Charlecote Park (grid reference SP263564) is a grand 16th-century country house, surrounded by its own deer park, on the banks of the River Avon in Charlecote near Wellesbourne, about 4 miles (6 km) east of Stratford-upon-Avon and 5.5 miles (9 km) south of Warwick, Warwickshire, England. It has been administered by the National Trust since 1946 and is open to the public. It is a Grade I listed building.


Ightham Mote (/ˈaɪtəm ˈmoʊt/), Ightham, Kent is a medieval moated manor house. The architectural writer John Newman describes it as "the most complete small medieval manor house in the county".  Ightham Mote and its gardens are owned by the National Trust and are open to the public. The house is a Grade I listed building, and parts of it are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.


Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed the house himself, in the style of an Italian Renaissance palazzo. The builder was Thomas Cubitt, the London architect and builder whose company built the main facade of Buckingham Palace for the royal couple in 1847. An earlier smaller house on the site was demolished to make way for a new and far larger house, though the original entrance portico survives as the main gateway to the walled garden.
Queen Victoria died at Osborne House on 22 January 1901. Following her death, King Edward VII, who had never liked Osborne, presented the house to the state on the day of his coronation, with the royal pavilion being retained as a private museum to Victoria. From 1903 to 1921, part of the estate around the stables was used as a junior officer training college for the Royal Navy, known as the Royal Naval College, Osborne. Another section of the house was used as a convalescent home for officers. In 1933, many of the temporary buildings at Osborne were demolished. In 1954, Queen Elizabeth II gave permission for the first floor rooms (the private apartments) in the royal pavilion to be opened to the public. In 1986, English Heritage assumed management of Osborne House. In 1989, the second floor of the house was also opened to the public.


Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought Osborne House on the Isle of Wight from Lady Isabella Blachford in October 1845. They wanted a home removed from the stresses of court life. Victoria had spent two holidays on the Isle of Wight as a young girl, when her mother, then Duchess of Kent, rented Norris Castle, the estate next door to Osborne. The setting of the three-storey Georgian house appealed to Victoria and Albert; in particular, the views of the Solent reminded Albert of the Bay of Naples in Italy. They soon realised that the house was too small for their needs and decided, with advisors, to replace the house with a new, larger residence.
The new Osborne House was built between 1845 and 1851 in the style of the Italian Renaissance, complete with two belvedere towers. Prince Albert designed the house himself in conjunction with Thomas Cubitt, the London architect and builder whose company also built the main facade of Buckingham Palace. The couple paid for much of the new house's furnishings by the sale of the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. The Prince Consort participated directly in the laying out of the estate, gardens and woodlands, to prove his knowledge of forestry and landscaping. At the more official royal residences, he had been overruled by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, who had official responsibilities for the grounds. Below the gardens on Osborne Bay was a private beach, where the Queen kept her own private bathing machine. According to a news report, "The queen's bathing machine was unusually ornate, with a front veranda and curtains which would conceal her until she had entered the water. The interior had a changing room and a plumbed-in WC."
The house's original square wing was known as 'The Pavilion', containing the principal and royal apartments on the ground and first floors, respectively. The principal apartments, particularly, hold reminders of Victoria's dynastic links with the other European royal families. The Billiard Room holds a massive porcelain vase that was a gift of the Russian Tsar. The Billiard Room, Queen's Dining Room, and the Drawing Room on the ground floor all express grandeur.
In marked contrast is the more homely and unassuming décor of the royal apartments on the first floor. These include the Prince's Dressing Room, the Queen's Sitting Room, the Queen's Bedroom, and the children's nurseries. Intended for private, domestic use, these rooms were made as comfortable as possible. Both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were determined to bring up their children in a natural and loving environment. They allowed the royal children to visit their parents' bedrooms frequently, at a time when children of aristocrats often lived at a remove from their parents in nurseries, joining them occasionally in public rooms, rather than in shared intimate spaces.
The main wing was added later: it contains the household accommodation and council and audience chambers. The final addition to the house was a wing built between 1890 and 1891. This wing was designed by John Lockwood Kipling, father of the poet Rudyard Kipling. On the ground floor, it includes the famous Durbar Room, named after an anglicised version of the Hindi word durbar, meaning court. The Durbar Room was built for state functions; it was decorated by Bhai Ram Singh in an elaborate and intricate style, and has a carpet from Agra. It now holds gifts Queen Victoria received on her Golden and Diamond jubilees. These include engraved silver and copper vases, Indian armour, and a model of an Indian palace. The first floor of the new wing was for the sole use of Princess Beatrice and her family. Beatrice was the Queen's youngest daughter, and she lived near Victoria during her life.
Osborne House expresses numerous associations with the British Raj and India, housing a collection of paintings of Indian persons and scenes, painted at Queen Victoria's request by Rudolf Swoboda. These include  depictions of Indians resident or visiting Britain in the 19th century, and scenes painted in India when Swoboda traveled there to create such works.
The royal family stayed at Osborne for lengthy periods each year: in the spring for Victoria's birthday in May; in July and August when they celebrated Albert's birthday; and just before Christmas. In a break from the past, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert allowed photographers and painters to make works featuring their family in the grounds and in the house. This was partly for their own enjoyment and partly as a form of public relations, to demonstrate to the nation their character as a happy and devoted family. Many thousands of prints of the royal family were sold to the public, which led Victoria to remark, "no Sovereign was ever more loved than I am (I am bold enough to say)." Writing to her daughter Victoria in 1858 about the gloominess of Windsor Castle, Queen Victoria stated, "I long for our cheerful and unpalacelike rooms at Osborne."
The grounds also included a 'Swiss Cottage' for the royal children. The cottage was dismantled and brought piece by piece from Switzerland to Osborne where it was reassembled. There, the royal children were encouraged to garden. Each child was given a rectangular plot in which to grow fruit, vegetables and flowers. They sold their produce to their father. Prince Albert used this as a way to teach the basics of economics. The children also learned to cook in the Swiss Cottage, which was equipped with a fully functioning kitchen. Both parents saw this kind of education as a way of grounding their children in the activities of daily life shared by the people in the kingdom despite their royal status.
In 1859 Prince Albert designed a new and larger quadrangular stable block, which was built by Cubitts on the former cricket pitch. The building is now Grade II* listed.
After Prince Albert died at Windsor Castle in December 1861, Queen Victoria continued to visit Osborne House because it was one of her favourite homes.
In 1876, as a tribute to Queen Victoria, the Government House of the colony (now State) of Victoria, Australia, was constructed as a copy of Osborne House.
On 14 January 1878, Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated an early version of the telephone to the queen at Osborne House, placing calls to Cowes, Southampton and London. These were the first publicly witnessed long-distance telephone calls in Britain. The queen tried the device and considered the process to be "quite extraordinary" although the sound was "rather faint". She later asked to buy the equipment that was used, but Bell offered to make "a set of telephones"  specifically for her.


Since 1986, Osborne House has been under the care of English Heritage. It is open to the public.
The former Naval College's cricket pavilion was converted into a holiday cottage in 2004. Since 2005, the house has occasionally hosted picnic-style concerts on the lawn outside the main house.
Queen Victoria's private beach at Osborne, including her personal bathing machine, was opened to the public for the first time in July 2012, following an extensive restoration programme.


Erasmus Darwin House in Lichfield, Staffordshire is the former home of the English poet and physician Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of naturalist Charles Darwin. The house is a Grade I listed building, and is now a writer's house museum commemorating Erasmus Darwin's life.
Erasmus Darwin was a physician, scientist, inventor, poet, and educationalist, and lived on Beacon Street from 1758 until 1781. A founding member of the Lunar Society, it was here that he received many notable 18th-century personalities, including Josiah Wedgwood, Matthew Boulton, Benjamin Franklin and James Watt.


Little Moreton Hall, also known as Old Moreton Hall, is a moated half-timbered manor house 4.5 miles (7.2 km) southwest of Congleton in Cheshire, England. The earliest parts of the house were built for the prosperous Cheshire landowner William Moreton in about 1504–08, and the remainder was constructed in stages by successive generations of the family until about 1610. The building is highly irregular, with three asymmetrical ranges forming a small, rectangular cobbled courtyard. A National Trust guidebook describes Little Moreton Hall as being "lifted straight from a fairy story, a gingerbread house". The house's top-heavy appearance, "like a stranded Noah's Ark", is due to the Long Gallery that runs the length of the south range's upper floor.
The house remained in the possession of the Moreton family for almost 450 years, until ownership was transferred to the National Trust in 1938. Little Moreton Hall and its sandstone bridge across the moat are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and the ground on which Little Moreton Hall stands is protected as a Scheduled Monument. The house has been fully restored and is open to the public from April to December each year.
At its greatest extent, in the mid-16th century, the Little Moreton Hall estate occupied an area of 1,360 acres (550 ha) and contained a cornmill, orchards, gardens, and an iron bloomery with water-powered hammers. The gardens lay abandoned until their 20th-century re-creation. As there were no surviving records of the layout of the original knot garden, it was replanted according to a pattern published in the 17th century.


Croome Court is a mid-18th-century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Upton-upon-Severn in south Worcestershire, England. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown for the 6th Earl of Coventry, and they were Brown's first landscape design and first major architectural project. Some of the mansion's rooms were designed by Robert Adam. St Mary Magdalene's Church, Croome D'Abitot that sits within the grounds of the park is now owned and cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.
The mansion house is owned by Croome Heritage Trust and leased to the National Trust, which operates it as a tourist attraction. The National Trust owns the surrounding parkland, which is also open to the public.


The Hilton Prague  is a hotel in Prague, in the Czech Republic.  It is located in the city center, near the Vltava River. The 11-floor hotel was built in 1989 and opened as the "Atrium Hotel Prague". It was designed by Czech architect Stanislav Franc. In 1991 Hilton took over the hotel. It has 791 rooms.
The hotel was awarded Best Hotel in the Czech Republic for 2012 and 2013 at the TTG Travel Awards.
The Hilton Prague is owned by Avid Asset Management. The hotel was put up for sale in November 2014.
The Hilton hotel brand has another property in Prague, the Hilton Prague Old Town.


The Clarence Hotel is a four-star 51-room hotel located at 6–8 Wellington Quay, Dublin, Ireland. It is in the Temple Bar neighbourhood, on the River Liffey. It was built in 1852, and bought by U2 lead singer Bono and lead guitarist The Edge and their business partners in 1992, and opened after refurbishment in 1996.


1912 Mission to Johan Melchior van der Mey for a design of the Shipping House, under the auspices of the Office The Shipping SA, whose shareholders are six leading Amsterdam shipping companies, including the Royal Netherlands Steamship Company and the Netherlands Steamship Company.
1913 Start of construction.
1914/1916 Opening of the first part with the users / owners of the six Amsterdam shipping companies.
1926/1928 Expansion resulting in opening the second part.
1942 The Shipping House is claimed on behalf of the German "Soziale Verwaltung" and company housing is limited to the third and fourth floor.
1945 The shipping companies return to their own floor and begin the restoration of their fleet.
1953 The companies consider a final completion of the building - a third wall to complete the triangle.
1972 The Shipping House listed as a national monument (Rijksmonument).
1979 The Shipping House is sold to Caransa, which in turn sells it in 1983 to the municipality for NLG 14,000,000.00.
1983 The Shipping House is used by the Municipal Transport Company of Amsterdam (GVB) as its headquarters.
1998 The Shipping House is owned by the Van Eijl family, including the owner and director of Amrâth Hotels & Restaurants. Meanwhile, the façade including ironwork, was restored in cooperation with the Bureau of Monument Care and Architecture led by Hoogevest Architects.
2005 Opening activities for the conversion to hotel.
2007 Opening Grand Hotel Amrâth Amsterdam.


Barney Goodman purchased the hotel from the Spreckels in 1948. From the end of World War II until 1960, the hotel began to age. While still outwardly beautiful, neglect was evident. In 1960, local millionaire John Alessio purchased the hotel and spent $2 million on refurbishment and redecorating. Popular Hollywood set designer Al Goodman was commissioned by Alessio to oversee the hotel's restoration and refurbishments, which notably included the Grand Ballroom, the Victorian Room Lounge, and the Victorian elevator grille.
Alessio sold the hotel to M. Larry Lawrence in 1963. Lawrence's initial plan was to develop the land around the hotel and ultimately, to demolish it, but he later changed his mind. During his tenure, Lawrence invested $150 million to refurbish and expand much of the hotel. He doubled its capacity to 700 rooms. He added the Grande Hall Convention Center and two seven-story Ocean Towers just south of the hotel.
The Lawrence family sold the hotel to the Travelers Group after Lawrence's death in 1996. The Travelers Group completed a $55 million upgrade of the hotel in 2001, which included seismic retrofitting.


Reid's plans were being revised and added to constantly. To deal with fire hazards, a freshwater pipeline was run under San Diego Bay. Water tanks and gravity flow sprinklers were installed. He also built two giant cisterns with concrete walls a foot thick in the basement to store rainwater. Although these cisterns were never used for rainwater, they were reputedly very handy for storing alcoholic beverages during Prohibition. Reid also installed the world's first oil furnace in the new hotel, prompting a Los Angeles oil company to build tankers to carry the oil to Coronado. Electric lighting in a hotel was also a world first. The electric wires were installed inside the gas lines, so if the electricity didn't work, they could use gas to illuminate the rooms. Contrary to popular rumor, Thomas Edison was not involved in the installation of The Del's electrical system. The electricity was installed by the Mather Electric Company out of Chicago (sometimes referred to as Mather-Perkins Company). An early Del brochure touted its "Mather incandescent electric lamps, of which there are 2,500." Electricity was still new to San Diego, having been introduced in 1886.
In 1904, Hotel del Coronado introduced the world's first electrically lighted, outdoor living Christmas tree. From the San Diego Union, December 25, 1904: "The tree selected for the honor is one of the three splendid Norfolk Island pines on the plaza [grassy area in front of the hotel]. It has attained a height of fifty feet and its branches stand proudly forth. All day yesterday electricians were busy fitting it up and by night 250 lights of many colors gave beauty to the fine old pine. Lanterns, great and small, hung from its boughs. And now that an open-air Christmas tree had been introduced, it is likely that another Christmas Eve will find many California gardens aglow with light scattered from living foliage."


While retaining its classic Victorian look, the hotel continues to upgrade its facilities. In July 2005, the hotel obtained approval to construct up to 37 limited-term occupancy cottages and villas on the property. They also received approval to add up to 205 additional rooms.
The hotel has been sold in several transactions between financial institutions. In 2003, Travelers sold the property to CNL Hospitality Properties Inc. and KSL Recreation Corp (CNL/KSL). This ownership group completed a $10 million upgrade of 381 rooms in June, 2005. The hotel was then owned by the Blackstone Group LP (60%), Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. (34.5%), and KSL Resorts (5.5%). When Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. bought its stake in 2006, the hotel was valued at $745 million; as of 2011, the hotel was valued at roughly $590 million. In 2014, Strategic Hotels & Resorts became full owners of the hotel. In December 2015, Blackstone purchased Strategic Hotels & Resorts.
In March 2016, Blackstone sold Strategic Hotels & Resorts to Anbang Insurance Group, a Beijing-based Chinese insurance company, in a $6.5 billion deal involving multiple resorts. Anbang thus bought 16 luxury American hotel properties including the Hotel del Coronado. Fifteen of the 16 were immediately transferred to Anbang. However, the sale of the Hotel del Coronado was held up because of concerns expressed by the federal inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews acquisitions of U.S. businesses by foreign investors for possible national security risks. The agency was concerned about the hotel's proximity to major Navy bases. In October 2016 it was reported that the deal had fallen through and the hotel would remain in Blackstone's ownership.
In August 2017, Hilton Hotels and Resorts took over the management of Hotel del Coronado as part of their Curio Collection. The resort is still owned by Blackstone and the name Hotel del Coronado has not changed.
The hotel began a redevelopment and expansion in February 2019 to add new entryway, more guest rooms, parking garages, another restaurant and more. The remodel is projected to last three years and cost $400 million.
On March 26, 2020, the hotel announced that it would be closing temporarily due to a reduction in business related to the worldwide COVID-19 epidemic. This was the first time in the property's 132-year history that it has closed its doors to guests. The hotel is now open again to the public.


In 1898, Savva Mamontov and Petersburg Insurance consolidated a large lot of land around the former Chelyshev Hotel. Mamontov, manager and sponsor of Private Opera, intended to redevelop the area into a large cultural center built around an opera hall. Mamontov eventually hired Kekushev as a construction manager. Soon, Savva Mamontov was jailed for fraud and the project was taken over by Petersburg Insurance, omitting the opera hall that had originally been planned.
In 1901, the topped-out shell burnt down and had to be rebuilt from scratch in reinforced concrete. Kekushev and Walcot hired a constellation of first-rate artists, notably Mikhail Vrubel for the Princess of Dreams mosaic panel, Alexander Golovin for smaller ceramic panels and sculptor Nikolay Andreyev for plaster friezes. The hotel was completed in 1907. However, it is nowhere near Walcot's original design (Brumfiels, fig.56, compare to actual, fig.59-60).
A notable feature of the Metropol is "its lack of any reference to the orders of architecture ... a structural mass shaped without reference to illusionistic systems of support" (Brumfield). The rectangular bulk of the Metropol is self-sufficient; it needs no supporting columns. Instead, "Texture and material played a dominant expressive role, exemplified at the Metropole by the progression from an arcade with stone facing on the ground floor to inset windows without decorative frames on the upper floors" (Brumfield).
In 1918, the hotel was nationalized by the Bolshevik administration, renamed Second House of Soviets and housed living quarters and offices for the growing Soviet bureaucracy. Eventually in the 1930s it reverted to its original function as a hotel and in 1986-1991 was throroughly restored by Finnish companies as part of Soviet-Finnish bilateral trade.
As of 2022, the Metropol has 365 rooms, each being different in its shape or decoration.


Khaplu Palace (Urdu: خپلو محل; Balti: ڈوقسہ کھر), locally known as Yabgo Khar, is an old fort and palace located in Khaplu, a city in Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan. The palace, considered an architectural heritage site and a significant tourist attraction, was built in the mid-19th century to replace an earlier-dated fort located nearby. It served as a royal residence for the Raja of Khaplu.
From 2005 to 2011, Khaplu Palace underwent a restoration project carried out by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture under the Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme. The palace now houses a hotel operated by Serena Hotels and a museum depicting the history and culture of Baltistan.


Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (Spanish for "Acuzar's Philippine Houses") is a beach resort, hotel, convention center and heritage destination in Bagac, Bataan, Philippines.


The island is less than a mile (1.57 kilometer) long from east to west and less than 480 yards (.43 kilometer) from north to south. It has a population of 38 (2010 census).
In 2019, the island was extensively renovated by Royal Caribbean at the cost of US$250 million.The island is marketed as a Royal Caribbean private destination named "Perfect Day at CocoCay" A pier was constructed on the north side of the island, which allows cruise ships to dock directly instead of using tenders. The east end is the center of recreational activities with beaches fronting a coral basin where manatees, rays, and numerous fish can be seen. Nature trails run the entire length and width of the island. The renovation also included a water park, with North America's largest and tallest water slide, Daredevil's Peak.


Mokoliʻi translates from Hawaiian as "little lizard." "Moko” is an older form of the word "mo’o" and means "lizard" or dragon-like creature; "li’i" means "small" or "tiny." According to the Pele epic in Hawaiian mythology, while the goddess Hiʻiaka was traveling to retrieve Pele’s lover, Hi’iaka killed an evil giant lizard at Kuala. Part of its body fell into the bay and became Mokoli’i: the island is the tip of the tail sticking out of the water. The closest land on the main island is Hakipu’u, which bears the broken spine of the lizard, with "haki" meaning to break or broken and “Pu’u” meaning the hill or back.
The alternative name of Chinaman's Hat derives from a comparison of its shape to the Asian conical hat. Of this alternative name, scholar kuʻualoha hoʻomanawanui has written: "It completely erases the Native perspective of the ‘āina as mo’o, a living entity that Hi’iaka—a female, no less—overpowers…Mokoli’i doesn’t exist in isolation as 'Chinaman's Hat' does." A resolution was introduced at the Hawaii State Legislature in 2007, requesting that the Hawaii Tourism Authority discourage the use of the name "Chinaman's Hat" in favor of Mokoliʻi, noting that the name "Chinaman's Hat" "has no historical or cultural significance" and "is offensive to many people of Chinese ancestry." The resolution did not pass the legislature.


Mokoliʻi ([mokoˈliʔi]), also known as Chinaman's Hat, is a basalt islet in Kāneʻohe Bay, Hawaii. Mokoliʻi is part of Kualoa Regional Park and located 1⁄3 mile (0.54 km) offshore of Kualoa Point, Oahu.  The 12.5-acre (5.1 ha) islet was at one time part of a basaltic ridge on Oahu before marine erosion separated it.


Baratang Island is an island of the Andaman Islands.  It belongs to the North and Middle Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The island lies 150 km (93 mi) north of Port Blair.


Strombolicchio Lighthouse, located on its summit, can be reached by a concrete stairway of over 200 steps.


Inchcolm (from the Scottish Gaelic "Innis Choluim", meaning Columba's Island) is an island in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. It was repeatedly attacked by English raiders during the Wars of Scottish Independence, and was fortified during both World Wars to defend nearby Edinburgh. Inchcolm now attracts visitors to its former Augustine Abbey.


Lake Orestiada or Lake of Kastoria (Greek: Λίμνη Ορεστιάδα) is a lake in the Kastoria regional unit of Macedonia, northwestern Greece. Sitting at an altitude of 630 metres, the lake covers an area of 28 square kilometres.
Nine rivulets flow into the lake, and it drains into the Haliacmon river. Its depth varies from nine to ten metres. The Orestida was formed about 10 million years ago. The Kastoria Peninsula (with the town of Kastoria) divides the lake into two parts, the larger to the north and the smaller to the south.
The lake takes its name from the Oreiades. Lakeside attractions include, apart from the Byzantine architectural heritage of the town, an 11th-century Byzantine monastery of Panagia Mavriotissa and the reconstructed prehistoric settlement of Dispilio, where the Dispilio Tablet was retrieved from the lake in 1992. The lake is known to freeze in winters.


Lake Shikotsu (支笏湖, Shikotsu-ko) is a caldera lake in Chitose, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is a part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park.


Lake Wakatipu is a habitat for the longfin eel (a specimen caught in 1886 is the largest known of this species), brown trout, salmon and rainbow trout. These and other fish support predators such as the pied shag. The black-billed gull is often found around the lake while the most common birds are the black-billed gull and the introduced mallard. A smaller bird often not noticed because of its size is the New Zealand scaup.


Lake Ohrid (Macedonian: Охридско Езеро Ohridsko Ezero [ˈɔxridzkɔ ˈɛzɛrɔ], Albanian: Liqeni i Ohrit [liˈcɛni i ˈɔhrit], Liqeni i Pogradecit;) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Europe's deepest and oldest lakes, with a unique aquatic ecosystem of worldwide importance, with more than 200 endemic species.
North Macedonia's side of Lake Ohrid was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979, with the site being extended to also include the cultural and historic area of Ohrid in 1980. In 2010, NASA named one of Titan's lakes after it. In 2014, the Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Reserve between Albania and North Macedonia was added to UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Albania's side of Lake Ohrid was also designated UNESCO world heritage status in 2019. North Macedonia's portion was designated as a protected Ramsar site in 2021, passing all nine criteria for proclamation.
In Albania, the coastal portion of the lake holds Managed Nature Reserve status. In North Macedonia, a portion of the lakeside is part of the Galičica National Park.
The towns situated at the lakeside are Ohrid and Struga in North Macedonia along with Pogradec in Albania. The lake is otherwise densely surrounded by settlements in the form of villages and resorts in both basin countries.


Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest lakes in the world, and with a maximum depth of 288 metres (945 ft) and mean depth of 155 m (509 ft), it is the deepest lake in the Balkans. It covers an area of 358 square kilometres (138 sq mi) and contains an estimated 55.4 cubic kilometres (45 million acre-feet) of water. The lake is 30.4 km (18.9 mi) long and 14.8 km (9.2 mi) wide at its maximum extent, with a shoreline of 87.53 km (54.39 mi).
64% of Lake Ohrid's shoreline and 69% of its surface area are within North Macedonia, whereas 36% of the shoreline and 31% of its surface area fall within Albania.


The lake drains an area of around 2600 km² and is fed primarily by underground springs on the eastern shore (about 50% of total inflow), with roughly 25% shares from rivers and direct precipitation. Over 20% of the lake's water comes from nearby Lake Prespa, about 10 km (6.2 mi) to the southeast and at 150 m higher altitude than Lake Ohrid. The water leaves Lake Prespa trickling through underground watercourses in the karstic landscape, where it is joined by mountain range precipitation and eventually emerges in numerous springs along the eastern shore and below the water surface of Lake Ohrid. The water leaves Lake Ohrid by evaporation (~40%) and through its only outlet, the Black Drin River, which flows in a northerly direction into Albania and thus to the Adriatic Sea. The relatively dry, Mediterranean climate and the small drainage basin of 2600 km² (catchment/lake surface ratio of ~7) of Lake Ohrid results in a long hydraulic residence time scale of ~70 yr.


The lakeshore reed beds and wetlands provide critical habitat for hundreds of thousands of wintering water birds, including rare and threatened species such as the Dalmatian pelican, ferruginous duck, swan, spotted eagle, and eastern imperial eagle. The Macedonian part of the lake has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports populations of common coots and pygmy cormorants (Microcarbo pygmaeus).  The Albanian part of the lake has been designated a separate but corresponding IBA for the same reason, with additional bird species being common goldeneyes, red-crested pochards (Netta rufina) and black-necked grebes. Wetland of International Importance status under the Ramsar Convention is underpinned in part by the biogeographically significant populations of red-crested pochard and pygmy cormorants too, but also goosander (Mergus merganser).


Shore habitats are under particular pressure from human activities. Particular threats are the building of tourist facilities directly at the shore, destroying of reed belts to gain agricultural land and intense pollution close to the mouth of tributaries. Although the effects of these human impacts have not been evaluated in detail they are of great concern, as the shallow water sites are particularly rich in endemic bottom fauna and form important spawning grounds for several endemic fish species. Moreover, reed belts have great importance for water birds.
Commercial fish yield, i.e. the two endemic trout species, has dropped significantly over the past decades, both in North Macedonia and in Albania. The most probable reason is overfishing and possibly destruction of spawning grounds. Pollution may also be a factor. Although there are regulations regarding fishing practice (e.g. minimal mesh size) and only a limited number of licensed fishermen, these rules are always not obeyed as a result of the high market value of the endemic trout. As a reaction to the situation, a seven-year moratorium on fishing Ohrid trout was imposed from 2004 to help the population recover and to allow scientists collect further data. Nonetheless, even though thorough assessment of fish stocks has not been conducted since the 1990s and trout populations are still believed to be in decline, fishing with quotas was restarted in 2012 under the auspices of a concessionaire. More data is required to determine whether these current fishing levels are sustainable and illegal fishing, particularly on the Albanian side of the lake, remains a problem.
While most of the endemic fish species are non-migratory, the European eel spawns in the distant Sargasso Sea while its offspring return to the lake. Unfortunately, as in many European lakes, it is very unlikely today that eels can reach Lake Ohrid naturally and return to the Sargasso Sea, as a result of several hydropower dams on the Black Drin and the Drin River, both in North Macedonia and Albania. As a result, eel found in Lake Ohrid are stocked populations.
Given the population growth over the past 50 years, a particular concern is the potential eutrophication of currently oligotrophic Lake Ohrid from increased pollution. Indeed, sediment cores show a ~3.5 fold increase in phosphorus concentration over the past century. On the one hand, shifts from endemic to common European species, which are better adapted to higher nutrient conditions, have already been observed close to polluted inflows. On the other hand, higher nutrient levels have reduced the water transparency, as well as the oxygen availability in the deep water and at the lake bottom, two properties which are requisite for the endemic flora and fauna. Still, the lake is in a comparably good state at the moment. However it may take more than a decade to see the effects of today's pollution level in the lake, because of its long water residence time. Moreover, it was shown that the negative effects from eutrophication would be significantly amplified by global warming. Although there is time to react, computer simulations indicate that at least a 50% reduction in phosphorus input must be reached to keep the deep water oxygenated for the next 50 years at predicted atmospheric warming. This aim could be reached by controlling household wastewater, which is by far the biggest phosphorus source at the moment. First steps in that direction have been taken by extending and improving the existing sewage system in North Macedonia in the framework of a GEF (Global Environment Facility) program. The most important next task would be a solution for three remaining, severely polluted tributaries, one in North Macedonia and two in Albania.


Turgoyak (Russian: Тургояк) is a lake in Chelyabinsk Oblast, near the city of Miass, Russia. It has a surface of 2638 hectares. The water of the lake has a great transparency (from 10-17.5 m). The quality of the water is comparable to that of Lake Baikal.
A megalithic monument is found on an island in the lake (Vera island), as well as ruins of a monastery.
The lake is a popular tourist destination with resorts and holiday camps.


Point Bonita Lighthouse is a lighthouse located at Point Bonita at the San Francisco Bay entrance in the Marin Headlands near Sausalito, California. Point Bonita was the last manned lighthouse on the California coast. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.


WikiWeb_Lighthouse of Cabo de São Vicente_1

A rudimentary lighthouse existed on the cape since 1520, in a special tower constructed on the site of the convent. Between 1521 and 1557 a tower was ordered constructed by King D. John III to defend the coast from attacks from marauding soldiers. Yet, in 1587, the tower was destroyed by the English privateer Francis Drake, and only returned to operation in 1606, following its restoration by order of King Phillip II.
The lighthouse of Cape St. Vincente, or the Lighthouse of D. Fernando, was ordered constructed by Queen D. Maria II, and began operating in October 1846, in the 16th century Franciscan convent. It was originally illuminated by olive oil lamp consisting of two clarions that rotated every two seconds, and a range of 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi).
Following an initial period of operation, the lighthouse was abandoned and almost fell into ruin; a survey of the site indicated its deplorable state by 1865. Due to its state and poor performance of its light, work began on remodelling the structure began in 1897. The tower was increased 5.7 metres (19 ft), and its optic was substituted with a new mechanism. Work on the site lasted 11 years, and in 1908 the lighthouse began operating with a 1,330-millimetre (52 in) Fresnel lens, making it one of the largest optics used in Portuguese lighthouses and one of the 10 largest in the world. It consisted of three 8-square-metre (86 sq ft) panels with 313 kilograms (690 lb) of mercury. The original beacon installed had a constant five rotations, but was replaced by an incandescent gas lamp. Its rotation was maintained with a clockwork system, allowing it to have a periodicity of 15 seconds, and range of 33 miles (53 km).
In 1914, a signal horn was installed. In 1926, a generator was installed, permitting an easy transition from petrol to electricity.
Due to the necessities of the Second World War, in 1947 deflector panels were installed, allowing the lighthouse to function both for terrestrial and maritime navigation. The following year, it was finally connected to the public electrical grid.
In 1982 the lighthouse was automated and, at the same time, it began to control the neighbouring lighthouse in the adjacent cape, supporting a small staff on duty. Following the remodeling in 1990, the optic's rotation was automated 2001.


The oldest church of the group was built during the 10th and 11th centuries. The materials used in its construction were mostly large pieces of roughly hewn red tuff (a common Armenian building material). One of the churches, named Surb Astvatsatsin church, was built in 1198 in white stone, on the eastern side of the complex. Surb Astvatsatsin is attributed to Hovhannes. The main church was built in 1205, using pink andesite, with a red andesite gavit.


Passing through the gate in the circuit wall, the main church of 1205, built by Vardan, son of Prince Bazaz, is on the right.
The main temple is a domed hall. The diameter of the high dome is quite large, and the under-dome space predominates in the structure's interior. The vertical orientation of the interior is emphasized by the pillars supporting the dome. Attached to the pillars are several faceted pilasters and half-columns which form, at the top, semi-circular and pointed arches bearing the supporting girth of the domes. High niches, semi-circular in the plan, framed with graceful arcatures on twin half-columns, which decorate the bottom of the altar apses, harmoniously fit in with the pillars.
The walls of altar daises, decorated with geometrical ornaments, are of extraordinary interest. In Makaravank the profiled eight-pointed stars and octagons between them, arranged in two rows, are covered with varied and rich carving unique in the architecture of medieval Armenia. It features various floral motifs, making up unusual bouquets, all kinds of fishes and birds, as well as sphinxes and sirens. Of interest are a boatman looking ahead, and a man’s figure, placed inside an octagon up the left edge of the altar dais wall and inscribed "eritasard" – probably a self-portrait of the carver. All this is enclosed in a strongly profiled frame which draws the onlooker’s attention to the reliefs inside it.
The exterior decoration of Makaravank’s main temple is more expressive. Over the central window of the southern façade there is a sun dial and below it, on the cantilever column, a representation of a dove; the round windows vary in their shapes and ornamentation. The entrance portals are rectangular, with a semi-circular inner niche. The tympanum and the spandrel are composed of stones of various shapes and colors. The dome drum is skirted by a graceful twenty-arch arcature on twin half-columns.
The arches are made as an ornamental band; the same band passes between the arches and the cornice. The arcature is harmoniously proportionate to the dome and to the overall volume of the church.


Makaravank (Armenian: Մակարավանք) is a 10th-13th century church complex near the Achajur village of Tavush Province, Armenia, located on the slope of Paitatap Mountain. Though the monastery is no longer used for services, the complex is well preserved.  There are 4 churches, a gavit (narthex) that serves the two largest of the churches, and other buildings which served secondary roles. At one time, there used to be vast settlements around Makaravank, the presence of which was of great importance for the growth of the monastery.


The most ancient structure of all is Makaravank’s 10th-century cross-winged domed church with annexes in the corners, which differs from the ordinary structures of this type by rich carved ornamentation (floral and interlaced linear) on the wall of the altar dais and on the framings of the main windows of the interior.
The small chapels built of ashlar stones have carved door platbands. Makaravank’s chapel has a vaulted ceiling.


The monastery was founded in 1129 as a private monastery of the bishops of Eichstätt by Count Ernst of Hirschberg and his brother Gebhard of Hirschberg, Bishop of Eichstätt. The Romanesque crypt remains from the time of the foundation.
After the decline in monastic standards in the 15th century, the abbey was reformed by Abbot Ulrich IV Dürner (1461–94), who also founded the brewery. The abbey was badly damaged during the German Peasants' War (1525) and again in the Thirty Years' War (1618–48).
Major buildings works in the Baroque style were undertaken from the end of the 17th century. Under Abbot Romanus Dettinger (1694–1703), he created the entrance gateway with the abbot's lodging above it, the Prelates' Hall and the Banqueting Hall, as well as the corner tower on the way to the inner courtyard. The next abbot, Dominikus II Heuber (1704–11), continued the building works with the move of the sacristy and the construction of the new brewery (now the library).
Later in the century, Abbot Dominikus IV Fleischmann (1757–92) undertook the refurbishment of the abbey church. The crossing chapels are due to him; their stucco work was carried out by Johann Jakob Berg, stucco master to the court of Eichstätt. Dominikus IV was also responsible for the guesthouse opposite the main gateway.
In 1806, in the course of the secularisation of Bavaria, the monastery was dissolved and the buildings and estates auctioned off.


The Longxing Monastery or Longxing Temple (simplified Chinese: 隆兴寺; traditional Chinese: 隆興寺; pinyin: Lóngxīng Sì) is an ancient Buddhist monastery located in the town of Zhengding in Hebei Province, China, approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang. It has been referred to as the "Best Temple south of Beijing".


The Pavilion of Zhuanlunzang (simplified Chinese: 转轮藏阁; traditional Chinese: 轉輪藏閣; pinyin: Zhuànlúnzàng Gé) and the Pavilion of Maitreya (simplified Chinese: 慈氏阁; traditional Chinese: 慈氏閣; pinyin: Císhì Gé) are both two-floor buildings. They are located to the north of the precept platform with the Pavilion of Zhuanlunzang in the west and the Pavilion of Maitreya in the east, face to face. There is no clear record of when these pavilions were constructed. However, judging from the structural features, researchers believe the Pavilion of Zhuanlunzang was constructed in the early Song Dynasty, while the Pavilion of Maitreya was built later.
The Pavilion of Zhuanlunzang acted as the library in the monastery. An octangle Zhuanlunzang (simplified Chinese: 转轮藏; traditional Chinese: 轉輪藏; pinyin: Zhuànlúnzàng, a rotating wooden used as a sutra cabinet) was installed in the center of its ground floor, which remains intact today but is no longer used. Zhuanlunzangs are not rare in history, but an early-built large one that was kept today like this in the Longxing Temple is rarely seen in other parts of the world. To accommodate this Zhuanlunzang, the building adopted some unique structural techniques, including shifting the columns, using some curved beams, etc. This structure system drew particular attention from architects and researchers including Liang Sicheng.
The Pavilion of Maitreya is dedicated to Maitreya. The building has two floors while the first floor is only a circle of passageways. In the center stands a 7.4 metres (24 ft) tall statue of Maitreya that was carved from a single piece of wood and decorated with colorful paints. This statue was built in the Song Dynasty.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Saint Martin, Tours_1

The Abbey of Marmoutier was a monastery just outside today's city of Tours in Indre-et-Loire, France established by Martin around 372. Martin founded the monastery to escape attention and live life as a monastic. The Abbey at Tours was one of the most prominent and influential establishments in medieval France. Charlemagne awarded the position of Abbot to his friend and adviser Alcuin.
At this time the abbot could travel between Tours and the court at Trier in Germany and always stay overnight at one of his own properties. It was at Tours that Alcuin's scriptorium (a room in monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes) developed Caroline minuscule, the clear round hand that made manuscripts far more legible.
In later times the abbey was destroyed by fire on several occasions and ransacked by Norman Vikings in 853 and in 903. It burned again in 994, and was rebuilt by Hervé de Buzançais, treasurer of Saint Martin, an effort that took 20 years to complete. Expanded to accommodate the crowds of pilgrims and to attract them, the shrine of St. Martin of Tours became a major stopping-point on pilgrimages. In 1453 the remains of Saint Martin were transferred to a magnificent new reliquary donated by Charles VII of France and Agnes Sorel.
During the French Wars of Religion, the basilica was sacked by the Protestant Huguenots in 1562. It was disestablished during the French Revolution. It was deconsecrated, used as a stable, then utterly demolished. Its dressed stones were sold in 1802 after two streets were built across the site, to ensure the abbey would not be reconstructed.


The Abbey of St. Märgen (German: Kloster St. Märgen) is a former Augustinian canons monastery in St. Märgen in the Black Forest in Germany, which was founded around 1118 under the name Cella Sanctae Mariae ("Chapel of St. Mary"). The German form of the name, Maria-Zell, changed over the centuries through Marienzell, Sante Merien and St. Mergen to the present name of the abbey and village, St. Märgen. The Baroque abbey church of St. Mary of the Assumption (Mariä Himmelfahrt) is today the Roman Catholic parish church of St. Märgen and one of the most important Marian pilgrimage churches in the Archdiocese of Freiburg.
The history of the abbey has been researched in depth, especially by church historian Wolfgang Müller (1905–1983), the priest and art historian Manfred Hermann, the teacher and historian, Elisabeth Irtenkauf (born 1931 in Rottweil) and St. Märgen's sexton and local historian, Klaus Hog (born 1966 in Freiburg im Breisgau).
The abbey was destroyed five times by fire, the first time in 1284 or shortly before and the last time in 1907. It was rebuilt or restored five times.
In art history it has a special significance because one of the most important rococo woodcarvers in southern Germany, Matthias Faller, lived and worked here for a while.


Cozia Monastery, erected close to Călimănești by Mircea the Elder in 1388 and housing his tomb, is one of the most valuable monuments of national medieval art and architecture in Romania.


Between 1887 and 1889 the French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan discovered 576 rectangular stone sepulchers, along with cultural items made of clay, bronze and iron near Akhtala dating back to the 8th century BC. The settlement of modern Akhtala was known as Agarak in the 5th century. The fortress was almost certainly built on top of Bronze and Iron Age foundations. It was built in the late tenth century by the Kyurikids, this branch of the Bagratunis originated from Gurgen (the name was pronounced Kyurikeh in the local dialect of Gugark). He was the son of the patrons of Sanahin and Haghpat monasteries located not far from Akhtala, King Ashot III the Merciful and Queen Khosrovanush. Gurgen's brothers were King Smbat II the Conqueror and Gagik I Bagratuni, under whom the Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia reached the peak of its prosperity.
Ashot III established the Kingdom of Lori (Tashir-Dzoraget Kingdom) in Gugark for strategic reasons and enthroned Gurgen in 982. Gurgen along with his brother Smbat are depicted on the sculptures of the patrons in both Sanahin and Haghpat. When the Tashir-Dzoraget kingdom fell as a result of Seljuk raids the Kyurikids migrated to Tavush and Metsnaberd yet they maintained ties with their ancestral fortress and compound in Akhtala. The fortress was built on an elevated rocky outcrop surrounded by deep canyons from three sides forming a natural protection. The somewhat accessible parts between the cliffs are reinforced by towers and walls. The only entrance to the compound is on the northern side protected by bell-shaped towers and walls. The walls and towers of the fortress are built of bluish basalt and lime mortar. The Kyurikids gradually lost their influence under the Seljuk grasp by the end of the 12th century.
The monastic life was revived in Akhtala when the Zakarians heading the combined Georgian and Armenian forces liberated most of Armenia. The 13th-century historians Kirakos Gandzaketsi and Vardan Areveltsi called the area Pghndzahank (copper mine), because of rich copper deposits in the surroundings. Gandzaketsi writes the following: "Ivane, Zakare's brother, also died [that year] and was buried at Pghndzahank' near the church which he himself had built, taking it from the Armenians and making it into a Georgian monastery."

Pghndzahank became the property of Ivane Zakarian in the 1180s. While Ivane's brother Zakare was Armenian Apostolic, Ivane had accepted Georgian Orthodoxy in the Georgian court. Several monasteries in northern Armenia were converted by the Zakarians-Mkhargrdzeli to Georgian Orthodoxy, a prominent example is the monastery of Kobayr. By doing so Ivane enhanced his position within the Georgian court and gained influence among the Chalcedonian Armenians who mostly inhabited Northern and North-Western Armenia. The Zakarians began to lose control starting in the 1220s during the disastrous Mongol invasions of Georgia. The son of Ivane, Avag was forced to recognize his subordination to the Mongol leader Chormaqan. The Mongol rule continued until 1340 when it was interrupted by successive conquests of Turkic tribes. The Turkic tribe of Kara Koyunlu began attacking the Caucasus and took control of most of Armenia proper by 1400. Their rule was interrupted by the conquests of Tamerlane. One of the cliffs that surrounds Akhtala is known as Lenktemur, named after Tamerlane who according to local tradition buried one of his wives under the cliff.
Since the late 18th century the monastery serviced ethnic Greeks who had settled in Akhtala in order to work in the gold and silver mines. Roughly 800 Greek families were moved from Gümüşhane in the Ottoman Empire to Akhtala in 1763 by the Georgian King Erekle II. The Greeks called the monastery "Meramani". The Greek miners have left inscriptions on the monastery walls. In the 19th century Akhtala was taken over by the Armenian princely family of Melikovs. Currently the monastery has its pilgrimage days on September 20–21. Armenians, Greeks and Georgians visit the monastery on this occasion. The Ambassador of Greece, Panayota Mavromichali visited the monastery on September 20, 2006. An ore mining and processing plant in Akhtala has been dumping copper mine tailings in the pit below the monastery. This has been classified as a threat to local residents.


Akhtala (Armenian: Ախթալայի վանք), also known as Pghindzavank (Armenian: Պղնձավանք, meaning Coppermine Monastery) is a 10th-century Armenian Apostolic  monastery located in the town of Akhtala in the marz of Lori, 185 kilometers (115 mi) north of Yerevan and  87 kilometers south of Tbilisi . The monastery is currently inactive. The fortress played a major role in protecting the north-western regions of Armenia (Gugark) and is among the most well preserved of all in modern Armenia. The main church at the compound is famous for its highly artistic frescoes, which cover the inside walls, the partitions, and the bearings of the building. The modern name of Akhtala was first recorded in a royal decree of 1438. The etymology of the name Akhtala is believed to be of Turkic origin, meaning white glade. The original Armenian name of the settlement where the monastery is built is Pghindzahank, which means copper mine.


The friary sits on a rocky bluff that overlooks the confluence of the rivers Tinto and Odiel, known since ancient times as Saturn's Rock. On this spot, the Phoenicians built an altar dedicated to their god, Melqart, the patron of Tyre, also called the Baal (lord) of Tyre, a deity often identified with Hercules.  Later, the Romans chose this same place to venerate the goddess, Proserpina.
The Arabs raised a ribat,  a small monastery to train mounted monk-warriors like those of the Christian Orders. The ribat,  rábida (or rápita) in Spanish is derived from the Arabic word meaning "watchtower", and the ruins of several other Moorish towers of this kind along the Costa de la Luz still exist. In this environment, Muslim ascetics sought to become perfected spiritually so that they would be better able to defend this isolated coastal frontier of the Moorish empire in Iberia.
In the twelfth century, the site passed to the Knights Templar under the protection of Our Lady of Miracles. In the thirteenth century, it became a Franciscan friary.  Tradition holds that St. Francis of Assisi himself visited here, in the company of twelve disciples, to found a small and humble community. As with the Moors and the Templars before them, the Franciscan friars established this location, from the beginning, as a stronghold, a place for resisting the depredations of pirates who continually roamed the coast.  Pope Eugene IV granted indulgences to all who rendered aid to travelers seeking refuge at this site.  Many of the buildings to house and support the Conventual Franciscans, more properly known as the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, were constructed during the first part of the fifteenth century. The noble of the region, Don Juan Alfonso de Guzman El Bueno, the 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia (1410-1468), as well as local commoners, all collaborated in the construction projects.
The friary is best known in history for the visit of Christopher Columbus in 1490 during which the mariner consulted with the Franciscans, such as Horacio Crassocius, about his plans for organizing a voyage of discovery. Columbus then decided to take Crassocius with him as a servant called Juan.
After the War of Spanish Independence and the Confiscation of Mendizábal, a land reform scheme that seized unproductive church properties, the friary fell into ruins until, in 1855, a restoration was begun at the initiative of Prince Antoine of Bourbon-Orleans, Duke of Montpensier and the provincial delegation in the Spanish Cortes. In 1882, King Alfonso XII visited the friary and lent his support to a second round of rehabilitation and improvement with the purpose of commemorating the quadricentennial of the discovery of the Americas in 1892. The king engaged the architect, Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, whose subsequent contributions evinced a profound respect for the atmosphere and spirit of the original building.


In 1464, Jacobus Wiltingh, pastor of Garrelsweer and vicar in Loppersum, bequeathed Apell, a settlement among his possessions in the area called Westerwolde, to the Order of the Holy Cross on the condition that a monastery be built there, on the remains of a thirteenth-century Premonstratensian monastery. In May 1465, the General Chapter of the Holy Cross convened in Huy, on the Meuse, and accepted Apell as a gift from God. The monastery dedicated to Saint Gertrude of Nivelles in Bentlage, near Rheine, was to supervise the new monastery, and it sent four priests and several lay brothers to Apell, who founded the monastery and named it Novae Domus Lucis, the "House of New Light." Construction, between 1465 and 1561, followed the medieval plan of the mother in Bentlage, and included, besides the convent building, a gatehouse, water mills, a parchment facility, a bakery, a brewery, and a guesthouse.
The monastery was bequeathed a number of gifts, including a stained glass window in 1561 by Lieutenant Johan de Mepsche and his wife Agnes, depicting Moses and the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. It also derived income from other sources. The grounds surrounding the monastery were rich in loam, which was used in construction; in 1492, an agreement was signed with the adjoining municipality of Roswinkel for the digging of loam, on land leased by the monastery from the hamlet of Weerdinge.


The Horezu Monastery or Hurezi Monastery was founded in 1690 by Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu in the town of Horezu, Wallachia, Romania. It is considered to be a masterpiece of "Brâncovenesc style", known for its architectural purity and balance, the richness of its sculpted detail, its treatment of religious compositions, its votive portraits, and its painted decorative works.
The Brâncovenesc style, which can be found at several other churches and monasteries in Wallachia, is the only true and original Romanian style and is called "Brancoveanu art" by the name of the ruler who, in a period of constant battles between the world powers of that time, put cultural development of the country above everything and made it the goal of his life.
—
The monastery has been inscribed by UNESCO on its list of World Heritage Sites.


The monastery was founded by Sabbas the Sanctified in 483, on the eastern side of the Kidron Valley, where - according to the monastery's own website - the first seventy hermits gathered around the hermitage of St Sabbas. Later on, the laura relocated to the opposite, western side of the gorge, where the Church of Theoktistos was built in 486 and consecrated in 491. The constant growth of the community meant that soon after, in 502, the Church of the God-bearing Virgin Mary, in Greek Theotokos, was built to serve as the main church of the monastery. Saint Sabbas' Typikon, the set of rules applied at the Great Laura and recorded by the saint, eventually became the worldwide model of monastic life and liturgical order known as the Byzantine Rite.
Mar Saba was the home of St. John of Damascus (676–749; Arabic: يوحنا الدمشقي), a key religious figure in the Iconoclastic Controversy, who, around 726, wrote letters to the Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian refuting his edicts prohibiting the veneration of icons (images of Christ or other Christian religious figures). John worked as a high financial officer to the Muslim Caliph Abd al-Malik; he eventually felt a higher calling and migrated to the Judaean desert, where he was tonsured a monk and was ordained a hieromonk (monastic priest) at the Monastery of Mar Saba. St. John's tomb lies in a cave under the monastery.


The Monastery of Saint Naum (Macedonian: Манастир „Свети Наум“) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in North Macedonia, named after the medieval Bulgarian writer and enlightener Saint Naum who founded it. It is situated along Lake Ohrid, 29 kilometres (18 mi) south of the city of Ohrid.
The Lake Ohrid area, including St Naum, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in North Macedonia.


The first text about an abbey is the 9th-century Latin text Revelatio ecclesiae sancti Michaelis in monte Tumba written by a chanoine living at Mont-Saint-Michel or at the Cathédrale Saint-André d'Avranches. This text was written at a time of power struggle between Brittany and the County of Normandy against Francia as well as during canon law reforms by Roman emperors.
When Christianity expanded to the area, around the 4th century, Mont Tombe – the original name of Mont-Saint-Michel – was part of the Diocese of Avranches. By the middle of the 6th century, Christianity had a stronger presence in the bay. By this time, Mont Tombe was populated by religious devotees – hermits (probably some Celtic monks) supplied by the curé of Astériac, who took care of the site and led a contemplative life around some oratories, but there is no archeological evidence and no serious sources of that. It is said two hermits Saint Pair and Saint Scubilion dedicated one of the oratories to Saint Étienne, midway through the mont, and one to Saint Symphorien, at the foot of the rock.
In 710, Mont Tombe was renamed Mont-Saint-Michel au péril de la Mer ("Mount Saint Michael at the peril of the sea", "Mons Sancti Michaelis in periculo maris") after an oratory was erected to Saint Michael by bishop Saint Aubert of Avranches in 708. According to the legend, Aubert received, during his sleep, three times the order from Saint Michael to erect an oratory on the Mont Tombe. The archangel was reputed to have left his finger mark on Aubert's skull. This skull is displayed at the Saint-Gervais d'Avranches basilica with such a scar on it.
This sanctuary should be, according to the archangel, a replica of the Gargano Sanctuary in Italy (from the 5th century). Aubert had a local religious artifact removed and instead a circular sanctuary built, made of dry stones. Around 708, Aubert sent two monks to get some artifacts from the Italian sanctuary (a rock with his foot print and a piece of tissue from the altar). During this mission, the March 709 tsunami is supposed to have destroyed the Scissy forest and turned the Mont into an island. On October 16, 709, the bishop dedicated the church and put twelve chanoine there. The Mont-Saint-Michel was born.
The remains of the oratory were found in the chapel Notre-Dame-Sous-Terre. This sanctuary contained the tomb of Aubert and most likely the artifacts brought from Gargano. The chapel Notre-Dame-Sous-Terre is today under the nave of the abbey-church.
The first buildings became too small and under the Western Roman Empire multiple buildings were added. Charlemagne chose Saint Michel as a protector of his empire during the 9th century and tried to have the place renamed Mont-Saint-Michel, but during the Middle Ages it was usually called Saint-Michel-aux-Deux-Tombes (Saint Michel with two tombs, in reference to Tombelaine).


WikiWeb_Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon_2

Many archaeologists believe that Clement himself designed and constructed the church. Clement, along with Naum of Preslav would use the church as a basis for teaching the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets to Christianised Bulgarian Slavs, thus making it a university.
The church stands on a hill which is now known as Plaošnik overlooking Lake Ohrid. Clement built his church on a restored church and a Roman basilica of five parts (the remains of the basilicas can still be seen outside the church). Judging by the architectural style and design of the church, researchers say that Saint Clement intended for his building to be a literary school for disciples, thus it is believed to be the first and oldest discontinued university in Europe.
The exterior of the church contains a large number of finely detailed mosaics not far from a stone baptismal font used to baptise his disciples.


WikiWeb_Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon_0

The Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon (Macedonian: Црква Свети Климент и Пантелеjмон, romanized: Crkva Sveti Kliment i Pantelejmon; Greek: Άγιοι Κλήμης και Παντελεήμων, romanized: Agioi Klēmēs kai Panteleēmōn) is a Byzantine church situated on Plaošnik in Ohrid, North Macedonia. It is attributed to Saint Clement of Ohrid, a disciple of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius. Archaeologists have come to believe that the church is located on the site where the first students of the Glagolitic alphabet (used to translate the Bible into Old Church Slavonic) were taught into the First Bulgarian Empire.


The Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque was built in 1530 as the central object of the Beg's endowment, which also included a maktab and a madrasa (Islamic primary and secondary schools), a bezistan (vaulted marketplace), a hammam (public bathplace) etc. The foundation of this waqf by the contemporary Ottoman governor of Bosnia had a crucial point in the development of the town. The architect's name is unknown, but after some speculations, which even included famous Mimar Sinan as an option, most scholars agreed that Acem Esir Ali "Alaüddin", Ottoman mimar of Persian ancestry, is the most probable builder. It is still possible that Sinan himself did inspect the work on the spot, since he was in the region at the time. Historical documents testify that Ragusan masons, requested from their government by Gazi Husrev-beg, participated in the building process.
Gazi Husrev-bey Mosque was the first mosque in the world to receive electricity and electric illumination in 1898 during the period of Austro-Hungarian Empire.


Great Mosque of Banten (Indonesian Masjid Agung Banten) is a historic mosque in Old Banten, 10 km north of Serang, Indonesia. The 16th-century mosque was one of the few surviving remnants of what used to be the port city of Banten, the most prosperous trading center in the Indonesian archipelago after the fall of Demak Sultanate in mid-16th century.


The Great Mosque of Banten shows eclectic design, a proof of the international influence in Banten at the time of its construction in 1552. The mosque was constructed in Javanese style during the reign of Sultan Maulana Yusuf, the third Sultan of Banten Sultanate, in Dzulhijjah AH 966 (1566 CE).
A Javanese-styled pawestren (side hall, used for female's praying hall) was added during the reign of Maulana Muhammad (1580-1586). The southern serambi (porch) of the mosque was converted into a tomb containing about 15 graves.
In 1632, a 24-meter minaret was added to the mosque complex. The minaret was designed by a Chineseman Cek-ban-cut. Around similar period the Dutch-styled tiyamah was added to the mosque following the design of Hendrik Lucaasz Cardeel, a Dutchman who was converted to Islam.
The design elements of the Great Mosque of Banten have religious and cultural influences from Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Chinese and the Dutch. These cultures have imposed their values and styles on the architecture of the Great Mosque of Banten, but have also blended well with the Javanese culture of Indonesia. For example, there is a blend of Hindu and Javanese architectural elements that consist of Dutch brick construction. Cardeel incorporated early European Baroque architectural features in his design of the mosque, which can mainly be seen in the minaret, tiyamah building, and mosque wall. This has set the Great Mosque of Banten apart from other traditional mosques in Indonesia, as there is a medley of different cultures embedded in its architectural design and elements.


The mosque's architecture is inspired by Islamic architecture from various parts of middle east. Architect M. Ameenul Haque went on a trip to the middle east with the founder to research the architecture and design of some of the most beautiful mosques in the world. He adopted the domical style for Baitul Aman mosque.
The mosque complex stands on 14 acres. The mosque itself consists of 20 domes. The three lakes surrounding the mosque are situated so that they reflect the whole mosque from different angles. Gardens are placed around the lakes and the mosque. A number of calligraphies of Ayatul Kursi are found around the mosque and the inner part of dome of the mosque also has the Ayatul Kursi carved on it. The inner wall of the mosque has the Surat ar-Rahman written on it. The inner part of the mosque has a capacity of 1,400 people, while the outer has a capacity of 5,000 people. Several thousand people can pray in the Eidgah adjacent to the mosque at a time. The 58 meters high minaret of the mosque is the tallest in the country. A graveyard stands on the south-eastern part of the complex.


Rain, which over time has entered the mosque via holes in the roof, has caused the loss of some original paintings on the walls and has led to the detachment of some of the wall plaster. Stones of the façade have faced weathering.
Abdullah Gërguri worked on a series of repairs of the murals, particularly in the 1970s.
In early 2000 the cost to rehabilitate the building was estimated at about €500,000 by UNESCO.


The mosque covers roughly 14 m (46 ft) by 14 m (46 ft) and is square in shape. It has one large dome and another smaller half-dome that covers the mihrab, which is painted and has a stalactite hood. The mosque's walls are 1.65 m (5.4 ft) thick and its minaret, which is topped by a conical structure covered by lead, is 43.5 m (143 ft) in height.
The walls and dome inside Sinan Pasha Mosque were painted in the 19th century, mostly of floral patterns and Qur'an verses. The minbar is painted with floral motives. Both the large dome and the half-dome of the mosque are covered with lead. The stone flooring of the mosque and the carpentry are original.


The el-Jazzar Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الجزار, Masjid al-Jazzār; Hebrew: מסגד אל-ג'זאר, Misgad al-G'zar), also known as the White Mosque, is located on el-Jazzar Street inside the walls of the old city of Acre, overlooking the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and is named after the Ottoman Bosnian governor Ahmad Pasha el-Jazzar ("the Butcher").


The mosque is an excellent example of Ottoman architecture, which incorporated both Byzantine and Persian styles. Some of its fine features include the green dome and minaret, a green-domed sabil next to its steps (a kiosk, built by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, for dispensing chilled drinking water and beverages) and a large courtyard.
The mosque, that is dominating Acre's skyline, was originally named Masjid al-Anwar (the "Great Mosque of Lights") and is also known as the White Mosque because of its once silvery-white dome that glittered at a great distance. The dome is now painted green. The minaret has a winding staircase of 124 steps.
It is the largest mosque in Israel outside of Jerusalem.


The Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Fujairah (Arabic: مَسْجِد ٱلشَّيْخ زَايِد فِي ٱلْفُجَيْرَة, romanized: Masjid Ash-Shaykh Zāyid fil-Fujayrah), is the main mosque in the Emirate of Fujairah, and the second largest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after the mosque with the same name in Abu Dhabi.


Similar in appearance to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, this large white mosque is a landmark that is visible from many locations in the centre of the city. It can hold around 28,000 worshippers, and measures 39,000 m² (3.9 ha; 9.6 acres). It has 65 domes and six minarets, between 80 and 100 metres (260 and 330 feet) in height. The courtyard of the mosque, with fountains and gardens, can hold 14,000 people.


It has a blend of Jain and Muslim architecture, preserving the Islamic ethos, and is considered one of the finest mosques in Western India with its elegant interiors. The ornamentation of the surface areas of the mosque and tomb consists of symbols of motifs of the Sun, diamonds, pots and vines, and lotus insignia which were used in the earlier temples; the artists of the region who worked on these monuments had imbibed their craftsmanship from their forefathers and they were not sectarian in character as they worked on assignments given by Hindus, Muslims or Jains. This mosque had three oblong mural plaques, one at the top of the pulpit and the other two on the sides, with engravings of hymns from the Koran.
The building is two-storied, with both Islamic and Hindu styles of decoration. The plan is similar to that of the Sidi Saiyyed Mosque in Ahmedabad; it is rectangular with the entrance on the east side. There is a portico which has a large dome built over a podium. There are steps to the mosque from northern and southern directions. Tall octagonal minarets 30 metres (98 ft) in height are situated on both sides of the main carved entrance. A typical Gujarat style of architecture is seen in the form of oriel windows with distinctive carvings on the outer surface. The carved roof contains several domes, and the courtyard is large. There are seven mihrabs and the entrance gates are carved and fitted with fine stone jalis.
Multiple prayer halls are separated by almost 200 pillars. The main prayer hall has eleven domes, with the central dome, a double-storied structure, built on pillars in an arcade form. The ruler's prayer hall is separated from the main area by jalis. There is a double clerestory in one of the domes. Other interior features include an arcuate maqsurah screen, trabeate hypostyle lwan, double square side wings, zanana enclosure, and screened off northern mihrab.


Bada Gumbad was constructed in 1490 CE, and is believed to have the earliest constructed full dome of any building in Delhi. Its construction is generally attributed to Sikandar Lodhi. A mihrab (prayer niche) in the Friday mosque (Jama Masjid) of the Bara Gumbad gives the date of construction as 900 AH (Anno Hegirae) of the Islamic lunar calendar.
Including the bada gumbad  there are four monuments in the Lodhi Gardens; the other three being Tomb of Sikandar Lodhi, Shisha Gumbad and the tomb of Muhammad Shah (who belonged to the Sayyid dynasty). The Bada Gumbad is situated approximately 400 metres (1,300 ft) southwest of the tomb and 75 metres (246 ft) south of Shisha Gumbad. During the rule of Sikander Lodhi, the Bara Gumbad, the adjacent mosque and the "mehman khana" (guest house) were constructed. The Bara Gumbad is speculated to serve as a gateway to the Friday mosque. However owing to the constitutions date, placement and stylistic differences the theory of gateway is not supported. The purpose and significance of the Bara Gumbad is unknown and to date remains a mystery. The Friday mosque was constructed in 1494 CE. It was the first mosque to be built in a style that first appeared during the Lodhi Dynasty.
Some historians suggest that the Bara Gumbad was built by an unidentified noble in 1490 CE, before being appropriated by Sikander Lodhi in 1494 CE, to provide an entryway to his mosque.
Simon Digby argued, that the Bara Gumbad served as a gateway to a large walled enclosure, which included the Shisha Gumbad, identified by the same scholar as the tomb of Bahlul Lodi.
Initially, all the monuments were built independently, and were not in one confine. In the early twentieth century, a park was developed, bringing the four monuments in one confine. The park was inaugurated on 9 April 1936 by Lady Willingdon, the wife of Viceroy Lord Willingdon. The park was originally called the Lady Willingdon Park after her, but was renamed to Lodhi Gardens after independence of India in 1947.


In 1882,  Selim-Giray Tevkelev who in 1865 was appointed the Mufti of Orenburg turned to and obtained agreement from minister Count Tolstoy with the requirement for a mosque in St. Petersburg. In 1906, the Minister formed a special committee headed by Ahun Ataulla Bayazitov to collect 750,000 rubles within 10 years  for the construction of the mosque. They organised collections in towns and providences of Russia and received donations from many sponsors. In addition the committee input securities in total amount of 142,000 rubles and also stamps for  mosque's project. The biggest donor was Said Abdoul Ahad, Emir of Bochara, who undertook all expenses for the building.
The location of the mosque was symbolic, sited opposite the Peter and Paul Fortress, in the city centre. The permission to purchase the site was given by Emperor Nicholas II in Peterhof on 3 July 1907. That autumn, the committee approved the project by architect Nikolai Vasilyev, the engineer Stepan Krichinsky, and construction was overseen by academic Alexander von Hohen. The building facade was made by combining both oriental ornaments and turquoise blue mosaic.
On 3 February 1910, the foundation stone-laying ceremony was performed by Ahun Bayazitov, attended by government, religious and social figures. Among those who attended were Mohammed Alim Khan, the ambassadors of the Ottoman Empire, and of Persia, and Tevkelev, the leader of the Muslims party in the Duma.
The walls were made with grey granite and the dome and both minarets (tower) are covered with mosaic ceramics of sky-light-blue colour. These were created by Peter Vaulin in his workshop in Kikerino. Skilled craftsmen  from Central Asia took part working on the mosque. The facades are decorated with verses from the Qur'an using characteristic Arabic calligraphy. Internal columns are made from green marble. Women pray on the first floor, above the western part of the hall. The mosque was covered by huge specially made carpets woven by Central Asian craftsmen.
In 1940, Soviet authorities banned services and turned the building into a medical equipment storehouse. At the request of the first Indonesian President, Sukarno, ten days after his visit to the city, the mosque was returned to the Muslim religious community of St. Petersburg in 1956. A major restoration of the mosque was carried out in 1980.


The Jāmeh Mosque (Persian: مسجد جامع تبریز - Masjid-e-Jāmeh Tabrīz) is a large, congregational mosque (Jāmeh) in Tabrīz city, within the East Azerbaijan Province of Iran. It is located in the Bazaar suburb of Tabriz next to the Grand Bazaar of Tabriz and the Constitutional House of Tabriz.


Dzhumaya Mosque (Bulgarian: Джумая джамия) is located in Plovdiv, Plovdiv Province, Bulgaria. Its Turkish name is Hüdavendigâr Camii or Cuma Camii. The mosque is located in the centre of Plovdiv and was built in 1363–1364 on the site of the Sveta Petka Tarnovska Cathedral Church after the conquest of Plovdiv by the Ottoman army. During the reign of Sultan Murad I in the 15th century the old building was demolished and replaced by the modern-day mosque. It was called Ulu Dzhumaya Mosque, or Main Friday Mosque.
The mosque is large, with nine domes and a 33 m × 27 m (108 ft × 89 ft) prayer hall. There is a minaret at the northeast corner of the main façade. Interior wall paintings date to the late 18th to early 19th centuries.


The mosque was built during the reign of the Sultan of Bengal Alauddin Husain Shah, between 1493 and 1519. The fifteen domes of the mosque were once gilded, giving the mosque the name of Choto Shona Masjid (Small Golden Mosque). The mosque is one of the best-preserved sultana monuments under protection by the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Governments of Bangladesh. The gilding that gave the building its name does not exist anymore. The mosque premise, which covers an area of 42 m from east to west by 43.5 m from north to south, was originally surrounded by an outer wall (now restored) with a gateway in the middle of the east side.


The Hoher Kasten is a mountain in the Appenzell Alps, overlooking the Rhine in Eastern Switzerland. It is located on the border between the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and St. Gallen.
The summit is easily accessible with a cable car starting at Brülisau, south of Appenzell. A revolving restaurant, offering panoramic views, has been built on the top.
Ascents to Hoher Kasten and the neighouring summit Kamor were already described in the early 19th century.


Bourlémont is a hill located in Ronchamp, Haute-Saône, eastern France with an elevation of 474 m (1,555 ft) above sea level. It is located in the Ballons des Vosges Nature Park, and is an area of cultural tourism, given that the chapel of Notre Dame du Haut is located on it.


Bourlémont is located in Ronchamp, Haute-Saône, Franche-Comté, France. It  can be accessed from Chapel Street on the southeastern side of the summit and the Way of the Cross footpath which was created in 1890. The GR 59 and Dukes hiking trails pass along the eastern side of the hill.
The hill has an altitude of 474 m (1,555 ft), meaning that it is 121 m (397 ft) higher than the centre of Ronchamp (353 m (1,158 ft)), which is at the foot of the hill.
Bourlémont is mainly composed of red sandstone, but there is also a presence of argillite, quartzite and shale. The climate of the hill has continental and oceanic influences, and it experiences very low winter temperatures.


Great Gable is a mountain in the Lake District, United Kingdom. It is named after its appearance as a pyramid from Wasdale, though it is dome-shaped from most other directions. It is one of the most popular of the Lakeland fells, and there are many different routes to the summit. Great Gable is linked by the high pass of Windy Gap to its smaller sister hill, Green Gable, and by the lower pass of Beck Head to its western neighbour, Kirk Fell.


Vodno (Macedonian: Водно) is a mountain in North Macedonia. It is located in the northern part of the country, to the southwest of the capital city Skopje. The highest point of the mountain is at Krstovar peak, on 1066 meters and the submontane is on 337 meters (Middle Vodno is on 557 m). In 2002, on Krstovar peak the Millennium Cross was built, one of the biggest Christian Crosses in the world.


Animals:
Small animals: partridge, rabbit, fox, squirrel, marten, snake, birds of smaller type and insects.
Larger animals: boar, wolf, deer.


Mount Arapiles is a rock formation that rises about 140 metres (460 ft) above the Wimmera plains in western Victoria, Australia. It is located in Arapiles approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of the town  of Natimuk and is part of the Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park. Arapiles is a very popular destination for rock climbers due to the quantity and quality of climbs. It is one of the premier climbing sites in Australia along with the nearby Grampians. The Wotjobaluk name for the formation is Djurid.


Mount Arapiles is primarily composed of quartzite, a metamorphic rock that was originally quartzose conglomerate and sandstone (quartz arenite). That protolith was laid down in the earliest part of the Devonian period (approx 420 Ma), as part of a substantial fluvial system. Evidence for that deposition can be seen in the decimeter-meter scale cross stratification and lateral accretion surfaces visible in the cliffs, and the presence of many beds containing well rounded, pebble size clasts. The nearby Grampians/Gariwerd mountain range contains some more distal facies of the same depositonal system, which is evidenced by the lesser quantity of conglomerate and smaller average grain size.
Arapiles is preserved due to a granitic intrusion that was emplaced below the sandstone and conglomerate approx 400 Ma, or 20 million years after sedimentation. That intrusion advected heat from lower in the crust, facilitating pervasive quartz cementation of the detrital grains. The granite also contained some highly siliceous fluids that were driven off as the rock cooled. Those fluids probably also contributed to the cementation of the sediments. The process of direct heating due to magma transport is known as contact metamorphism.
Although the unmetamorphosed, but otherwise similar, sediments surrounding "the Mount" have eroded away, Arapiles has been preserved, because the total occulsion of pore space related to the cementation helps to limit erosion.
The rock has a distinct red/orange tinge that is due to trace amounts of iron oxide and various other impurities.


The Pars Museum (Persian: موزه پارس)  is a museum in  Shiraz,  Fars Province, southern Iran. Founded in 1936 under Reza Shah Pahlavi, it is located in Nazar Garden.
The octagonal building was the place in which royal guests were hosted during the Zand dynasty of Iran. It was also used for holding official ceremonies.
It is also the burial place of Karim Khan Zand.


In 1936 the pavilion became a museum. It was the first museum which was located outside the capital city of Tehran. The brick designs, tiling, pictures and big stone dadoes are among the architectural features of the building.
Pars museum is a display of almost 30 handwritten Qurans, a number of magnificent paintings of famous Persian artists. Among the paintings is the well-known Karim Khan’s Smoking Shisha created by Jafar Naqash.


WikiWeb_Stax Museum of American Soul Music_0

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music is a museum located in Memphis, Tennessee, at 926 East McLemore Avenue, the former location of Stax Records.  It is operated by the Soulsville Foundation, which also operates the adjacent Stax Music Academy and The Soulsville Charter School, all located on one campus in the heart of the neighborhood known as Soulsville U.S.A. The Soulsville Foundation announced in August 2022 that its new President and CEO would be Pat Mitchell Worley, former Stax Music Academy Executive Director and longtime cohost of the internationally syndicated blues radio show, Beale Street Caravan.


WikiWeb_Casa del Lago Juan José Arreola_3

It is located in the heart of the Woods of Chapultepec, where significant work in the diffusion of culture has been done in the last fifty years. It is an emblematic space of Mexico City, where the representatives of the country's cultural vanguard have gathered and which endorses the mission of promoting culture as essential in the integral formation of young university students and the large audience who visit it.
It has developed an intense program of activities including expositions, rock concerts and alternative music, conferences, courses and workshops, Festival of Poetry Out Loud and everything related to emerging and experimental arts.


WikiWeb_Casa del Lago Juan José Arreola_2

The construction of the building began in 1906, but it was inaugurated as the headquarters of the first Automobile Club in Mexico until April 30, 1908. In 1929, it was home to the Biological Studies Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Development (la Dirección de Estudios Biológicos de la Secretaría de Agricultura y Fomento). University autonomy definitely influenced the fate of Casa del Lago joining it to the National University and housing the new Institute for Biology, until 1959 when it moved to the new facilities created in Ciudad Universitaria (University City). On 10 May 1959 the enclosure opened its doors as a center for the promotion and dissemination of culture, but the official opening took place on September 15 of the same year.
By agreement of the rector Juan Ramón de la Fuente 31 January 2002 it was given the name of its founding director: Juan José Arreola, who turned it into the model of the national cultural centre with deep roots and prestige in Latin America, and where, over the past 50 years, representatives of the artistic vanguard of the country have gathered.
Since 1959, the University has undertaken, with extraordinary energy, the avant-garde, the experimentation and the renewal of many of the anachronistic criteria that had been adapted to culture. A new generation began at Casa del Lago when notorious figures such as José Luis Ibáñez, Leonora Carrington, Juan Soriano, Octavio Paz and even Juan José Arreola, who along with Miguel Gonzalez Avelar, to name a few, began to promote Poetry Out Loud, Chess Tournaments and the Philatelic Club.
Tomás Segovia, successor of Arreola, poet and essayist, created an extraordinary group of young writers, among whom Juan García Ponce, short story writer, novelist and playwright, stands out; thanks to his essays and notes about visual arts, he examined and promoted artists like: Vicente Rojo, Lilia Carrillo, José Luis Cuevas, Fernando García Ponce, Alberto Gironella and Manuel Felguerez; giving also a huge boost to the music of young artists through the program Nueva Música en México (New Music in Mexico), which got together people like Joaquín Gutiérrez Heras, Rocío Sanz and other leading artists and composers.
Other figures that embodied the spirit of Casa del Lago were: Juan Vicente Melo and Juan José Gurrola. Melo dermatologist and music critic replace Segovia and develop a remarkable task: Conference Cycles of literary authors and composers, small exhibitions of the mentioned artists and plays that renewed the scenic work and vanguard music concerts. Juan José Gurrola bright and bold, who began as an actor in Poetry Out Loud, always proposed avant-garde attitudes in his staging. It was an extraordinary period for Casa del Lago, awarded by the Association of Theatre and Music Critics for giving room to the artistic compositions of the twentieth century, positioning itself as one of the most renowned cultural centers in the capital of the country.
In 1982 the group called Los Estridentistas attracted public attention due to the confusion created by an exhibition about this literary group of the 20s. The exhibition at the time was the appropriate framework to exhibit the work of 80 sculptors as part of the meeting of sculptors, where they discussed issues related to sculpture and other disciplines.
Casa del Lago also gave shelter to the artists called "the rupture generation" when in 1989 they made an important exhibition in which works that once were rejected by commercial galleries were included. The Documentary Cinema Club gained special significance as a unique space of its kind in the capital.
The evening walks along the Bosque de Chapultepec (Woods of Chapultepec), with the collaboration of the Directorate of the Forest, since 1999 to date, has been a project that the university community and the population have received with great interest, since it has contributed to the rescue of the historical and artistic values of the largest urban park in Latin America.
Promotion of culture by nature, Casa del Lago has always been the ideal platform for experimentation in arts and to encourage the new generation of creators.


Vyborg Art Museum and Drawing School was built in 1929–1930 as the town was a part of Finland. The classicism and functionalism style building is located on the top of the 16th-century Panzerlachs Bastion, which was one of the fortifications of the Vyborg town wall. Like Alvar Aalto's famous Vyborg Library, it is another remarkable piece of Finnish-era modern architecture in Vyborg.
The Vyborg Art Museum and Drawing School were founded by the 1890 established Vyborg Art Society (Finnish: Viipurin taideyhdistys). The museum had a large collection of Finnish and European art as well as works of various Russian masters. Vyborg was the second largest city in Finland and the Vyborg Art Museum was considered as the country's second most significant art museum, next to Ateneum in Helsinki. It was severely damaged during World War II and the collections were relocated to several Finnish art museums. After the war was over, Vyborg became a part of Soviet Union and the building was renovated for administrative use.
The latest renovations took place in the early 2000s. A children's art school was opened in 2003 and the Hermitage-Vyborg Center project was launched in November 2007. The branch museum was finally opened in June 2010.


WikiWeb_Museum of Philippine Political History_0

The Museum of Philippine Political History (Filipino: Museo ng Kasaysayang Pampulitika ng Pilipinas) is a museum in Malolos, Philippines. It is located on Paseo del Congreso, Plaza Rizal, Malolos City, Bulacan. The museum, owned and operated by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), opened to the public in 2001 to foster awareness for the country's different government systems which defined its political history, enabling an understanding of current political developments and encouraging action to safeguard republican values. The building was initially built on 1580. It was restored in 1852 and was converted into a municipal library. After the Philippine–American War, the building served as the provincial capitol Bulacan until 1930.
The museum was then located at the grounds of NHCP building on Kalaw Avenue in Rizal Park, Ermita, City of Manila. On October 12, 2016, the museum was relocated in Casa Real Shrine, Malolos City.
The museum contains relics from the First Philippine Republic, memorabilia of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, relics from the wealthy families of Malolos, exhibits, a printing press of the Malolos Republic, and a display of the 21 Women of Malolos memorabilia.


Ruzhany began its life in the late 16th century as the site of Lew Sapieha's castle, the palace being completed in 1602. The Sapieha residence was destroyed in the course of the internecine strife in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania when it was attacked by Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki's forces in 1700.
Ruzhany Palace was rebuilt as a grand Neoclassical residence in the 1770s by Aleksander Michał Sapieha, employing the services of the architect Jan Samuel Becker of Saxony, who set the palace in an English park landscape. Aside from the palace, there was a theatre (1784–88), an orangery and several other outbuildings. Becker also designed the local church (rebuilt in the 1850s).
By the time of King Stanisław II's visit in 1784, work on the palace had been suspended. The Sapieha estates were nationalised in the aftermath of the November Uprising (1831). Three years later, the palace compound was sold to be used as a textile mill and weaving factory.
In 1914 the palace was accidentally set on fire by factory workers. The First World War and subsequent financial hardships prevented the building's restoration until 1930, however the partially restored palace became a ruin again within fifteen years, a casualty of the Second World War. The ornate palace gate survives and has recently been restored.


The building's name has changed over the years reflecting the official name of the Ministry which occupies it. It was originally occupied by the Ministerio de Fomento (Ministry of Public Works and Transport). For most of its life the building has been the seat of the Agriculture Ministry, and the words "Ministerio de Agricultura" are prominently displayed in a cartouche on the facade.
In 2008, the Agriculture Ministry merged with the Environment Ministry. The building houses civil servants belonging to the current Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente).


The Palace of Fomento (Spanish: Palacio de Fomento), also known as the Ministry of Agriculture Building, is a nineteenth-century office building in Madrid, Spain.  Designed by Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, and built between 1893 and 1897, it is on a prominent site opposite Atocha railway station.


The National Palace (Spanish: Palacio Nacional) is the seat of the federal executive in Mexico. Since 2018 it has also served as the official residence for the President of Mexico. It is located on Mexico City's main square, the Plaza de la Constitución (El Zócalo). This site has been a palace for the ruling class of Mexico since the Aztec Empire, and much of the current palace's building materials are from the original one that belonged to the 16th-century leader Moctezuma II.


The Potocki family, having sold its palace on the Galitskaya Square (now known as the Bessyatsky Palace), in 1822 bought real estate on Shiroky Street (now Kopernyka street). On plans of Lviv 18th - first half of the 19th century. This section shows the planned city and several small buildings.
The first palace was built in the style of classicism, designed by architect Ignatius Hambrez. It was a two-story rectangular building with a high roof. The facade was symmetrical with a central risalite, crowned with an attic and a balustrade. The first tier of the facade was rustic, the second tier of risalita was decorated with six pairs of ionic pilasters. The owners were Maria Sanguszko and her husband Alfred Potocki. The palace was dismantled in 1860–1861. However, the construction of the new residence was delayed for three decades. Construction began only in 1880.
The design of the new palace was created in the style of Baroque, the era of French King Louis XIV by the French architect Louis Alphonse Rene Dovernut (fr. Louis Dauvergne). The project was modified by architects Julian Cybulski and Ludwik Baldwin-Ramułt and implemented under their guidance. In 1892 the project was exhibited at a building exhibition in Lviv.


The presidential palace was a major feature of the plan for the newly established federal capital, Brasília. Oscar Niemeyer was chosen as the architect of the Palácio do Planalto and the building's construction, led by Construtora Rabello S.A., began on July 10, 1958. The Executive Office was temporarily headquartered at the Catetinho, on the outskirts of Brasília, during construction.
The palace was officially inaugurated on April 21, 1960, by President Juscelino Kubitschek. It was one of the first buildings inaugurated in the new capital city, along with the National Congress and the Supreme Federal Court. The inauguration ceremony was attended by several foreign leaders and attracted thousands of spectators, as it symbolized the transfer of the capital city from Rio de Janeiro to the center of the country.
The palace owes its name to the Brazilian Highlands (the term planalto meaning highland), specifically the Brazilian Central Plateau, where Brasília is located.