The European Union: European Sky Shield Initiative

12 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  6 minutes

Flag_of_Europe European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) is a project to build a ground-based integrated European air defense system which includes anti-ballistic missile capability. As of July 2023, nineteen European states participate in the initiative. ESSI is part of the Common Security and Defense Policy and as such is designed to complement and relieve the burden on NATO.   read more…

Mediterranean Region

29 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera, European Union, Living, Working, Building, Sport, UNESCO World Heritage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  28 minutes

Monaco © Tobi 87/cc-by-sa-3.0

Monaco © Tobi 87/cc-by-sa-3.0

In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin, also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea, is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and warm to hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation.   read more…

Predjama Castle in Slovenia

29 July 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Marco Almbauer

© Marco Almbauer

Predjama Castle (Slovene: Predjamski grad or German: Höhlenburg Lueg is a Renaissance castle built within a cave mouth in south-central Slovenia, in the historical region of Inner Carniola. It is located in the village of Predjama, approximately 11 kilometres from the town of Postojna and 9 kilometres from Postojna Cave. The castle was first mentioned in 1274 with the German name Luegg, when the Patriarch of Aquileia built the castle in Gothic style. The castle was built under a natural rocky arch high in the stone wall to make access to it difficult. It was later acquired and expanded by the Luegg noble family, also known as the Knights of Adelsberg (the German name of Postojna).   read more…

Intermarium or Three Seas Initiative

3 February 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Three Seas initiative summit 2018 © Administration of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria/cc-by-2.5

Three Seas initiative summit 2018 © Administration of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria/cc-by-2.5

Intermarium (Polish: Międzymorze) was a geopolitical project conceived by politicians in successor states of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in several iterations, some of which anticipated the inclusion as well of other, neighboring states. The proposed multinational polity would have extended across territories lying between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas, hence the name meaning “Between-Seas”.   read more…

European Capital of Culture 2012: Guimarães and Maribor

15 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, European Capital of Culture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

© guimaraes2012.pt

© guimaraes2012.pt


GUIMARÃES

Guimarães is a northern Portuguese city located in the district of Braga, in the Ave Subregion, with a population of 52 181 inhabitants, distributed throughout 20 parishes (freguesias in Portuguese), in an urban area of 23,5 km² with a population density of 2 223,9/km².   read more…

The Lake Bled in Slovenia

3 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Edwardwexler/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Edwardwexler/cc-by-sa-3.0

Lake Bled is a lake in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia, where it adjoins the town of Bled. The area is a popular tourist destination. The lake is 35 km (22 mi) from Ljubljana International Airport and 55 km (34 mi) from the capital city, Ljubljana.   read more…

Piran on the Slovenian Riviera

7 August 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Federico Orsini/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Federico Orsini/cc-by-sa-3.0

Piran is a town in the Municipality of Piran in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The town has much medieval architecture, with narrow streets and compact houses. Piran is the administrative centre of the local area and one of Slovenia’s major tourist attractions. Until the mid-twentieth-century Italian was the dominant language, but was replaced by Slovene as populations moved.   read more…

Theme Week Istria

23 June 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  7 minutes

Rovinj © David Orlovic/cc-by-sa-3.0

Rovinj © David Orlovic/cc-by-sa-3.0

Istria, formerly Histria (Latin), is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner. It is shared by three countries: Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy.   read more…

Novo mesto in Slovenia

2 November 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  < 1 minute

© www.markopirc.com/cc-by-sa-3.0

© www.markopirc.com/cc-by-sa-3.0

Novo Mesto is the city on a bend of the Krka River in the City Municipality of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered the economic and cultural centre of the historic Lower Carniola region with 23,000 inhabitants. Novo Mesto (literally “New Town”) has been settled since pre-history. Graben Castle down the Krka River, ancestral seat of the noble House of Graben von SteinHabsburg archduke Rudolf IV of Austria on 7 April 1365 as Rudolfswerth. The Austrian Habsburgs received the Carniolan March from the hands of Emperor Louis IV in 1335 and in 1364 Rudolf “the Founder” proclaimed himself a Duke of Carniola. The name Neustadt was given in the early 15th century.   read more…

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