Harbin Travel Guide

St Nicholas' Church is an ancient and precious medieval church in Galway, the largest surviving medieval parish church in Ireland and said to be where Columbus once prayed—a witness to Galway's deep history. St Nicholas' Collegiate Church stands in the heart of Galway's old town, an ancient and important historic building. Founded in the Middle Ages (around the 14th century) and expanded over the centuries, it is the largest medieval parish church still in use in Ireland, extremely old and precious. The church is noted for its austere medieval style—sturdy stonework, medieval details and many ancient relics (old tombstones, carvings, baptismal font), full of historical atmosphere and medieval flavor. Its most legendary link is with the navigator Christopher Columbus—tradition holds that before his voyage to the New World, Columbus visited Galway around 1477 and prayed in this church (St Nicholas being the patron saint of sailors), adding a legendary hue (though accounts vary). Through Galway's long history the church has seen many changes. Today it still stands in the old-town center, austere and solemn; around it (especially on weekends) lively markets often appear. Step into this ancient medieval church, admire its architecture and relics, recall its long history and the Columbus legend, and feel Galway's deep historical roots. Visiting Galway, its ancient St Nicholas' Church, feeling history and legend, is a storied sight in Galway.

The Sun Gate is the most famous and precious relic of the Tiwanaku civilization, a stone doorway carved from a single huge block, with a mysterious central deity and many figures carved on the lintel—a precious treasure for studying this ancient pre-Inca civilization, full of religious and astronomical meaning. The Sun Gate (Puerta del Sol) is the emblem relic of the Tiwanaku site. Carved from a single huge andesite block, above the doorway (lintel) center is a central deity holding a staff, radiating light (thought to be Viracocha the creator sun god), flanked by dozens of smaller winged 'messenger' figures and mysterious patterns. These exquisite, mysterious carvings show Tiwanaku's stonecraft and are thought to hold deep religious, mythic and even astronomical-calendrical meaning (some link the patterns to a calendar). Tiwanaku was an ancient, important pre-Inca civilization of the Andes (c. 1st to 11th century), and the Sun Gate is one of its most precious, mysterious treasures. Viewing it, you see a masterpiece of a distant civilization, marveling at Tiwanaku's wisdom and mystery. As a World Heritage site and indigenous sacred relic, visit with respect. Protect the heritage, don't touch or carve or climb, follow rules; respect the ancient civilization and indigenous people; civilized visiting.