Marmorkirchen

Visitors to the recent LEGO World exposition in Copenhagen were able to see Chris Behrens' rendition of the Marmorkirken, or Marble Church. This Danish church (officially Frederick's Church) was begun in 1749, but was left unfinished for well over a century, finally opening in 1894. Chris' LEGO version includes a fully furnished interior, with altar, pews and organ, so be sure to click through to see the whole gallery.

Modern church

I tend to feature MOCs of churches from many years ago - often Gothic structures - but Juergen Bartosch gave his take on St Peter's from Heimstetten near Munich,

Brick Bash

LEGO builders periodically gather at local meetings and at large national and even international conventions. These often include public exhibitions where people can come see the cool models. One recent exhibition was Brick Bash, held in Michigan this past Saturday. Among the works on display were some of Arthur Gugick's microscale reproductions of famous landmarks, such as Notre Dame and Mont St Michel, seen here.

Masjid al-Haram

At the center of Islam stands the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. This is the largest mosque in the world, and in the center of the large central courtyard sits the Kaaba, which Muslims believe was constructed by Abraham and Ishmael. One of the central tenets of Islam is the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, and the Masjid al-Haram can hold up to 4,000,000 worshipers coming from all over the globe.



This micro reproduction is by Aqs08.

Rosary

Roman Catholics often pray the rosary. A rosary is a necklace of beads that is used to count a series of repeated prayers (a combination of the Lord's Prayer, Hail Mary's, and the Doxology). Mementomoose made several different LEGO rosaries that you can purchase. They'll even do custom versions in color schemes of your choice.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick, here in a vig by Sea Serpent, is the patron saint of Ireland. He is generally credited with helping to spread Christianity in that country in the late fifth century. Legend holds that he drove the snakes out of Ireland, and also that he used the three-leafed shamrock to help explain the trinity.

What child is this?

Sheep presents a version of the Nativity.

Babel 3

Okay, one more take on the Babel story. Of course, Brendan Powell Smith has a great version of the Tower of Babel in the Brick Testament.

Building the Taj Mahal

This is sort of a religious structure. The Taj Mahal is actually a mausoleum built by Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in 1632, as a symbol of eternal love (I wonder how the first and second wives felt about this). The architecture is an islamic style and verses from the Qur'an form part of the decoration. The gardens around the main building reflect a mystic Islamic view of paradise.

A month ago Mariann Asanuma posted a birthday cake topper she made for an AFOL building the Taj Mahal. I love the scale mixing here.



More on microscale building at MicroBricks. More on miniland scale building at MinilandBricks.

Babel 2

Okay, I'm in a Babel mood. Previously, Steve Bishop made this vignette of the Babel story.

Tower of Babel

They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."
The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.

So goes the story of the Tower of Babel, from Genesis 11. Arthur Gugick built a great microscale version.



One note, when you follow that link, Arthur has a backstory that this is based on some archaeological evidence. Despite his normal penchant for building extremely accurate versions of real structures, he's pulling our collective legs here. This is actually his own design. I have to admit that he got me on this one - I was searching around on line to find more details about the fictional archaeological findings he cites. Given that I've previously blogged a MOC of the Etemenanki Ziggurat, I figured it was all too reasonable that some other structure had been found that may have been the source for the biblical tale.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, when many Christians begin their observation of the Lenten season, a period of 40 days of contemplation and prayer in anticipation of Easter. I wasn't really sure how this could be depicted in LEGO form - maybe a minifig with a smudge of ash on his forehead. Ichabod Ishwick came up with a humorous photo, where his minifigs misheard 'Ash Wednesday' as Mashed Potato Day.

Sensō-ji

...and also the main hall, both devoted to the bodhisattva Kannon, who embodies compassion, hearing the cries of all the world. The temple grounds were largely destroyed during World War II, and the current temple is a rebuilding of the original. This photo from the LEGO pavilion at Nasu Highland Park is by Digitalbear.

Sensō-ji

Once you've past both gates (see the last two blog posts), you come to the Sensō-ji, an ancient Buddhist temple. There is a five story pagoda... (again, photo by Kelvin255).

Hōzōmon

Once you pass through the Kaminarimon (see yesterday's post), you enter the Nakamise-dōri, a street crowded with shops. After checking out the wares, you come to the Hōzōmon, or Treasure House Gate. This gate houses two statues of the Niō, guardians of the Buddha. Again, photo by Kelvin255 taken in the LEGO pavilion at Nasu Highland Park.

Thunder Gate

Nasu Highland Park is a Japanese amusement park. In addition to roller coasters and other attractions, there is also a large LEGO pavillion. Kelvin255 visited and took lots of photos, including this model of the Kaminarimon. This is the outer gate to the Sensō-ji, a 1400 year old Buddhist temple in Tokyo. In the LEGO model on either side of the great lantern you can see the statues of the Shinto gods of wind and thunder, Fūjin and Raijin.

Golgotha on your phone

Smallworks produces the Brickcase, a cover for the iPhone 4 with LEGO-compatible studs (hmm, if they start making these for other phones, I'm definitely going to get one). Lego Berean made a mosaic of Cavalry, the hill where Christ was crucified.

Do this in remembrance

"This is my body, broken for you." Christ said this as he passed bread to his disciples, and ever since Christians have repeated this ceremony as the sacrament of holy communion. However, there has been great debate over what communion actually entails. While many Protestants see this ceremony as wholly symbolic, Catholics believe that when the priest lifts the host and says hoc est corpus meum, the bread is somehow changed into the actual body of Christ, as shown here by Bruceywan.