Unfinished and unfinished work that tourists adore no less than architectural masterpieces

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

There are buildings and products that are created by perfect masterpieces. And there are unfinished and incomplete work. And it seems that the latter have just as much chance of becoming a revered landmark as the former. At least the flow of tourists to them does not stop.

"Vasa" - a ship that sank as soon as it was on the water

The battleship, named after the Swedish royal dynasty, was to become the flagships of the Swedish navy and one of the largest ships in the world - at least in its seventeenth century. A Dutch shipbuilder was invited to build it and sixteen hectares of oak forest were cut down. The ship was built by four hundred people, and the king himself took part in its development (of course, feasible for the king).

The ship came out large and very beautiful - after all, it was also decorated with gilded statues. It seemed that he was destined to glorify Sweden by his appearance alone. But something went wrong. Almost immediately after the ceremonial launch, in front of the amazed audience, the ship capsized and sank. All this - in absolutely clear weather, with a weak wind!

Observers from the ships nearby rushed to the aid of the drowning people, among whom were the wives and children of the sailors "Vasa", but still several dozen people left with the ship to the bottom. The investigation showed that the ship was simply improperly designed. And most of the blame for the design lay with the king, who approved the proportions that made the ship sleeker in appearance, but more unstable.

In the twentieth century, the ship was raised from the bottom of the sea and a museum was built around it. People come to listen to his instructive story and at the same time to see - the ship is really very beautiful.

Notre dame cathedral

According to the original idea, the famous towers of the cathedral were supposed, like other Gothic cathedrals, to be crowned with gabled high roofs. But the cathedral was built for two centuries and, probably, they were so tired that they decided not to bother anymore (or the fashion for such roofs has simply passed). By the way, besides the roofs, the hosts of chimeras were not initially placed on the tops of the towers. They were installed during the restoration of the cathedral, under the impression of the novel by Hugo, in which the main character, the hunchback, is constantly among these chimeras.

In the twentieth century, there were voices of people proposing to nevertheless make the roofs of the towers pointed and high, but the public has already got used to the look that we know well, and Notre Dame will now always be with square towers. But the same spire with a rooster, which we know well, was also installed late, in the nineteenth century.

The Tsar Bell

For a long time, the largest bell in Russia was presented as damaged due to a fire: supposedly it was only raised after casting, and during the fire the walkways collapsed, and it fell exactly on the grate on which it stood during the casting. Nowadays, they are already talking about the fact that, most likely, they simply could not even lift it out of the pit in which it was made for a long time, and when they lifted it, due to improper manufacture, it cracked so that a large piece flew off.

In the end, not on the first try, the bell was raised, but they did not hang it anywhere - they immediately placed it on a pedestal. As a monument to Russian scope. How such a colossus should have sounded is still unknown, but there are assumptions that part of the sound would sound in infrasound, which would cause panic in people and animals.

Cathedral of the Sagrada Familia

One of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world, designed by the famous eccentric architect Antoni Gaudi, firstly, does not belong to the Catholic Church and does not stand on church land, and secondly, it is still being built - moreover, with private donations.

A completely different architect began to build the cathedral, but quarreled with the customers and left. So the building fell into the hands of Gaudi. He redesigned the original project very thoroughly and even built part of the temple, but died unexpectedly and tragically when hit by a tram. The cathedral is being completed on the sly to this day. Where to hurry: Notre Dame was built for two hundred years.

Tsaritsyno palace

For a long time, the wonderful palace in Tsaritsyno Park was one of the most famous unfinished projects in Russia. It was designed in the pseudo-Gothic style. Even at the time of construction, he became a model for other architects - they began to imitate his style. It was unfinished for a simple reason - about ten years after the start of construction, the customer, Empress Catherine, came to see how things were going, and said that she absolutely did not like the architect's decision. The architect was urgently changed, the new one almost completely reassembled what had already been built, but then the queen died, and the heir refused to pay for her project. So the palace stood unfinished for a couple of centuries - however, people still loved it very much. In our time, it was rebuilt according to the designs of the second architect.

I must say, more often than unfinished buildings, the ruins of previously completely whole buildings are loved by tourists. Abandoned Jungle Castle: How Two Dreamers Created a Magical Land for the Elite.