The sea and the chapel at the top of the cliff. This place and landscape is one of the most beautiful places in the Basque Country (Spain). An island (and now it is already a peninsula) in the Bay of Biscay, connected to the land by a bridge that turns into a stone staircase. The staircase is carved right into the rock, you can clearly see this in the photo.
The main attraction of this small island is the small chapel of San Juan de Gastelugache. A long man-made stone staircase with 237 steps leads to it. One hour will be enough to get around the entire island, but the magnificent views from different points of its rocky trails will take much longer, especially for those who like to photograph beautiful seascapes.
According to archaeological excavations, the chapel was built on one of its rocky peaks as early as the 10th century. It was dedicated to John the Baptist. According to legend, the saint, in pursuit of the Devil, overcame a small island in three steps and immediately overtook it. The chapel was built on this site. During the summer, popular for tourist trips, bells are often heard from the chapel.
The fact is that there is a sign: if you make a wish, say it to yourself, and then strike the bell three times - the wish will come true. Previously, people had their own beliefs associated with the chapel. The sailors, setting off on the voyage, promised to thank St. John if they returned. Childless women and sick people came to the chapel, asking the saint to heal them of their ailments.
Now something like a museum has formed inside the chapel with donations from people who came to John the Baptist with their requests. For example, the sailors who survived the shipwreck brought the wreckage of the ships. And those who asked to relieve him of a headache (migraine) left something connected with the head in the chapel: a hairpin for a hair, a scarf, ribbons or a cap.
There is a legend that a very long time ago (since the 11th century) the chapel belonged to the Knights Templar, although not a fact. A century later, it became a monastery, but the monks spent only two centuries here and then left. In the 14th century, here on a fortified island were the Knights of Vizcaya, who fought against King Alfonso XI. The king could not approach them and stepped back.
In the 16th century, a hermit lived in the chapel, who, by ringing bells, warned sailors about the coming storm. But soon his skete was captured and plundered (bad people). After that, the chapel survived several more attacks and, as a result, was almost completely destroyed by the end of the 19th century. It was rebuilt again, but in 1978, the chapel survived a fire and required rebuilding in 1980. And today we see the chapel as it is in the photographs, even here with me.
I have already written a lot and posted photos about this amazing place in Spain - Pais Vasco, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. Therefore, I have a geographical route with photographs and, together with a description, about this heaven on earth, where for any of us to visit is real happiness. So, my friends - today we will talk about a chapel on a rock in the middle of the ocean, which rises high above the waves and the horizon. I will only say that this place is now the most visited by tourists and travelers from all over the world. And for us photographers and artists, it's a dream to photograph a landscape with a sea and a chapel or paint a picture. This is my geographical route to heaven on earth.
And in the end - my addition to the already written text. Unfortunately, the church that we see today in all these photos is not the original and we must agree with this. Over the centuries, there have been fires, various battles, destruction and looting. And it should be noted that the church building had to be rebuilt more than once, carrying out repairs of the entire architectural ensemble.
-original photo;
-secondary publication;
-camera Sony 16.2.
For insertion into a post on Ecency and Hive, the size is reduced to 1280 x 960 points..
Photo taken - Sony 16.2 - 3x Zoom, Vario-Tessar lens.