The Schwerin Castle in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

6 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  5 minutes

City of Schwerin, Lake Schwerin and Schwerin Castle © Günther Pöpperl

City of Schwerin, Lake Schwerin and Schwerin Castle © Günther Pöpperl

Schwerin Castle is a castle located in the city of Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. For centuries it was the home of the dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg and later Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It currently serves as the seat of the state parliament.   read more…

The porcelain and wine city of Meissen

24 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Meissen seen from 'Juchhöh' in the nearby mountains 'Spaargebirge' © Olaf1541/cc-by-sa-3.0

Meissen seen from ‘Juchhöh’ in the nearby mountains ‘Spaargebirge’ © Olaf1541/cc-by-sa-3.0

Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony. The Grosse Kreisstadt is the capital of the Meissen district.   read more…

The Trade Fair City of Leipzig

20 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

New Town Hall © Appaloosa

New Town Hall © Appaloosa

Leipzig with more than 530,000 inhabitants, is one of the two largest cities (along with Dresden) in the federal state of Saxony. Leipzig is situated about 150 km south of Berlin at the confluence of the Weisse Elster, Pleiße and Parthe rivers at the southerly end of the North German Plain.   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…

The half-timbered and university town of Schmalkalden

12 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Timber-framed houses on Salzbrücke © TOMMES-WIKI

Timber-framed houses on Salzbrücke © TOMMES-WIKI

Schmalkalden is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwestern portion of Thuringia state in Germany. It is situated on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. The town has a population of 20,000.   read more…

The Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm (English Grounds of Wörlitz) in Saxony-Anhalt

27 October 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Wörlitz - Rock island Stein and Villa Hamilton © Matthias Seifert

Wörlitz – Rock island Stein and Villa Hamilton © Matthias Seifert

The DessauWörlitz Garden Realm, also known as the English Grounds of Wörlitz, is one of the first and largest English parks in Germany and continental Europe. It was created in the late 18th century under the regency of Duke Leopold III of Anhalt-Dessau (1740-1817), returning from a Grand Tour to Italy, the Netherlands, England, France and Switzerland he had undertaken together with his friend architect Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff. Both strongly influenced by the ideals of The Enlightenment, they aimed to overcome the formal garden concept of the Baroque era in favour of a naturalistic landscape as they had seen at Stourhead Gardens and Ermenonville. Today the cultural landscape of Dessau-Wörlitz encompasses an area of 142 km2 (55 sq mi) within the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.   read more…

The university and mining town of Freiberg

19 October 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Freiberg Cathedral and Museum © Unukorno

Freiberg Cathedral and Museum © Unukorno

Freiberg is a university and mining town in the Free State of Saxony. It is a so-called Große Kreisstadt (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district.   read more…

Tropical Islands Resort – Europe’s largest tropical holiday world!

15 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Bmalina

© Bmalina

Tropical Islands Resort is an artificial tropical resort in Briesen/Brand, part of Halbe in Dahme-Spreewald, Brandenburg, Germany, about 60 km (37 mi) south-southeast of Berlin. It is said to have the world’s largest tropical indoor pool which can accommodate up to 8,000 visitors a day. It is also the world’s largest indoor waterpark at 66,000 m² (710,000 sq feet).   read more…

The Hanseatic city of Salzwedel

26 June 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Houses on the Jeetze © Schiwago

Houses on the Jeetze © Schiwago

Salzwedel, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel, is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwedel is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. Salzwedel is situated at the Jeetze River in the northwestern part of the Altmark. It is located between Hamburg and Magdeburg. The delicacies of the town are Baumkuchen, Salzwedeler (Altmärker) Wedding-Soup and Tiegelbraten (mutton).   read more…

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