The Palace of Fontainebleau, located 55 kilometres from the centre of Paris, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The palace as it is today is the work of many French monarchs, building on an early 16th century structure of Francis I. The building is arranged around a series of courtyards. The city of Fontainebleau has grown up around the remainder of the Forest of Fontainebleau, a former royal hunting park.This forest is now home to many endangered species of Europe and many people are trying to keep the forest safe from hunters and loggers. The palace introduced to France the Italian Mannerist style in interior decoration and in gardens, and transformed them in the translation. The French Mannerist style of interior decoration of the 16th century is known as the “Fontainebleau style”: it combined sculpture, metalwork, painting, stucco and woodwork, and outdoors introduced the patterned garden parterre. The Fontainebleau style combined allegorical paintings in moulded plasterwork where the framing was treated as if it were leather or paper, slashed and rolled into scrolls and combined with arabesques and grotesques. Fontainebleau ideals of female beauty are Mannerist: a small neat head on a long neck, exaggeratedly long torso and limbs, small high breasts—almost a return to Late Gothic beauties. The new works at Fontainebleau were recorded in refined and detailed engravings that circulated among connoisseurs and artists. Through the engravings by the “School of Fontainebleau” this new style was transmitted to other northern European centres, Antwerp especially, and Germany, and eventually London. read more…
Egeskov Castle is located in the south of the island of Funen. The castle is Europe’s best preserved Renaissance water castle. Egeskov’s history dates to the 14th century. The castle structure was erected by Frands Brockenhuus in 1554. read more…
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d’Or département and of the Burgundy region. Dijon is the historical capital of the province of Burgundy. Population 155,000 within the city limits; 251,000 for the greater Dijon area. This province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th centuries and Dijon was a place of tremendous wealth and power and one of the great European centres of art, learning and science. The Duchy of Burgundy was a key in the transformation of medieval times toward early modern Europe. read more…
Stralsund is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern coast of the Strelasund (a sound of the Baltic Sea separating the island of Rügen from the mainland). Two bridges and several ferry services connect Stralsund with the ports of Rügen. The main industries of Stralsund are shipyards, fishing, and, to an increasing degree, tourism. read more…
Bilbao is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain. Bilbao lies within one of Spain’s largest metropolitan areas; the comarca of Greater Bilbao has an estimated population of 875,552, making it the fifth most populated conurbation in the country. Bilbao is situated in the north-central part of Spain, some 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south of the Bay of Biscay, where the estuary of Bilbao is formed. Its main urban core is surrounded by two small mountain ranges with an average elevation of 400 metres (1,300 ft). read more…
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany, well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City. Traffic-reducing measures are in place in a significant portion of Rothenburg. read more…
Venice is a city in northern Italy known both for tourism and for industry, and is the capital of the region Veneto, with a population of about 270,660 (census estimate 30 April 2009). Together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area (PATREVE) (population 1,600,000). read more…
Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour (partly), Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles, Saint-Denis, Saint-Symphorien, Spiennes, Villers-Saint-Ghislain, Casteau (partly), Masnuy-Saint-Jean (partly), and Ville-sur-Haine (partly). Together with the Czech city of Plzeň, Mons is selected to be the European capital of culture in 2015. read more…
Eisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany with 44,000 inhabitants. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Today automobile manufacturing is an important part of Eisenach economy. The German automaker Opel built an entirely new plant in the northwest of the town, after the Wartburg cars plant had ceased operations in 1989. Bosch has a plant in the town too. Eisenach was the place where Martin Luther lived as a child, although he was not born there, and later for his receiving protection by Frederick the Wise after having been pursued for his religious views. It was while he was staying at Wartburg Castle that he translated the New Testament into German. The town is famous as the birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach as well. The Social Democratic Party of Germany was founded in 1869 in Eisenach. read more…
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