King's College Chapel

King's College Chapel is probably our favorite building in Cambridge, and I am sure we are not unique in that. It's probably the most grand and imposing building in the city, and it shows up in pretty much every sketch of Cambridge.
The building has an interesting history. The first stone was laid in 1441--I love that a building that I can visit was built long before my country even existed. You simply can't find anything like that here, and, as an American, it increases my sense of wonder.

Side note: they had this armoire from 1480 just out in the common area, where anyone can touch it. The nonchalance of Europeans towards their antiques feels so ridiculous to me that it makes me want to laugh.

Anyway, back to the chapel.
This is just inside, above the door through which we entered. The older part of the chapel (the other end, near the painting) has less adornment, but much of the chapel has a whole lot of political imagery. This picture is a good example of that: the portcullis and greyhound are emblems of the Beauforts (of Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII), the dragon represents the Tudor family of Henry VII's father, then there's the Tudor rose, as well as the Fleur de Lys (representative of the fact that the English monarch at the time was also monarch of France), etc.
It struck me at the time that this chapel is far more political than Ely Cathedral.

A picture of the grand fan vaulted ceiling. It's the largest vault of its kind in the world.
This picture cannot possibly convey the feeling of grandeur in this building, and the ceiling certainly is a very great part of that.

The choir stalls, so ornate.

A view from the other side of the screen. The highly carved organ screen was a gift from Henry VIII and his queen (at the time), Anne Boleyn. Their initials are all over it.

Henry VIII also commissioned much of the stained glass in the building. The upper windows are illustrations from the Old Testament, and the lower windows are of the New Testament. What's more, if I'm remembering correctly, each New Testament window portrays the fulfillment or the counterpart of the subject in the Old Testament window above it. For example, the temptation of Eve is above the annunciation of Mary.
I believe this is a picture of Christ being carried off the cross.

"The Adoration of the Magi."
This picture does not do justice to how huge this painting is.

King's is a must-see if you ever travel to Cambridge. Just the architecture alone takes your breath away, but the history and the sacred aspects of the chapel are worthy of a visit, too.