(Bamberg Germany)
Europe is full of exquisite antique doorways.
(Budapest, Hungary)
These doorways to the past,
(Budapest)
are testaments,
(Nuremberg, Germany)
to artistry,
(Regensburg, Germany)
attention to detail,
(Regensburg, Germany)
craftsmanship,
(Budapest)
and love of beauty.
(Passau, Germany)
They represent a respect for artistry too often missing in our modern world.
(Passau, Germany)
Hoping these portals to the past,
(Marksburg Castle, Germany)
bring beauty and cheers to you~
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that last door Cindy what is behind that door, it is the one that catches my eye…
Good eye. This is the really old Marksburg castle on The Rhine in Germany. I will do a post on the castle itself soon as it had many original features like this decorated door. It is so old, and truly amazing.
Doorways to thoughts long vanished. How delightful it would be to have architecture and finely crafted buildings close by. Appreciate your beautiful post
So glad you do and thank you. I don’t know what is sadder, that we build glass box buildings and cookie cutter suburbs, that art is only in stuffy musuems, or that all the talented artisans, artists and craftspeople go unemployed. Can you imagine living in a time when the people that make these creations were actually employed and maybe even appreciated?
Modern and sleek had its’ place, too, but does it have to replace all the beautiful older styles? (Of course the older architecture took some dedicated skills – and often took much much longer than people have patience for now….but those things are still standing and functioning while the modern? Too easily outdated, wrecked, and replaced. Strange focus, that. Not very environmentally friendly.
I like door pictures. These doors are so beautiful!
So glad you see them as I do my friend, but that is no surprise. Hope you are well~
lovely images, great series
Merci beaucoup mon ami~
Such incredible craftsmanship and artistic prowess! These details are things I miss about Europe. Thanks for sharing them with us, Cindy!
Yes, all the detailed art and craftsmanship, on every old street, around every corner. Utterly charming~
I love old doors and windows as well as door knockers. Some of the latter are the cats meow.
That would be a wonderful series wouldn’t it. Old locks and knobs have been done, but door knockers would be fascinating~
Pinterest have some nice ones
I will look, thanks for the lead.
Beautiful photography
Incredibly beautiful, so well described. Reminded me the doors we saw in Nuremberg. Thank you so much, Cindy for giving us an opportunity to appreciate the magnificent craftsmanship!
Yes, Nuremberg had many amazing doors. I included only one. It was very hard to narrow them down!
Doors are irresistible.
They are! They are full of mystery and promise~
beautiful doors Cindy…thanks for sharing this lovely post…:-)
Thank you much more for the very kind appreciation!
They are spectacular … and beautifully captured Cindy!
You are very kind Val. Thank you & cheers too~
All that detailing, Cindy. Unbelievable.
Leslie
There is so much of this artistic detail every few steps in these amazing medieval towns. We think we’ve advanced as people and civilizations, but spending time in these old towns makes me question this. There is so much left to see and explore.
To think of a simple doorway with all that adornment. We’ve lost the art of detailing in modern buildings.
Leslie
It’s sad isn’t. It’s like we are regressing. Thank goodness these old art pieces are being preserved.
We can add our own touches. Maybe they won’t be so impressive but still we can do that.
Leslie
That is an excellent point and they make such a difference. Cheers to us, the artists of our spaces! <3
Hi Cindy, It’s good to know that portals are once again open. I’m happy to be able to use them again.
If only we could use them to travel back and forth in time!
Simply aDOORable! ໒( ͡ᵔ ▾ ͡ᵔ )७⁎⚈᷀᷁▿⁎
This is exactly what you are! <3 aDOORable! ໒( ͡ᵔ ▾ ͡ᵔ )७⁎⚈᷀᷁▿⁎
Oh, I do love me some doors. These are gorgeous, Cindy.
I am mentally imagining your next trip to Europe Carrie and I can’t wait to read about it!
Ha, you and me both.
They are all amazing and I agree they do represent art that is no longer represented! Each unique and special!
I broke my own rule of trying to stick to no more than eight photos per post. I had to cut out so many, and Europe has so many, many more! Thank goodness they are wise enough to preserve them~
Yes!!! I love old structures and these have such amazing work! It is a shame when not preserved! There was an old mission near us that we saw each time we went to the lake- one summer it was gone! So sad!
That is truly sad. Old missions are so beautiful and historic.
I don’t get to travel so it is so much fun seeing the beautiful places through your camera lens! Wonderful architecture! I love that ornate gate! Hugz Lisa and Bear
Those old wrought iron pieces are just stunning. So glad you noticed them & cheers~
Beautiful series, Cindy. I noted the detailed architecture as well when I visited Europe. I think it all boils down to the end of cheap labor. No longer does one spend a lifetime carving a single great work or a year of their life creating a door. We’ve been left with the merely functional.
Sad, isn’t it. I know that craftsman were not paid enough for their labor in the past, but now, hardly anyone employs them at all, which is a loss for everyone.
Precisely!
These are fabulous doors. They are truly portals to past conversations, historic events, secrets that will never be revealed. They are a lost art.
Have you been to Charleston, SC? There are many beautiful and unusual doors in Charleston with secrets of their own.
I need to go to Charleston and St. Augustine, Florida and The Great Smoky Mountains. I have only been to New Orleans which I fell head over heels for. I need to go!
Absolutely!! I love St. Augustine, and Charleston. Never been to the Smokies.
Places to go, people to see~
Hard to believe any of those doorways are still standing after WW2….
So much very old “living” art is left in these medieval towns which is a blessing.
I’m impressed… I really enjoy the foto tours you do!
Thank you! This is what makes me want to do them. <3
Old world craftsmanship, nothing like it. An art that cannot be taught. Beautiful, Cindy 🙂
So glad you see it as I do Dorinda! <3
Great doors.
Mil grazi~
Never can pass up a beautiful door, Cindy. Apparently I am not alone. 🙂 –Curt
Yes, they so beg to be opened!
I know, and the more mysterious, the more I want to know what is behind them. If they are old and cracked, I dare a peek! 🙂
Glorious choices Cindy.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
You are very kind and most appreciated David!
That’s an interesting collection. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for stopping by~
I love doors and the stories behind them. Wonderful collection Cindy!
So happy you enjoyed Mary and cheers to you my friend~ <3
Thank you, I love doors and doorways and whats behind them 🙂
I know EXACTLY what you mean! Thank you~ <3
The doorways in Colombia are pretty impressive too! They’re so colorful. I liked them so much that the one souvenir I bought myself was a miniature painted door with hooks for keys.
Columbia is spectacular. I wanted to go for so long because one of my closest friends lived in Cartagena and she told me so much about it. She really was the person who took me from speaking primitive spanish to actually finding myself dreaming in spanish. When I went to Cartagena and Columbia, it exceeded my expectations. I love Latin America. Columbia was a visual dream scape. I went to Cartagena in Spain too and am going back in two months. Such warm, brilliant cultures.
I had no idea there’s a Cartagena in Spain, too! My spanish has vastly improved over the last 6 months and its been so cool to see that I can understand things now that were once complete gibberish to me.
Cartagena in Spain is very, very old. They have ruins there I need to see again Roman, of course, and Carthage and the Punic wars. Artifacts older even than this.
Getting fluent in a language is wonderful, all of a sudden it is as if your brain opens up to new concepts.
The world is an incredibly remarkable place.
What a beautiful series, Cindy, Particularly love the color offsetting the stone.
It’s kinda remarkable to me to think of the craftsmen who made these so long ago. It is wonderful that people valued it and maintained so we can actually see it, and use it, outside of a museum. I mean you can open these doors! <3
Boy, those of us who weren’t living in that time when more things were made with care really missed out! Those intricate wrought iron doors remind me of the old carved teak furniture my family has here from another era, which includes huge coffee tables and couches – all carved by hand! It takes time and patience to create works of beauty, and time is difficult to come by nowadays too when the focus is on quickly pumping out identical widgets. ~Lynn
I know you Lynn. So I am thinking about about the carved teak furniture, and what that means and represents. I have only a sense of your culture’s history, so much older than I can comprehend.
Thank goodness your parents, and other people, value those who came before. They have so much beauty to give us.
They fill us up, in ways living people cannot.
<3
Reblogged this on Herman van Bon Photography and commented:
Craftmenship of the past. Beautiful series of Cindy Knoke
You do know how cool blogging is, I get to meet people like you, who I never otherwise, would have ever met.
I love, love, love-am charmed to my innermost core by this collection of doors!!! Your pics r once again, pristinely beautiful. U have a great eye, Cindy..thanks ever so much for sharing!!!
What a thoughtful and lovely comment. People like you are why I blog and why I enjoy it so much. Thank you and cheers to you~ <3 <3
So fascinating… 🙂
So very pleased you enjoyed and thank you!
They promise wonderful worlds inside. A nice collection, Cindy. Thank you. n.n
They do, don’t they. You are an optimist which is a lovely character trait. <3
Portals to the past, and some lovely windows, too. Who is that peeking from the window in the first photo? A ghost?
Love it, you are the first to notice, clever Mandy. <3 He does look rather spectre-like doesn't he, poor man. Maybe he is a ghost. If so, I have the world's most clear ghost photo. I could enter it in a contest, but then, the real man might see it, and expose me as a huckster. Ah well, there goes my chance at photographic fame. You have good observational skills my friend~ <3
Indeed, he does look far too real to be a ghost, but it’s a lovely juxtaposition of old and new, and gives a hint of what may lie behind the portal.
It does, doesn’t it, and I love that you see this Mandy, because you helped me to see in a new way!
Wunderbare Portale und Sehenswürdigkeiten von unserem Europa! Danke Cindy Ernst
Vielen dank mein lieber Freund Ernst! <3
If doors are your bag, get yourself over to Stonetown on Zanzibar Island in Tanzania. One of the poorest countries in the world, but they do know about doorways. 🙂
OOOh, sounds fascinating. I would love to visit. I will google image it in the meantime.
If you get there, beware. It’s a real den of thieves. But the pickpockets are te most inept in the world, and the most apologetic when you catch them at it. Trust me. I know. 🙂
Wonderfull! Et in Regensburg ego!
My husband and I want to go back and rent an apartment for two months either in Passau or Regensburg. There is so much more beauty to explore! <3
Very interesting and beautiful creations. It’s a pity that such beauty is (almost) a thing of the past. Thanks for sharing your finds, Cindy.
Thank you more for your appreciation my friend and be well~ <3
Your photographs are awesome Cindy, thank you for sharing. 🙂
You are an awesome virtual friend Ranu. Thank you for visiting. <3
Beautiful, indeed, Cindy 🙂
Vielen dank! <3
🙂
These are absolutely beautiful. I love the architectural acumen and the intricate details. 🙂
You have a lovely blog.
Here’s hoping you’ll check out my blog too at https://thewhimsicalandwanderingsoul.wordpress.com/
I will check out your blog and look forward to doing so. Cheers to you and thank you too~
Such beautiful portals, Cindy… 🙂
Thank you Marina and be well my friend~ <3
Unquestionable elegance … and in so many styles!
I had to make tough decisions and eliminate some doors like the more simple, but still elegant doors in the Netherlands. I love them all and very glad you do too!
Europe provides bountiful opportunities for windows, doors, balconies, arches, and more.
Yes!! And more! <3
A wonderful and might I say diverse collection. Obviously you have a keen eye in your travels!
Visa versa 2 U X 2!
I love doors! Delightful tour Cindy! Reminds me of Revelations 2:20. Jesus said Look, I’m standing at the door knocking. If anyone opens the door I’ll come in and eat with you and you with me. Pretty amazing invitation to tea time! I love looking at doors and wondering what’s inside. Isn’t that an amazing thought that we’re on the inside and the one knocking to come in is Jesus?!
There is something spiritual about doorways and many have written about it before us. CS Lewis opening the cupboard door and entering the mystical world of Narnia for example. There is the symbolism of the door representing a passageway from one world to another, from life to death, from the secular to the sacred. So yes, Jesus could be knocking on our door, just waiting for an answer.
Yes!
Lovely! And I like the title! That is indeed what they are, portals to the past… 🙂
I am so grateful they are still here for us to step through!
Yep! So am I! 🙂
<3
Having never been to Europe, I’m always fascinated with friends’ trip photos, as I am with yours. In the U.S. we think a few centuries is old, and that’s infancy in Europe. Also, we tend to think old needs to be replaced with new, closing our “portals to the past.”
Beautifully felt, written and expressed. And I do so agree with you!
I love those ostentatious and decorative doors, but the one that most fascinates me and makes me want to look beyond it, is the more simple one belonging to the castle.
Yes, and it is the oldest as well. I will post the castle for you Sarah, and open that door for you! It is a world you will want to step into. <3
Oooo, I’m looking forward to seeing that. I love castles.
The last door is breathtaking.
Tis the castle door and a wondrous castle lies beyond. I will post it for you soon! <3