The castle was restored from its ruinous state thanks to the efforts of local journalist Alejo Carrera Muñoz, who in 1923 bought the ruins of the castle from the Count of Torre Cedeira for the sum of 5,000 pesetas. He carried out the restoration work single-handedly, without any help from local authorities, until his death in 1967. In 1981, the neighbouring municipality of Ponteareas purchased the castle from Carrera's only child, Zita Teresa Carrera Ferreira, for 30 million pesetas. From 1995 onwards, the local council began their own restoration work on the castle.
The castle currently houses a cultural and ethnographic museum.


In 2014, Ponteareas town council signed an agreement ceding the castle to the provincial council of Pontevedra for 10 years. As part of the agreement the provincial council would carry out renovations to the castle and promote the castle alongside the more well-known castles of Soutomaior and Baiona.


Solís Theatre (Spanish: Teatro Solís) is Uruguay's most important and renowned theatre. It opened in 1856 and the building was designed by the Italian architect Carlo Zucchi. It is located in Montevideo's Old Town, right next to the Plaza Independencia. The theatre was named after the explorer Juan Díaz de Solís, who was the first European explorer to land in modern day Uruguay.
In 1998, the government of Montevideo started a major reconstruction of the theatre, which included two columns designed by Philippe Starck. The reconstruction was completed in 2004 with the re-opening taking place in August of that year. Acoustic studies of the rehabilitation project was entrusted to Jerome Falala of the French studio Avel Acoustique.
Tomás Giribaldi's La Parisina, considered the first Uruguayan national opera, was premiered at the Solís on 14 September 1878.


In 1833, a group of influential citizens in Montevideo came together to form a group of stakeholders to construct a new theatre, they formed the Theater Committee which was led by Francisco Margariños. In 1840, the committee received approval from the government to construct a new theatre. The board of directors for the theatre's construction was led by Juan Francisco Giró. Also, the board included distinguished citizens such as Luis Lamas, Juan Miguel Martínez, Juan Benito Blanco, Francisco Solano Antuña, Ramón Atragaveytia, and Vincente Vázquez.
The first meeting of the committee took place on 16 June of the same year. The conception of the theatre was to be a cultural center that represented one's free spirit, and that primarily worked to provide the emerging society of the Eastern State of Uruguay a place for harmony, prosperity, and wealth.
The motivation behind constructing a theatre was to have a worthy place where one could be seen socializing and flaunt one's social and political influence. The necessity behind constructing a theatre in Montevideo was the need to elevate one's social and political status through civil associations that had a cultural, scientific, and commercial nature. Therefore, the new theatre would offer a platform for socializing among the societal elite.


In August 1840, the Italian architect Carlo Zucchi presented his plans for the theatre to the stakeholders of the project, detailing where he wanted to construct the theatre.
In his report, Zucchi identified and described the area that surrounded the theatre, his suggestions are listed in the following:
A: Area defined by the streets Sarandí, Bartolomé Mitre, Buenos Aires, the beltway Plaza Independencia, and crossed by the street Bacacay.
B: The city block defined by Plaza Independencia, and the streets Ciudadela, San José y Liniers.
C: The city block defined by the streets Buenos Aires, Bartolomé Mitre, Reconquista y Liniers.
In this information, Zucchi demonstrated concerns about the location of the theatre, he argued that the choice of location would affect its structure, layout and overall appearance. He specified the elements of the theatre, such as the arrangement of the orchestra section, the forum, the sewer system, the cistern and water tanks that would feed into the hydraulic pump system. So that it would be in accord with the predominant hygienist influence as they were susceptible to the type of soil that the theatre would be placed upon. Moreover, Zucchi put caution to the floor that would be chosen, as it would need to be suitable for all these elements. He mentioned the increase in budget due to the possibility of constructing embarkments, and the variations that the structure of the building would present.
Out of the three options of the surrounding area for the theatre, Zucchi preferred option A because it was more suitable for their building. However, in his report he notes how this location had a history of being irregularly lotted. Then the reports changes focus onto option C, mentioning the excavation work that would need to be done, and the existence of a ravine, which could be used as the drainage system. There are disadvantages to this location, Zucchi considered how the presence of the theatre would affect the population of the surrounding area. Additionally, Zucchi considered the different terrains, which resulted in him considering this option.
Due to the information presented, the Theater Committee choose option C, and bought the land for 31,000 pesos. The property was on the outskirts of the city, the land was 20 blocks by 15 blocks and surrounded by ravines, ditches, dunes, and roads. At that time, the expansion of the outside walls outlined by José María Reyes, known as the New City (Ciudad Nueva), had not been completed.


The theatre is located in the Old City neighborhood, with the main entrance on the corner of Buenos Aires Street and Bartolomé Mitre.
The building's facade has similarities to Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Italy. The theatre's concert hall has a slight elliptical shape, similar to the concert hall of Teatro de La Scala in Milan. The interior of the Solís theatre resembles the Italian Teatro Metastasio, near the city of Florence, Italy.


Sholayar Dam is a concrete dam built across the Chalakkudi River in Valparai in Coimbatore District,Tamil Nadu of India.  The dam consists of main Sholayar Dam, Sholayar Flanking and Sholayar Saddle Dam.  It also contains Sholayar Hydro Electric Power Project of TNPWD who owns the dam. Total installed capacity of the project is 54MW with 3 penstock pipes. The maximum storage capacity is 2663 feet. Sholayar is 65 km from Chalakudy town. The dam above Sholayar dam was Upper Solaiyar Dam owned by Tamil Nadu.


Sourabh Singh Sholayar Dam, Sholayar Saddle Dam and Sholayar Flanking dam are commissioned in 1965.  The reservoir has an area of 8.705 square km and the length of the dam is 430.60 metres.  The Sholayar Dam has a height of 66 metres and 430 metres width, Sholayar Flanking Dam has a height of 18 metres from the foundation with 109 metres length and Sholayar Saddle has a height of 259 metres and 109 metres width.


The Soo Locks (sometimes spelled Sault Locks but pronounced "soo") are a set of parallel locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. They are located on the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, between the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. They bypass the rapids of the river, where the water falls 21 feet (6.4 m).  The locks pass an average of 10,000 ships per year, despite being closed during the winter from January through March, when ice shuts down shipping on the Great Lakes. The winter closure period is used to inspect and maintain the locks.
The locks share a name (usually shortened and anglicized as Soo) with the two cities named Sault Ste. Marie, in Ontario and in Michigan, located on either side of the St. Marys River. The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge between the United States and Canada permits vehicular traffic to pass over the locks. A railroad bridge crosses the St. Marys River just upstream of the highway bridge.
The first locks were opened in 1855. Along with the Erie Canal, constructed in 1824 in central New York State, they were amongst the great infrastructure engineering projects of the antebellum United States. The Soo Locks were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
During World War II, the Soo Locks and the St. Marys River waterway were heavily guarded by U.S. and Canadian forces coordinated by the U.S. Army's Central Defense Command. A one-way German air attack on the locks by forces based in Norway was thought to be possible.


The U.S. locks form part of a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) canal formally named the St. Marys Falls Canal. The entire canal, including the locks, is owned and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which provides free passage. The first iteration of the U.S. Soo Locks was completed in May 1855; it was operated by the state of Michigan until transferred to the U.S. Army in 1881.  The first federal lock, the Weitzel Lock, was built in 1881 and was replaced by the MacArthur Lock in 1943. The configuration consists of two parallel lock chambers, each running east to west. Starting at the Michigan shoreline and moving north toward Ontario, these are:
The MacArthur Lock, built in 1943. It is 800 feet (240 m) long, 80 feet (24 m) wide, and 29.5 feet (9.0 m) deep. This is large enough to handle ocean-going vessels ("salties") that must also pass through the smaller locks in the Welland Canal. The first vessel through was the SS Carl D. Bradley.
The Poe Lock, built in 1896. The first vessel to pass through was the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tug USS Hancock. The original Poe Lock was engineered by Orlando Poe and, at 800 feet (240 m) long and 100 feet (30 m) wide, was the largest in the world when completed in 1896. The lock was re-built in 1968 to accommodate larger ships, after the Saint Lawrence Seaway opened and made passage of such ships possible to the Great Lakes. It is now 1,200 feet (370 m) long, 110 feet (34 m) wide, and 32 feet (9.8 m) deep. It can take ships carrying 72,000 short tons (65,000 t) of cargo. The Poe is the only lock that can handle the large lake freighters used on the upper lakes. The first passage after the rebuild was by the Phillip R. Clarke in 1969.
A new lock is under construction and is slated to be completed by 2030. Groundbreaking for the new lock project was held on June 30, 2009. The lock will be equal in size to the Poe Lock and will provide much needed additional capacity for the large lake freighters. The new lock replaces two locks (Davis Lock and Sabin Lock) which were obsolete and used infrequently. In May 2020, construction on Phase One of the replacement of the Sabin Lock was started.
North of the new lock is an additional channel with a small hydroelectric plant, which provides electricity for the lock complex.


The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, operates the Soo Locks Visitors Center and viewing deck for the public. On the last Friday of every June, the public is allowed to go behind the security fence and cross the lock gates of the U.S. Soo Locks for the annual Engineers Day Open House. During this event, visitors are able to get close enough to touch ships passing through the two regularly operating locks. Other than on that day, because the locks are United States Federal property under command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, unauthorized personnel and civilians are restricted from the locks under threat of fines or imprisonment for trespassing.


SouthGate is a shopping centre in Bath, Somerset, England, It is home to over fifty shops, ten restaurants, 99 homes and an 860-space underground car park. It replaced a shopping centre which was demolished in 2007.
The new centre developed by Multi Corporation UK is more than double the size of the previous space and provides 37,000 sq metres of retail space, 3,500 sq metres of leisure space, 2,300 sq metres of restaurant space plus 99 residential units. It was designed by Chapman Taylor to mimic Georgian architecture with a Bath stone facade. The first owners were the Lend Lease Group. In 2013 British Land purchased a 50% stake for £101 million, leaving Aviva Investors as owners of the other 50%.
The development won the Georgian Group Architectural Giles Worsley Award for a New Building in Georgian Context in 2010.


On the site prior to this development was the Southgate Shopping Centre designed by Owen Luder, architect of the Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth and Trinity Square Carpark in Gateshead; and, on the east half of the site, the former Bath bus station and Ham Gardens Car Park.  The Bath bus station and the car park were demolished and a new bus station was opened to the south of the site and just to the west of the main Bath Spa railway station.
The new SouthGate precinct occupies roughly the west half of an area of land once known as The Ham that existed up until around the time of Jane Austen.  The Ham was outside the line of the original city wall, which at one time formed The Ham's north border.  (The first section of that wall, starting at the city's south gate, ran east roughly along the present-day New Orchard Street.) The Ham is remembered in the name Ham Gardens, a small street towards the north-east corner of the precinct, connecting Philip Street to Kingston Road on the south side of Iceland (supermarket).
After the area for the new precinct had been cleared of the 1960s/1970s buildings, and before construction of the precinct's underground car park was started, an extensive archaeological project was carried out by Museum of London Archaeology Service to expose, study, and preserve underground structures such as sections of the original city wall, the 17th century 'Bum Ditch', a well and cellars from the 18th century, and the 19th century cobbles of the original Marchant's Passage.


On 23 September 2008, there was a serious fire on the construction site, caused by gas cylinders. There was a large fireball, with one explosion reaching higher than the surrounding cranes. Surrounding streets were closed while the fire was tackled. Trains did not stop at the station during the fire for safety reasons.
The new precinct opened in three phases. Phase one opened on 4 November 2009, Phase two in May 2010, and the final phase in August 2010.
The residential units were released to market on 16 April 2011. These are on the second floor of St. Lawrence House and the second and third floors of Philip House, Marchant House, and Southgate House.
There are conflicting reports on the cost of the development; Chapman Taylor reports a cost £140 million and the Bath Chronicle a cost of £360 million,


SouthGate is formed of six buildings: St. Lawrence House, jack House, the former Debenhams, Block E/F (which originally had an arcade, Little SouthGate, running through it at ground level, removed in 2017 and replaced by four new restaurants), Marchant House, and Southgate House.  Bridges connecting Block E/F with Marchant House, and Marchant House with Southgate House, provide continuous goods delivery access between these blocks for the commercial units.
The area has seven pedestrianised streets and a central plaza (SouthGate Place), and is bordered by New Orchard Street, Manvers Street, Dorchester Street, and Southgate Street. The names of the new pedestrianised streets follow the names of streets that previously occupied similar positions on the site (Philip Street, Newark Street, Railway Street, etc.), although Marchant's Passage has been reborn as New Marchant's Passage. The street sign for New Marchant's Passage is missing the apostrophe.
Block E/F was designed to accommodate restaurants on the first floor and, on the upper floor, a leisure centre, including a swimming pool under the large central glass roof. Both the first and upper floors feature outdoor balconies facing into SouthGate Place through Georgian columns spanning the two levels. The developers were unable to find a tenant to operate the planned leisure centre and the floor has been re-purposed as office space. However, the plans for the first floor were fulfilled with a restaurant, which is now closed (originally Jimmy's World Grill & Bar) taking approximately half the floor (entrance on Dorchester Street) and Cosy Club taking the other half (entrance on SouthGate Place). Cosy Club's space includes the first-floor balcony facing into SouthGate Place.


In late 2011, Multi started developments to more closely integrate Bath Spa railway station and Bath bus station with SouthGate, and redevelop some of the railway station car park and northern ramp into a restaurant complex, set amid Brunel's railway arches, at a cost of £12 million. The restaurant complex is named The Vaults Restaurant Quarter.


The centre was anchored by Debenhams, until the store closed in 2021. SouthGate has over 50 other shops, including H&M, New Look, Apple Store Urban Outfitters, Fat Face, River Island, Hotel Chocolat and Boots.
Currys was the only shop that has been continuously present for over sixty years: it was in Southgate Street up until the early 1970s, was then in the old Southgate Shopping Centre, and is now in the new SouthGate. Currys closed their Southgate store in 2020 and relocated the store and staff to their bigger store on the Lower Bristol Road.


Restaurants and food outlets in the main SouthGate centre include Pizza Express, Caffè Nero, Krispy Kreme, Pret a Manger, a branch of Giraffe Restaurants, and Cake Café; and, added in 2017 in the space that was previously Little SouthGate, are Absurd Bird, Tapas Revolution, Thaikun, and Comptoir Libanais. There is also a Sainsbury's Local supermarket.
Restaurants and food outlets in the Brunel Square vaults include Be At One, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Franco Manca, Graze, Prezzo, and Nando's.


The arcade, Little SouthGate, running through the middle of Block E/F, housed a number of smaller shops, none of which was a sustained success.  As a result, planning permission to remove the arcade and replace it with four restaurants was approved in 2016.  In 2017 the work was completed and there is no longer a Little SouthGate.  The restaurants are Thaikhun, Comptoir Libanais, Absurd Bird, and Tapas Revolution.


SouthGate hosts four apartment zones (Southgate House, Marchant House, Philip House, and St. Lawrence House), with a total of 99 apartments, that were collectively marketed as The Residence. The apartments have private rooftop gardens.


The South African War Memorial, also known as the Boer War Memorial, is a war memorial in Cardiff, Wales. It was erected in 1908 and unveiled by General Sir John French on 20 November 1909 to honour the victims of the Second Boer War. It is a Grade II* listed structure.


The memorial was sculpted by the English sculptor, Albert Toft. It lies at the south end of Edward VII Avenue, between the Cardiff Crown Court and City Hall in Cathays Park and is the centre of a U bend in the cul-de-sac.
The memorial consists of a bronze winged figure of peace holding an uprooted olive tree and standing on an orb, mounted on Portland Stone plinth with granite steps. On each corner stands metal lampstands with glass globe. It has two figures, a seated male figure (representing war and courage), on the western side (left of the main inscription), holding a sword & leaning on a shield. A seated female figure (representing grief) on the eastern side (right of the main inscription), holding a wreath and also leaning on a shield. The memorial is dedicated to "Welshmen" who served in a variety of units during the war.


"South African War Memorial, Castle". BritishListedBuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2015.


WikiWeb_South Beach Street Historic District_0

The South Beach Street Historic District is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on September 15, 1988) located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The district is bounded by Volusia Avenue, South Beach Street, South Street, and U.S. 1. It contains 154 historic buildings.


Spanish Banks are a series of beaches in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located along the shores of English Bay in the West Point Grey neighbourhood. Spanish Banks is located between Locarno Beach to the east and the grounds of the University of British Columbia to the west.


Although the first European explorers in the Strait of Georgia were the Spaniards Juan Carrasco and José María Narváez, who sighted Point Grey in 1791, the Spanish Banks were named in commemoration of the meeting of the English under George Vancouver and the Spanish under Galiano and Valdés in June 1792. While Vancouver's maps do not show the bank, Galiano's charts of 1792 and 1795 do. The Hudson's Bay Company came to call the area Spanish Banks for these reasons. The name was bestowed upon them by Captain Richards of HMS Plumper during his survey of Burrard Inlet in 1859.


Although technically just one bank, the Spanish Banks beaches are divided into three sections: Spanish Bank East, Spanish Bank Extension, and Spanish Bank West. These beaches are backed by grassy fields, which make them popular for walks, family gatherings, picnics, soccer and volleyball games. There is a separated bike path next to a walking path that runs parallel to the water. Metered parking was considered as other nearby beaches in Vancouver, such as Kitsilano Beach, are metered, but the decisions was postponed by the Vancouver Park Board in March 2018.
Spanish Banks is best known for its low tide flats, which are most prominent at Spanish Bank West. While swimming is possible at Spanish Bank East, skimboarding and kitesurfing are more popular activities at Spanish Bank West.


Spanish Bank East is situated west of Tolmie Street on Northwest Marine Drive. The beach is equipped with thirty sand volleyball courts that operate on a first-come, first-served basis. There are lifeguards on site (from Victoria Day to Labour Day), and a concession stand.  A popular activity on Spanish Banks East is skimboarding in the many shallow pools and waves.


Spanish Bank Extension is to the west of Spanish Bank West and is the westernmost part of Spanish Banks before the shoreline becomes much narrower and rocky as it heads towards Acadia Beach. There are lifeguards on site in summer, but there are no concession stands or volleyball courts as there is little sand. Most of Spanish Banks Extension is a designated dogs off-leash area.


Monastery of St. Jacob Saviour (Russian: Спасо-Яковлевский монастырь, tr. Spaso-Yakovlevsky) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery situated to the left from the Rostov kremlin on the Rostov's outskirts.
The monastery was founded in 1389 by St Iakov of Rostov, who was banished from his town for sparing a woman sentenced to death. Iakov moved south from Rostov and settled near the church of Archangel Michael, built in the 11th century by St Leontiy of Rostov.
From the 14th up to the late 17th century all the buildings in the monastery were made of wood. The earliest kept building is Cathedral of Conception of St Anna (Zachatievsky Cathedral). It has been constructed in 1686. Another 17th-century building is Savior Transfiguration Cathedral (Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral) which once belonged to the abolished Spaso-Pesotsky Monastery.
The Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery has been greatly venerated as the shrine of St Dmitry of Rostov. He arrived at Rostov on the 1 of March, 1702, following orders of Peter the Great. Upon his death in 1709 two valuable icons of Holy Mother were moved into the Troitsky Cathedral. Most of the monastery structures were built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in the fine neoclassical style. The Cathedral of St Dmitry of Rostov was constructed in 1794–1802 with support of Nikolai Sheremetev's column.


Spike Island (Irish: Inis Píc) is an island of 103 acres (42 ha) in Cork Harbour, Ireland. Originally the site of a monastic settlement, the island is dominated by an 18th-century bastion fort now named Fort Mitchel.
The island's strategic location within the harbour meant it was used at times for defence and as a prison. Since the early 21st century the island has been developed as a heritage tourist attraction, with €5.5 million investment in exhibition and visitor spaces and accompanying tourism marketing. There were in excess of 81,000 visitors to the island during 2019, a 21% increase on 2018 numbers. Spike Island was named top European tourist attraction at the 2017 World Travel Awards.


The principal evidence for a monastic foundation on Spike Island comes from Archdall's Moanasticon Hibernicum, which states that Saint Mochuada founded a monastery there in the 7th century. While this may be correct, another passage from the "Life of St Mochuada" implies that Mochuada was associated with a place called "Rahen" (rather than Spike). A grant to Saint Thomas's Abbey in Dublin in 1178 of the Church of Saint Rusien on Spike Island may lend credence to a monastic settlement - as the name and date both indicate a Celtic foundation. The ruins of a church are reported to exist on Spike Island in 1774.


The grant to St Thomas's abbey in 1178 coincides with the surrender of lands, including Spike Island, by Diarmid McCarthy King of Desmond to the Normans. In 1182, one Raymond Mangunel was granted or "enfeoffed" Spike Island. There are no further recorded changes in ownership until 1427. In this year, records suggest that William, son of John Reych, granted to John Pyke, amongst other lands and premises, the lands of Innyspyge, in the Comte Cork. In 1490, Thomas Pyke granted to Maurice Ronan of Kinsale, his holdings in Spike Island. In the seventeenth century, the island was in the possession of the Roche and Galwey families - until the rebellion of 1641 when these families forfeited possession of the island. Although this forfeiture was reversed on the accession of King Charles II of England in 1660, they did not regain possession.
In 1698, the island was in the possession of Arnold Joost van Keppel 1st Earl of Albemarle who had accompanied William of Orange to England in 1688. In 1698, he conveyed the island to William Smith of Ballymore on the Great Island. In the 1770s, the island was in the hands of Nicholas Fitton. It would seem that the government leased part of the island for fortifications in the 1770s while the owner remained in residence - the house only being demolished during the construction of the present fort. Eventually, the entire island was rented.


It was possibly used by smugglers for a time, and a map of circa 1600 clearly shows some form of fortified tower on the island similar to a depiction of Belvelly Castle on the Great Island also shown.  The island's location at the entrance to Cork Harbour meant that the island held strategic importance - and it was a significant site in the French intervention following the Glorious Revolution (1689).


The first artillery fortification on the island was built in 1779. Its construction was prompted by the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, and in particular by the entry of France (1778) and Spain (1779) into the war on the American side. Cork Harbour was used as an assembly point for convoys to the Americas and at one point more than 400 vessels were assembled in the harbour. Additionally, Cork was a source of supplies for the British forces operating in the West Indies and North America. There was, therefore, a need to protect the harbour from potential attackers. The Spike Island Battery was a temporary work and armed with eighteen 24 pounder cannon moved from Cobh Fort. After the Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1783, this temporary work was demolished.


In 1789, Colonel Charles Vallancey of the Corps of Irish Engineers, who had been made responsible for the fortification of the harbour during the American war, persuaded the then Lord Lieutenant John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland to allow the construction of a permanent fortification on Spike Island. This work was undertaken by the Irish Board of Ordnance. In October 1790, the Earl visited the island and named the incomplete structure Fort Westmorland. In 1793, France declared war on Britain and a conflict began which, with one interlude, would occupy the next two decades.
In 1794, on the departure of Westmorland, his successor as Lord Lieutenant, likely William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam, halted construction of Fort Westmorland. Eventually, Vallancey was allowed to continue but the fort was still incomplete in 1797. It was however completed by 1802 as a plan of that date shows. By 1800, this fort was armed with three 13-inch, two 10-inch, two 8-inch and six 5.5-inch mortars, 29 24-pounder guns, two 12-pounder guns and twelve 6-pounder cannon. Also included were two 6-pounder field guns and two 5.5-inch howitzers.


The defenses of Cork Harbour faced two threats. Firstly an attack by warships forcing entry into the harbour - either in a raid to destroy shipping or to effect a landing of troops. Secondly they faced the threat of attack from the land by forces which had been landed at an undefended point along the coast. Just such a landing had been attempted by the French at Bantry Bay in 1796 with a force of fifteen thousand men. While unsuccessful, the attempt greatly alarmed the military. Vallancey was of the belief that had the French actually landed, they would have taken the Cork Harbour forts, including Fort Westmoreland.
In 1802, General John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun recommended that a major fortress be constructed on Spike Island, capable of holding 2,000-3,000 men. He considered Spike Island was 'the true point of defence' for Cork Harbour. Lieutenant General David Dundas was consulted by the Duke of York, Commander in Chief, who also recommended that a fortress should be erected on Spike Island. William Twiss of the Royal Engineers concurred.
In 1801, the Acts of Union came into force and responsibility for fortifications in Ireland passed from the Irish Board of Ordnance, which was abolished, to the Board of Ordnance in London. It was the job of this board to implement the decision to erect the fortress and it fell to Charles Holloway, Commanding Engineer Cork District, to begin the works. In 1804, the Hampshire Chronicle reported that the overall height of Spike island had been reduced by 25 feet and the spoil used as infill to create a level foundation. The same paper reported that, on 6 June 1804, General Sir Eyre Coote had laid the foundation stone of the new fortress.
Two alternative proposals had been made for accommodation within the fort. One envisaged six barrack blocks, one of which was actually constructed in the fort, this being the officers mess block, The ground floor of these blocks consisted of a series of bombproof brick vaulted rooms. The first floor was slate-roofed and open to destruction in the event of a bombardment. The second proposal was for 6 sets of bombproof casemates set into the ramparts. Two such sets of casemates were actually constructed, these being the north-east and north-west casemates. The second accommodation block to be constructed, the A Block, shows a divergence from the original plan in that the bombproofing is incorporated into the roof. The ground floor of a third block, the B Block, was intended to follow the design of the A block, was erected before the first phase of construction ended (circa 1817). The four magazines were also constructed around this time. A large workforce was employed in the construction, and included both troops and civilian workmen.


Later a prison and convict depot, the island was used to house convicts prior to penal transportation. Opened in 1847 to deal with growing number of convictions for theft during the Great Famine, the prison grew into what "for a few years in the mid-19th century [..] was probably [..] the biggest prison in the British Empire". It later gained a reputation as "Ireland's Alcatraz".
Spike Island was home to Ellen (Nellie) Organ who gained special permission to take First Communion shortly before her death at the age of 4. On hearing her story, the pope lowered the age at which communion could be taken, from 12 to 7.
The island remained in use as a garrison and prison through the Irish War of Independence, when IRA prisoners were held there. Richard Barrett was among those detained there, but escaped during the truce of 1921. Over 1400 men were held on the island at its peak  until the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
On 6 December 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was concluded. It provided for the establishment of the Irish Free State which happened on 6 December 1922. The Treaty included provisions by which the British would retain sovereignty over three strategically important ports known as the Treaty ports, one of which is described in the Treaty as:
Queenstown(b) Harbour defences to remain in charge of British care and maintenance parties. Certain mooring buoys to be retained for use of His Majesty's ships.
Accordingly, even after the establishment of the Irish Free State, the Royal Navy continued to maintain its presence at Spike Island. Spike Island remained under British sovereignty until 11 July 1938 when pursuant to the Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement of 25 April 1938, the territory was ceded to Ireland. The handover ceremonies were attended by senior military and political figures, including Éamon de Valera and Frank Aiken.


Following its handover to Ireland, the island's installations were renamed Fort Mitchel - after John Mitchel, nationalist activist and political journalist who was held on the island for a time. (Similar Treaty Port fortifications at Fort Camden and Fort Carlisle were similarly renamed to Fort Meagher and Fort Davis respectively.)
The island remained the site of a prison and military base (for the regular Irish Army, the FCÁ and later the Navy) for some time. Late into the 20th century, it was used as a youth correctional facility. On 1 September 1985 inmates rioted and, as a subsequent Dáil committee reported, "civilians, prison officers and the Gardai on the Island were virtual prisoners of the criminals". During the riot, one of the accommodation blocks, Block A, caught fire and is known as the Burnt Block. This prison facility closed in 2004.
The island also had a small civilian population; a small school, church and ferry (launch) service to Cobh served the population. The civilian population has since left the island.


In May 2006 the then Minister for Justice Michael McDowell announced plans to build a new prison on the island. However, in January 2007, it was decided to explore an alternative site for the new prison, and a local task group was set up to re-open Spike as a historical tourist site. In 2009 it was announced that ownership of the island would be transferred (free of charge) to Cork County Council to enable its development as a tourist attraction. The Council formed a steering group to explore how Spike Island might be developed as a tourist site, and the Council subsequently licensed operators to give guided tours of the island.
Since 2015, tours depart from Cobh during the summer, taking in the fort, prison cells, gun emplacements, and key points of interest.
Following additional €5.5m investment by Cork County Council and Fáilte Ireland, additional attractions and facilities were opened for the Summer 2016 season. As well as the previously opened buildings and 6-inch gun emplacements, as of Summer 2016, visitors to the "Fortress Spike Island" cultural heritage attraction can also tour the "punishment block", the 1980s cells (which include an exhibition on the 1985 Spike Island riot), the recreation of the hull of a "transportation ship", and an interpretative installation on John Mitchel - for whom the fort is named.
In September 2017, at the World Travel Awards, Spike Island was named 'Europe's Leading Tourist Attraction'.


The Spit of Nizhny Novgorod (Russian: Стрелка Нижнего Новгорода, romanized: Strelka Nizhnego Novgoroda short name is the Spit or Strelka) is one of the main natural landmarks in the historical centre of Nizhny Novgorod. It is located at the confluence of the Oka and Volga rivers.


The Spit separates the Oka and the Volga. In the past, it was a port for cargo ships arriving and departing Nizhny Novgorod. The Spit is also the location of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
There is the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium for the 2018 FIFA World Cup on the Spit. The Strelka metro station was also launched in 2018.


In the times of the Russian Tsardom, the Spit (Strelka) was the center of the Strelitzky camp of Nizhny Novgorod Uyezd, thereby receiving its name. Later the river port began to form here. This place was convenient for the unloading and loading of cargo and merchant ships arriving in Nizhny Novgorod along the Oka and Volga. A low place, at the intersection of two rivers, became more profitable for the construction of berths than the high Nizhny Novgorod hill. Siberian piers were formed on the shore from the side of the Volga.
During the time of the Russian Empire, St. Petersburg piers from the Oka side were added to the piers on the Volga shore. A new stage in the development of the river port on the Spit was the transfer of the fair from Makariev in 1817. Since then, the freight turnover of waterways has become more than 70 million poods (31 million kilograms). In 1880, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built on the Spit. Also it was called New Fair. During the All-Russia Exhibition in 1896, there were built guest houses and exhibition pavilions. Also, the first tram was opened, connecting the city with the fair. This event completely transformed Strelka, making it one of the busiest places in Kanavinskaya Sloboda, which was not yet part of Nizhny Novgorod.


During the Soviet Union, there have been major changes in the territory of the Spit. February 5, 1918, the administration of wharves was established. In 1932 a large cargo port was built on this territory. Also, in the late 1930s, the destruction of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral began. On the site of the cathedral it was planned to build a giant lighthouse with a monument to Vladimir Lenin from above. However, only its roof and domes were dismantled. During the entire Soviet period it was used as a warehouse and communal housing for the port workers. During the World War II on the roof of the cathedral, instead of the central dome, an anti-aircraft machine gun was installed to repel Luftwaffe attacks on the port. The Spit's defense did not allow the Germans to bombing the port territory and the Oksky (Kanavinsky) bridge. After the war, the port began to increase cargo turnover and became one of the largest in the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, a network of underground anti-nuclear bunkers was built at the Spit. In 1983, the restoration of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral began.


After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the port on the Spit was privatized. The territory around it began to be built up by private buildings and garages. In the 90s, the city council and local residents did not care about the exterior of the Spit. The restoration of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was completed. In the early 2000s the situation changed. The construction of a microdistrict in the wasteland near the port began. In the beginning the microdistrict Sedmoe Nebo was built, a hypermarket of the same name opened a little later. The development of this territory was included in the general plan of the 70s. It was planned to build residential areas and a new highway on the embankment of the Volga. On the territory continued to build new houses, roads and other infrastructure. In the beginning of 2010 there were plans for the development of the territory for the trade and business center Strelka-City. However, in 2015 it became known that the territory of the Spit will be built stadium for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and territory around it will be completely reconstructed. In the same year the river port was transferred, and its functions were distributed between the towns of Kstovo, Bor and other. Near the stadium is the construction of the Strelka metro station. The station is named after the Spit (Strelka).
During the reconstruction in the former port were discovered lacy metal structures of the All-Russia Exhibition of 1896, which were transported to the Siberian pier and converted into warehouses in 1902. The townspeople advocated the preservation of these structures in the same place and the governor supported the citizens of Nizhny Novgorod. These structures are planned to be restored and used for other purposes. August 1, 2017 were demolished old concrete warehouses, built in the 30s in the Soviet period. They had no historical value. However, the media and liberal activists presented this information as if historical warehouses with lace structures were demolished.
On November 1, 2016, the construction of a highway on the Volga embankment from Strelka along the micro district Meshcherskoe Ozero began. Designing and commencement of construction also accompanied a scandal provoked by local residents. They were again supported by the media and liberals. The inhabitants considered this territory to be their immediate place of rest and walks, and also called it an ecological zone. However, this embankment was completely destroyed and littered. This did not correspond in any way to the residents' words about a full-fledged place for recreation. In addition, the project to build a road on the Volga embankment was developed in 1977 and approved in 2010.
Another discovery was the underground bunkers built during the Cold War, in the event of a nuclear strike. They were found in December 2016. Public proposals were made on their preservation and transformation into the Museum of the Cold War.


The Spitakavor Monastery is located on the slopes of Teksar mountain of the Vayots Dzor Province. The terrain is difficult, but the monastery can be reached on foot or with an all-terrain vehicle. It is about 8.4 kilometres (5.2 mi) from the University of Gladzor's Museum and Tanahat  Monastery and about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the Proshaberd fortress.


Behind fortified walls lies buildings of white shaved (felsite, including the monastery, church, a bell-tower and vestibule.
Its main monument is the Spitakavor Church of the Holy Mother of God (Spitakavor Church of Surp Astvatsatsin). Due to the number of springtime flowers that surround the monastery, it is sometimes called Tsaghkavank (the Monastery of Flowers) by the villagers of Vernashen. An image, described as "a remarkable example of mid-century Armenian sculpture" of Mary (mother of Jesus), is chiseled into the headstone of the church's entrance. Other interesting artistic works included a sculpture of Jesus with his disciples and a relief of Eachi and his son. The History Museum of Armenia in Yerevan now holds a wall hanging that depicts Prince Hasan. The relief of the prince and his father is at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Although the monastery is small and somewhat remote, it has been described as follows:
The monastery seems to be isolated from the entire world, and seems to be in the divine green surrounding where the human hand has yet not touched. Saying the harmony of the monastery and the nature around it is beautiful is not enough; “breathtakingly beautiful” this is how it should be described.


The 14th-century Spitakavor Monastery was built by two princes from the Proshian dynasty during the Zakarid Armenia period. The construction of the church began by Prince Eachi (died in 1318) and completed in 1321 by his son Prince Amir Hasan II. Between 1321 and 1330, the narthex was built, and in 1330 Hovhannes Proshian and his wife, Tadzna, added a three-story bell-tower to the western wall of narthex.
The monastery became an "important cultural, educational and spiritual center" under the guidance of Father Superior and Phililogist Vardapet Avagter.
There were two other monasteries in the area, Tanade and St. Khach monasteries, and the three used fire signals to communicate in "ancient times". The monastery was attacked in the 14th century by Lenk Timur whose armies destroyed its walls and narthex, known in Armenia as gavit. In the 14th or 15th century, after the fall of the Mongols, Ak-Koyunlu and Kara Koyunlu tribes attacked and "devastated" the region, including the monastery church gavit, monastery defense walls, and service building. Without restoration of the destroyed buildings and walls, the church of the monastery stood until the Persian-Ottoman War when in 1604 thousands of Armenians were forcibly resettled under Shah Abbas.
The church and the remains of the monastery remain. Information panels in Armenian, Russian, Italian, French and English were installed for visitors.


The remains of the Armenian military leader and political thinker Garegin Nzhdeh were secretly buried in the yard of Spitakavor Monastery on 9 May 1987 or in 1983. He had died in a Soviet prison in 1955. Annually on June 17 Armenians across the world conduct a pilgrimage to the monastery's graveyard.


According to the Armenian Monuments Awareness Project, Spitakavor became an important center after the closing of the University of Gladzor, while it is also theorized that Spikakavor Monastery may have preceded and played a part in the closure in 1340 of the University of Gladzor.


The cemetery dates from 1844, when members of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society formed a cemetery association. They took their inspiration from contemporary rural cemeteries such as Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, and Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The numerous springs and groves suggested the name "Spring Grove". On December 1, 1844, Salmon P. Chase and others prepared the Articles of Incorporation. The cemetery was designed by Howard Daniels and formally chartered on January 21, 1845. The first burial took place on September 1, 1845.
In 1855, Adolph Strauch, a renowned landscape architect, was hired to beautify the grounds. His sense and layout of the "garden cemetery" made of lakes, trees and shrubs, is what visitors today still see. He created a more open landscape by setting limits on private enclosures and monument heights. The results of the redesign earned Strauch praise in the U.S. and abroad, including from Frederick Law Olmsted and the French landscape architect Edouard André. On March 29, 2007, the cemetery was designated a National Historic Landmark. The Spring Grove Cemetery Chapel is listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places.
On October 23, 2013, cemetery staff removed a large and potentially disturbing SpongeBob SquarePants headstone from the grave of U.S. Army Corporal Kimberly Walker and another for her still-living sister a day after her funeral. The family believed they had permission from a worker, whom management said had erred. In February 2014, both parties agreed to reinstate the statues with granite slabs largely hiding them from passersby.


Spring Grove encompasses 733 acres (2.97 km²) of which 400 acres (1.6 km²) are currently landscaped and maintained. Its grounds include 12 ponds, many fine tombstones and memorials, and various examples of Gothic Revival architecture.
As of 2005, its National Champion trees were Cladrastis kentukea and Halesia diptera; its State Champion trees included Abies cilicica, Abies koreana, Cedrus libani, Chionanthus virginicus, Eucommia ulmoides, Halesia parvifolia, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Phellodendron amurense, Picea orientalis, Picea polita, Pinus flexilis, Pinus griffithi, Pinus monticola, Quercus cerris, Quercus nigra, Taxodium distichum, Ulmus serotina, and Zelkova serrata.


Jacob Ammen, Civil War general
Nicholas Longworth Anderson, Civil War colonel
Joshua Hall Bates, Civil War general
Richard M. Bishop, Cincinnati Mayor and Ohio Governor
George K. Brady, United States Army officer.  Briefly commander of the Department of Alaska
Emma Lucy Braun, botanist
Charles Elwood Brown, Civil War brevet brigadier general and U.S. Representative
Sidney Burbank, Civil War colonel
Jacob Burnet, US Senator
Samuel Fenton Cary, Congressman, prohibitionist
Kate Chase, daughter of Salmon Chase and Washington, D.C. Civil War socialite
Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the United States
Henry M. Cist, Civil War brevet brigadier general
Levi Coffin, Quaker abolitionist
Arthur F. Devereux, Brevet Brigadier General during the Civil War; from Salem, Massachusetts
Daniel Drake, physician and writer
Charles L. Fleischmann, yeast manufacturer
Joseph Benson Foraker, Governor of Ohio, U.S. Senator, Judge, American Civil War Captain
Manning Force, Civil War Brevet Brigadier General, Medal of Honor recipient
James Gamble, co-founder of Procter & Gamble Company
Kenner Garrard, Civil War general
Heinie Groh, Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame third baseman
Theodore Sommers Henderson, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Andrew Hickenlooper, Civil War general
Joseph Hooker, Civil War general and commander of the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Chancellorsville
Waite Hoyt, professional baseball player; Hall of Fame pitcher
Miller Huggins, Hall of Fame baseball manager of New York Yankees during Babe Ruth era
Isaac M. Jordan, one of the seven founders of Sigma Chi Fraternity
Bernard Kroger, founder of Kroger supermarkets
Alexander Long, Congressman
Nicholas Longworth (winemaker), Father of American grape culture
Nicholas Longworth, American politician, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, grandson of Nicholas Longworth (winemaker)
William Haines Lytle, 19th century Ohio, general, politician, poet
Joseph Mason, artist, who was an uncredited assistant to John James Audubon in illustrating the Birds of America
Stanley Matthews, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court* Alexander McDowell McCook, Union army general
Charles Pettit McIlvaine, Episcopal bishop, author, educator and twice Chaplain of the United States Senate
John McLean, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
George Hunt Pendleton, Congressman and US Senator
Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt, poet
William Procter, co-founder of Procter and Gamble
Skip Prosser, Wake Forest University men's basketball head coach at the time of his death, former assistant and head men's basketball coach at Xavier University
Henry Stanbery, Attorney General of the United States
Adolph Strauch, landscape architect, designer of Spring Grove Cemetery
Dudley Sutphin, Cincinnati attorney, judge and French Legion of Honor medal winner
Alphonso Taft, politician, father of President of the United States William Howard Taft
Charles Phelps Taft II, Mayor of Cincinnati and son of President William Howard Taft
Louise Taft, second wife of Alphonso Taft and mother of William Howard Taft
John Morgan Walden, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Godfrey Weitzel, Civil War general
Frances Wright, pioneering feminist, abolitionist, and freethinker


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"top-10-largest-cemeteries-in-world". Archived from the original on August 17, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
The Cincinnati Cemetery of Spring Grove, Report for 1857. C. F. Bradley, printers. 1857. pp. 3.
Picturesque Cincinnati. John Shillito Company. 1883. pp. 194.
"A Walk in the Park: Spring Grove Cemetery". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
Stradling, David (October 1, 2003). Cincinnati: From River City to Highway Metropolis. Arcadia Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 9780738524405. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
"Spring Grove Cemetery | The Cultural Landscape Foundation". tclf.org. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
Ratterman, Heinrich (1905). Spring Grove and Its Creator. Edited by Don H. Tolzmann. Cincinnati: [Reprint 1988] Ohio Book Store.
André, Édouard (1879). L'art des jardins / traité général de la composition des parcs et jardins (in French). Paris: G. Masson. p. 868.
"National Historic Landmarks Designated". National Park Service. April 13, 2007. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
"Ms Walker's family are furious with the graveyard's U-turn after paying $13,000 (£8,000) for the headstone and getting copyright approval from Nickelodeon". Metro.co.uk. October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
"Family, cemetery reinstall SpongeBob headstones but with changes". Cincinnati: Hearst Television Inc. February 14, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
Rolfes, Steven (October 29, 2012). Cincinnati Landmarks. Arcadia Publishing. p. 43. ISBN 9780738593951. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
"Judge Civil War Generals" (PDF). The Spring Grove Family. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
"Visit to Bishop Grave - Spring Grove Cemetery". May 17, 2022.
Stuckey, Ronald L. (1997). "Emma Lucy Braun (1889–1971)".  In Grinstein, Louise S.; Biermann, Carol A.; Rose, Rose K. (eds.). Women in the Biological Sciences: A Biobibliographic Sourcebook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-313-29180-2.
"Judge Jacob Burnet". The Spring Grove Family. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
Spencer, Thomas E. (1998). Where They're Buried: A Directory Containing More Than Twenty Thousand Names of Notable Persons Buried in American Cemeteries, with Listings of Many Prominent People who Were Cremated. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 264. ISBN 9780806348230. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
"Judge Jacob Notable Burials". The Spring Grove Family. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
"Levi Coffin". National Park Service. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
Juettner, Otto (1909). 1785-1909: Daniel Drake and his followers; historical and biographical sketches. Harvey Publishing Company. p. 70. Retrieved July 17, 2014. Daniel Drake spring grove cemetery.
"Spring Grove Cemetery". Cincinnati.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
"Heinie Groh Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
Cook, William A. (2004). Waite Hoyt: A Biography of the Yankees' Schoolboy Wonder. McFarland. p. 209. ISBN 9780786419609. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
"Isaac M. Jordan". Sigma Chi Fraternity. February 6, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2014.


The Spring and Autumn Pavilions (Chinese: 春秋閣; pinyin: Chūnqiū Gé) are a Taoist temple complex located on Lotus Lake in Zuoying District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Like the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas, the temple is special and unique. It was built in 1953 by Chi Ming palace, were two Chinese palace-style pavilions. The complex can be seen from the top of the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas.


Spring and Autumn Pavilions, also called ‘Spring and Autumn Royal Pavilion’, got its name from the Spring Pavilion and Autumn Pavilion. It is a landmark that commemorates the martial saint, Lord Kuan. It was selected as the one of the country's top ten beauty spot. Each of the two towers is four stories high and octagonal in shape. With green tiles and yellow walls, they look like antique pagoda. There are thousands of turtle on a half-moon pond in front of the Spring and Autumn Pavilions. Looking left from the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas, visitors can see the Spring and Autumn Pavilions. Next to the two pavilions is the 5-mile Pavilion, and they are connected to each other by the Nine-Bend Bridge. The bridge's appearance is colorful and bright, and it is a good spot for viewing lotus in the summer. The Spring and Autumn Pavilions is surrounded by water that reflect the pavilions at sunset. There is a statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, riding a dragon in front of the Spring and Autumn Pavilions. According to local legends, Guanyin riding a dragon appeared in the clouds and instructed her followers to build a representation of her between the two pavilions; therefore, now there is a statue of Guanyin riding a dragon.


Springfield Park was opened in 1907 as Dignam Park, named for a former chairman of the city's Board of Public Works. It was the first Jacksonville city park to include a playground. From opening until the Civil rights movement the park was open to whites only.
In 1914, Jacksonville hosted the annual reunion of the United Confederate Veterans, with estimated attendance of about 8,000 former Confederate soldiers. The UCV chose the park as the location for a new monument to honor the Women of the Southland, and five months after the reunion the city renamed the park "Confederate Park." Florida's Tribute to the Women of the Confederacy, a monument/statue, was erected in 1915.
On August 11, 2020, the Jacksonville City Council voted to change the name of the park to Springfield Park, after the name of the neighborhood it sits in.
The Springfield Park Playground, east of the park, was originally a part of Springfield Park, but was used for military training during World Wars I and II. It is now a dog park.


The monument was designed in 1914 by sculptor Allen George Newman (1875–1940), and dedicated on October 26, 1915. Jno. Williams, Inc. served as the founder, and McNeel Marble Works served as the work's contractor. Its condition was deemed "treatment needed" by the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in November 1992. As the inscription says, it was sponsored by the Florida Division of the United Confederate Veterans.
In May 2018, the monument was cited among those targeted by the March for Change, a three-day, 40-mile (64-km) protest against Confederate monuments located in Jacksonville and St. Augustine. It is No. 10 on the Make It Right Project's list of Confederate memorials it wants to see removed.


The Spronser Lakes (German: Spronser Seenplatte; Italian: Laghi di Sopranes [ˈlaːɡi di soˈpraːnes]) is the largest group of high elevation lakes in the Alps, located in South Tyrol, Italy.
It is located in the eastern part of the Texel Group. Eight to ten lakes of significant size such as the Grünsee (Green Lake), the Langsee (Long Lake), the two Milchseen (Milk Lakes) or the small Mückensee (Midge Lake) occupy a total area of 30 hectares. However, only the Kaser Lacke, the Pfitscher Lacke, the Mückenlacke (Midge Pond), the Grünsee (Green Lake), the Schwarzsee (Black Lake), the Schiefersee (Slate Lake), and the Kesselsee (Kettle Lake) belong officially to this group of lakes. They were eroded by glaciers on a relatively limited area at altitudes from 2117 to 2598 m or left behind in the rocks of the ancient gneises, granite gneisses, and mica schists. The largest body of water is the Langsee (2.377 m) which is alive with salvelinus. A particularly good view can be obtained from the summit of Spronser Rötelspitze (2.625 m). The owner of Auer Castle in the village Tirol has the fishing right in the Langsee.


The Square des Épinettes is a green space in the Épinettes district of Paris (17th arrondissement). It was created in 1893 by Jean-Camille Formigé. Two sculptures in the garden represent famous personalities of the area : Maria Deraismes, a feminist, and Jean Leclaire, an entrepreneur.
It covers 10.42 hectares (26 acres).


Built in 1833, the Arulmigu Sri Mahamariamman Temple in George Town is the oldest Hindu temple in Penang, Malaysia, and features sculptures of gods and goddesses over its main entrance and facade. It is located at Queen Street, George Town.
It is also known as Mariamman Temple or Queen Street Indian Temple. Throughout the years, the Sri Mahamariamman temple has also been known by several names: Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple, Sri Arulmigu Mahamariamman Temple, Sri Mariamman Temple. All these names refer to the same temple. The temple is open daily from 6.30 am - 12.00 noon and 4.30 pm - 9.00 pm. It became a place of worship as early as 1801 and became a temple in 1833. It has stood at the same place for more than 200 years.


The temple is in central Georgetown on Lebuh Queen (Queen Street) and the back entrance is on Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling (Pitt Street), in between Lebuh Pasar and Lebuh Chulia. Located in Penang's Little India, in the capital city of Georgetown, the Sri Maha Mariamman temple reflects the city's rich cultural heritage.
Visitation to this temple is limited to morning and evening. Temple opens starts from morning 6 am till 12 pm and evening from 5 pm till 9 pm. The temples closes after the prayers are performed at 12 pm and 9 pm respectively. Daily there will be Pujas (prayers), mornings 7.30 am and evening 6.30 pm. Prayers are usually conducted by the temple priests in these times and visitors may observe these prayer sessions taking place. If you wish to enter the Sri Mahamariamman temple, it would be polite to ask permission from any of the priests and please remember to remove your shoes before entering the temple grounds.


Darshan (meaning open to the public) hours are from 6 am to 9 pm. Temple is closed from 12:15 pm and reopened at 4:30 pm and closed at 9:15 pm.
The temple priests perform the puja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Abishegam or Thirumanjanam is anointment of the idol with oils, sandalwood paste, milk, unguents and the like and then bathing it with water in an act of ritual purification. The most prominent abishegams are conducted at the ceremonies to mark the hours of the day. These are four in number - the Kaala Santhi, early in the morning, the Ucchikālam, in the afternoon, the Sāyaratchai, in the evening and the Ardha Jāmam, at night, immediately prior to the temple being closed for the day.
Each ritual comprises four steps: abishegam (sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), naivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) all the deities. After the abishegam, it is the practice to dress the idols of the deities, in an act called alangaram, in one of several guises. The worship is held with religious instructions in the Vedas (Sanskrit sacred texts) and Thirumurai (Tamil sacred texts) read by priests. These hours are marked by the tolling of the bell of the temple amidst music with nadaswaram (pipe instrument) and thavil (percussion instrument).
Devotees are able to perform archanai by the priest thereafter.
Abishegam (6 am)
Kaala Santhi (7.30 am)
Abishegam (11.45 am)
Utchikkalam Pooja (12 pm)
Abishegam (5.30 am)
Sāyaratchai (6.30 pm)
Abishegam (8.45 am)
Ardha Jāmam (9 pm)
Please note that on festivals and special occasions, Abishegam and Poojas start earlier than the scheduled time


The tropical island of Penang lies in the Indian Ocean, just off the north-west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Penang's rapid growth as a trading hub in the early 19th century, especially in commodities such as nutmegs, cloves, and pepper, attracted traders from Europe, America, Arabia, India as well as China. Each then established communities and adopted lifestyles similar to their homeland. It was during that time that the Tamil Indians arrived in the island's bustling harbour, and established their own ‘Little India’ community in the city. The early Indian settlers, who came to this island to toil and trade, established an abode for mother, so that her presence could be felt as their guardian deity and guide in their times of trials and tribulations.
Dating back as early as 1801, the Sri Mahamariamman Temple is recognised as an elaborate and spiritual place of worship. Like most Indian temples in Penang, the Penang Sri Mahamariamman began as a small and simple shrine. Not much is known about the early days of the temple or of the persons who founded it. The land was granted in 1801 by the British to Betty Lingam Chetty, who was then the Kapitan (Headman, Kepala or Community Leader) of the Tamils and South Indians. This is confirmed by another grant written in 1831. But, as to how the temple came to be built on this land or who founded it, there is no information.
Caption James Low confirms the existence of a temple in Georgetown in 1835. That the Mariamman temple was founded in 1833 is first mentioned in a notice of 'Kumbabishegam' (consecration ceremony) held one hundred years later in 1933. But except for the date, not much else has been said about its founding in that document.
Built originally as a shrine, it was later that the Indian community found a need for a proper temple ground for worshipping, to accommodate the ever-increasing Indian community presence on the island. This was done to ensure that the Indian community, which includes the merchants, labourers and sepoys, are settled in one particular area, for ease of managing the group. The majority of the people who lived around the temple were waterfront workers who were the backbone of the Penang port. These Indian stevedores were organised in groups called kootam – a member of a kootam is a kootakadai, and heading each kootam is a thandal. Together, the Indian community numbered about 2000 workers and they inhabited the area bounded by Lebuh Queen, Lebuh King, Lebuh Penang, Lebuh Pasar and Lebuh Gereja, an area collectively known as Ellammuchanthi in Tamil, or Simpang Lelong in Malay.
The Sri Mahamariamman shrine was enlarged into a temple in 1833. Since this was when it became a proper temple, 1833 is taken as the year that it was founded. At the time of its founding, it was known as the Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple. It was only in 1980 that it became known by its present name, Sri Arulmigu Mahamariamman Temple, although the name is often written as Sri Mariamman Temple, Mahamariamman Temple and so on.
From its inception, the temple provided an important place of worship for early Indian immigrants and is now an important cultural and national heritage.  In those days, it was done to ensure the Indian community, which includes the early working settlers like merchants and labourers are settled in one area to ease managing them. By 1833, the shrine through the efforts of the Indian settlers, turned to a temple and was renovated to its present form a hundred years later.
According to a document of civil suit brought before the courts in 1904, the names of five trustees who looked after the temple from 1892 till 1904 are Veerasamy, Murugan Chettiyar, Govindasamy Pillai, Veleritta Taver and Meyappah. The temple came under The Mohamedan and Hindu Endowments Board in 1906. From then onwards the temple has been administrated by the management committee appointed by the Endowment Board. It appears that from the beginning of the Endowments Board's administration, a few temples and other institutions have been clustered and left under the care of this management committee: Arulmigu Sri Balathandayuthapani Temple in Waterfall (Hilltop), the Arulmigu Sri Ganesha Temple in Waterfall, the Arulmigu Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Queen Street, Hindu Cemetery and Cremation Ground in Batu Lanchang and a Hindu Funeral Rites Ground in Jalan Air Itam. From 1967 onwards, the board is known as the Hindu Endowments Board, which is currently managing this temple.


The Hindu Mahajana Sangam (Tamil: இந்து மகாஜன சங்கம்) which was formed in 1935, has had close association with this temple and other temples under the care of the same management. Before 1935, it was known as Kootakkadai (Tamil: கூட்டக்கடை). Many members have served in both institutions. They have also been associated with the temple's formation, renovation and maintenance. The festivals conducted by the Hindu Mahajana Sangam such as Chitraparuvam, Vijayadhsami and Aatakavadi during Thaipoosam is associated with this temple.


It was in 1933 that the temple acquired the present form and structure. In that year the temple was extensively renovated. According to the notice of the consecration ceremony, the foundation stone for the new structure was laid by Mr. V. Natesam Pillay, JP. The Sri Muthu Mariamman temple having become too small and too decayed, the Hindu gentlemen of Penang, with their initiative and perseverance, have bought up two buildings to the north of the temple, expanded the presence space and formed a temple in accordance with the Siva agamas a sanctum, Arthamandapam (antechamber), Mahamandapam (hall), prakaram (circumambient), vimanam (dome), surrounding walls and Rajagopuram (entrance tower). These renovations were carried out by a management committee consisting of S. Ekamparam Pillai, C. Subbaraya Pillay, S. P. Natesam Pillay, P. Kalimuthu Vandayar, K. V. Karuppiah Thandal and M. R. Raju.
The consecration ceremony was held on Sunday, 12 June 1933.


It is also known that further repairs were done in 1958 and a consecration ceremony, albeit on a small scale was carried out under the leadership of Mr. Doraisamy Thevar JP PJK who was the chairman of the temple management committee.


Since 1958, no repairs or renovations were done to the temple. This caused some serious decay to the structures and sculptures. From 1978 till 1980, extensive renovation was done. A sculptor from the Academy of Sculptors in Mahapalipuram, Chennai and two assistant sculptors were brought from India to restore the structure. Although the basic form of the 1933 structure had been retained, many new areas have been added. A new hall 31 feet × 27 feet, suitable for small religious functions, has been added and over this, another story has been added for administrative offices.
While most of the sculptures have been preserved, some new ones have also been added, the statues of the nine forms of Sakthi now surround the outer walls of the sanctum. The inner walls of the sanctum, antechamber and the flooring of the whole temple have been changed. The entire temple has been repainted. The smaller shrines of Visvanathar, Visalatchi, Chandikeswarar and Bairavar have domes of their own which have been gold plated. Within the sanctum, a new statue of Mahamariamman, towering over the main deity, has been formed. At the feet of the main deity, a Sri Chakram has also been erected. A Vishnu Dhurga idol was newly installed.
The temple's name which was known as Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple till then was changed to Arulmigu Sri Mahamariamman Temple.
The consecration ceremony was held on Sunday, 14 December 1980.


The present renovation was begun in mid-1997. While basically preserving the existing temple structure, some minor modifications were made such as replacing of tiles in the sanctum and the whole temple flooring, replacing the peedam in the sanctum, replacing the Komugi, a new Ganesha, Visveswarar, Rahu and Kethu icons, new Navagraha peedam, new flag post with concrete base, statues of Bala Ganesha and Bala Murugan, Ashta Lakshmi 8 statues and two lion statues on the left and right of the temple main entrance. The Bairavar shrine is moved to the north-east corner, facing south.
The consecration ceremony was held on Thursday, 3 September 1998.


The present renovation was begun in end of 2013. The ceremony took place from 14th till 15 November 2013, involved the removing of the deities from the main shrines to a temporary site (balaalayam) within the temple and was the beginning of the many rituals to prepare for the consecration ceremony. The process was divided into five stages. After procuring connection of all necessary services to the site, the first stage of the project, breaking the wall and floor tiles commenced. This was followed by the reinforced concrete work to the foundations, slabs, columns and so forth. Construction activities continued with the erection of roof steel frames. Electrical and plumbing conduits. A team of artisans arrived from India and commenced work on the shrines. Another batch of additional artisans arrived from India to accelerate the pace of construction in order to meet the consecration ceremony deadline.
While basically preserving the existing temple structure, the inner walls of the sanctum, antechamber and the flooring of the whole temple have been changed. The entire temple has been repainted. New icons replacing the older ones are Thatchinamoorthy, Visalatchi, Chandikeswarar, Bairavar and Navagraham are installed. Nandhi and bali peedam icons installed facing east towards Visveswarar shrine are added. A gold plated new flag post with granite concrete base is added along with Kodimara Pillayar icon facing east are installed. Statues of Ganesha and Murugan statues on the left and right of the outer wall of temple main entrance. The wooden framework on the century-old ceiling known as ‘Raasi Kattam’ (the 12 zodiac signs planets carved on the wood) is also restored. The Bairavar shrine is moved back to its original location on the left-hand side of the main entrance, facing west.
The consecration ceremony was held on Sunday, 10 July 2016.


Built in the south Indian Dravidian style, the temple most outstanding feature is the impressive gopuram (tower). Rising above the entrance, it features Hindu deities, soldiers and floral decorations.
On the entrance of Penang Sri Mariamman Temple, you get to see a 23.5 feet tall sculptured tower or Gopuram. Also, the 38 statues of Gods and Goddesses and 4 swans featuring the Hindu Goddess Mahamariamman in Her many incarnations such as Meenatchi, Kamatchi, Visalatchi, Bhuvaneswari surrounds the colourful four-tiered crown. It is topped with five small kalasams.
With subsequent renovations carried out over the years by Hindus artisans and sculptors from India and locals, from makeshift huts to heavily ornate and brightly shining with diamonds and precious stones, Penang Sri Mahariamman Temple is a sight to behold.
The interiors of the temples are heavily sculptured with deities of Lord Ganesha is in the left pillar and Lord Muruga, his brother, is on the right pillar. The eight female figures adorning the pillars inside the temple are of Ashta Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth). On the left wall there are sculptures of the Nadaraja and Sivakami in dancing posture of the cosmic dance. Nine statues of goddesses (9 types of Sakthi) can be seen on the walls surrounding the inner shrine of Penang Sri Mahamariamman Temple.
The primary deity Goddess Mahamariamman is seated at the moolastanam (sanctum) of the karuvarai (sanctum sanctorum). The temple has an artha mandapam (antechamber), mukha mandapam, mahamandapam (hall), prakaram (circumambient), vasantha mandapam (festive hall) and kodi maram (flag post). The signs of the zodiac are carved in wood on the ceiling.
The dome or vimanam of the temple is on a base 12.5 feet square and has a height of 27.25 feet. This is in three sections and contains 20 statues of gods and goddesses and 12 lions. Its kalasam is 3.5 feet and is gold plated.
The back entrance tower is 10.5 feet high and contains 13 statues of gods and goddesses and 4 lions and a swan with partially human form.
Once every 12 years, in keeping with Hindu tradition, the temple is reconsecrated. Previous consecrations are in 1933, 1958, 1980, 1998 and 2016.


Mariamman is popularly worshipped by overseas Indians, especially Tamils because she is looked upon as their protector. She is the Goddess of disease, rain and protection and is associated with enormous powers in the physical realm, particularly destructive, and protects her devotees from unholy or demonic events.
Historians claimed that the worship of Mariamman or Korravai/Kotravai started as a tribal religion of the Dravidians. Mariamman is a manifestation of the goddess - Parvati, an incarnation embodying Mother Earth with all her terrifying force.
In the Hindu pantheon, however, the original mother form of the Maha Sakthi is the Primal Source of All Energy - from where everything - all matter and energy comes.  The Sakthi is credited with the creation of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, the three main gods of creation, sustenance and destruction.
The word Mariamman comes from two words: Mari meaning power and amman meaning mother. Maha stands for great. So this Mahamariamman temple tells you, it houses the great powerful mother. And some Indians considers Sri Mariamman to be the mother of Lord Ganesha and Lord Muruga. So to many locals, when asks which temple they are going, some simply said "Amman Temple".
Mahamariamman, the primary deity is seated at the moolastanam (sanctum) of the karuvarai (sanctum sanctorum) facing east. Ganesha and Subramaniyaswami are installed at the artha mandapam (antechamber) facing east. There is a surrounding circumambulatory path. At the mukha mandapam we may find the vahana (mythical mount/vehicle) of the Goddess which is lion, the bali peedam (sacrificial altar) and the kodi maram (flag post) is also found facing west towards Mahamariamman. Stone carvings of the cosmic dance of Lord Nadaraja and His consort Goddess Sivakami are found at the wall facing south at the vasantha mandapam (festive hall).
Shrines for sub deities facing east are Lord Visveswarar and Goddess Visalatchi are installed at the left and right side of the sanctum sanctorum respectively. The shrine of Lord Chandikeswarar is facing south towards the sanctum sanctorum. The shrine of Lord Bairavar is found at the northeast corner facing west. Lord Thatchinamoorthy facing south and Vishnu Dhurga facing north are installed at the outer wall of the sanctum sanctorum. The Navagraham (nine planets) are found at the northeast corner of the temple.
Housed within its ornately decorated interior is the priceless panchaloka (an alloy of five metals: gold, silver, copper, zinc and tin) statue of Lord Ganesha, Lord Subramaniyaswami and Mahamariamman embellished with gold, silver, diamonds and emeralds.
The priceless Goddess Mahamariamman's statue is paraded on a wooden chariot during the Vijayadashami day on the end of the Navarathiri festival.
The priceless Lord Subramaniaswamy's statue figures prominently in the annual Chithra Pournami festival when it is borne on a wooden chariot through the city streets to the Arulmigu Sri Balathandayuthapani Hilltop temple in Waterfall, Penang.


The temple is particularly packed on Navarathiri, Chithra Pournami, Deepavali and Thaipusam with thousands of devotees eager to offer their prayers on the holy days.
In the year 2008, there was a big celebration commemorating the temple's 175th anniversary.


The most auspicious event for the temple is the Navarathiri festival. The festival begins with the lion flag-raising ceremony and ends with a procession where the Panchaloha (Tamil: ஐம்பொன்) deity of Mahamariamman is paraded in a decorated wooden chariot through the streets of Little India. Navarathiri is nine nights vegetarian festival. According to the Hindu Puranas, the festival is held to commemorate the victory of Goddess Adi Parashakti over the demon king Mahishasuran. It was stated that the evil king ill-treated the people that they turned to the goddess, who is the consort of Lord Shiva, to save them. Goddess Adi Parasakthi fought a battle for nine days and ultimately destroyed him on the 10th day, which is known as Vijayadashami.
Various Indian organisations and communities would sponsor the prayers for each nights. On the Final tenth day of the celebration, Vijayadashami is celebrated by Hindu Mahajana Sangam. The sangam organised the chariot procession for many years from Queen Street, Sri Mahamariamman Temple to Dhoby Ghaut. The festival celebration is concluded after shooting of arrows from the chariot in the evening in the Dhoby Ghaut. The chariot returns to the temple at about midnight the same day. Since the late 1970s, the organisation of the chariot procession had been taken over from the sangam by the Temple committee and the Hindu Endowments Board. The chariot procession is now confined to Fort Cornwallis area, nearby the Kedah Pier Muneeswarar Temple in the Esplanade. However, the sangam still continues to celebrate the annual Navarathiri festival's final tenth day Vijayadashami Ubayam every year without fail.


The Hindu Mahajana Sangam, with notable among the festivals, the annual Chitraparuvam Festival which is celebrated in the Tamil month of Chithirai (April/May) every year, is organised with a chariot procession of the panchaloka deity of Lord Subramaniyaswami from Queen Street Sri Mahamariamman Temple. It is the day of the first full moon of the first Tamil month. In early years, the festival starts with special pooja and ubayam for the Hindu Mahajana Sangam “Koota Kadai” in Queen Street Mahamariamman Temple, the chariot procession commences in the early morning 7.00 am and reached Waterfall Dewan Mahatma Gandhi (Gandhiji Ashram) in the afternoon, the deity then carried and placed in the ashram until the return journey of the chariot to Queen Street Sri Mahamariamman temple in the evening of the same day.
Since the early 1970s this festival is celebrated for three days. The deity of Lord Subramaiyaswami is brought in procession from the Queen Street Sri Mahamariamman temple passing through many street and roads before reaching the Waterfall Arulmigu Sri Ganesha temple. The deity is carried up to the Hilltop Arulmigu Sri Balathadayuthapani Temple. On the second day is the Chitraparuvam Festival where the deity is taken in procession around the hilltop temple compound in the evening. On the third day evening, the deity is carried down and placed on the chariot procession journey back to the Queen Street Sri Mahamariamman temple. In 1992, the Hindu Mahajana Sangam imported a new chariot from India, for the annual Chitraparuvam Festival celebration to replace the old chariot which was found to be not road worthy and in a decaying condition.
On the first day, the chariot passes through Queen Street, Chulia Street, Chulia Street Ghaut, Victoria Street, Prangin Road Ghaut, C. Y. Choy Road, Magazine Road, Dato Keramat Road, Western Road and Waterfall Road before reaching the Ganesar Temple. The chariot stops at Kamatchi Amman Temple, Sivan Temple and Muneeswarar Temple along the way. Then the Lord Subramaniyaswami is carried up to the Sri Balathandayuthapani Temple at the hilltop.
On the return journey, the Lord Subramaniyaswami is carried down and the chariot passes through Waterfall Road, Gottlieb Road, Tunku Abdul Rahman Road, Macalister Road, Anson Road, Burma Road, Transfer Road, Sri Bahari Road, Penang Road, Kimberley Street, Carnarvon Street, Chulia Street, Pitt Street, Church Street, Queen Street, China Street, King Street, Light Street, Penang Street, Chulia Street, King Street, China Street, Beach Street, Market Street and Queen Street before reaching the Sri Mahamariamman Temple. The chariot stops at Balathandayuthapani Temple, Meenatchi Sundaraeswarar Temple, ISKCON Centre, Muneeswarar Temple and Kunj Bihari Temple along the way.


The Hindu Mahajana Sangam members carry a traditional kavadi weighing approximately 80 kilos known as Atta Kavadi since 1927 from Queen Street Sri Mahamariamman temple in the evening to Dewan Mahatma Gandhi in the Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple, Penang compound with traditional Nadhaswaram accompanying the Atta Kavadi. A late-night dinner is served in the Dewan Mahatma Gandhi after the arrival of the Atta Kavadi. In the early years, the arrival of the Atta Kavadi signified the conclusion of the annual Thaipusam festival celebration for the day and devotees are not expected to carry any kavadi after the Atta Kavadi reaches the Waterfall temple compound.


The Penang Nattukottai Chettiar community hold prayers in this temple prior to the Thaipusam festival. This function is called the Kuthirai Vahanam (Horse Car) held on in the Tamil month of Markazhi (December/January). The prayers would start 10 days earlier where there would be ubayams on these days. On the tenth day, the decorated panchaloka deity of the Mahamariamman which carries a Vel would be placed on the Horse Car. The procession begins from Queen Street at the evening, displaying the Vel passing through various streets and roads and end up at Queen Street Sri Mahamariamman temple around midnight.


Monthly full moon of every month is observed where prayers are done for Lord Visvanathar. Special abishegam, prayers and puja would be conducted at 12 pm followed by vegetarian lunch that would be served.


Weekly Rahukaalam puja is conducted on every Tuesdays between 3.30 pm and 4.30 pm for Vishnu Dhurga amman. Abishekam (ceremonial bath) is conducted by the temple priest for the goddess. Devotees which mainly consists of ladies, would sing hymns and chant praise of the goddess. The goddess would be decorated with flowers and mainly with garlands of limes. Lighting lamps made of limes is a major ritual in these prayers.
On these special days, devotees will be vegetarians for the day. Young ladies wanting to marry will come to offer prayers asking from the "mother" for a good husband. Married ladies will pray for a successful marriage.


Pradhosham is a bimonthly occasion on the thirteenth day of every fortnight in Hindu calendar. The auspicious 3 hour period, 1.5 hours before and after the sunset is one of the optimum time for worship of Lord Shiva. The fast or vow performed during the period is called Pradhosam Nonbu. It is done during the evening twilight or sandhya kala on the Thrayodashi of both lunar fortnights (Shukla and Krishna Paksha). These are the 13th tithi, or lunar days, from the New Moon (Amavasya) and Full Moon (Poornima).
Special abishekam (ritual bathing) for Lord Visveswarar, Lord Visalatchi and Nandi is done and then decorated with Rudraksha, Vibhuti and vilva leaves.


The history behind the Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple is rooted in devoted members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and their efforts to bring awareness of their religion and Indian culture to the wider world. The influence of this movement can be traced back thousands of years to the basic beliefs surrounding Krishna, and additionally to modern advocates for Krishna Consciousness like Swami Prabhupada.
The Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple is in existence mainly due to the efforts of Charu Das (formerly Christopher Warden) and his activity within ISKCON. Charu Das, an American by birth, left the United States in order to protest and avoid the Vietnam War. He then traveled through Europe, India, and Singapore. While in Singapore he met his future wife, and the two of them began a lifetime of work to further Krishna Consciousness. The two went to Australia, where they lived and worked for a time. After spending several years with a community of Krishna devotees, Charu left Australia and returned to the United States where he served in several positions for ISKCON.
Charu Das first visited Utah in 1975 when he traveled to Brigham Young University (BYU) to sell books for a trust under ISKCON. His impressions were positive, and he appreciated the atmosphere of tolerance and interest. Years later, after leaving his position at a temple near Berkeley, he returned to Utah. On November 10, 1996 ground breaking ceremonies were held at the temple's current location, just south of Spanish Fork, and on February 16, 1998, the construction of the temple began.
The Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple continues to thrive each year as it attracts thousands of guests for both tours and seasonal festivals.


The temple houses a natural amphitheater with the capacity to accommodate thousands. From March through October the temple usually holds entertainments such as art and photography displays, tour guides, cuisine tasting, cultural exhibits on India, a gala pageant of the epic Ramayana, the burning of a 20-foot (6.1 m) high effigy of the demon Ravana, weddings and receptions, guided llama tours, and fireworks. There is a gift shop on site as well. There are many different visitors such as schools, scout troops, summer or senior organizations, and family reunions.
Annually, the biggest celebration in the Western Hemisphere of the Holi festival (also known as the Festival of Colors) is held here, typically teaching a Hindu message to a vast audience of diverse ages and religious backgrounds. Visitors can buy different colored powder (gulaal) imported from India, to throw at each other and into the air at specific times throughout the day, while live bands perform music. A replica of Holika the witch is burned in a bonfire.


Ss. Theodore Church (Romanian: Biserica Sfinții Teodori) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 14 Sfântul Teodor Street in Iași, Romania. It is dedicated to Saints Theodore of Amasea and Theodore Stratelates.
The first church on the site was made of wood. Historians initially believed it was built by Prince Eustratie Dabija (reigned 1661-1665) and his wife Dafina. However, in 1902, Gheorghe Ghibănescu deciphered the Romanian Cyrillic inscriptions on two icons, finding that while the church was constructed under Dabija, the ktitors were vornic Solomon Bârlădeanul and his wife Maria. A document of 1669 attests the church's existence. It burned in 1735 and 1760. The present stone church is thought to date to 1761 and was financed by the nun Sofia, the daughter of a jitnicer and a widow.
Around 1783, after Sofia's death, the church was in need of repairs, while the cojoc-makers' guild was looking for a place to worship. Thus, the church came into their hands, and the new occupants rebuilt the spire roofs and exterior siding, adding a new style of ornament later copied by numerous churches in the area. They added numerous religious books to its collection, candelabras brought from Russia and a clock installed in the main spire. The guilders also donated a collection of books printed at Râmnic in 1779-1780.
The iconostasis is unique in Moldavia. Carved in rosewood, it has icons dating to Dabija's reign: those depicting Christ, the Virgin Mary, Ss. Theodore and Saint Nicholas were probably painted by Grigore Zugravul in 1665, and come from the old wooden church. The cojocari probably added a row of icons during their heyday; researchers have noted a difference in style consonant with two different time periods. The guilders were associated with the church for roughly a century. Due to industrial advances, their guild system broke down around 1920. The church was hit by a bomb in 1944, during World War II, and repaired in 1952. The repainting process degraded the appearance of the interior.
The church combines Baroque, Turkish, Moldavian and Wallachian influences, typical of the final quarter of the 18th century. It resembles several Iași churches of the period, while the window decorations are visibly influenced by Golia Monastery. It is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.


(in Romanian) Andi Emanuel Mihalache, History at the Iași County Cultural Office site
(in Romanian) Nicolae Pintilie, History at the Ss. Theodore parish site
(in Romanian) Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Județul Iași


Ssangbongsa, or Ssangbong Temple, is part of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism located in rural Jeung Village, Iyang Township, Hwasun County, South Jeolla Province, South Korea.


Ssangbongsa was established by Zen Priest Cheolgam in 868 during the Unified Silla era.
'Ssang' means twin and 'Bong' means peak so Ssangbongsa derives its name from the pair of twin peaks on the mountain behind the temple.


Cheolgam Stupa is an ornate octagonal stupa from the Unified Silla era that is an example of one of the finest stupas in Korea. The stupa stands at the back of a hill of to the west of the main Ssangbongsa grounds.
Cheolgam was born Park Do-yun and used the pen name Ssangbong. He was born at Hyuam in 789 to a powerful local family.
In 815, at the age of 17, Cheolgam enters the priesthood at Gwisinsa, located on Mount Moak in Gimje, one of the Hwaeom ten-temples, where he studies the Hwaeomgyeong Sutra for 10 years.
In 825, Cheolgam travels to Tang Dynasty to study under the Bowon Namjeon. After Namjeon passes away, Cheolgam remains for 13 more years before returning to Silla. He stays shortly at Jangdamsa, located on Mount Geumgang, before moving to Ssangbongsa in 855 where he passes away in 868.
Cheolgam's Stupa is National Treasure #57.


A Daeungjeon is a hall having a Seokgayeorae (a figure of Buddha).  Most Daeungjeon house Hyeopsi Bosal, Munsu Bosal, Boyeon Bosal or Gwanuem Bosal and Mireuk Bosal. However, Ssangbongsa's Daeungjeon has only Ananjonja and Gaseopjonja, Buddha's disciples in addition to Seokgayeorae.
Until recently, there were only two wooden pagodas remaining, preserved in Korea as cultural heritage objects - the Palsangjeon (hall) at the Beopjusa and the Daeungjeon (hall) here at the Ssangbongsa.
Daeungjeon at Ssangbongsa is a square-shaped three-story building that was built in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty.  This is a very rare style of wooden pagoda found in Korea, along with Palsangjeon at Beopjusa, Mireukjeon in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, and the three-story wooden pagoda at Botapsa in Jincheon County, North Chungcheong Province.
Daeungjeon at Ssangbongsa is used as the main worship hall.
A worshiper celebrating Buddha's Birthday tripped over a candle in Ssangbongsa Daeungjeon accidentally burning down in 1984. Daeungjeon was subsequently rebuilt.


The Städtisches Kaufhaus in Leipzig, designed by Rayher, Korber and Müller, was constructed from 1894 to 1901.


As the Leipzig trade fair in the course of the industrial revolution changed its focus, in 1893 some storeys of the municipal library where reconstructed to serve as sample fair booths. This concept immediately proved successful, so all other buildings on the site were torn down in 1894. The Städtisches Kaufhaus was then constructed from 1894 to 1901 in three construction stages. The building was the prototype of a specialised sample fair building -  a building type very common in Leipzig's inner city. Unlike the other sample fair buildings (or fair palaces. as they were called) the Städtisches Kaufhaus assimilates the baroque manner of the municipal library, which was integrated.
In 1943 the building complex was severely damaged respectively partly destroyed by aerial bombing. Part of the Städtisches Kaufhaus was reconstructed after World War II during GDR times, but the northern parts remained a ruin until the 1980s.
After German reunification the building was completely reconstructed from 1993 to 1996 with particular attention to monument protection. As Leipzig's Trade Fair Site was newly constructed near the airport, the Städtisches Kaufhaus nowadays is home to office (some 13,000 m² rental office space), retail outlets and restaurants (some 7,000 m² rental non-office space). In this sense the name 'municipal store' is even more misleading as it has ever been. The origin of the name is not known. In addition to reconstruction an underground parking garage and an underground event location have been built-in.
Touristic attractions are the statue of emperor Maximilian at the Universitätsstraße, the baroque stairway (with memorial badge at the former entrance to the Gewandhaus orchestra hall), Leipzig's oldest conserved elevator and the 'Straße der Stars', a walk of fame-like exhibition of hand imprints of prominent people (e. g. Mariah Carey, Max Schmeling, Hans Dietrich Genscher) in the courtyard.


The St. Aloysius congregation was established in 1899 and has been staffed by the Jesuit Fathers, of which Saint Aloysius Gonzaga was himself a member. The congregation was originally primarily German, Irish and Italian immigrants and their families. The current congregation is primarily African American, and gospel music is utilized in the services.
The brick church designed by Renwick has an "usually intricate facade, with colorful bands of red brick, celadon glazed bricks and polychrome terra cotta," creating "an evocative and delicate facade." Sculpted reliefs on the depict Christ, the Holy Family and two angels. The overall design compares favorably to Renwick's All Saints Church on East 129th Street, and may have been inspired by Renwick's travels in Italy before joining his uncle's firm.


South of the station the line curves 90 degrees east to run under Front Street to Union station.


The station is near the Entertainment District, including Roy Thomson Hall, Royal Alexandra Theatre, Princess of Wales Theatre and Bell Lightbox, the home of the Toronto International Film Festival. Also nearby is the Financial District and the Toronto Stock Exchange, with access east of the station via the PATH pedestrian tunnel system to Sun Life Centre, Exchange Tower, First Canadian Place, Standard Life Centre, and Toronto-Dominion Centre. Destinations west of the station, also available via PATH, include Metro Hall, Canadian Broadcasting Centre, RBC Centre, Ritz-Carlton Toronto and Simcoe Place, and continuing further to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on the south side of Front Street.


Starting in 2008, several minor improvements to the station were implemented. A trial installation of LED lights at the south end of the platform was being used to study their effectiveness in the system. The decision to keep them was made in September 2009, and permanent installation began in February 2011.
Removal of the metal slat wall cover treatment began in 2009. In June 2009, the installation of a new wall treatment began. The new treatment consisted of enamel-painted sheet metal that was white with dark green trim and lettering. On March 25, 2010, the panels were replaced with new versions that showed less buckling; however, the buckling issue was not totally resolved and a new stronger version was being developed.
The station was converted to full wheelchair accessibility by adding a new elevator inside the station from the mezzanine level to the subway platform, and upgrading an elevator in a nearby office complex at 145 King St West to provide access from street level to the mezzanine. The project started in 2010 and the elevators went into service in June 2012.


St. Augustine's Church (German: St. Augustin)  is a parish church  of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg located in the Bavarian town of Coburg, Germany. It was built between 1856 and 1860. Originally designed in the Gothic Revival style, the church was remodelled in 1960 due to a liturgical reform. There is a crypt under the church that contains the remains of fifteen members of the Koháry branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a Roman Catholic branch of the originally Protestant ducal house.


After the Reformation, Catholic worship was curtailed in Coburg and the last service was held in 1582, at the Nikolaikapelle. It took almost three hundred years for a new Catholic parish to be reestablished in the town.
In 1851, a committee headed by Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha set out to plan the construction of a Roman Catholic church. His son, Prince Ludwig August, paid for the construction of a burial vault underneath the church. The vault was completed in 1858. The church was opened on 28 August 1860 (Augustine of Hippo's feast day) by the Archbishop of Bamberg Michael Deinlein.
On 15 July 1909, the Protestant Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha married the Roman Catholic Infante Alfonso, Duke of Galliera, in a civil ceremony at Schloss Rosenau, followed by a Roman Catholic religious ceremony at St. Augustin and a Lutheran one in Schloss Callenberg.
After Coburg joined Bavaria in 1920, the parish St. Augustin was assigned to the Archbishop of Bamberg.


WikiWeb_St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church_0

St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church (Spanish: Monasterio Español de Sacramenia) is a medieval Spanish monastery cloister which was built in the town of Sacramenia in Segovia, Spain, in the 12th century but dismantled in the 20th century and shipped to New York City in the United States. It was eventually reassembled at 16711 West Dixie Highway, North Miami Beach, Florida, where it is now an Episcopal church and tourist attraction called Ancient Spanish Monastery.