Slovenia is a little country in the midst of Europe. Situated below Austria and on top of the Balkan peninsula, it is a gateway between Central Europa and Southeastern Europe. The little country is very mountainous and covered in thick forests. Nature roams (almost) freely here, and the culture is rich and with a lot of history.
The Alps are an extensive mountain range situated in the heart of Europe. They reach peaks up to 4.800 meters in height and cover a wide range of different climate zones. Traveling the Alps is taking in pure nature.
During the 19th century, Bad Gastein in Austria became a fashionable resort in the Alps, visited by European monarchs and the rich and wealthy. In this period, many impressive hotels were built in the principal styles of the era – classicism and Art Deco. In the decades after WWII, Bad Gastein lost its appeal to other places, and the remote town became forgotten more and more. Lately, efforts have been made to preserve and maintain the cultural heritage in Bad Gastein. The shine of the days gone by is coming back again slowly but surely.
Since the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, we all had the unique chance to discover our little countries anew. Personally, I traveled a lot before but mostly abroad, so I didn’t have many opportunities to travel around Austria. This changed substantially in the past year and a half, so I discovered many architectural and natural places in Austria I didn’t know before.
The tradition of sacral buildings in the Alps is far-reaching. The oldest churches in the region date from the 7th and 8th centuries, but the heyday for building activities was the 18th century. It was a time in the region’s history when grandiose architecture with rich decoration was built to combat the rivaling religious ideology of Protestantism from the north. While protestant churches tended to be more plain and unpretentious, Catholicism went in the other direction. Churches became palaces for God, becoming ever more impressive with marvelous wall paintings and detailed glass windows. Another essential element of Baroque sacral architecture was organs larger than life, richly decorated, and with a unique sound range. Some impressions from the region.
The Buddhist temples in Thailand are actually called “Wat,” which stems from a Hindu word for enclosure. They are like sacral fortifications with monks living and praying in them. Many of them can be visited when showing respect and covering shoulders and legs. Sometimes you even get to know some monks and can have a talk with them, they are friendly and actually have a good sense of humour.
Michael Hoffman Photography 