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Die Alhambra ist eine Stadtburg (kasbah) auf dem Sabikah-Hügel in Granada. Sie gilt als das bedeutendste Beispiel des maurischen Stils der islamischen Kunst und ist eine der meistbesuchten Touristenattraktionen Europas
1238 verlegte der erste Nasridenherrscher, Mohammed I. seine Residenz nach Granada und begründete seine eigene Dynastie, die Nasriden, die bis 1492 über das Emirat von Granada herrschte. Mohammad veranlasste den Bau der Zitadelle auf dem Gelände der heutigen Alhambra. Die Befestigung der Alcazaba (Oberstadt) wurde im 13. und 14. Jahrhundert errichtet.
Der letzte maurische Herrscher Mohammad XII. (kapitulierte nach langer Belagerung im November 1491 und übergab die Festung am 2. Januar 1492 an die Katholischen Könige (spanisch Reyes Católicos). Damit fiel die letzte Bastion der Mauren in Spanien.
Die Alhambra ist Weltkulturerbe der UNESCO.
Leica M-P & Elmarit-M 28mm
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my written permission.
© Toni_V. All rights reserved.
Corvey / Höxter (Weser Uplands, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
If you want to see the entire Greenwich album you may go here:
www.flickr.com/photos/wwwuppertal/albums/72177720316970534
Curious to have a look at some of my other albums? Here's the link:
www.flickr.com/photos/wwwuppertal/albums/with/72177720316...
Peru
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All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed, written permission of the photographer.
Houses situated on the Douro river in the city of Porto’s old town quarter Ribeira with the Palácio da Bolsa (in English: "Stock Exchange Palace") in the background, Porto, Portugal
Some background information:
Ribeira (in Portuguese: "riverside") is the colloquial term for the lower part of the historic old town of Porto, located near the banks of the Douro River. The neighborhood is part of the parish of São Nicolau and belongs to the city's historic center, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. The heart of the Ribeira is the riverside promenade Cais de Ribeira, which connects access to the Dom Luís I Bridge with the Praça da Ribeira.
Numerous cafés, souvenir shops, and restaurants line the promenade. From the riverbank, visitors can see the traditional port wine boats and the neighboring municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia on the opposite side of the Douro River. The part of Ribeira behind the riverside promenade consists of narrow, steep streets and old buildings, spreading into the hills behind. Ribeira is one of Porto’s oldest neighbourhoods and exploring it is like taking a step back in time.
Porto, also known as Oporto, is the second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is located along the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, about 280 km (174 miles) north of Lisbon. With an estimated pospulation of 250,000, Porto’s city center is rather small, compared to its metropolitan area, which has around 1.8 million residents. Porto has one of the oldest European centres. Its core was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996, as the "Historic Centre of Porto, Luiz I Bridge and Monastery of Serra do Pilar".
Port wine, one of Portugal's most famous exports, is named after Porto, since the metropolitan area, and in particular the cellars of Porto’s quarter Vila Nova de Gaia, were responsible for the packaging, transport, and export of fortified wine. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties. Famous port wine brands are among others Sandeman, Cockburn’s, Graham’s, Fonseca, Offley, Ferreira and Quinta do Noval.
Proto-Celtic and Celtic people were among the first known inhabitants of the area of Porto. Archaeological findings from the 8th century BC also hint at a Phoenician trading settlement. During the Roman era, the city developed as an important commercial port, primarily in the trade between Olissipona (the modern Lisbon) and Bracara Augusta (the modern Braga).
Following the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, Porto fell under Muslim control in 716, but was reconquered by Alfonso I of Asturias in 741. Thus Porto became a border settlement, occasionally invaded and conquered by the Muslim Moors. In 1092, during the so-called Reconquista, the area finally came under Christian rule, initially as part of the Kingdom of León. In 1093, Teresa of León, illegitimate daughter of the king Alfonso VI of Castile, married Henry of Burgundy, bringing the County of Portugal as dowry.
After eventually expanding its current frontiers and conquering additonal territory inhabited by the Moors for centuries, the county became the independent Kingdom of Portugal at the beginning of the 12th century. At that time, Porto also became one of the hubs of the Reconquista led by Afonso I Henriques, the first King of Portugal. In 1370, during the reign of King Ferdinand I, the new, expanded, and reinforced city walls, known as the Muralhas Fernandinas (in English: "Ferdinandine Walls"), were completed.
In 1387, Porto was the site of the marriage of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. This marital bond symbolized a long-standing military alliance between Portugal and England. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Porto's shipyards contributed to the development of Portuguese shipbuilding. In 1415, Prince Henry the Navigator embarked from the port of Porto on the conquest of the Moorish port of Ceuta in northern Morocco. This expedition was followed by navigation and exploration along the western coast of Africa, initiating the Portuguese Age of Discovery.
By the 13th century, the wine produced in the nearby Douro valley had already been transported to Porto in so-called barcos rabelos (flat sailing vessels). In 1703, the Methuen Treaty established trade relations between Portugal and England and strengthened both countries‘ military alliance. The production of port wine then gradually passed into the hands of a few English firms.
To counter this dominance, the Portuguese Prime Minister Marquis of Pombal established a monopolistic Portuguese firm, the Douro Wine Company in 1756 to receive all the wines from the Douro valley. He demarcated the region for the production of port, to ensure the wine's quality, which was the first attempt to control wine quality and production in Europe, almost a century ahead of a similar exercise in Bordeaux. The small winegrowers revolted against his strict policies on Shrove Tuesday, burning down the buildings of the Douro Wine Company. The revolt became known as the Revolta dos Borrachos (in English: "Revolt of the Drunkards").
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became an important industrial center and hence, its size and population increased. The invasion of the Napoleonic troops in Portugal brought war to the city of Porto. In 1809, when the population fled from the advancing French troops and tried to cross the river Douro over the Ponte das Barcas, the bridge collapsed under the weight of the people and almost 4,000 residents of Porto died in the floods of the Douro river. In the Second Battle of Porto, which took place still in the same year, the French Army was thrown out of the city by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and his Anglo-Portuguese Army.
In 1820, the Liberal Revolution began in Porto. The revolutionaries demanded the return of King John VI of Portugal, who had transferred the royal court to the Portuguese colony of Brazil since the French invasions, and also a constitutional monarchy to be set up in Portugal. But after the new constitution had been accepted in 1822, the new Portuguese King Miguel I rejected this constitution in 1828 and reigned as an anti-liberal, absolutist monarch.
Porto rebelled again and had to undergo a siege of eighteen months by the absolutist army. After successfully resisting the siege in 1833, King Miguel I had to abdicate and the liberal constitution was re-established. However, not bevore 1910, the monarchy was overthrown and Portugal became a republic. In 1919, forces favorable to the restoration of the monarchy launched a counter-revolution in Porto known as the Monarchy of the North. During this time, Porto was the capital of the restored kingdom, but the monarchy was deposed less than a month later and no other monarchist revolution in Portugal happened again.
Today, Porto is the most important industrial city in the country, thanks to its textile, leather goods, metal, food, and chemical industries, its oil refinery as well as the overseas port Porto de Leixões. The university, the art academy, museums, theaters, and the opera also emphasise Porto's status as a major cultural and scientific center. But it’s mainly the export of port wine and its beautiful UNESCO-protected old town, to which Porto ows its appeal to visitors from everywhere.
Piazza della Cisterna (in English: "Square of the Cistern") with Torre del Diavolo (in English: "Devil’s Tower") in the centre, San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy
Some background information:
San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town with about 7,800 residents in the province of Siena, Tuscany. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls, form a very unique skyline. Since 1990, the "Historic Centre of San Gimignano" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, the town is also known for its saffron, its golden ham, and its white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano.
In the 3rd century BC a small Etruscan village stood on the site of San Gimignano. Chroniclers Lupi, Coppi and Pecori relate that during the Catiline conspiracy against the Roman Republic in the 1st century, two patrician brothers, Muzio and Silvio, fled Rome for Valdelsa and built two castles, Mucchio and Silvia (now San Gimignano). The name of Silvia was changed to San Gimignano in 450 AD after Bishop Geminianus, the Saint of Modena, intervened to spare the castle from destruction by the followers of Attila the Hun. As a result, a church was dedicated to the saint, and in the 6th and 7th centuries a walled village grew up around it, subsequently called the "Castle of San Gimignano" or Castle of the Forest because of the extensive woodland surrounding it. From 929 the town was ruled by the bishops of Volterra.
In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era, it was a stopping point for Catholic pilgrims on their way to Rome and the Vatican, as it sits on the medieval Via Francigena. The city's development was also improved by the trade of agricultural products from the fertile neighbouring hills, in particular saffron, used in both cooking and dyeing cloth and Vernaccia wine, said to inspire popes and poets.
In 1199, the city made itself independent of the bishops of Volterra and set about enriching the commune with churches and public buildings. However, the peace of the town was disturbed for the next two centuries by the conflict between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, two factions supporting either the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor, and family rivalries within San Gimignano. This resulted in competing families building tower houses of increasingly higher and higher heights. Towards the end of the Medieval period, there were 72 tower houses in number, up to 70 metres (230 feet) tall. The rivalry was finally restrained when the local council ordained that no tower was to be taller than Torre Rognosa, adjacent to the Palazzo Comunale. However, this law, established in 1255, was obviously contravened by the building of Torre Grossa in 1310. With its height of 54 metres it exceeds Torre Rognosa by three metres.
While the official patron is Saint Geminianus, the town also honours Saint Fina, also known as Seraphina and Serafina, who was born in San Gimignano 1238 and whose feast day is 12 March. The Chapel of Santa Fina in the Collegiate Church houses her shrine and frescos by Ghirlandaio. The house said to be her home still stands in the town. In 1300, San Gimignano hosted the famous Italian poet Dante Alighieri in his role as ambassador of the Guelph League in Tuscany.
The city flourished until 1348, when it was struck by the Black Death that affected all of Europe. At that time about half the townsfolk died. In the Renaissance era, the town submitted to the rule of Florence. Initially, some Gothic palazzi were built in the Florentine style, and many of the towers were reduced to the height of the houses. There was little subsequent development, and San Gimignano remained preserved in its medieval state until the 19th century, when its status as a touristic and artistic resort began to be recognised.
Today, San Gimignano is visited by millions of tourists each year. Of course the town is most visited in the summer months, but is also still rather crowed in autumn (when we were there) and spring. So if you don’t want to make your visit together with thousands of other tourists, it would probably be best to travel there in winter.
In view is the Riga Cathedral (Rīgas Doms).
The tower of St. Peter's Church (Svētā Pētera baznīca) offers an exquisite view of Riga. Cruise ships reach the center of Riga from the Baltic Sea on the Daugava river.
This picture featured here:
www.labsoflatvia.com/news/pulse-of-latvian-startup-scene-...
Der Alcázar von Sevilla ist der mittelalterliche Königspalast von Sevilla. Die Anlage hat eine lange, bis in maurische Zeit zurückreichende Baugeschichte und wird bis heute von der spanischen Königsfamilie als offizielle Residenz genutzt, wenn sich diese in Sevilla aufhält.
Der Alcázar wurde ursprünglich als maurisches Fort angelegt und später mehrfach erweitert. Der Palast ist eines der am besten erhaltenen Beispiele für die Mudéjar-Architektur, die unter christlicher Herrschaft entstandenen Bauten mit islamischem Einfluss. Spätere Monarchen erweiterten den Alcázar, wodurch noch weitere Baustile Eingang in den Komplex fanden. So entstanden z. B. unter den Katholischen Königen, Karl V. und Philipp II. Bauten mit gotischen Elementen, die in starkem Kontrast zu der dominierenden Mudéjar-Architektur stehen.
Die Gartenanlagen des Alcázar gehen zurück auf Gestaltungen zur Zeit Karl V.
Der Real Alcazar ist Weltkulturerbe der UNESCO.
Das Wasserwerk am Roten Tor ist das älteste bestehende Wasserwerk Deutschlands und wohl auch Mitteleuropas.Es diente über 460 Jahre, von 1416 bis 1879, der Trinkwasserversorgung von Augsburg. Heute ist das Ensemble aus den Wassertürmen und Brunnenmeisterhäusern ein Baudenkmal in Augsburg.
Das Wasserwerk wurde als Teil des „Augsburger Wassermanagement-Systems“ am 6. Juli 2019 in die Welterbeliste der UNESCO aufgenommen.
Die Seiser Alm ist die größte Hochalm Europas. Sie liegt in den Südtiroler Dolomiten in Italien, rund 20 km nordöstlich von Bozen und oberhalb der bekannten Tourismus-Orte Seis am Schlern, Kastelruth und St. Ulrich in Gröden. Wikipedia
Panorama Hallstatt and Hallstätter See. Austria.
Hallstatt is one of the most beautiful and famous places in Austria. The fairy-tale village of Hallstatt is one of the most Instagrammed places on Earth.
Hallstatt is so popular with Chinese tourists that a life-size replica of the village has been constructed in Guangdong.
Hallstatt is located in the Salzkammergut region of the country. Nestled between the Dachstein mountains and a peaceful lake (Hallstätter See), it is Austria's oldest and possibly most photographed destination. The Hallstatt Dachstein Salzkammergut area was added to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List based on the its natural landscape and prehistoric Hallstatt civilization as well as the exploitation of salt mines in the region.
Hallstatt staat op de lijst van UNESCO-Werelderfgoed.
Door sociale media is het stadje erg bekend geworden. In 2012 is een complete kopie van Hallstatt in spiegelbeeld neergezet in een pretpark in de Chinese provincie Guangdong, waardoor het zeer geliefd is bij Chinese toeristen die het in het echt willen zien.
Das Wasserwerk am Roten Tor ist das älteste bestehende Wasserwerk Deutschlands und wohl auch Mitteleuropas.Es diente über 460 Jahre, von 1416 bis 1879, der Trinkwasserversorgung von Augsburg. Heute ist das Ensemble aus den Wassertürmen und Brunnenmeisterhäusern ein Baudenkmal in Augsburg.
Das Wasserwerk wurde als Teil des „Augsburger Wassermanagement-Systems“ am 6. Juli 2019 in die Welterbeliste der UNESCO aufgenommen.
Das Gerippe eines Kühlturms auf Zollverein kurz nach Sonnenuntergand
Die Zeche Zollverein war ein von 1851 bis 1986 aktives Steinkohlebergwerk in Essen.
Sie ist heute ein Architektur- und Industriedenkmal. Gemeinsam mit der unmittelbar benachbarten Kokerei Zollverein gehören die Schachtanlagen 12 und 1/2/8 der Zeche seit 2001 zum Welterbe der UNESCO. Zollverein ist Ankerpunkt der Europäischen Route der Industriekultur. (aus Wikipedia)
A ripped Cooling Tower on the Zollverein ground shortly after sunset
The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex (German Zeche Zollverein) is a large former industrial site in the city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has been inscribed into the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since December 14, 2001, and is one of the anchor points of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
The first coal mine on the premises was founded in 1847, mining activities took place from 1851 until December 23, 1986.(from Wikipedia)
Oriel window of the "Gadem" (= a building with only one room) of Wartburg castle near Eisenach in the Thüringer Wald (Thuringian Forest), Thüringen (Thuringia), Germany.
Around 1207, Wartburg was the venue of the Sängerkrieg (Minstrel's Contest).
Saint Elisabeth of Hungary lived at Wartburg from 1211 to 1228.
Martin Luther, the initiator of the Protestant Reformation, stayed at Wartburg from 1521 to 1522 under the name of Junker Jörg (Knight George) after he had been excommunicated by Pope Leo X. During this time he translated the New Testament into German.
Wartburg is inscribed in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO.
---quotation from whc.unesco.org/en/list/897:---
"Wartburg Castle blends superbly into its forest surroundings and is in many ways 'the ideal castle'. Although it has retained some original sections from the feudal period, the form it acquired during the 19th-century reconstitution gives a good idea of what this fortress might have been at the height of its military and seigneurial power. It was during his exile at Wartburg Castle that Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German. "
---end of quotation----
Thüringen Easter short trip April 2015
Diese wunderbare Stadt diente im Jahr 1922 Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau als Kulisse für seinen Stummfilmklassiker "Nosferatu".
In 1922 this beautiful town on the Baltic Sea served as set for Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's classic silent movie "Nosferatu".
West façade of the Château de Chenonceau in the evening light, seen from the southern bank of the River Cher, Chenonceaux, Loire Valley, France
Some background information:
The Château de Chenonceau is a French château spanning the River Cher, near the small village of Chenonceaux in the French department of Indre-et-Loire. Hence, it is a water palace and as such one of the best-known châteaux of the Loire Valley. The Château de Chenonceau is situated about 40 km (25 miles) to the southeast of the city of Tours. It is also called "Château des Dames" (in English "Château of the ladies"), because it were mainly women, who decided its history and fate. By the way, it was already my second visit at the Château de Chenonceau, but up to now I haven’t uploaded the photos from my first visit in 2019 yet.
The estate of Chenonceau was first mentioned in a document in the 11th century. The current château was built between 1514 and 1522 on the foundations of an old mill and later extended to span the river. In the 13th century, the fief of Chenonceau belonged to the Marques family. The original château was torched in 1412 to punish the owner, Jean Marques, for an act of sedition. In the 1430s, he rebuilt a château and fortified mill on the site. However, Jean Marques' indebted heir Pierre Marques found it necessary to sell the estate.
Thomas Bohier, Chamberlain to King Charles VIII of France, purchased the castle from Pierre Marques in 1513 and demolished most of it (resulting in 2013 being considered the 500th anniversary of the castle), though its 15th-century keep was left standing. Between 1515 and 1521 Bohier built an entirely new residence. The work was overseen by his wife Katherine Briçonnet, who delighted in hosting French nobility, including King Francis I on two occasions.
In 1535 the château was seized from Bohier's son by King Francis I of France for unpaid debts to the Crown. After Francis' death in 1547, Henry II offered the château as a gift to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who became fervently attached to the château along the river. In 1555 she commissioned Philibert de l'Orme to build the arched bridge joining the château to its opposite bank. Diane then oversaw the planting of extensive flower and vegetable gardens along with a variety of fruit trees. Set along the banks of the river, but buttressed from flooding by stone terraces, the exquisite gardens were laid out in four triangles.
Diane de Poitiers was the unquestioned mistress of the castle, but ownership remained with the crown until 1555 when years of delicate legal manoeuvres finally yielded possession to her. After King Henry II died in 1559, his strong-willed widow and regent Catherine de' Medici forced Diane to exchange it for the Château Chaumont. Queen Catherine then made Chenonceau her own favourite residence, adding a new series of gardens.
As Regent of France, Catherine spent a fortune on the château and on spectacular nighttime parties. In 1560, the first-ever fireworks display seen in France took place during the celebrations marking the ascension to the throne of Catherine's son Francis II. The grand gallery, which extended along the existing bridge to cross the entire river, was dedicated in 1577. Catherine also added rooms between the chapel and the library on the east side of the corps de logis, as well as a service wing on the west side of the entry courtyard.
On Catherine's death in January 1589, the château went to her daughter-in-law, Louise of Lorraine, wife of King Henry III. Louise was at Chenonceau when she learned of her husband's assassination, in August 1589, and she fell into a state of depression. Louise spent the next eleven years, until her death in January 1601, wandering aimlessly along the château's corridors dressed in mourning clothes, amidst sombre black tapestries stitched with skulls and crossbones.
Henri IV obtained Chenonceau for his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées by paying the debts of Catherine de' Medici, which had been inherited by Louise and were threatening to ruin her. In return, Louise left the château to her niece Françoise de Lorraine, at that time six years old and betrothed to the four-year-old César de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme, the natural son of Gabrielle d'Estrées and Henri IV. The château belonged to the Duc de Vendôme and his descendants for more than a hundred years. The Bourbons had little interest in the château, except for hunting. In 1650, Louis XIV was the last king of the ancien régime to visit.
In 1720, the Château de Chenonceau was bought by the Duke of Bourbon. Little by little, he sold off all of the castle's contents and many of the fine statues ended up at Versailles. In 1733 the estate was sold for 130,000 livres (corresponding to 2.1 million $ today) to a wealthy squire named Claude Dupin. His wife, Louise Dupin, was the natural daughter of the financier Samuel Bernard and the actress Manon Dancourt. She was regarded as an intelligent, beautiful, and highly cultivated woman.
Louise Dupin's literary salon at Chenonceau attracted such leaders of the Enlightenment as the writers Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Fontenelle, the naturalist Buffon, the playwright Marivaux, the philosopher Condillac, as well as the Marquise de Tencin and the Marquise du Deffand. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was Dupin's secretary and tutored her son. Rousseau, who worked on Émile at Chenonceau, wrote in his Confessions: "We played music there and staged comedies. I wrote a play in verse entitled Sylvie's Path, after the name of a path in the park along the Cher."
The widowed Louise Dupin saved the château from destruction during the French Revolution, preserving it from being destroyed by the Revolutionary Guard because "it was essential to travel and commerce, being the only bridge across the river for many miles."
In 1864 Marguerite Pelouze, a rich heiress, acquired the château. Around 1875 she commissioned the architect Félix Roguet to restore it. He almost completely renewed the interior and removed several of Catherine de' Medici's additions, including the rooms between the library and the chapel and her alterations to the north facade, among which were figures of Hercules, Pallas, Apollo, and Cybele that were moved to the park. With the money Marguerite spent on these projects and elaborate parties, her finances were depleted, and the château was seized and sold.
José-Emilio Terry, a Cuban millionaire, acquired Chenonceau from Madame Pelouze in 1891. Terry sold it in 1896 to a family member, Francisco Terry. In 1913, the château was acquired by Henri Menier, a member of the Menier family, famous for their chocolates, who still own it to this day.
During World War I Gaston Menier set up the gallery to be used as a hospital ward. During the Second World War, the château was bombed by the Germans in June 1940. It was also a means of escaping from the Nazi-occupied zone on one side of the river Cher to the "free" zone on the opposite bank. Occupied by the Germans, the château was bombed by the Allies in June 1944, when the chapel was hit and its windows destroyed. In 1951, the Menier family entrusted the château's restoration to Bernard Voisin, who brought the dilapidated structure and the gardens (ravaged in the Cher flood in 1940) back to a reflection of its former glory.
An architectural mixture of late Gothic and early Renaissance, Château de Chenonceau and its gardens are open to the public. The château has been designated as a Monument historique since 1840 by the French Ministry of Culture. Today, Chenonceau is a major tourist attraction. It receives more than 800,000 visitors each year and is the most visited château in France, apart from the Royal Palace of Versailles.
The Château de Chenonceau is also regarded as one of the haunted castles of France. Occasionally when the moon is full, Catherine may be seen combing the hair of her rival, Diane. On other occasions, Diane was seen standing unhappily in front of her bedroom mirror. At least, several people have stated that. Well, everyone has to decide for themselves whether she or he believes in ghosts or not.
Since 2000, the Château de Chenonceau belongs 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.
Alpenquerung auf Schienen - der Bernina Express ist Europas höchste Eisenbahnstrecke ohne Einsatz von Zahnrädern. Der "Rote Zug" verbindet die Schweiz mit Italien von Nord nach Süd.
Foto: der Panoramazug schlängelt sich am Lago Bianco vorbei
Kokerei - Coking Plant
Die Zeche Zollverein war ein von 1851 bis 1986 aktives Steinkohlebergwerk in Essen.
Sie ist heute ein Architektur- und Industriedenkmal. Gemeinsam mit der unmittelbar benachbarten Kokerei Zollverein gehören die Schachtanlagen 12 und 1/2/8 der Zeche seit 2001 zum Welterbe der UNESCO. Zollverein ist Ankerpunkt der Europäischen Route der Industriekultur.
aus Wikipedia
The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex (German Zeche Zollverein) is a large former industrial site in the city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has been inscribed into the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since December 14, 2001, and is one of the anchor points of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
The first coal mine on the premises was founded in 1847, mining activities took place from 1851 until December 23, 1986.
(from Wikipedia)
Frontansicht der bzw. des Großen Sphinx von Gizeh, die aus dem Rest eines Kalksteinhügels gehauen werden. Am rechten Rand die Chephren-Pyramide
Hallstatt - UNESCO World Heritage Site - Salzkammergut - Oberösterreich / Upper Austria - Österreich / Austria
Interior of the Capela das Almas (in English: "Chapel of the Souls") during a worship service, Porto, Portugal
Some background information:
The Capela de Santa Catarina, which is also known as the Capela das Almas, is a chapel located in the shopping street Rua de Santa Catarina, in the city of Porto’s quarter Santo Ildefonso. It is particularly noted for the blue azulejo tiles on its exterior walls. To take this picture of the chapel’s interior during a worship service was not very respectful from me for sure, but for one thing I simply couldn’t resist and for another thing I stood near the entrance while trying to not disturb the worhshippers during their devotions.
The chapel had its origins in an old wooden chapel built in praise of Saint Catherine. The construction of the present building began at the end of the 18th century, when the Brotherhood of Souls and Wounds of Saint Francis moved from the Monastery of Santa Clara to the former wooden chapel on this spot. This led to an increase in popularity of the cult of Saint Catherine and to the decision to build a new chapel. The chapel has two sections, one lower than the other, and underwent expansion and restoration works in 1801.
Today, the Capela das Almas is a major tourist attraction in Porto, mainly due to its beautiful exterior. In former times, the neoclassical exterior surfaces of the chapel were plastered and painted white without tiles. But since 1929, they are tiled with 15,947 azulejo tiles that cover around 360 square metres of wall. These tiles represent the lives of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Catherine, notably his death and her martyrdom.
Porto, also known as Oporto, is the second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is located along the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, about 280 km (174 miles) north of Lisbon. With an estimated pospulation of 250,000, Porto’s city center is rather small, compared to its metropolitan area, which has around 1.8 million residents. Porto has one of the oldest European centres. Its core was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996, as the "Historic Centre of Porto, Luiz I Bridge and Monastery of Serra do Pilar".
Port wine, one of Portugal's most famous exports, is named after Porto, since the metropolitan area, and in particular the cellars of Porto’s quarter Vila Nova de Gaia, were responsible for the packaging, transport, and export of fortified wine. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties. Famous port wine brands are among others Sandeman, Cockburn’s, Graham’s, Fonseca, Offley, Ferreira and Quinta do Noval.
Proto-Celtic and Celtic people were among the first known inhabitants of the area of Porto. Archaeological findings from the 8th century BC also hint at a Phoenician trading settlement. During the Roman era, the city developed as an important commercial port, primarily in the trade between Olissipona (the modern Lisbon) and Bracara Augusta (the modern Braga).
Following the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, Porto fell under Muslim control in 716, but was reconquered by Alfonso I of Asturias in 741. Thus Porto became a border settlement, occasionally invaded and conquered by the Muslim Moors. In 1092, during the so-called Reconquista, the area finally came under Christian rule, initially as part of the Kingdom of León. In 1093, Teresa of León, illegitimate daughter of the king Alfonso VI of Castile, married Henry of Burgundy, bringing the County of Portugal as dowry.
After eventually expanding its current frontiers and conquering additonal territory inhabited by the Moors for centuries, the county became the independent Kingdom of Portugal at the beginning of the 12th century. At that time, Porto also became one of the hubs of the Reconquista led by Afonso I Henriques, the first King of Portugal. In 1370, during the reign of King Ferdinand I, the new, expanded, and reinforced city walls, known as the Muralhas Fernandinas (in English: "Ferdinandine Walls"), were completed.
In 1387, Porto was the site of the marriage of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. This marital bond symbolized a long-standing military alliance between Portugal and England. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Porto's shipyards contributed to the development of Portuguese shipbuilding. In 1415, Prince Henry the Navigator embarked from the port of Porto on the conquest of the Moorish port of Ceuta in northern Morocco. This expedition was followed by navigation and exploration along the western coast of Africa, initiating the Portuguese Age of Discovery.
By the 13th century, the wine produced in the nearby Douro valley had already been transported to Porto in so-called barcos rabelos (flat sailing vessels). In 1703, the Methuen Treaty established trade relations between Portugal and England and strengthened both countries‘ military alliance. The production of port wine then gradually passed into the hands of a few English firms.
To counter this dominance, the Portuguese Prime Minister Marquis of Pombal established a monopolistic Portuguese firm, the Douro Wine Company in 1756 to receive all the wines from the Douro valley. He demarcated the region for the production of port, to ensure the wine's quality, which was the first attempt to control wine quality and production in Europe, almost a century ahead of a similar exercise in Bordeaux. The small winegrowers revolted against his strict policies on Shrove Tuesday, burning down the buildings of the Douro Wine Company. The revolt became known as the Revolta dos Borrachos (in English: "Revolt of the Drunkards").
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became an important industrial center and hence, its size and population increased. The invasion of the Napoleonic troops in Portugal brought war to the city of Porto. In 1809, when the population fled from the advancing French troops and tried to cross the river Douro over the Ponte das Barcas, the bridge collapsed under the weight of the people and almost 4,000 residents of Porto died in the floods of the Douro river. In the Second Battle of Porto, which took place still in the same year, the French Army was thrown out of the city by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and his Anglo-Portuguese Army.
In 1820, the Liberal Revolution began in Porto. The revolutionaries demanded the return of King John VI of Portugal, who had transferred the royal court to the Portuguese colony of Brazil since the French invasions, and also a constitutional monarchy to be set up in Portugal. But after the new constitution had been accepted in 1822, the new Portuguese King Miguel I rejected this constitution in 1828 and reigned as an anti-liberal, absolutist monarch.
Porto rebelled again and had to undergo a siege of eighteen months by the absolutist army. After successfully resisting the siege in 1833, King Miguel I had to abdicate and the liberal constitution was re-established. However, not bevore 1910, the monarchy was overthrown and Portugal became a republic. In 1919, forces favorable to the restoration of the monarchy launched a counter-revolution in Porto known as the Monarchy of the North. During this time, Porto was the capital of the restored kingdom, but the monarchy was deposed less than a month later and no other monarchist revolution in Portugal happened again.
Today, Porto is the most important industrial city in the country, thanks to its textile, leather goods, metal, food, and chemical industries, its oil refinery as well as the overseas port Porto de Leixões. The university, the art academy, museums, theaters, and the opera also emphasise Porto's status as a major cultural and scientific center. But it’s mainly the export of port wine and its beautiful UNESCO-protected old town, to which Porto ows its appeal to visitors from everywhere.