linking to Spiritual Sundays.

14 comments:

momto8 said...

wow..what beautiful pieces of history in those pictures!!

Jan n Jer said...

A favorite Luthern Hymn.
What a gorgeous country and so rich in history, thanks for sharing Linda.. enjoy your travels!

TexWisGirl said...

such old stonework! must have been so neat to see.

Hootin Anni said...

That is one thing I admire about Europe...of course it's much older than America, but to have all the history in the architecture and still have it standing after centuries...it just boggles my mind with such beauty. Still today.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Oh my gosh, to be standing in such a spot and imagine the many, many years of history and the things that have happened before right there, incredible. Did you get any vibes, 'feelings' you know. When Aimee and I were in Egypt and were standing in Isis's temple at Philae, the hairs on my body were standing straight up, it was incredible.

Dianna said...

If your posts about Ireland don't give me the courage to cross the Atlantic, I don't know what will!

Just beautiful photos of unbelievable places..

EG CameraGirl said...

I do love ancient architecture!

Anonymous said...

We visited Glendalough on our trip to Ireland - a rather "magical" and very spiritual place in a beautiful green valley. So peaceful. We were struck by the old stacked stone church still standing after centuries. Amazing grace - literally. Lovely shots Linda!

Pam

A Colorful World said...

Great post! I enjoyed it very much!

Red said...

I like old relics like you've shown us in your photos. For me there is a spiritual aspect in feeling that you are in the exact place where these people walked on earth

Pix at Under the Oaks said...

Linda you captured some beautiful old churches. The headstone is fascinating. I am with Tex on the stonework, it is just beautiful and so much of it. I see some of it when we go to St. Lou but for the most part it is brick. Lots of old stone farm houses around where we live. Have fun traveling!

Roslyn said...

The churches in UK & Europe are amazing, we checked out many of them . My Grandparents were married in a church in High Wycombe that is a thousand years old.. Don't you wonder at the engineering feats without cranes & other mechanical aids?
We have close friends who are on a mission trip to Ireland this month, I am envious!

Charlotte said...

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing your great pictures and insight.
Blessings,
Charlotte

gtyyup said...

Now that's history!!! Great captures...glad you shared.