Neuengamme in the Vierlanden

13 May 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hamburg Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Pincerno/cc-by-sa-3.0-de

© Pincerno/cc-by-sa-3.0-de

Neuengamme is a quarter of Hamburg, located in the Bergedorf borough, near the river Dove Elbe (a tributary of the river Elbe). In this rural quarter, part of the Vierlanden,consisting of the villages Curslack, Kirchwerder, Neuengamme and Altengamme, the population is at 3,500. Neuengamme is located in the southeastern part of Hamburg. In 2007 the quarter had a total area of 18.6 km².   read more…

Gliwice in Silesia

10 May 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Castle Museum at night © Jan Mehlich/cc-by-sa-3.0

Castle Museum at night © Jan Mehlich/cc-by-sa-3.0

Gliwice is a city in Upper Silesia, southern Poland, near Katowice. Gliwice is the west district of the Silesian Metropolis – a metropolis with a population of 2 million. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder).   read more…

Oranienburg on the Havel river

8 May 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Oranienburg Palace © Kds11/cc-by-sa-3.0

Oranienburg Palace © Kds11/cc-by-sa-3.0

Oranienburg is a town in Brandenburg. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel. Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin. The original name of Oranienburg was Bötzow. The town was founded in the 12th century and was first mentioned in 1216. Albert the Bear is believed to have ordered the construction of a castle on the banks of the Havel. Around the castle there was a settlement of traders and craftsmen. In 1646, Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg married Louise Henriette of Orange-Nassau (German: Oranien-Nassau). She was so attracted by the town of Bötzow, that her husband presented the entire region to her. The princess ordered a new castle to be built in the Dutch style and called it Oranienburg or Schloss Oranienburg. In 1653, the town of Bötzow was renamed Oranienburg.   read more…

Oświęcim in Poland

25 February 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

Oświęcim Castle © Beemwej/cc-by-sa-3.0-pl

Oświęcim Castle © Beemwej/cc-by-sa-3.0-pl

Oświęcim (german: Auschwitz) is a town in the Lesser Poland province of southern Poland, situated 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Kraków, near the confluence of the rivers Vistula (Wisła) and Soła. The town is best known as being the location of the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.   read more…

Dachau in Upper Bavaria

3 October 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Historic District - Konrad Adenauer Street © Schlaier/cc-by-3.0

Historic District – Konrad Adenauer Street © Schlaier/cc-by-3.0

Dachau is a major district town of the administrative region of Upper Bavaria, in the southern part of Germany, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) north-west of Munich. It is now a popular residential area for people working in Munich with roughly 40,000 inhabitants. The historic centre of town with its 18th-century castle is situated on an elevation and visible over a great distance. Between 1546 and 1577, the House of Wittelsbach had the Dachau Palace erected in the Renaissance style. From June 1715 to Autumn 1717, Joseph Effner remodelled the palace to suit the contemporary taste in style. At the beginning of the 19th century, the castle’s north-, east- and south-wing had to be demolished due to their state of disrepair. The west-wing housing the dance hall with a superb view of the enchanting gardens, still remains today. On the first floor the original renaissance wood carved, coffered ceiling can be admired by visitors.   read more…

The Stolpersteine

11 August 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© stolpersteine.com

© stolpersteine.com

Stolperstein is the German word for “stumbling block”, “obstacle”, or “something in the way”. (The plural form of the word is Stolpersteine.) The artist Gunter Demnig has given this word a new meaning, that of a small, cobblestone-sized memorial for a single victim of Nazism. These memorials commemorate individuals – both those who died and survivors – who were consigned by the Nazis to prisons, euthanasia facilities, sterilization clinics, concentration camps, and extermination camps, as well as those who responded to persecution by emigrating or committing suicide.   read more…

Radom at the foot of the Holy Cross Mountains

25 July 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Building of the City Council by night © Voytek S/GFDL

Building of the City Council by night © Voytek S/GFDL

Radom is a city in central Poland with 224, 000 inhabitants. It is located on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the capital of Radom Voivodeship (1975–1998); 100 km south of Poland’s capital, Warsaw. In spite of being part of the Masovian Voivodeship, the city historically belongs to Lesser Poland.   read more…

Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania

8 June 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, European Capital of Culture Reading Time:  8 minutes

State Musical Theatre © Creative

State Musical Theatre © Creative

Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation it was the capital of the Kovno Governorate from 1843 to 1915. It became the only temporary capital city in Europe during the Interwar period. Now it is the capital of Kaunas County, the seat of the Kaunas city municipality and the Kaunas district municipality. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas. Kaunas is located at the confluence of the two largest Lithuanian rivers, the Nemunas and the Neris, and near the Kaunas Reservoir, the largest body of water entirely in Lithuania.   read more…

Theme Week Ukraine – Odessa on the Black Sea

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

Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater © Pat Berger

Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater © Pat Berger

Odessa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast (province) located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000. The historic center of Odessa was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023.   read more…

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