Here are some piccies of St Paul's which took a decade to design and 40years to build starting in 1668

It is Christopher Wren's greatest work and influenced architects all over Western Europe.

http://www.ece.utexas.edu/~dorris/Outside%20St.%20Paul's%20Cathedral.jpg

http://linux.fjfi.cvut.cz/~pinus/bristol/london0301/stpauls/photos/P1090681%20-%20St%20Paul's%20cathedral.JPG

http://linux.fjfi.cvut.cz/~pinus/bristol/london0301/stpauls/photos/P1090690%20-%20St%20Paul's%20cathedral.JPG

http://linux.fjfi.cvut.cz/~pinus/bristol/london0301/stpauls/photos/P1090689%20-%20St%20Paul's%20cathedral.JPG

http://linux.fjfi.cvut.cz/~pinus/bristol/london0301/stpauls/photos/P1090683%20-%20St%20Paul's%20cathedral.JPG

http://www.m.godden.btinternet.co.uk/stpauls.jpg

http://www.travellondon.com/templates/attractions/images/sdtpauls33.jpg

http://db1.*****************/neu/pic/75/1641475.jpg

http://digicam.co.za/gallery/data/media/68/DSC04342.jpg

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~nm3k-tgc/uk/large/39.jpg

This is a pic of the night when everything around it was destroyed by the Germans, but old St Paul's survived because the bombs bounced off the lead lining of the roof!!
http://ens.explanation-guide.info/thumb/b/b0/250px-StPaulsCathedral.jpg


Now piccies of the interior:

http://www.iatwm.com/200406/London/columndome.jpg

http://www.galtham.org/london/StPaulDome.jpg

http://www.schule-bw.de/unterricht/faecher/englisch/projekte/internetprojekte/london/stpaul1.jpg

http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/feist/26.jpg

http://www.webcom.com/~trw/London/images/59473905.jpg

http://www.usitouring.com/St._Pauls_Cathedral_sanctuary.jpg

The statue of the lady in front of St. Paul's, who is she?

just wonderful!!

magnificent!

Queen Victoria

are you sure? I thought it was a statue of Goddess Diana, since St Pauls is supposed to be built on the site of an ancient temple of Diana.

So beautiful...

History

One of London’s oldest and most admired landmarks, St Paul’s Cathedral stands on Ludgate Hill in the City of London.

The present building dates from the 17th century and is London's fourth St Paul's Cathedral. Work commenced on the cathedral in 1675 on the orders of King Charles II (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England), and was completed on October 20, 1708, the 76th birthday of its architect, Sir Christopher Wren (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Wren). It is built of Portland stone in a late Renaissance to Baroque style. Its impressive dome rises 108 metres (365 feet to the cross at its summit, i.e., one foot for each day of the year).

Within the cathedral are plaques, carvings, monuments and statues dedicated to a wide range of people. The bulk are related to the British military with several lists of servicemen who died in action - the most recent being the Gulf War. There are special monuments to Admiral Nelson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiral_Nelson) and to the Duke of Wellington (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Wellesley%2C_1st_Duke_of_Wellington) in the south transept and north aisle, respectively. Also remembered are poets, painters, clergy and residents of the local parish. There are also lists of the Bishops and cathedral Deans for the last thousand years.

Ludgate Hill itself has long been associated with religion. It is believed that it was originally the site of an ancient megalith and then later a temple dedicated to the goddess Diana, in alignment with the Apollo Temple which once stood at Westminster.

A religious structure dedicated to Saint Paul has existed in London since 604AD. It has been damaged or destroyed on a number of occasions but has been doggedly rebuilt. The first cathedral was destroyed by fire in 675AD and the second was ransacked and then destroyed by Viking forces in 962AD. Old St Paul's (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=138268) was built by the Normans in their characteristic style from 1087 and it was completed in 1310. It was the largest church in England and the third largest in Europe. The church had the highest steeple in Europe (rising some 150m) until 1561 when it was destroyed by fire following a lightning strike and was never rebuilt; the building then slowly fell into general disrepair. The Norman structure otherwise survived until 1666 when, scheduled for demolition, it was completely destroyed in the Great Fire of London (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_London) which swept through the city.

Commissioned by King Charles II, the task of designing a replacement structure was assigned to Christopher Wren in 1668 along with over fifty other churches. His first design in the shape of a Greek cross was rejected by the church as too radical in 1669 and his second proposal was turned down in 1673. To put an end to the wrangling, King Charles issued a warrant of approval to Wren, which gave him complete artistic license. His 'warrant' design was accepted in 1675 and building work began in June. The Wren cathedral was finally completed in 1710 (although the first service was held on December 2, 1697) and has survived until the present day, despite being targeted during the Blitz (it was struck by a bomb on October 9, 1940 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:StPaulsCathedral.jpg) but survived). Wren achieved a pleasing appearance for the dome by actually building three domes. The tall outer dome is non-structural but impressive to view. The lower inner dome provides an artistically balanced interior. Between the two is a structural cone which supports the apex structure and the outer dome panelling.

The cathedral has been the site for many famous funerals, including those of Horatio Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Winston Churchill. The British Royal Family hold most of their important marriages, funerals and other religious and celebratory functions at Westminster Abbey, but St Paul's was used for the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.

Its sister cathedral is Westminster Abbey (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=136418), dedicated to St Peter.

The cathedral is open to the public, though there is a charge for non-worshipping visitors. In 2000, the cathedral began a major restoration programme, scheduled for completion in 2008, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of its opening. The restoration programme is expected to cost £40 million, and involves not only repair and cleaning of the building, but also improvement of visitor facilities - such as accessibility for the disabled, and provision of additional educational facilities.

St. Paul's Cathedral is the largest Protestant Cathedral in the world, with one of the largest Cathedral domes. It remained the tallest building in London from 1710 until 1962 - an amazing 252 years.


Sir Christopher Wren said "I'll dine with some men.
If anyone calls, tell them I'm designing St Pauls."
A Clerihew on Christopher Wren

Thanks for the good historical background. Sorry to not know, but how tall is St. Paul´s Cathedral?

History


St. Paul's Cathedral is the largest Protestant Cathedral in the world, with one of the largest Cathedral domes.

I thought that the Liverpool Cathedral was the largest in Britain. Or is classified as an anglican whilst st paul is just protestant?

a real beauty!

Indeed a CATHEDRAL.

Nothing short of spectacular!

very important sutructure :okay:

I thought that the Liverpool Cathedral was the largest in Britain. Or is classified as an anglican whilst st paul is just protestant?

It's just outdated information, since Liverpool Cathedral wasn't completed until 1978! :)

They're both Church of England. Same religion. :cheers:

And don't forget to mention, that you have a wonderful view from the top - the best before the London Eye (which I don't know yet)...

Why such things are not being built nowadays???

Good question. It takes time to do the decorative/ Ornamental work probably, and time is money to modern engineers. It will be easy (albeit not that easy) to erect the frame of such a building but topping out, while it signifies the beginning of the end of construction in modern edifices, in a marvel like that it's just the beginning.

Also, one may assume that all Churches (including the Orthodox Church of Greece) prefer to organise their functions into small parish precincts, and consequently, the size of the churches to be smaller compared to the practices at the time St Paul's was built.

Also, at the time, churches were probably the only edifices signifying urban dynamism and constituting urban pride icons, principally for the reason that elevators (lifts) had not been invented then and building multi-storey residential or office blocks was thusly out of the question.

In any case, St Paul's cathedral ranks in the first 10 churches of all time in my view. Thanks for posting lads and please, post more from London and the UK.

Why such things are not being built nowadays???

Financial insuffiency is one of the important motives.

lack of inspiration would be my second thought... :naughty:

History

. Work commenced on the cathedral in 1675 on the orders of King Charles II (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England), and was completed on October 20, 1708, the 76th birthday of its architect, Sir Christopher Wren (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Wren). It is built of Portland stone in a late Renaissance to Baroque style. Its impressive dome rises 108 metres (365 feet to the cross at its summit, i.e., one foot for each day of the year).




Late renaissance in 1675?
VERY LATE RENAISSANCE!!

The statue of the lady in front of St. Paul's, who is she?

I am not a Londoner, but as far as I know it is Queen Anne. :-)