Orientation of Gothic-Mudéjar Churches in Southern Spain

Most of the earliest new churches built in Andalusia (southern Spain) following the thirteenth-century Christian Reconquista occupied the sites of former mosques. In some cases, these churches incorporated pre-existing architectonic elements – particularly minarets, which were converted into bell towers – or took some inspiration from Islamic architecture, creating a combination of Gothic style and elements from Muslim architecture known as Gothic-Mudéjar. This paper analyses the orientation pattern of a group of 68 Gothic-Mudéjar churches built in the cities of re-conquered Andalusia up to the early fifteenth century, and the normalised frequency distribution of azimuths is compared with published data for the qibla (the direction toward which Muslims turn to pray) observed at a group of 82 Andalusian mosques. Results confirm that a large number of churches were oriented via a 90° anticlockwise rotation from orientation to the qibla after placing the apse in the former eastern wall of the mosque. It is further argued, based on the histogram and a distinctive peak around 84°, that the architects aligned these churches to sunrise over the local horizon for 25th March according to the Julian calendar, the date of the canonical equinox. This practice reflects Church teaching and a medieval foundation-stone rite involving a dawn vigil, and the built structures reflect the limited technical capacity of the church builders. The method of orientation would also have created a precedent for the alignment of some later churches in southern Spain dedicated to the Virgin of the Assumption to sunrise on 15th August, the Feast of the Assumption.

Geographical spatial thinking, expression of scientific thinking – ability of investigative competence

The article advocates the acceptance of geographical spatial thinking as a form of scientific thinking. The first part argues about the specificity of the concept of geographical space in the sense of geographical studies, in order to then build the syllogism according to which geographical spatial thinking, based on higher cognitive operations and respects geographical principles and paradigms, can be considered a particular form of scientific thinking. The second part exemplifies the way of training the investigative ability to think spatially from the geographical point of view, using documentation sheets designed for the study of the local horizon at different levels of schooling (professional and high school levels) and for different sequences of the lesson, supported by cartographic supports of the Google Earth application. The methodological indications guide the manner of applying, in the Physical Geography lessons, the integration situations for the formation of the components of the investigative competence. The conclusions emphasize the importance of structuring geographical spatial thinking according to the characteristics of scientific thinking systematized by local researchers.

THE ORIENTATION OF COLONIAL CHURCHES OF FUERTEVENTURA

We use standard tools of Archaeoastronomy to approach the study of orientations, possibly astronomical, of a group of colonial Christian churches. We present preliminary results of the analysis of the precise spatial orientation of nearly fifty chapels and churches of the Canary Island of Fuerteventura (Spain), most of them built from the period of the Norman conquest in the fifteenth century to the nineteenth century. Although some small chapels belonging to the manorial power of the island and other modern churches do not have a well-defined pattern of orientations, the vast majority of the religious constructions of the island (about 35 of the 48 analyzed) have their axis oriented within the solar range, between the extreme azimuths of the annual movement of the Sun when crossing the local horizon. Unlike what was found in other islands of the archipelago, these results suggest that the religious architecture of Fuerteventura faithfully follows the prescriptions contained in the texts of early Christian writers.

Shadows, Stones and Solstices

This paper records the results of a survey of stone pairs in southwest Wales. The aim of the research was to determine whether the positioning of the megaliths could reflect an intention on the part of the builders to mark particular points in the solar year. The author hypothesises that some of the sites were constructed in such a way as to facilitate the creation of a particular shadow phenomenon within the confines of the monument itself, designed to be viewed at one or both solstices. During the course of the study, it became apparent that the locations of some monuments also facilitated observations of solstice sunrises or sunsets coinciding with topographical features (such as hills or outcrops) on the local horizon, in addition to the shadow phenomena. There was also some, although less, indication of an interest in the equinoxes.

„TAM, GDZIE PACYFIK POTULNIE WPŁYWA DO RUDAWY” / WHERE THE PACIFIC OCEAN FLOWS INTO THE RUDAWA RIVER

Summary Poetic space is one of the key categories of poetic expression and critical interpretation. Its construction reflects the poet’s perception of reality and his experiences, both in their biographical and conceptual aspects. Although Wisława Szymborska’s poems contain only few references to her private life, the appropriation of ‘alien’ places is an important feature of her poetic expression. She examines closely the workings of both natural and human history as they have shaped and left their mark on the landscape. While doing it, she usually assumes the persona of a scientist or a tourist. Though focused on a particular place, her poems always strive to go beyond the local horizon. It is as if the geography opened up to and needed to be complemented by a deeper anthropological experience. At the same time, the momentum of the transcendental reflection turns many of Szymborska’s poems into elements of a somewhat formalized poetic treatise.