Italy - Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol - Bolzano

Santa Maddalena near Bolzano (Bozen), the capital city of South Tyrol (Südtirol - Alto Adige) in Northern Italy, with the Renon Mountain cable car.

Sent by Chiara from Bolzano, Italy.

Bolzano (German: Bozen; Ladin: Balsan or Bulsan) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The greater metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants and is one of the urban centres within the Alps.

Bolzano is the seat of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, where lectures and seminars are held in English, German, and Italian. The city is also home to the Italian Army's Alpini High Command (COMALP) and some of its combat and support units. In the 2020 version of the annual ranking of quality of life in Italian cities, Bolzano was ranked jointly first for quality of life alongside Bologna.

Along with other Alpine towns in South Tyrol, Bolzano engages in the Alpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention. The Convention aims to promote and achieve sustainable development in the Alpine Arc. Consequently, Bolzano was awarded the 2009 Alpine Town of the Year. Bolzano is considered a bridge between Northern Europe and Southern Europe due to the three spoken languages in South Tyrol (Italian, German, and Ladin) and the confluence of the Italian and German-Austrian cultures (read more).

USA - Arizona - Saguaro Cactus

ARIZONA

The saguaro cactus, found in the deserts of Arizona can weigh approximately 100 pounds per foot. This cactus weighed 10,000 pounds.

Sent by Dariusz from Phoenix in Arizona, USA.

The saguaro (/səˈ(ɡ)wɑːroʊ/ sə-(G)WAR-oh, Spanish: [saˈɣwaɾo]; Carnegiea gigantea) is a tree-like cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea that can grow to be over 12 meters (40 feet) tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountains and Imperial County areas of California. Saguaro typically grow at elevations ranging from sea level to 4,500', although they may be found at up to 5,000'. The saguaro blossom is the state wildflower of Arizona. Its scientific name is given in honor of Andrew Carnegie. In 1933, Saguaro National Park, near Tucson, Arizona, was designated to help protect this species and its habitat.

Saguaros have a relatively long lifespan, often exceeding 150 years. They may grow their first side arm around 75–100 years of age, but some never grow any arms. Arms are developed to increase the plant's reproductive capacity, as more apices lead to more flowers and fruit. A saguaro can absorb and store considerable amounts of rainwater, visibly expanding in the process, while slowly using the stored water as needed. This characteristic enables the saguaro to survive during periods of drought. It is a keystone species, and provides food and habitat to a large number of species.

Saguaros have been a source of food and shelter for humans for thousands of years. Their sweet red fleshed fruits are turned into syrup by native peoples, such as the Tohono Oʼodham and Pima. Their ribs are used as building materials in the wood-poor deserts. The saguaro cactus is a common image in Mexican and Arizonan culture, and American Southwest films (read more).

USA - Maine - Portland Head Light

Portland Head Light, is a historic lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Completed in 1791, it is the oldest lighthouse in the State of Maine.

Sent by Char from Maine, USA.

Portland Head Light is a historic lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The light station sits on a headland at the entrance of the primary shipping channel into Portland Harbor, which is within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. Completed in 1791, it is the oldest lighthouse in Maine. The light station is automated, and the tower, beacon, and foghorn are maintained by the United States Coast Guard, while the former lighthouse keeper's house is a maritime museum within Fort Williams Park.

Construction began in 1787 at the directive of George Washington and was completed on January 10, 1791, using a fund of $1,500, established by him. Whale oil lamps were originally used for illumination. In 1855, following the formation of the Lighthouse Board, a fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed; that lens was replaced by a second-order Fresnel lens, which was replaced later by an aerobeacon in 1958. That lens was replaced with a DCB-224 aerobeacon in 1991. The DCB-224 aerobeacon is still in use.

In 1787, while Maine was still part of the state of Massachusetts, George Washington engaged two masons from the town of Falmouth (modern-day Portland), Jonathan Bryant and John Nichols, and instructed them to take charge of the construction of a lighthouse on Portland Head. Washington reminded them that the early government was poor, and said that the materials used to build the lighthouse should be taken from the fields and shores, materials which could be handled nicely when hauled by oxen on a drag. The original plans called for the tower to be 58 feet tall. When the masons completed this task, they climbed to the top of the tower and realized that it would not be visible beyond the headlands to the south, so it was raised another 20 feet (read more).

Malaysia - Perak - Sultan Azlan Shah Gallery

Sultan Azlan Shah Gallery.

Kuala Kangsar, Perak.

Sent by myself during my visit to Kuala Kangsar.

The Sultan Azlan Shah Gallery (Malay: Galeri Sultan Azlan Shah) is a gallery in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia.

The gallery building was originally built in 1898 and completed in 1903 to be used as the residence of Perak Sultan Idris Shah I. The creation of the gallery came from the idea of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah. The Perak State Government approved the construction of the gallery on 13 June 2001. The construction of the gallery commenced on 30 November 2001 and completed on 15 April 2003. The gallery was officially opened on 9 December 2003.

The gallery is housed at the Ulu Palace building. The building was made from wood carving inspired by the natural plants within the surrounding region. Rock carving was made by craftsmen according to the consent of Sultan Idris Shah I. The architecture design of the building has common features from the National Palace, Ipoh High Court and Ipoh railway station buildings with Moorish, Neoclassical and Renaissance architecture (read more).

France - Île-de-France - Palace and Park of Versailles

VERSAILLES

Château de Versailles (Palace of Versailles), specifically highlighting Grille d'honneur (Gate of Honour).

Sent by Eric from Centre-Val de Loire, France.

Located in the Île-de-France region, south-west of Paris, privileged place both of residence and the exercise of power of the French monarchy from Louis XIV to Louis XVI, the Palace and Park of Versailles, built and embellished by several generations of architects, sculptors, painters, ornamentalists and landscape artists, represented for Europe for more than a century, the perfect model of a royal residence. The architectural planning and the majestic composition of the landscape form a close symbiosis, serving as a setting for the magnificence of the interior decorations of the apartments.

The inscribed property includes the zone enclosing the prestigious ensemble of the Palace, the Trianon châteaux and their gardens, as well as a narrow band of land offering the perspective from the extremity of the Grand Canal. It is the result of a century and a half of work commanded by the kings of France and entrusted to its greatest artists.

The strongest imprint has been left by Louis XIV, who started by enlarging the small brick and stone château built by his father, Louis XIII, in 1624. A first addition occurred after 1661 under the direction of Le Vau, in a still strongly italianite style. After 1678, Versailles was once again considerably enlarged and radically modified by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, who successfully introduced a sober, colossal, homogenous and majestic architecture, now inseparable from the memory of the Sun King. The famous Galerie des Glaces, between the Salon de la Guerre and that of the Paix, is the masterpiece of the Neo-classical and typically French style, called Louis XIV. The Orangerie and the Grand Trianon are also the work of Mansart, who was assisted by Robert de Cotte in the construction of the Royal Chapel (read more).

USA - California - Old Sacramento Historic Park

OLD SACRAMENTO

Day or night, visit Old Sacramento to relive the excitement of the Gold Rush era. Over 100 buildings have been restored to their original state.

Sent by Julia from Anaheim in California, USA.

Old Sacramento State Historic Park is a cluster of noteworthy, early Gold Rush commercial structures. Historic buildings include the 1849 Eagle Theater; the 1853 B. F. Hastings Building, once home to the California Supreme Court; and the 1855 Big Four Building. Old Sacramento’s historical significance comes from it being the western terminus of the Pony Express postal system, the first transcontinental railroad, and the transcontinental telegraph. Old Sacramento is a California Historical Landmark. The National Park Service named the entire original historic 1850s business district of Old Sacramento a National Historic Landmark in 1965. With over 50 historic buildings, Old Sacramento has more buildings of historic value in its 296 acres than any area of similar size in the West (read more).

France - Normandy - Le Havre, the City Rebuilt by Auguste Perret

Various landmarks and scenes from Le Havre, France, which is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Samra from Normandy, France.

Located on the English Channel in Normandy, the city of Le Havre was severely bombed during the Second World War. The destroyed area was rebuilt between 1945 and 1964 according to the plan of a team of architects and town planners headed by Auguste Perret. The site forms the administrative, commercial and cultural centre of Le Havre. Among the many reconstructed cities, Le Havre is exceptional for its unity and integrity, associating a reflection of the earlier pattern of the city and its extant historic structures with the new ideas of town planning and construction technology. It is an outstanding post-war example of urban planning and architecture, based on the unity of methodology and the use of prefabrication, the systematic utilization of a modular grid and the innovative exploitation of the potential of concrete.

The inscribed property, an urban area of 133 ha, represents a homogenous architectural and urban ensemble. It comprises large areas (principal axes, squares, buildings and significant groups of buildings of the École du Classicisme Structurel), but also the ordinary residential fabric (streets, passages, inner city blocks) created from 1945 to 1964 within the reconstruction framework. It integrates the île Saint-François (rebuilt at the same time by regional architects, not part of the Perret team), fragments of ancient urban fabric and isolated buildings spared from destruction (around which the grid of the city is reconstructed) and buildings constructed after 1964, the presence of which appears indissociable to the rebuilt fabric (notably the Maison de la Culture, the Résidence de France, the extension of the Town Hall) (read more).

USA - Utah - Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

From the high vantage point of the Snowbird tram, Salt Lake City shines at night among its mountain borders, which are created by the Wasatch Mountains in the eastern foreground and the Oquirrh Mountains on the western horizon.

Sent by Liv from Salt Lake City, USA.

Salt Lake City (Navajo: Sooléí), often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The population was 199,723 at the 2020 census, while the Salt Lake City metropolitan area has an estimated 1.3 million residents, the 46th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. It is also part of the larger Salt Lake City–Ogden–Provo combined statistical area, an urban corridor along a 120-mile (190 km) segment of the Wasatch Front with a population of approximately 2.8 million. It is the principal urban center within the Great Basin, along with Reno, Nevada.

Salt Lake City was founded in 1847 by settlers led by Brigham Young who were seeking to escape persecution they had experienced while living farther east. The Mormon pioneers, as they would come to be known, entered a semi-arid valley and immediately began building an extensive irrigation network that could feed the population and foster future growth. Salt Lake City's street grid system is based on a standard compass grid plan, with the southeast corner of Temple Square serving as the origin of the Salt Lake meridian. Owing to its proximity to the Great Salt Lake, the city was originally named Great Salt Lake City; the word "Great" was dropped from the city's name in 1868. Immigration of international members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), mining booms, and the construction of the first transcontinental railroad brought economic growth, and the city was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the West". It was traversed by the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway, in 1913. Two major cross-country freeways, I-15 and I-80, now intersect in the city. The city also has a belt route, I-215.

Salt Lake City has developed a strong tourist industry based primarily on skiing, outdoor recreation, and religious tourism. It hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics and will host the 2034 Winter Olympics. It is known for its politically liberal culture, which stands in contrast with most of the rest of the state's highly conservative leanings. It is home to a significant LGBT community and hosts the annual Utah Pride Festival. It is the industrial banking center of the United States. Salt Lake City and the surrounding area are also the location of several institutions of higher education including the state's flagship research school, the University of Utah (read more).

USA - Utah - Salt Lake Temple

The SALT LAKE TEMPLE on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Sent by unoriginalusername08 from Salt Lake City in Utah, USA.

The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At 253,015 square feet (23,505.9 m²), it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth temple completed by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846. The temple was closed in December 2019 for a general remodelling and seismic renovations, which were initially estimated to take approximately four years. Subsequent updates extended the estimated completion to 2026, for a total renovation timeline lasting an anticipated six or seven years.

The Salt Lake Temple is the centerpiece of the 10-acre (4.0 ha) Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. Like other Latter-day Saint temples, the church and its members consider it sacred and a temple recommend is required to enter, so there are no public tours inside the temple as there are for other adjacent buildings on Temple Square. In 1912, the first public photographs of the interior were published in the book The House of the Lord, by James E. Talmage. Since then, various photographs have been published, including by Life magazine in 1938. The temple grounds are open to the public and are a popular tourist attraction.^[9] Due to its location at church headquarters and its historical significance, Latter-day Saints from around the world patronize the temple (read more).

Germany - Middle Rhein Valley (Mittelrhein)

Various scenic locations in Middle Rhein Valley (Mittelrhein) in Germany. 

Sent by Katrin from Potsdam in Brandenburg, Germany.

Middle Rhine (German: Mittelrhein, pronounced [ˈmɪtl̩ˌʁaɪn]; kilometres 529 to 660 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn in Germany. It flows through the Rhine Gorge (Oberes Mittelrheintal), a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at about its original level, and the surrounding lands raised. This gorge is quite deep, about 130 metres (430 ft) from the top of the rocks down to the average water-line.

The Middle Rhine is one of four sections of the Rhine between Lake Constance and the North Sea (the others being the High Rhine, Upper Rhine and Lower Rhine). The upper half of the Middle Rhine (Rhine Gorge) from Bingen (Rhine-kilometer 526) to Koblenz (Rhine-kilometer 593) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a striking cultural landscape with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the Middle Ages, unique terraced vineyards, and many wine villages. The lower half, from Koblenz (Rhine-kilometer 593) to Bonn (Rhine-kilometer 655), is famous for the formerly volcanic Siebengebirge, with the Drachenfels volcano. Both parts together are known as "the romantic Rhine" (read more).

Germany - Saxony - Königstein Fortress

Königstein Fortress in Saxon Switzerland (Sächsische Schweiz), Germany.

Sent by Sophia from Bitterfeld-Wolfen in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

Königstein Fortress (German: Festung Königstein), the "Saxon Bastille", is a hilltop fortress near Dresden, in Saxon Switzerland, Germany, above the town of Königstein on the left bank of the River Elbe. It is one of the largest hilltop fortifications in Europe and sits atop the table hill of the same name.

The 9.5-hectare (23-acre) rock plateau rises 240 metres (790 ft) above the Elbe and has over 50 buildings, some over 400 years old, that bear witness to the military and civilian life in the fortress. The rampart run of the fortress is 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) long with walls up to 42 metres (138 ft) high and steep sandstone faces. In the centre of the site is a 152.5-metre-deep (500 ft 4 in) well, which is the deepest in Saxony and second-deepest well in Europe.

The fortress, which for centuries was used as a state prison, is still intact and is now one of Saxony's foremost tourist attractions, with 700,000 visitors per year (read more).

Czechia - Kutná Hora: Historical Town Centre with the Church of St Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec

Kutná Hora

Originally a mining settlement, it was founded in the 13th century during the reign of Wenceslas II. The name Mons Kuthna first appeared in 1289. In 1300, Wenceslas II issued a new mining law and Prague groschen began to be minted in Kutná Hora. In 1318, Kutná Hora was promoted to a city. From the 1380s, the yield from the mines declined, and during theHussite Wars, the city was burned down twice. In 1471, Vladislav II Jagiellon was elected King of Bohemia and silver mining increased again thanks to new technologies. After 1530, production began to decline again and in 1727, the mine was closed.

Sent by Vlad'ka from Neratovice in Czechia.

The historic town centre of Kutná Hora with the Church of St Barbara and the Church of Our Lady at Sedlec are located in Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Kutná Hora has developed as a result of the discovery and exploitation of the rich veins of silver ore since the end of the 13th century. In the 14th century, it became a royal city endowed with buildings that symbolized its enormous prosperity. The Church of St Barbara and the former Cistercian monastery church of Our Lady and St. John the Baptist in Sedlec, located at a distance of approximately 1.5 km to the north-east of the historic centre, were to influence considerably the architecture of Central Europe. Today, these masterpieces, representing cathedral architecture, form the dominants of a well-preserved medieval town-planning structure filled with Gothic and Baroque urban fabric.

The most striking of Kutná Hora is the church of Saint Barbara, the Gothic jewel whose interior is decorated with frescoes depicting the secular life of the medieval mining town of Kutná Hora. This piece of art had a major influence on the architecture of central Europe. The former Cistercian cathedral, Our Lady of Sedlec, which is at a distance of 1.5 km northeast of the historic centre, was restored in the Baroque style in the early 18th century by Jan Blazej Santini. For the first time, he used his conception of the Baroque Gothic style which strongly influenced the history of architecture.

The oldest neighbourhoods Vlassky dvur (Italian courtyard which includes the southeast tower) are dating back to the early 14th century. The royal chapel is Gothic and boasts a remarkable interior design. Attached to the Italian court, we find the church of St Jacob from the 14th century whose furniture date back mostly to the end of the Gothic period. The Hradek (little castle) is an interesting example of Gothic palazzetto of Central Europe which has kept both inside and outside in its original condition (read more).

Taiwan - Jiufen - Shuqi Road

Shuqi Road, Jiufen.

Night time in Jiufen is nothing like the day; the atmosphere is mysterious and silent.

Sent by Peini from Taipei, Taiwan.

Feel spirited away in this decommissioned gold mining mountain town, originally built by the Japanese and now a maze of lanes and alleyways with rich history and culture.

Founded during the Qing Dynasty, this small town was a relatively isolated village until the discovery of gold during the Japanese occupation in 1893, quickly developing the town due to a gold rush. Many buildings in the town remain unchanged to this day, reflecting the Japanese influence on both architecture and culture on the island. During World War II, the town housed a Japanese prisoner of war camp where captured Allied Force soldiers (mainly British) were forced to work in the gold mines. After the war, gold mining activities declined, and the town today exists mainly as a tourist destination remembering and celebrating Taiwanese history and culture.

A convenient way to visit Jiufen (as well as Shifen in Pingxi 平溪) is to take a shuttle bus from Ximen, leaving in the morning and returning before dinner.

From the beginning of the 1990s, Jiufen experienced a tourist boom that has shaped the town into an attraction easily accessible from Taipei City as a nice day trip (around 2 hours away roundtrip by public transit). Today, the town is filled with both retro Chinese and Japanese style cafés, tea houses, and souvenir shops, as well as fantastic views of the ocean (read more).

Lithuania - "Archer" (Golden Boy)

"Archer". Sculptor Stanilovas Kuzma. 1986.

Sent by TOMA from Šiauliai in Lithuania

The extraordinary 750th anniversary of the city's existence in 1986 motivated the proper acknowledgment of the significance of this date. The competition for the reconstruction of the square was announced in 1981, and it was won by a trio of architects from Šiauliai:

A. Èerniauskas, R. Jurëla and A. Vyšniûnas. The centrepiece of Sundial Square is the gilded and bronze-ornamented decorative sculpture Šaulys (Archer) by Stanislovas Kuzma. It is almost four metres high. The sculpture, often referred to as the Golden Boy, and the numbers 12, 3 and 6, indicating the hours and infused into the pavement of the square in a way unify the three symbols of Šiauliai: the sun, representing the Battle of the Sun that took place on the city grounds, the archer that the city's name derives from, and the time that has passed since the name of the city was mentioned for the first time (in 1236). It is the highest sundial in Lithuania (read more).