Bullfighting traces its history way back to when the Romans held public spectacles of “Man vs Beast”, and although France and Portugal both have long bullfight histories, it is considered a very Spanish tradition.

So it’s in Spain where we start with the world’s oldest surviving bullring: Las Virtudes in Santa Cruz de Mudela. It was built way back in 1641, when the bullrings were actually bullsquares – the round shape was adopted later on to prevent the action being confined to the corners.

The style of Spanish bullfighting has changed very little since 1726, when Francisco Romero got off of his horse to fight on foot with the famous red cape and sword.

This tradition was taken with the emigrants to the Americas, where the oldest remaining bullring can be dated back to 1766. By now firmly set on the round shape, Plaza de Acho in Lima, Peru accommodates 13,000 spectators.

Back in Spain, we find the second largest bullring in the world, Las Ventas in Madrid. With a capacity for 25,000 spectators, it has also been used for an AC/DC concert, and hosted a semi-final of 2008’s Davis Cup tennis tournament¹.

To find the largest bullring in the world, we visit what was once the most populated city on the planet: Mexico City. Here we find the gigantic La Plaza Monumental, built in 1946 with a capacity for 41,262 people.

For obvious reasons, bullfighting has drawn a lot of criticism throughout the world, and I’m surprised that these massive venues are still able to draw enough crowds to keep the tradition alive.

However, there are signs that bullfighting will not be around forever: it is no longer televised in Spain, and many opinion polls have shown the majority of the public are just not interested.

In Tijuana, Mexico we can use Google Earth’s historical imagery to see before and after shots of a recently demolished bullring that wasn’t pulling in enough business.

Earlier this year the city of Viana do Castelo in Portugal took the bold step of banning bullfights altogether. Their small ancient bullring will now be used as a “science and education centre”. Presumably bull dissections will not be part of the cirriculum.

This entry is based on an original article from the recently re-launched Google Sightseeing Español, where new author Luis Moreno is posting translated sights from here and original Spanish-langauge content.

A tripoint is a geographical location where three borders meet – most notably those of different countries, but also (to a lesser extent) counties, states, provinces, etc. While many of the world’s 157 national tripoints are located in the middle of lakes, rivers, deserts or mountains, those that are in populated areas are often marked with monuments of some kind.

The Swiss city of Basel is home to one of the most spectacular tripoint monuments at the location where it borders Germany and France.

Basel’s dreiländereck (literally “3 lands place”) is home to a soaring metal three-sided spiral which bears the flags of the 3 countries. It is located on a quay in the river Rhine, near a restaurant of the same name. The actual tripoint is located just to the north-west, in the middle of the river.

Germany also has a significant tripoint where it meets Belgium and the Netherlands. Vaalserberg features a number of tourist attractions including a viewing tower, cafes and a maze.

While Google Maps seems to show the tripoint in a tree, I believe the actual location is marked by the 3 small monuments visible by their shadows in the upper-left of this image.¹

Not all tripoints are marked as cohesively. The one where Austria, Hungary and Slovakia meet has a number of monuments scattered across the different borders – all quite small, so check Panoramio to see them in detail.

Where is your favourite location with one foot in one country, one foot in a second, and … perhaps your nose in a third?

For more like this, see our 2008 post about Complicated Borders. Thanks to AndrewAnorak and David Grenewetzki.

Between the 11th and 14th centuries the practice of building “Round Churches” was championed by veterans of the Crusades. These churches are unique in that the original body of the Church is circular, rather than a round tower being attached to a conventionally shaped building. Although many were built across England, today only four survive as functioning Churches¹.

Temple Church, located in a courtyard off Fleet Street in London, was constructed by the Knights Templar – a Catholic order with considerable military and economic power during the Crusades.

The original Round Church was consecrated in 1185, with the rectangular section known as the Chancel being added about 50 years later. After the Knights Templar were abolished in 1307, the Crown seized the Church and gave it to the Knights Hospitallers, who in turn rented it to two colleges of lawyers. Over time these colleges developed into the Inner and Middle Temples – two Inns of the Court who still use the Church to this day.

The Church is noted for its 9 marble effigies of knights, as well as being a royal peculiar – meaning it is controlled by the monarch rather than the local bishop. It was badly damaged in World War 2, but has been well restored. It was featured in both the book and film versions of The Da Vinci Code.

To the north-west of London, we find the Holy Sepulchre Church in Northampton. Built several decades earlier than Temple Church, its design was heavily inspired by the Church of the same name in Jerusalem.

This Church is now bookended by a stone tower to the west, and a more conventionally-shaped building containing a nave and chancel to the east.

Of very similar inspiration – both in name and design – is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Cambridge, though typically it is simply called The Round Church.

Constructed about 30 years after the Northampton Church, it was modified in the 15th century, while a later restoration of this Church mostly went back to the original Norman design, as seen from Street View.

Our final round Church is St John the Baptist, in the village of Little Maplestead, Essex.

Built by – and still associated with – the Knights Hospitaller, this is the youngest of the four Churches, dating from the mid-14th century, with a major restoration taking place in the mid-19th century. More details at Unlocking Essex.

During my research for this post I found a couple of sites that claimed there were in fact five surviving Churches, but I can find no indication of what the fifth may be. Post a comment if you know! There are also ruins of round Churches in several locations around the country.

Canterbury, England has been the stage for many dramatic scenes throughout history. One of the first Christian missionaries brought faith to the people of the city in the 11th century. The national church was founded in that place, and later another famous Christian was brutally martyred at the order of the Crown.

Since that time, every year thousands upon thousands of tourists and pilgrims visit the city to breathe in its historical significance, view its magnificent architecture, and pay their respects at the tombs of the faithful. See if you recognise any of these scenes.

Early Christians

Augustine was sent on mission from Pope Gregory the Great to convert the King of Kent to Christianity. Arriving in Canterbury at the end of the 6th century, he found some success with both the King and the locals. Subsequently he became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

Early into the 7th century he began work on one of England’s oldest and most treasured buildings: Canterbury Cathedral.

The Cathedral sat as the Pope’s eyes and ears in England until the 16th century when Henry VIII broke away from Rome and the Church of England was founded. Today, Canterbury Cathedral is the seat of power for the national church.

Death in the Cathedral

The city and cathedral have played a major role in literature as well. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s beloved work, The Canterbury Tales, a group of pious (and some not so pious) pilgrims set out from London to make their way to the Cathedral to pay their respects to St. Thomas Becket – whose remains were once entombed within its grounds.

Though a fictionalised account, Becket himself was a real archbishop who was murdered in 1170 at the order of Henry II who disagreed with him over the church’s rights. There are many stained glassed windows, as well as other monuments, paying homage to the martyr. Archbishop Becket’s body was buried in a tomb within the cathedral, though his bones were later destroyed – also by order of the king.

Most other Archbishops, however, are buried in St. Augustine’s Abbey, just east of the cathedral’s grounds.

Though it was originally named the Abbey of St. Peter and Paul, it was later renamed to reflect St. Augustine himself. You can see from the satellite photos that most of the abbey’s walls and structures have long since worn away or have been destroyed.

The Oldest School in England

Standing at the edge of the abbey, is another remarkable building – which is believed to be the oldest school in England.

The King’s school has been educating the next generation for just over 1400 years. It was founded on the same grounds as St. Augustine’s Abbey in the 6th century by Augustine himself. Many of the school’s classes, with its 800-odd pupils, are taught within the ancient buildings of the Abbey.

An Unrelated Castle

The last of Canterbury’s great historical buildings shown here isn’t really related to any of the others mentioned, but it makes it into this post of the basis that it is also old and pretty cool looking!

Canterbury Castle was of the three original castles built in this area. The present stone structure replaced a wooden castle from 1066. The newer one was built after the Battle of Hastings and used to guard the important route taken by William the Conquerer.

Kind of in the spirit of the Darwin Awards, someone leased the castle to a gas company in the 19th century. The building (because it was filled with gas most likely) caught fire and the top floor was destroyed. The city planners must have a sense of humour as the Castle sits at the crossroads of Castle Street and Gas Street.

The city of Canterbury is quaint and lovely, steeped in history and an enormous success with tourists. In fact, we’ve only barely uncovered some of the city’s treasures. What is your favourite spot in Canterbury?

A short distance from Oslo city centre is Vigeland Sculpture Park – home to more than 200 granite, bronze and iron sculptures mostly depicting naked human figures in a wide range of artistic forms, focusing on the freedom, joy and eternity of life.

Artist Gustav Vigeland created each of the works in clay or plaster, then employed skilled craftsmen to create the final granite carvings or bronze or iron castings. The statues were mostly created between 1939 and 1949.

Most visitors arrive at the wrought-iron Main Gate, the first of five distinct areas of the Park which stretches for almost a kilometre in a layout also created by Vigeland.

The Main Gate leads to the 100m long Bridge which is adorned by 58 bronze sculptures – individuals or groups; men, women and children, including one of the most popular sculptures in the park – the little Angry Boy.

The circular area beneath the Bridge is the Children’s Playground – 8 bronzes of small children and one unborn child.

The Bridge leads to the Fountain, a large granite column topped by a group of men holding up a bronze bowl. This is surrounded by 60 bronze reliefs and tree statues depicting the life cycle of man.

Originally planned for the exterior of the Norwegian Parliament, the Fountain was one of Vigeland’s most monumental creations. It is surrounded by a mosaic floor which contains a 3km long labyrinth.

Beyond The Fountain is the Monolith Plateau. A set of circular stairs leads upwards to the centrepiece of the park, the 17m tall monolith carved from a single piece of granite and depicting 121 figures entwined and reaching toward the sky – intended to represent man’s need for the spiritual and divine.

Eight additional granite sculptures surround the Monolith and continue the depiction of human life’s eternal cycle, the theme that reaches its conclusion with the final section of the park, the Wheel of Life.

While specifically not erotic, that fact didn’t stop somebody attempting to censor the statues a couple of years ago. Fortunately Norwegians are generally of a more liberal mindset than that, and the park is celebrated as a cultural highlight; attracting more than a million visitors each year.

More information can be found at the Park’s website, and there are many excellent pictures at Panoramio.

Thanks to Steve Fernie and Gard Karlsen.