The Château d’If is a fortress (later a prison) located on the island of If, the smallest island in the Frioul Archipelago situated in the Mediterranean Sea about a mile offshore in the Bay of Marseille in southeastern France. Île d’If measures 3 hectares (0.03 km2) and is located 3.5 kilometers west of the Vieux Port in Marseille. The entire island is heavily fortified; high ramparts with gun platforms surmount the cliffs that rise steeply from the surrounding ocean. Apart from the fortress, or château as it is ironically called, the island is uninhabited. read more…
The island Herreninsel, with an area of 238 hectares, is the biggest of the three main islands of the Chiemsee, a lake in Upper Bavaria. Together with the islands of Fraueninsel and Krautinsel it forms the municipality of Chiemsee. read more…
The Taj Mahal (“crown of palaces”, also “the Taj”) is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”. read more…
The Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées, commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a large historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located between the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and River Seine on Avenue Winston Churchill in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Construction of the Grand Palais began in 1897 following the demolition of the Palais de l’Industrie (Palace of Industry) as part of the preparation works for the Universal Exposition of 1900, which also included the creation of the adjacent Petit Palais and Pont Alexandre III. read more…
Brunswick Palace (German: Braunschweiger Schloss or Braunschweiger Residenzschloss) on the Bohlweg in the centre of the city of Brunswick (German: Braunschweig), was the residence of the Brunswick dukes from 1753 to 8 November 1918. read more…
Hohenzollern Castle is a castle about 50 kilometers (31 mi) south of Stuttgart. It is considered the ancestral seat of the Hohenzollern family, which emerged in the Middle Ages and eventually became German Emperors. The castle is located on top of Mount Hohenzollern at an elevation of 855 meters (2,805 ft) above sea level, 234 m (768 ft) above surrounding Hechinge and nearby Bisingen to the south, both located at the foothills of the Swabian Alps. It was first constructed in the first part of the 11th century. read more…
The Islands are a group of fourteen small islands in the Croatian part of the northern Adriatic Sea, separated from the west coast of the Istrian peninsula by the narrow Fažana Strait. The largest island, Veliki Brijun Island (also known as Brioni Grande or Veli Brijun), (5.6 km2), lies 2 km off the coast. Famous for their scenic beauty, the islands are a holiday resort and a Croatian National Park. read more…
The Villa Hügel is a mansion in Bredeney (part of the modern city of Essen) in Germany. It belonged to the Krupp family of industrialists and was built by Alfred Krupp in 1873 as a residence. More recently, the Villa Hügel has housed the offices of the Kulturstiftung Ruhr (Ruhr Cultural Foundation) as well as an art gallery and the historical archive of the Krupp family and company. read more…