The Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford

2 February 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  8 minutes

Bodleian Library - Redcliff Camara at night © chensiyuan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Bodleian Library – Redcliff Camara at night © chensiyuan/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library. Known to Oxford scholars as “Bodley” or simply “the Bod”, under the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 it is one of six legal deposit libraries for works published in the United Kingdom and under Irish Law it is entitled to request a copy of each book published in the Republic of Ireland. Though University members may borrow some books from dependent libraries (such as the Radcliffe Science Library), the Bodleian operates principally as a reference library and in general documents may not be removed from the reading rooms.   read more…

The museum ship USS Constitution

1 February 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Museums, Exhibitions, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  9 minutes

USS Constitution sails into Boston Harbor during an underway Battle of Midway commemoration © U.S. Navy - Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kathryn E. Macdonald

USS Constitution sails into Boston Harbor during an underway Battle of Midway commemoration
© U.S. Navy – Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kathryn E. Macdonald

USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world’s oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat. Launched in 1797, Constitution was one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. Joshua Humphreys designed the frigates to be the young Navy’s capital ships, and so Constitution and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. Built in Boston, Massachusetts, at Edmund Hartt‘s shipyard, her first duties with the newly formed United States Navy were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War.   read more…

The Munich Residenz

30 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  7 minutes

Munich Residenz © Gryffindor

Munich Residenz © Gryffindor

The Munich Residenz is the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs in the center of the city of Munich. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors for its architecture and room decorations, and displays from the former royal collections.   read more…

The Trinity College Library in Dublin

16 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  5 minutes

Long Room © flickr.com - Nic McPhee/cc-by-sa-2.0

Long Room © flickr.com – Nic McPhee/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Trinity College Library, located at Trinity College, Dublin, is the largest library in Ireland. As a “copyright library”, it has legal deposit rights for material published in the Republic of Ireland; it is also the only Irish library to hold such rights for the United Kingdom.   read more…

Theme Week New Zealand – Napier, the Art Deco Capital of the World

28 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  6 minutes

ASB Bank and T & G building © Pseudopanax

ASB Bank and T & G building © Pseudopanax

Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke’s Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about 58,800 as of the June 2011 estimate. About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighbouring cities are often called “The Twin Cities” or “The Bay Cities” of New Zealand. The total population of the metropolitan area of Napier and Hastings is about 122,600 people, which makes Napier-Hastings the fifth-largest metropolitan area in New Zealand, closely followed by Tauranga (pop. 116,000), and Dunedin (pop. 115,000), and trailing Hamilton (pop. 203,400).   read more…

Theme Week Dresden – The Zwinger

17 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  5 minutes

Dresdner Zwinger © der-dresdner-zwinger.de

Dresdner Zwinger © der-dresdner-zwinger.de

The Zwinger (Der Dresdner Zwinger) is a palace in Dresden built in Rococo style and designed by court architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann. It served as the orangery, exhibition gallery and festival arena of the Dresden Court. The location was formerly part of the Dresden fortress of which the outer wall is conserved. The name derives from the German word Zwinger (outer ward of a concentric castle); it was for the cannons that were placed between the outer wall and the major wall. The Zwinger was not enclosed until the Neoclassical building by Gottfried Semper called the Semper Gallery was built on its northern side.   read more…

Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens in Virginia

3 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  9 minutes

Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens seen from the Potomac river © flickr.com - Personnel of the NOAA Ship THOMAS JEFFERSON

Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens seen from the Potomac river © flickr.com – Personnel of the NOAA Ship THOMAS JEFFERSON

Mount Vernon, located near Alexandria, Fairfax County, Virginia, was the plantation home of the first President of the United States, George Washington (* February 22, 1732 on Pope’s Creek Estate near present-day Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County, Virginia. ; † December 14, 1799 on Mount Vernon Estate). The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style, and the estate is located on the banks of the Potomac River. The property consists of 500 acres (2.0 km2), with the main buildings, including the house, located near the riverfront. Mount Vernon was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is owned and maintained in trust by The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association and is open every day of the year.   read more…

The Way of St. James

22 August 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union, Bon voyage, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  12 minutes

Ways of St. James in Western Europe © Manfred Zentgraf/CC-BY-SA

Ways of St. James in Western Europe © Manfred Zentgraf/CC-BY-SA

The Way of St. James or St. James’ Way (Spanish: El Camino de Santiago) is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried. The Way of St. James has existed for over a thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times, together with Rome and Jerusalem, and a pilgrimage route on which a plenary indulgence could be earned; other major pilgrimage routes include the Via Francigena to Rome and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.   read more…

The Santa Fe National Historic Trail

7 July 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Map of Santa Fe Trail © US National Park Service

Map of Santa Fe Trail © US National Park Service

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880. At first an international trade route between the United States and Mexico, it was the 1846 U.S. invasion route of New Mexico during the Mexican-American War.   read more…

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