25 August 2025

The Tallest Statues of Jesus Christ in the World

Probably the most famous statue of Jesus on the planet, known for both size and location, is the statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (pictured above). You would be forgiven for thinking that this was the largest statue of Jesus in the world too – yet you would be mistaken.  The Jesus who towers above the Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio is only the fourth largest statue of the Christ on Earth.  Take a look at some of the others - they get bigger as you go along.

Cristo Rey - Mexico
Height 20.5 m (67 feet)
The Christ the King statue sits atop of the hill named after a gambling implement of all things – a dice cup.  The hill,Cerro del Cubilete (more of a mountain if the truth be told) is 2,700 meters high and is situated in the state of Guanajuato in Mexico.
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15 October 2023

The Cave City of Vardzia

The Cave City of Vardzia is remarkable.   Situated in the European country of Georgia at the juncture of Eastern Europe and Western Asia it has an over eight hundred year history.  Yet you would be forgiven for wondering why such a place was built in the first place. The words why and how spring immediately to mind.

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15 August 2023

The Century Old Color Photographs of Prokudin-Gorsky

In 1909 a remarkable project was initiated by Russian photographer Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky. His mission was to record – in full and vibrant color – the vast and diverse Russian Empire. Here, with his story, is a selection of his amazing century old full color pictures.

Just over one hundred years ago a Russian photographer, began a remarkable project. With the blessing – and funding – of the Tsar, Nicholas II, he embarked on an extraordinary journey to capture the essence of Russia in full color photographs. Many of these pictures look as if they could have been taken yesterday, with only the costumes worn by the people captured in their moment of time betraying the age of the work. The first shows two men crossing a small river.
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6 December 2020

Magical Europe - Timelapse


Stan Chang spent (what looks like the best part of) two years traveling around Europe with his wife and small son.  This is a compilation of time lapse videos that he created on his family’s sojourns on the continent and it is quite amazing.  I particularly enjoyed the transitions from day to night – but the most fun was trying to spot and name the places as this compelling video played. Have fun!

3 October 2020

A Very Brief History of Humankind


For the first time in a number of years ordinary Europeans have been talking about the possibility of imminent nuclear war.  As Belarus continues to tear itself apart and no one offering  any kind of real solution people are increasingly worried that the conflict (putative civil-war, essentially) will escalate over the borders of this beleaguered country and travel west.  When that happens who knows what will come next. A hundred years ago a little known archduke was assassinated and the rest, as they say, is history.

3 June 2018

If You Have Never Wanted to Visit Slovakia, You Will After You Watch This


Present-day Slovakia only became an independent state in 1993 but it has over 1500 years of Slavic cultural history behind it not to mention some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe.  Dominika Martincova hails from this small but incredibly vibrant country and created this marvelous time-lapse of her homeland (called Time for Slovakia) on returning to it after almost three years of globe-trotting.

19 November 2011

Jefta - Art in Multiform Media

Jefta Hoekendijk is a young artist who lives and works in Mons in Belgium. We recently came across his work (drawn to his Frozen project, above) and were compelled to share this exciting art with you.  Active in the digital art arena, Jefta has been a photo and videographic artist for four years. His work is based essentially on humanity and the human condition. He attempts to reveal what being human is through our various body parts, it movement, repetition and deconstruction. Here are some of our favorite pieces of his work - yet a visit to his website will reveal so much more.

Jefta is not one of those solitary artists however. As a child of the internet he has embraced new technology and the social media which goes with it.  He spends a lot of time online, talking with fans and other artists, sharing ideas and constructive criticism. My own preferment is towards his Peintof project, which mixes digital photography and oils.

He does not restrict himself to digital art, however.  He experiments with painting and drawing – his objective is to create art for the moment in the medium which will best express it. An eclectic approach is what you could call his signature.     He uses the human body (and is particularly fond of the female form!) as a medium for painting, reworking its shape and texture with paint, mixing the high-resolution digital photography to the gesture and texture of the paint.

Peintof was a photography project Jefta has combined digital techniques with traditional painting techniques.    How does the body applying a second skin? How to paint blends to the body? This unorthodox mix can have an unsettling effect on the viewer. Is it a painting? Is this a picture? Where is the body? His deconstruction of images generates a rhythm from confusion, organization from chaos.

He has also worked with bodylighting to extremely interesting effect, yet this is just a cross-section of Jefta’s extraordinary art. To acquaint yourself fully with his incredibly eclectic work, please visit Jefta’s website.

24 October 2011

French Post-it War Goes Global

It all started in July. As far as anyone can tell the first salvoes of the war came from the offices of Ubisoft in Montreuil, Paris, in late July. August is traditionally a quiet time for the workers of France, the employees of the French video developer must have had a little time on their hands.One of them, at least, came up with a plan to relieve the boredom.

They began to create images of iconic games and the associated characters – out of post-its – on the windows of their office. A single post-it became a pixel and soon there were post-it pictures on a number of their workers. The workers in the BNP banks across the road took this display of art d’ennui as something of a challenge. The staff their ‘retaliated’ with speed, returning the Ubisoft challenge with cartoons, 80s video games characters and street art.

This soon spread – as good ideas do – across France and soon the displays were becoming more elaborate.

Many thanks to Flickr User Geoslideshow (website here) for a photograph of perhaps the most elaborate of all. With the oxygen of publicity, slow at first, the war began to spread across Europe. It has now reached the United States. Before long the world should be fully engaged in the world’s first global post-it war. Until the workers become bored, that is, and move on to something else (some work, perhaps!).

 Sydney, Australia

Antwerp, Belgium

Arnhem, Netherlands

Hamburg, Germany

Brussels, Belgium

Stockholm, Sweden

San Francisco, California

Downtown Seattle, Washington
Many thanks to Kuriositas reader Jennifer Lankenau who emailed this in.

Have you taken part in the Great Post-it War of 2011 or seen a great example? Then send us your pic (and tell us where it was taken of course!) and we will include it here!

30 June 2011

The Euro Crisis: Who is Rescuing Whom? And Why?


Are you confused by the recent financial and economic events in Greece? Do you wonder what exactly happened to cause the financial crisis when the Euro had seemed so strong for so long? And how come it affects countries like Greece and Ireland but not Germany or France?

This animated short film by Bertelsmann Stiftung will explain everything simply and concisely for you. It goes back a few years to show what precipitated the current crisis and why opting out of the Euro is probably not a good idea for those countries that are suffering at the moment. Seems a little dry? I thought so too but the animation here is crisp and clear and I really feel like I understand the situation a little better now! OK, I am still never going to be an economist but then again – neither are the people running the show, so it seems!

24 April 2011

A Necessary EVOL

It is as if The Borrowers had supplanted themselves en masse from suburbia and had become urban dwellers overnight, yet these pictures do not signify a demographic lurch by the tiny folk.  This is the work of German street artist EVOL.  He uses stencils to turn everyday outdoor objects, such as electrical boxes in to miniature skyscrapers.

Look closely and you will see all the usual aspects of urban living – the satellite TV dishes affixed to many of the ‘flats; the balconies and half drawn net curtains; the ubiquitous graffiti. If you simply glance at these pictures it becomes difficult to distinguish them from the real thing.

These pictures are part of EVOL’s series of works entitled ‘buildings’ which while stating the obvious – doesn’t.  This is a wallpaper job in a way – Evol applies paper printed with a pattern on to these surfaces and takes it from there.

Although EVOL is Berlin based his work has started to appear throughout Europe.  So, if you see a rather banal urban surface which has been transformed in to a diminutive block of flats, take a closer look. But don’t expect to find The Borrowers inside...

21 December 2010

Bled Island – Slovenia’s Fairy Tale Isle

Lake Bled in Slovenia has had visitors for thousands of years. Little wonder when you consider its mild climate and beautiful surroundings.  

The lake has an island, tear-shaped and the only real island in the virtually land-locked country.  

When people say that a place is like something from a fairy tale often they are exaggerating.  

Not with so Bled Island.  Formed by a glacier it is every inch worthy of that description.

The island is tiny but over the centuries people have wasted no time using virtually every square meter to one purpose or another.  In fact it has been inhabited in one shape or form since prehistory – human traces many thousands of years old have been found there.

As you can imagine the place is popular among couples seeking that romantic place in which to exchange vows.  The largest building on the island is the Church of the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage.   Yet Bled, in the heart of Europe, has not always been Christian.

Before this it is said that the Slavic goddess of love and fertility, Ziva, had a temple here. Although this was originally a creation of the great Slovene poet France Prešeren, it is easy to imagine ancient rituals taking place here.  Archaeological work showed that the early Slavs worshipped at a pagan temple here at least a century before the first Christian worshippers arrived in the ninth century.

Traditional wooden row barges call pletna (see above) ferry people to and from the island.  More adventurous visitors can rent a boat and row themselves over. The way up to the church consists of 99 steps.  A local tradition dictates that the groom but carry his wife up these steps to the church – one can only hope that if there is a disparity in weight it is the husband who is the heavier.

As she is carried the wife must stay completely silent or bad luck will descend on their marriage.  It is tempting to make a slightly cynical comment here about the silence most likely being her last but discretion is so often the better part of valor.  Whatever must not be said here, the steps are very steep.  Grooms are advised to spend several months training in a gym before their nuptials.
The church was originally Gothic in its architecture which suited the area well.  It has a large free-standing belfry on its southern side, both of which were built in the late fifteenth century.  The first Bishop of Ljubljana, Sigmund Lamberg, consecrated the presbytery and the main altar in 1465, when Christopher Columbus would have been fourteen years old.

The church was reconstructed in 1685 in the Pre-Baroque style.  The interior dates from that period and up to one hundred years later.  Renovated in 1972 the church has four side altars, replete with wooden and black marble carvings.  The main altar is a richly gilded affair which dated from the middle of the eighteenth century.

As well as the inevitable weddings, the main feature that attracts visitors is the wishing bell - you can see someone tugging on its rope on the left of the picture above.  The bells date from the early eighteenth century. As you ring the bell, make a wish and it will be granted – or at least that is how the story has it. Of course it must be true - every fairy tale should have a happy ending after all.