Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries: Uncovering Mysterious Sites, Symbols, and Societies
272
Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries: Uncovering Mysterious Sites, Symbols, and Societies
272Hardcover
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781402762079 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Sterling |
| Publication date: | 11/03/2009 |
| Pages: | 272 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d) |
About the Author
STEPHEN KLIMCZUK is a world traveler and corporate strategist who recently served as head of strategy for late billionaire Sir John Templeton’s main private foundation.
GERALD WARNER OF CRAIGENMADDIE is a popular Scottish newspaper columnist and broadcaster who holds several distinguished European orders of knighthood.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Mysterious Heritage 7
Investigating (and, where necessary, debunking) the "Usual Suspects"
Rosslyn Chapel, Midlothian, Scotland 8
Rennes-le-Château, France: Wholly Bunk, Hoary Tale 12
Villa Tevere: The Headquarters of Opus Dei in Rome 16
The Hotel de Bilderberg and the Bilderberg Group, The Netherlands 19
Vauxhall Cross: London's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) Headquarters 22
Rosicrucian Park, San José, and Club 33, Anaheim, California 24
Chapter 2 Shrines and Sanctuaries, Ancient and Modern|27
Places of primordial spiritual impulses and folklore-and a psychedelic West Coast enclave
Ise Shrine, Japan 28
Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo 31
Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet 34
The Shrine of the Oracle at Delphi, Greece 36
The Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California 41
Chapter 3 The Temple, the Ark, and the Grail 45
Undeniable surprises on the sober trail of Knights Templars, Freemasons, Holy Grail hunters, and Gnostics
The B��tska Palace, Stockholm 46
The Chapel of the Ark, Aksum, Ethiopia 53
The Chapel of the Holy Grail, Valencia Cathedral, Spain 54
Significant Masonic Temples from Rome and Paris to Washington and Pushkin (Russia) 55
Gnosticism Today 59
Chapter 4 Gothic Nightmare 61
Himmler's "Black Camelot" and Nazi spiritual center, with side trips to other Germanic esoteric sites
Wewelsburg Castle, Westphalia, Germany 62
The Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland 71
Bollingen Tower, Lake Zurich, Switzerland 74
Chapter 5 Citadels of Chivalry 79
Remaining outposts of ancient noble and charitable brotherhoods at the service of humanity
The Knights of Malta, Rome 81
The Tuscan Order of St. StephenPope and Martyr, Pisa 88
The Teutonic Order 93
Chapter 6 Grottoes and Grotesques 98
Strange and historic passageways, caverns, and hiding places
The Passetto di Borgo, Rome 99
The Magic Door, Rome 105
The Grotto of the Beati Paoli, Palermo, Sicily 109
Priest Holes in England 112
Chapter 7 Modern-Day Bolt-Holes 119
Secret government installations, well-oiled for use in time of war or crisis
Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, Bluemont, Virginia 120
The Federal Relocation Arc 128
Area 51: The Facility That Does Not Exist, Nevada 129
RAF Menwith Hill, Yorkshire, England 134
Chapter 8 Islands of Mystery 139
Five special island sanctuaries with their unique treasure hoards, inaccessibility, or spiritual significance
Montecristo: The Forbidden Island, Off the Italian Coast 141
Easter Island: Mysterious Graven Images 150
Isle of Lewis, Scottish Hebrides 153
Iona: St. Columba's Scottish Island Sanctuary 155
Svalbard: Norway's Arctic Eden 156
Chapter 9 Holies of Holies 159
Places on the trail of a higher reality, ultimate human destiny-and according to some, Apocalypse
Sancta Sanctorum, Rome's Lateran Palace 161
The Pauline Chapel, The Vatican's Apostolic Palace 163
The "Prophecies" of St. Malachy 164
The Monastery of St. Catherine of Sinai, Egypt 165
The Autonomous Monastic Republic of Holy Mount Athos, Greece 167
The Abbey of Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux, France 169
The Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey 171
Her Majesty's Chapels Royal of the Mohawks, Ontario, Canada 172
Counterfactual History: The Eternal "What If ...?" 175
Chapter 10 Hidden Totems 176
Treasured objects or talismans of great antiquity
The Stone of Destiny 177
The Holy Crown of St. Stephen of Hungary 183
The British and Polish Crown Jewels in Canada 188
The Holy Ampoule of the Kings of France 190
Joyeuse, the Sword of Charlemagne 192
The Holy Lance of St. Longinus: The "Spear of Destiny" 193
Oliver Cromwell's Head 195
Chapter 11 (Very) Private Banking 197
A discreet tour through the great temples of high finance and private wealth management
Rothschilds, London 198
Banks That Are No More 199
The Great Survivors: Goldman Sachs and the House of Lazard 201
The Wealth Managers, Including Coutts & Co.-the Queen's Bankers 202
The Swiss Banks: Models of Discretion 204
The German Private Banks: Oppenheim, Warburg, and Others 207
A Well-Connected American House: Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. 209
C. Hoare & Co. 210
The Enduring Allure of Gold 210
Chapter 12 University Secret Societies and Dueling Corps 212
Inside the closely guarded doors of fraternities and societies for the future elite
The Apostles of Cambridge and the Bullingdon Club of Oxford 213
Princeton's Eating Clubs 215
Harvard's Eating Clubs 216
Yale's Senior Societies: Skull and Bones and Its Rivals 217
Rivals to Skull and Bones 221
The German University "Corps" 224
The Mensur 229
Chapter 13 Jolly Good Fellowship 223
The lore, elegance, humor, and eccentricities of the great private clubs of London and the world
London's Private Clubs 235
White's The Oldest Club 235
Boodle's, Brooks's, and Others of Distinction 238
Other London Clubs of Distinction 240
Clubs Outside London and in Europe 245
America's Private Clubs 247
Sanctuaries: The Enduring Tradition 251
Index 253
About the Authors 259