Die Stadt Wyborg in der historischen Region Karelien
7 June 2012 | Author/Destination: Russia / Russland | Rubric: General Reading Time: 5 minutes Vyborg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, 130 kilometers (81 mi) to the northwest of St. Petersburg and 38 kilometers (24 mi) south from Russia’s border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland. Population: 80,000. The Hanseatic city lies in the boundary zone between the East Slavic/Russian and Finnish/Scandinavian worlds and has changed hands several times in history, most recently in 1944 when it was taken by the Soviet Union from Finland during World War II. read more…The European Federation of Napoleonic Cities
6 June 2012 | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time: 4 minutes “This heritage deserves to be better known, highlighted, shared and visited”. Those observations led us to create a Federation for European cities of Napoleonic history. If we look into the great man’s deeds, the French Revolution, the French Age of Enlightenment, the ideals of ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ are values which bind us together. Rehabilitating historical sites, encouraging historical research, promoting our museums and our culture through live events, opening up to our country and European citizens is a bit like travelling through the complex, contradictory and sometimes opposing tracks whereby those ideals established themselves in Europe. read more…Theme Week Moscow – The House on the Embankment
19 May 2012 | Author/Destination: Russia / Russland | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time: 5 minutesThe House on the Embankment (Russian: Дом на набережной) is a block-wide apartment house in downtown Moscow, Russia. It faces Bersenevskaya Embankment on one side and Serafimovicha Street on the other side. It was completed in 1931 as the Government Building, a residence of Soviet elite. It was designed by Boris Iofan. read more…
The Russian sail training ship Kruzenshtern
1 March 2012 | Author/Destination: Yachting and Spa | Rubric: Tall ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time: 5 minutes The Kruzenshtern or Krusenstern is a four masted barque and tall ship that was built in 1926 at Geestemünde in Bremerhaven, Germany as the Padua (named after the Italian city). She was surrendered to the USSR in 1946 as war reparation and renamed after the early 19th century Baltic German explorer in Russian service, Adam Johann Krusenstern (1770–1846). She is now a Russian Navy sail training ship. Of the four remaining Flying P-Liners, the former Padua is the only one still in use, mainly for training purposes, with her home ports in Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg) and Murmansk. After the Sedov, another former German ship, she is the largest traditional sailing vessel still in operation. read more…The Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo
14 January 2012 | Author/Destination: Russia / Russland | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time: 10 minutes The Catherine Palace was the Rococo summer residence of the Russian tsars, located in the town of Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 25 km south-east of St. Petersburg, Russia. The residence originated in 1717, when Catherine I of Russia engaged the German architect Johann-Friedrich Braunstein to construct a summer palace for her pleasure. In 1733, Empress Anna commissioned Mikhail Zemtsov and Andrei Kvasov to expand the Catherine Palace. Empress Elizabeth, however, found her mother’s residence outdated and incommodious and in May 1752 asked her court architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli to demolish the old structure and replace it with a much grander edifice in a flamboyant Rococo style. Construction lasted for four years and on 30 July 1756 the architect presented the brand-new 325-meter-long palace to the Empress, her dazed courtiers and stupefied foreign ambassadors. read more…Overview Theme Weeks
27 December 2011 | Author/Destination: Around the World / Rund um die Welt | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time: 20 minutes(Latest addition: February 2024) In irregular intervals we publish Theme Weeks about cities, regions, and countries. Here you can find the complete list. read more…
Country overview
9 November 2011 | Author/Destination: Around the World / Rund um die Welt | Rubric: General Reading Time: 5 minutesIn addition to the regular search function, a country overview is available here. Click on the country name to see all currently available blog entries. read more…