Hanoi is a busy city with over 8 million citizens and there are few places where you can escape from the noise. One of those places is the Temple of Literature, which is dedicated to the teachings of Confucius. Unlike pagodas, which are places of worship for Buddhists, the temples in Vietnam are celebrations for famous people in the country’s history. Although Confucius did not live in Vietnam, the country embraced his teachings and creating the Temple of Literature in 1070 and using it as Vietnam’s Imperial Academy soon afterwards.
Statue of ConfuciusEntrance to the Temple GroundsMythical StatueStudents Posing for Graduation PicturesGolden Turtle Symbolizing Long Life
There are five courtyards in the Temple of Literature and each of them serve a specific purpose. From places where the scholars could relax, to areas of study, and altars dedicated to Confucius. Today, it is a busy place with many tourists visiting and we were fortunate to see many students that were celebrating their graduation from the academy.
Altar in the TempleDragon on the RoofBuilding Separating CourtyardsPond in a CourtyardBird on the Back of a Turtle
The Temple of Literature is not located in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, so it is a short taxi ride to get there. It is certainly worth taking the time to visit and walk around this historic site with its amazing architecture and golden statues. Walking the grounds and seeing the different courtyards took us a couple of hours and the highlight was seeing all of the graduating students excited to get their diplomas. It was one of the first things that we saw during our time in Hanoi and it certainly made for a memorable start to a wonderful trip.
Beautiful ArchitectureFlowers in a CourtyardMore Students
Living in a tropical environment sounds like it would be an amazing experience, but with all of the rain, humidity, and wind, it is a constant battle to keep buildings from decaying. When we were in Panama City in Panama, we visited the historic old town area known as Casco Viejo and we spent several hours over a few days walking the different side streets of the town. Obviously the desire is to keep the historic buildings the same as their original construction, but the older materials are not as resistant to weather as new materials are. It makes for an interesting effect to see the buildings in different states of decay and there seemed to be ongoing repairs throughout the old town area.
Nature Taking OverColorful and Beautiful Despite the DecayFighting the Tropical ConditionsContrasting the New and OldChurch Bell TowerUnique and InterestingNo Roof or WindowIndustrial BuildingNot Much Remaining
The historic old town district in Bratislava, Slovakia is a fascinating area with wonderful medieval architecture. It is a very popular area for tourists as well as different artists selling their crafts or playing music. Like many other medieval cities where the city center was originally surrounded by walls, most of the walls have been removed to allow the city to grow, but some of the original walls remain as well as one of the original gates. St Martin’s Cathedral is also a dominant feature of the old town with its bell tower making it the tallest building.
St. Martin’s CathedralWalking the Cobblestone StreetsMichael’s GateBuilding with Part of the Original WallColorful Architecture
The wealthy citizens of the area all built their homes within the walls of Bratislava, each trying to show their prestige, which makes walking the streets of old town architecturally interesting. Michael’s Gate, or St. Michael’s Tower, is the only remaining entrance to the fortified city of the four original gates that previously existed. It is certainly one of the most recognizable features of Bratislava with its clock tower and it was the gate that future Hungarian kings would enter through while on their way to be coronated in St. Martin’s Cathedral.
Looking Up at St. Michael’s TowerWalking the Path of KingsSchone Naci StatueInside of St. Martin’s CathedralOrnate Artwork Inside of the Cathedral
Like all cities in the region, the history of Bratislava is one of occupation from a variety of different conquering armies. Much of its history was under the rule of Hungary and for several centuries it served as the location where the kings of Hungary were crowned. There are crown emblems in the cobblestone streets that denote the path that the king would follow from his coronation to the celebration of the citizens. During this period, from 1563 to 1830, the kings were coronated in St. Martin’s Cathedral making this church an important location for both Slovak citizens as well as Hungarian.
Historical Piece in St. Martin’s CathedralFigurines on the PewsInteresting Features Inside of the CathedralWalking Towards Michael’s GateCity Wall
In addition to the different buildings in Bratislava’s old town, there are also several statues and monuments that are worth seeing as well. Some of the most well known are the Watcher, which is a worker coming out of a sewer to look up women’s skirts, and the Schone Naci Statue, which is a statue of a former citizen who was extremely friendly and had a childlike demeanor. Crowds gather around these statues to take photos of themselves with them, which isn’t particularly our style.
The WatcherFamily Pews with FigurinesMore Artwork in the CathedralAnother Church in BratislavaOld Building in Old Town
We spent about three hours wandering around the streets of Bratislava’s old town and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. The buildings are quite colorful and architecturally interesting making every street unique. Although there were quite a lot of people on the streets, we found our time in Bratislava to be quite relaxing and even bought a piece of art from an artist near the main square.
Bell Tower of a Church Above the StreetsClock Tower in the Town SquarePeople Walking in One of the SquaresMonument in BratislavaRoof Inside of St. Martin’s Cathedral
