Impressions of London - St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey

Pictured: Children feed pigeons in front of St Paul’s Cathedral

No matter where you travel in Europe, visiting a church is an essential part of your trip. The Romans founded this city on this land two thousand years ago, where different races, religions and cultures blended together. Countless churches immersed people in the solemnity and mystery of religion. During our trip to London in 2014, we visited the two most famous cathedrals in London - St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.

The two churches are extremely solemn and solemn, and photography is prohibited inside. You can get a guided tour machine to listen to the explanation.

The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral towers into the sky. Among the churches with round domed Baroque buildings in the world, St. Paul ranks second. The world's largest domed church is St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. For a detailed introduction to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, please see "Tour of Ancient Italian Cities - Sightseeing".

St. Paul's Cathedral is the British people's church, and Westminster Abbey (Westminster Abbey) is the British royal church. On July 29, 1981, Prince Charles and Princess Diana held the wedding of the century at St. Paul's Cathedral. A spokesman for the British royal family at the time said: "We are using St Paul's Cathedral to hold the wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, replacing the originally planned Westminster Abbey because it is the people's church."

On April 29, 2011, Princess Diana's son Prince William and Princess Kate held their wedding at Westminster Abbey.

(Left: Prince Charles and Princess Diana; Right: Prince William and Princess Kate)

In 1666, the Great Fire of London burned down the ancient St. Paul's Cathedral, which was built in 604. In 1667, the famous royal designer Wren designed the St. Paul's Cathedral we see today. The church is 111 meters high. Renn hopes that all people who come to the church will be blessed by God every day of the year.

Picture: Because I couldn’t take pictures, I bought a picture album before leaving.

Westminster Abbey is the exclusive church of the British royal family, and the administrative patriarch and its regulations are determined by the royal family. Westminster Abbey faithfully records the history of the British royal family. The coronation ceremony of the royal family was held here, and they are still buried in the temple even a hundred years later. Westminster Abbey is also known as the "spire of honour", where the Bible was translated into English and where the most outstanding figures in all fields of British history enjoyed state funerals. In the center of the front hall of the church is Newton's grave. He was the first natural scientist in human history to receive a state funeral.

Picture: The garden of Westminster Abbey is small and very quiet, because the temple is full of mausoleums, which is inevitably depressing.

Two churches I visited in London:

St. Paul’s cathedral

The church is divided into three parts: the church interior, the church basement, and the church roof viewing platform. Ren envisioned the cathedral, which took 35 years to build, as an observatory connecting heaven and earth. You can overlook the city of London from the sky, and you can visit the tombs of great men on the ground. The funerals of the well-known former British Prime Ministers Churchill and Margaret Thatcher were held in St. Paul's Cathedral. The funerals of General Nelson and General Wellington, Britain's two most important military strategists, were also held in St. Paul's Cathedral, and the two generals were also buried here.

The dome of the church will appear in the background of BBC London's screen every night. The entire church combines Gothic and Renaissance styles, and each glass window reflects a different religious theme from the Bible. A very special thing about St. Paul's Cathedral is that you can climb 500 steps to the top. Climb the 257 steps and you will see a circle of iron bars surrounding the church, overlooking the entire church atrium.

Address: St. Paul’s Churchyard, London EC4M 8AD, UK

After climbing to the top, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of London.

Westminster Abbey (Westminster Abbey means Westminster Abbey)

This is a typical Gothic building, tall and majestic, with towering spires and exquisite carvings... Queen Elizabeth's coronation and Prince William's wedding were both held here. Westminster Abbey is mainly composed of two parts: the church and the monastery. In the temple, there are the famous Edward I coronation throne, Henry VII chapel, royal cemetery, Poets' Corner, etc. It was listed as a World Cultural Heritage in 1987 and is now a royal monument.

Address: 20 Deans Yd, London SW1P 3PA

See below for details:

St. Paul’s cathedral

Taking the subway to church, the two sisters chatted in the subway. The younger brother really liked playing on the swing.

Path leading to St Paul's Cathedral.

 

A good photographer requires a high degree of cooperation from the model.

Inside the church is a vaulted hall supported by square stone pillars. There is a priest's pulpit and long wooden chairs in the hall. Huge oil paintings of Jesus, the Virgin and believers hang on the four walls, with strong religious color and artistic appeal.

When I looked down at the scenery halfway up, many people were sitting leisurely on the grass and basking in the sun. The space becomes smaller as you climb up, so you can only climb up one by one. The space is too small, and if you have small children, you probably won't be able to climb up.

We finally reached the top, overlooking the beautiful scenery of London from all directions.

Wang Laosan and his father have always been uncooperative when taking photos.

Come up by yourself and come down by yourself.

Westminster Abbey (Westminster Abbey means Westminster Abbey)

At the top of the church stands a spire decorated with stained glass, rising majestically to the sky. The main entrance consists of two square towers. There are ten relief portraits on the lintel, which are ten Christian saints from all over the world. They are known as the "outstanding Christian martyrs of the twentieth century". The fifth from the left is the famous American African civil rights leader and pastor Martin Luther King.

The Royal Air Force Chapel was established to commemorate the air force heroes who died in World War II. The central column supports an umbrella-shaped vault, and the stained glass is inlaid with the emblems of the 68 air force squadrons that participated in the war. From here it’s time to take photos.

A square corridor with a lawn in the middle.

 

At that time, the children were very cooperative when dressing up and taking photos.

My brothers and sisters are also very cooperative.

The small garden in Westminster Abbey is open every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If you are tired from walking, you can take a rest, enjoy the gentle breeze, and eat some bread and fruit.