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Schwetingen
Schwetingen castle.
Schloss Schwetzingen, or Schwetzingen Castle is a palace in the German state (Bundesland) of Baden-Württemberg. Schwetzingen was the summer residence of the Electors Palatine Karl III Philip and Charles Theodore. It is situated in Schwetzingen, roughly equidistant from the electors’ seats at Heidelberg andMannheim, and is most notable for its spacious and ornate gardens. Other than these exceptionally well preserved gardens and the castle proper, the compound also features the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen, the principal venue for the annual Schwetzingen Festival. – wikipedia
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Heidelberg
Old bridge over the river Neckar.
Heidelberg is a city in south-west Germany. The fifth-largest city in the State of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Freiburg im Breisgau, Heidelberg is part of the densely populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. Heidelberg is a popular tourist destination due to its romantic and picturesque cityscape, including Heidelberg Castle and the baroque style Old Town. – wikipedia
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Melk
Melk Abbey
Melk Abbey or Stift Melk is an Austrian Benedictine abbey, and one of the world’s most famous monastic sites. It is located above the town of Melk on a rocky outcrop overlooking the river Danube in Lower Austria, adjoining the Wachauvalley.
The abbey was founded in 1089 when Leopold II, Margrave of Austria gave one of his castles to Benedictine monks fromLambach Abbey. A monastic school, the Stiftsgymnasium Melk, was founded in the 12th century, and the monastic library soon became renowned for its extensive manuscript collection. The monastery’s scriptorium was also a major site for the production of manuscripts. In the 15th century the abbey became the centre of the Melk Reform movement which reinvigorated the monastic life of Austria and Southern Germany. – wikipedia
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Mauthausen
Mauthausen Concentration Camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp (known from the summer of 1940 as Mauthausen-Gusen Concentration Camp) grew to become a small group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of the city of Linz.
In January 1945, the camps, directed from the central office in Mauthausen, contained roughly 85,000 inmates. The death toll remains unknown, although most sources place it between 122,766 and 320,000 for the entire complex. The camps formed one of the first massive concentration camp complexes in Nazi Germany, and were the last ones to be liberated by the Allies. The two main camps, Mauthausen and Gusen I, were labelled as “Grade III” (Stufe III) camps, which meant that they were intended to be the toughest camps for the “Incorrigible Political Enemies of the Reich”. – wikipedia
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Hallstatt
Hallstatt.
Hallstatt, Upper Austria is a village in the Salzkammergut, a region in Austria. It is located near the Hallstätter See (a lake). Hallstatt is historically known for its production of salt from the local salt mines. – wikipedia
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Budapest
Széchenyi Chain Bridge.
The Széchenyi Chain Bridge (Hungarian: Lánchíd) is a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Budaand Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. It was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Budapest, and was opened in 1849.
It is anchored on the Pest side of the river to Széchenyi (formerly Roosevelt) Square, adjacent to the Gresham Palaceand the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and on the Buda side to Adam Clark Square, near the Zero Kilometer Stone and the lower end of the Castle Hill Funicular, leading to Buda Castle. – wikipedia
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Gordes
More images of Gordes.
Gordes is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France.
Once a week, on Tuesday morning, is market day. Merchants from the area set up booths and sell their wares: food, clothing, instruments, Provençale dishes, decorations, handicrafts. The village has two bakeries and a variety of shops. – wikipedia
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Avignon
Palais des Papes.
The Palais des Papes is a historical palace in Avignon, southern France, one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Since 1995, the palais des Papes has been classified along with the historic center of Avignon, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. – wikipedia
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Arles
Arles Amphitheater.
Arles Arenas or Arles Amphitheater (french, les Arènes d’Arles) is a Roman amphitheatre. This two-tiered Roman Amphitheatre is probably the most prominent tourist attraction in the city of Arles, which thrived in Roman times. Measuring 136 m (446 ft) in length and 109 m (358 ft) wide, the 120 arches date back to the first century BC. The amphitheatre was capable of seating over 20,000 spectators, and was built to provide entertainment in the form of chariot races and bloody hand-to-hand battles. Today, it draws large crowds for a sport only slightly less brutal – bullfighting – as well as plays and concerts in summer. – arles-guide.com
Arles is a strategic spot within a circle of varied landscapes, at the heart of the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur Region, in the department called Bouches du Rhône. It is the gateway to the Camargue, one of the nicest natural sites in Europe with an exceptionally rich plant and animal life. – arles365
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Collioure
Views of the Notre Dame des Anges and Chateau Royal.
Collioure is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It is situated in the south of France, 26 km (approx. 15 miles) from the Spanish border. Its small Catalan harbor is sheltered by a quiet bay where the chain or the Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean Sea. The exceptionally sunny climate and the north wind “Tramontane” makes Collioure a unique place where Catalan “art de vivre” have their origins. For centuries, a much sought-after treasure of nature has been part of Collioure’s traditions: anchovies. This fish is the basis for many typical Catalan dishes and is still prepared in the original traditional manner. – Collioure Tourist Office
