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Der Kochelsee liegt 70 km südlich von München am Randbereich der Bayerischen Alpen. Er gehört zu den Gemeinden Schlehdorf (rund 30 Prozent im Westen) und Kochel am See im Osten. Während der Südliche Bereich des Sees noch von Bergen begrenzt ist, liegt der nördliche Teil schon im hier flachen Voralpenland und wird von einem Hochmoor begrenzt.
Die Geschichte der Besiedelung Kochels begann (früher Quochcalun) auf der sog. Birg bei Altjoch, einem Felskegel direkt am Ufer des Kochelsees. Der Name Kochel ist abgeleitet aus dem lateinischen "Cocula", der Bezeichnung für Kopf, Kegel oder Gipfel. Die Loisach fließt bei Schlehdorf in den See und fließt bei Kochel am See wieder aus. Dabei fließt in etwa die selbe Wassermenge durch das Walchensee Wasserkraftwerk zu.
East and west wing of the Château de Villandry, Loire Valley, France
Some background information:
The Château de Villandry is a large château located in the village of Villandry, in the French department of Indre-et-Loire. The palace sits in the Val de Loire in the former Touraine region, about 15 km (9.3 miles) to the southwest of the city of Tours. Both village and Château de Villandry are also situated on the Cher River Cher and Villandry is the last commune before the Cher River issues into the Loire River.
In medieval times, a stronghold named Colombier stood on the spot of today’s Château de Villandry. It was built in the 12th century and in 1189, it was that fortress, where the English King Henry II Plantagenet signed the Peace of Colombier after his defeat by King Philip II of France. In the early 16th century, the estate was acquired by the nobleman Jean Le Breton. He was the minister of finance of the then French King Francis I and also the Controller-General for War.
After having bought the lands, De Breton had the old Gothic castle torn down. Only the foundations and the former donjon from the 14th century remained. Around this keep the new palace and its gardens were built and finished in 1536. The Château de Villandry is one of the last châteaus in the Loire Valley that were constructed in the Renaissance style. Its architecture lacks both any Italian influence and decorative medival elements like turrets or murdering holes. Hence, the architectural style is very French, already foreshadowing the architecture of the châteaus d’Anet and Fontainebleau, which were built later during the reign of King Henry IV of France.
The mansion remained in possession of the family De Breton for more than two centuries, but in 1754, Michel-Ange, Marquis de Castellane, bought the estate. He had the palace rebuilt according to the standards of the 18th century and even the beautiful Renaissance gardens were converted into an English-style landscaped garden, which met the taste of the time.
As a consequence of the French Revolution, the Château de Villandry was confiscated. But at the beginning of the 19th century, the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte acquired it for his brother Joseph Bonaparte. In 1823, the estate was bought by the noble family Hainguerlot, who kept it for almost a century. In 1906, Joachim Carvallo purchased the property and poured an enormous amount of time, money and devotion into repairing it and creating what many consider to be the most beautiful gardens anywhere.
These formal Renaissance gardens, restored according to original plans, include a water garden, ornamental flower gardens, and also vegetable gardens. The gardens are laid out in formal patterns created with low box hedges. In 1920, both castle and gardens were opened to the public and in 1934, the estate was designated a national historic monument.
Today’s owner is Henri Carvallo, the great-grandson of Joachim Carvallo. Since 2000, the Château de Villandry and its gardens belong to the UNESCO Word Heritage Site "The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes" with its many breathtaking châteaux. Altogether there are more than 400 of them in the Loire region.
A Happy New Year 2023 to all of you!
© 2015 Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott
Here's another shot from a recent wedding shoot I did in Tucson, Arizona. I had been shooting a series using the sun to frontlight the couple, but as the sun dropped low I reversed the situation to backlight them. I composed with the sun right between the bride and groom, and the finished result was a classically romantic shot.
Technical information Canon EOS 6D, Canon EF 70-300L, Processed in Adobe Lightroom 5, Adobe Photoshop CC, and Alien Skin Exposure 7 (use code "dustinabbott for a 10% discount)
Want to know more about me or make contact? Take a look at my website and find a lot of ways to connect and view my work.
Found this little old buggy on the streets of Bucharest. Actually it was a well preserved one that looks very good and shiny. Seems that the old cars (not old expensive ones) are still a choice for some.
feelingthecolor.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/day-85-the-new-o...
Front light at Stadersand
Thx to all photographers spending the time during lunar eclipse there with me
My intent was to use sunlight to frontlight the orchid. Duchemin mentions that natural light creates many different interesting lighting scenarios, so I wanted to use sunlight instead of an indoor light for this photo. This image met my goal, and the sunlight helps bring out the details of the orchid’s petals. The exposure, contrast, and clarity were increased while the highlights, whites, haze, and noise were reduced. There is some post-crop vignetting, and the image was sharpened.
High-voltage transmission line near Gundremmingen ... .
Nikon D7200; Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM
50 mm; f/6,3; 1/640 s; ISO 100
Silhouettes of trees against the backdrop of the sun, Ooidonk - Belgium
toutouke.artistwebsites.com/featured/sunset-in-the-forest...
What a wonderful day today in the Big Maple Plain. / Ein wunderschöner Tag mit kräftigem Föhnwind auf dem Großen Ahornboden.
For me one of the most beautiful places in the Northern Limestone Alps. I love this combination of mountains, plain and wonderful trees. See my set about Karwendel Range and Big Maple Plain!
The Big Maple Plain (1216 m) is located in the middle of the Alpine Park Karwendel on the Eng Alp in Tyrol, Austria and can be reached by car only via Bavaria.
The Eng Alp is the biggest alpine pasture of Europe. Here everybody can see how farmers are important for taking care of the landscape. Thanks to their constant care and a regular use of the alpine pastures the big Ahornboden (Maple Plain) can be maintained in perfect conditions. In summer almost 500 cows graze on this alpine pasture.
Some of the maples are older than 500 years and during autumn their leaves show striking colors.
The Alpine Park Karwendel is:
• one of the biggest reserves of the East Alps with its approx. 920 km²
• the biggest nature reserve of Austria
• the biggest reserve in Tyrol (730 km²)
www.silberregion-karwendel.at/de/ferienregion/ort/34007/h...
www.karwendel-urlaub.de/angebot/wandern-im-karwendel/ahor...
Last evening during lawnmowing I saw this blade of grass - I decided not to cut it down, today I took my camera to preserve it.
Bored almost to death with the predictability of my DSLR and quite enchanted by color gone wild in lomokev's and ambientlight's photography, I already thought of buying a Lomo and taking a refreshing dip into noxious chemicals and crossprocessing adventures.
On second thought, I rather continue fiddling with switches, presets, and cigarettes.
Airplanes, Windmill, Bike, Barn and Sunset all in one shot. Westhill in Bothell, WA.
Photographed with a Kodak Bantam Special. The film is un-perforated ORWO UN54 developed in Beerenol (Rainier Beer).
The Torre de Belém (in English: "Belém Tower") in the city of Lisbon’s district Belém on the northern bank of the Tejo river (in English: "Tagus river"), Lisbon, Portugal
Some background information:
The Torre de Belém, officially the Tower of Saint Vincent, is a 16th-century fortification located in Lisbon that served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. The tower was finished in 1519 and symbolizes Portugal's maritime and colonial power in early modern Europe. It was built during the height of the Portuguese Renaissance, and is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style, but it also incorporates other architectural styles, such as the minarets, which are inspired by Moorish architecture. The structure was built from lioz limestone and is composed of a bastion and a 30-metre (100 feet) four-storey tower.
Since 1983, the tower has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Jerónimos Monastery. It is often portrayed as a symbol of Europe's Age of Discoveries and as a metonym for Portugal or Lisbon, given its landmark status. It has incorrectly been stated that the tower was built in the middle of the Tagus and now sits near the shore because the river was redirected after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. But in fact, the tower was built on a small island in the Tagus river near the Lisbon shore.
With an estimated population of almost 568,000 within its administrative limits and 2,961,177 within its metropolitan area, Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is mainland Europe's westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Situated on the northern shore of the Tejo river near its estuary, Lisbon’s port can be called at by ships of any size.
Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world and the second-oldest European capital city (after Athens). Although the first fortifications on Lisbon's castle hill are known to be no older than the 2nd century BC, recent archaeological finds have shown that Iron Age people already occupied the site from the 8th to 6th centuries BC. The Phoenicians and later the Carthaginians, are said to have called the place Alis Ubbo and used it as the only major natural harbor on the Iberian Atlantic coast. There are also evidences that Lisbon once was a Greek city, but its Greek name is unknown.
Under Roman rule, starting around 205 BC, the city was initially called Olisipo. In 48 BC, the town was granted Roman municipal rights and subsequently became known as Colonia Felicitas Iulia, growing into a larger town in the province of Lusitania. From 409 AD, barbarian tribes advanced onto the Iberian Peninsula from Gaul. During the late antique migration period, Alans, Suebi, Vandals, and Visigoths tried to occupy Lisbon.
In 719, Lisbon was conquered by Muslim Moors and later became part of the Emirate of Córdoba. The city, now known as al-Ushbuna, experienced its first major boom. During the Caliphate of Córdoba, the city was one of the most important ports, while Christian Galicians and Leonese repeatedly attempted to seize it. In 844, Vikings ravaged Lisbon and its surroundings.
In the 11th century, Lisbon was part of the Moorish Emirate of the Aftasids from Badajoz. Starting in 1093, Count Raymond of Armous, a younger son of Duke William I of Burgundy, was given rule over Galicia by King Alfonso VI of León. From there, he launched campaigns against the Moors in the south, temporarily managing to occupy Lisbon.
At the beginning of the 11th century, the south of the Iberian Peninsula was still under Moorish control. But in 1147, in the course of the so-called Reconquista, the Siege of Lisbon led to the city's final capture by the Portuguese under Alfonso I. In 1255, Lisbon became the capital city of the new Portuguese territory and in 1290, the first Portuguese university was founded in the town. During the last centuries of the Middle Ages, Lisbon expanded substantially and became an important trading post with both Northern European and Mediterranean cities.
When the Spaniards had expelled the Jews from Spanish territory, many of them fled to Lisbon. But even in Portugal they either had to convert to Christianity or leave. In 1506, an anti-semitic movement among the Old Christians of Lisbon culminated in a massacre lasting four days in which some 1,000 to 4,000 New Christian residents, converted descendants of Sephardic Jews, are estimated to have been killed.
Most of the Portuguese expeditions of the Age of Discovery set out from Lisbon during the period from the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century, including Vasco da Gama's expedition to India in 1498. In the 16th century, Lisbon’s golden era began: The city was the European hub of commerce between Africa, India, the Far East and later, Brazil, and acquired great riches by exploiting the trade of spices, slaves, sugar, textiles and other goods. This period also saw the rise of the exuberant Manueline style in architecture, which left its mark in many 16th-century monuments, including the Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery.
The succession crisis of 1580 initiated a sixty-year period of dual monarchy in Portugal and Spain under the Spanish Habsburgs. In 1589, Lisbon was the target of an incursion by the English Armada led by Francis Drake. The Portuguese Restoration War, which began with a coup d'état organised by the nobility and bourgeoisie in Lisbon in 1640 amd ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, restored Portuguese independence.
In the early 18th century, gold from Brazil allowed King John V to sponsor the building of several Baroque churches and theatres in the city. Prior to the 18th century, Lisbon had experienced several significant earthquakes: eight in the 14th century, five in the 16th century, and three in the 17th century. But the earthquake of 1755 was the most davastating one. It destroyed 85 percent of the city's structures, including the Ribeira Palace and the hospital Real de Todos os Santos. An an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 Lisbon residents of a total population estimated of 200,000 to 275,000 wer killed. And in the coastal areas north of Lisbon even more people were killed by the following tsunami.
This catastrophic event shocked the whole of Europe and left a deep impression on its collective psyche. However, the city was rebuilt quickly and largely according to the plans of prime minister Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the 1st Marquis of Pombal. He decided to demolish what remained after the earthquake and rebuild the city centre in accordance with principles of modern urban design. It was reconstructed in an open rectangular plan with two great squares: the Praça do Rossio and the Praça do Comércio.
In the first years of the 19th century, Portugal was invaded by the troops of Napoléon Bonaparte, forcing Queen Maria I and Prince-Regent John to flee temporarily to Brazil. By the time the new King John VI returned to Lisbon, many of the buildings and properties were pillaged, sacked or destroyed by the invaders. The development of industry and commerce determined the growth of the city and Lisbon grew farther from the Tejo river.
In 1911, Lisbon refounded its university after centuries of inactivity. In the 20th century, the city was also the site of three revolutions. The first ond of 1910 brought an end to the Portuguese monarchy and established the highly unstable and corrupt Portuguese First Republic. The second one of 1926 ended the first republic and firmly established the Portuguese Second Republic. And the third revolution of 1974, the so-called Carnation Revolution, put an end to the right-wing regime and reformed the country to what it is still today, the Portuguese Third Republic.
Modern Lisbon is the political centre of the country and hosts the government, the National Assembly, the Supreme Court of Justice and the Armed Forces. It is also the residence of the head of state and the centre of Portuguese diplomacy, with ambassadors from 86 countries residing in the city, as well as representations from Taiwan and Palestine. About 2.96 million people, who live in the Lisbon metropolitan area (representing almost 28 % of the Portugal's population), make Lisbon the third largest metropolitan area in the Iberian Peninsula after Madrid and Barcelona.
In the misty winter dusk the front lights of a ÖBB "Taurus" class 1116 appear in the darkness of the Polleroswand Tunnel, before traversing the adjacent Krauselklause Viaduct at Breitenstein on the "Semmering" mountain railway ... Feb. 2013
Strobist info: Frontlight from open rooftop. Bare 580EX11 below on camera right as backlight and to lighten background. Fired by Pock Wizard. 16mm - 35mm L
View of the central chimneys and roof windows of the Château de Chambord, Chambord, Loire Valley, France
Some background information:
The Château de Chambord is a large palace, which is located in the Loire Valley in the village of Chambord. The palace is situated in the department of Loir-et-Cher between the cities of Tours to the west and Orléans to the east, just 15 km (9 miles) to the northeast of the town of Blois. It is one of the most recognisable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures. The building, which was never completed, was constructed by King Francis I of France.
Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley. It was built to serve as a hunting lodge for Francis I, who maintained his royal residences at the palaces of Blois and Amboise. The original design of the Château de Chambord is attributed, though with some doubt, to Domenico da Cortona, but there is some evidence that Leonardo da Vinci was also involved. Archeological findings have established that the lack of symmetry of some facades derives from an original design, abandoned shortly after the construction began, and which ground plan was organised around the central staircase following a central gyratory symmetry. Such a rotative design has no equivalent in architecture at this period of history, and appears reminiscent of Leonardo Da Vinci's works on the hydraulic turbine and the helicopter.
On 6th September 1519 Francis Pombriant was ordered to begin construction of the Château de Chambord, but work was interrupted by the Italian War that lasted from 1521 to 1526. Building resumed in 1526, at which point 1,800 men were employed to continue the construction works. In 1540, the main building was completed. The château was built to act as a hunting lodge for King Francis I. However, the king spent barely seven weeks there in total, that time consisting of short hunting visits. But the palace was not only a huge hunting château for Francis I, but also – more importantly – an enormous symbol of wealth and power and hence, a property to show off with. To this effect the king hosted his old archrival, Emperor Charles V, at Chambord in 1539, although the monumental mansion wasn’t even fully completed at that time.
As the palace had been constructed with the purpose of only short stays, it was not practical to live in on a longer-term basis. The massive rooms, open windows and high ceilings meant that heating was almost impossible. As a result, the château was completely unfurnished during this period. All furniture, wall coverings, eating implements and so forth were brought specifically for each hunting trip, which was a major logistical exercise. It is for this reason that much furniture from the era was built to be disassembled to facilitate transportation. After Francis had died of a heart attack in 1547, the Château de Chambord was not used for almost a century.
For more than 80 years after the death of King Francis I, French kings abandoned the château, allowing it to fall into decay. Finally, in 1639 King Louis XIII gave it to his brother, Gaston d'Orléans, who saved the château from ruin by carrying out much restoration work. King Louis XIV had the great keep restored and furnished the royal apartments. The king then added a 1,200-horse stable, enabling him to use the château as a hunting lodge and a place to entertain a few weeks each year. Nonetheless, Louis XIV abandoned the château in 1685. From 1725 to 1733, Stanislas Leszczyński (Stanislas I), the deposed King of Poland and father-in-law of King Louis XV, lived at Chambord. In 1745, as a reward for valour, the king gave the château to Maurice de Saxe, Marshal of France, who installed his military regiment there. Maurice de Saxe died in 1750 and once again the colossal château sat empty for many years.
In 1792, the revolutionary government ordered the sale of the furnishings. The wall panellings were removed and even floors were taken up and sold for the value of their timber. One more time the empty château was left abandoned until Napoleon Bonaparte gave it to his subordinate, Louis Alexandre Berthier. The château was subsequently purchased from his widow for the infant Duke of Bordeaux, Henri Charles Dieudonné, who took the title Comte de Chambord. A brief attempt at restoration and occupation was made by his grandfather King Charles X but in 1830 both were exiled. After the Comte de Chambord had died in 1883, the château was left to his sister's heirs, the titular Dukes of Parma. And since 1930, the Château and its surrounding areas, some 5,440 hectares (13,400 acres resp. 21.0 sqare miles) as vast as inner Paris, belong to the French state.
Some more words about the architecture:
Built in Renaissance style, the internal layout of the Château de Chambord is an early example of the French and Italian style of grouping rooms into self-contained suites, a departure from the medieval style of corridor rooms. The massive château is composed of a central keep with four immense bastion towers at the corners. The keep also forms part of the front wall of a larger compound with two more large towers. Bases for a possible further two towers are found at the rear, but these were never developed, and remain the same height as the wall. The château features 440 rooms, 282 fireplaces, 84 staircases and more than 200 chimneys. Four rectangular vaulted hallways on each floor form a cross-shape.
The château was never intended to provide any form of defence from enemies; consequently the walls, towers and partial moat are decorative, and even at the time were an anachronism. The roofscape of Chambord contrasts with the masses of its masonry and has often been compared with the skyline of a town. It shows eleven kinds of towers and three types of chimneys, without symmetry, framed at the corners by the massive towers. The design parallels are north Italian and Leonardesque. One of the architectural highlights is the spectacular open double-spiral staircase that is the centrepiece of the château. The two spirals ascend the three floors without ever meeting, illuminated from above by a sort of light house at the highest point of the château.
The château also features 128 metres of façade, more than 800 sculpted columns and an elaborately decorated roof. When Francis I commissioned the construction of Chambord, he wanted it to look like the skyline of Constantinople. The palace is surrounded by a 52.5-square-kilometre (13,000-acre) wooded park and game reserve maintained with red deer, enclosed by a 31-kilometre (19-mile) wall.
The design and architecture of the château inspired William Henry Crossland for his design of what is known as the Founder's building at Royal Holloway, University of London. But Château de Chambord’s architecture also influenced the architecture of other well-known buildings like Fettes College in Edinburgh, Scotland, Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, England, and Schwerin Palace in Schwerin, Germany. The Château de Chambord is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981 and belongs to the much larger UNESCO Word Heritage Site "The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes" with its many breathtaking châteaux since 2000.
Galway Cathedral seen from the Salmon Weir Bridge, Galway City, County Galway, Ireland
Some background information:
The Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, commonly known as Galway Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Irish city of Galway. It is not as old as it perhaps looks like: Construction began in 1958 on the site of the old city prison. It was completed in 1965, lending it the designation of being "the last great stone cathedral to be built in Europe".
Around 1750, a parish chapel was built around 1750 on Middle Street at Lower Abbeygate Street. In 1821 the chapel was replaced with a limestone church built in the Gothic style, and dedicated to St. Patrick. When the Diocese of Galway was established in 1831, St. Patrick's became the pro-cathedral. But after the new cathedral was opened in 1965, St. Patrick's Church was deconsecrated.
Galway is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, one of the four historic provinces of Ireland. It is also the county town of County Galway. Galway City lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. With a population of roughly 86,000, it is the most populous settlement in Connacht, the fifth most populous city on the island of Ireland and the fourth most populous in the Republic of Ireland.
Erected on the site of an earlier settlement and a then little fishing village, a castle was completed on the spot in 1124. Its name was Dún Gaillimhe ("Fort at the Mouth of the Gaillimh") and it was built by the King of Connacht and High King of Ireland Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair.
The castle served as a naval base from which his fleet operated. Subsequently, the settlement grew around it. During the Norman invasion of Connacht in the 1230s, Dún Gaillimhe was captured by Richard Mor de Burgh, who had led the invasion. As the de Burghs eventually became gaelicised, the merchants of the town, the so-called Tribes of Galway, pushed for greater control over the already walled town. This led to their gaining complete control over the city.
The Tribes of Galway were an oligarchy of fourteen merchant families (twelve who claimed to be of Norman origin and two of Irish origin), who ruled the town during the Middle Ages. In 1477 Christopher Columbus visited Galway, possibly stopping off on a voyage to Iceland or the Faroe Islands. In 1484, the town was granted a municipal charter, which allowed the citizens to form a council and mayoralty. Still comtrolled the Tribes of Galway, the city grew into a trading port and became the principal Irish port for trade with Spain and France.
However, Galway endured difficult relations with its Irish neighbours. A notice over the west gate of the city, completed in 1562 by Mayor Thomas Óge Martyn, stated "From the Ferocious O'Flahertys may God protect us". A by-law forbade the native Irish (as opposed to Galway's Hiberno-Norman citizens) unrestricted access into Galway, saying "neither O' nor Mac shall strutte nor swagger through the streets of Galway" without permission.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, Galway remained loyal to the English crown for the most part, even during the Gaelic resurgence, perhaps for reasons of survival. However, by 1642 the city had allied itself with the Catholic Confederation of Kilkenny in the course of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During the resulting Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian forces captured the city after a nine-month siege.
At the end of the 17th century, the city supported the Jacobites in the Williamite war in Ireland. Galway was captured by the Williamites following a very short siege not long after the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. Subsequently, the great families of Galway were ruined and later, under the Great Famine of 1845 to 1852, the city suffered even further.
In the upheaval in Ireland from 1916 to 1923 Galway City played a relatively minor role. Before the outbreak of the Irish Civil War, in March 1922, Galway saw a tense stand off between Pro-Treaty and Anti-Treaty troops over who would occupy the military barracks at Renmore. After fighting broke out in July 1922 the city and its military barracks were occupied by troops of the Irish Free State's National Army. Two Free State soldiers and one Anti-Treaty fighter were killed and more wounded before the National Army secured the area. The Republicans burned a number of public buildings in the centre of town before they abandoned Galway.
Today, Galway has a strong local economy with complementary business sectors, including manufacturing industry, tourism, retail and distribution, education, healthcare and services that include financial, construction, cultural, and professional. But Galway is also a renowned university city. There are two university campuses located in the city, the University of Galway and the Atlantic Technological University, and the city is popular among students from home and abroad.