Europe - photonstory

Bolwoningen — the Sphere Houses of ‘s-Hertogenbosch

The Bolwoningen of 's-Hertogenbosch: white sphere houses between hedges and paths on the Bollenveld

Fifty white spheres in an ordinary housing estate: Dries Kreijkamp’s Bolwoningen are Dutch social housing’s boldest experiment — and a listed monument since 2022.

Carrara: The Mountains That Look Like Snow

The marble peaks of the Apuan Alps above Carrara seen from the autostrada, white like snow under September clouds

A morning in the Torano basin: from the marble railway past sawmills and hairpins up to the highest drivable point — where Michelangelo chose his marble. With trucks, tunnels and a white river.

Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune: A Palace for the Poor

The Grande Salle des Pôvres — 50 metres of hall, two rows of red-curtained beds, in service 1452–1971.

In 1443 Burgundy’s chancellor made a deal for his soul: a palace-hospital for the poor. Glazed roofs, the 50-metre hall of beds, five centuries of medicine — and van der Weyden’s Last Judgment. Photos, video and guide.

Vaison-la-Romaine: The Haute Ville and its Cathedral at the Cliff Edge

The Haute Ville of Vaison-la-Romaine on its rock above the Ouvèze, crowned by the 15th-century cathedral.

A town that moved twice: the medieval Haute Ville of Vaison-la-Romaine on its rock above the Ouvèze — a cathedral built 1464 at the edge of the void, the castle of the Counts of Toulouse, and lanes of honey-coloured stone.

Montmajour Abbey: A Photo Guide to the Abbaye de Montmajour near Arles

The barrel-vaulted nave and apse of the 12th-century abbey church — 16 metres high, and never finished.

Founded in 949 on a rocky hill amid the marshes, the Abbaye de Montmajour is Provence’s great half-forgotten monument: an unfinished Romanesque church, a rock-cut necropolis, a carved bestiary — and Van Gogh’s favourite hill. A photo documentary and visitor guide.