Tioman Island

Tioman Island is a small island located 32 km off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia in the state of Pahang, and is some 39 km long and 12 km wide. It is locally known as Gunung Daik Bercabang Tiga. It has eight main villages, the largest and most populous being Kampung Tekek in the north. The travel and tourism details of Tioman Island are explained in world tour guides below.

The densely forested island is sparsely inhabited, and is surrounded by numerous coral reefs, making it a popular scuba diving spot. There are also a lot of resorts and chalets around the island. Its beaches were depicted in the 1958 movie, South Pacific as Bali Hai. In the 1970s, TIME Magazine selected Tioman as one of the world's most beautiful islands.

Apart from its diverse marine life, the inland rainforest area, encompassing approximately 12,383 hectares, in Tioman is a strictly enforced nature reserve. There are several protected species of mammals on the island, including the Binturong, Long-tailed Macaque, Slow Loris, Black Giant Squirrel, Red Giant Flying Squirrel, Mouse deer, Brush-tailed Porcupine, and Common Palm Civet, from a total of 45 species of mammals and 138 species of birds, including the majestic Frigatebird. Moreover, Tioman has species that are endemic to its shores. The soft-shelled turtle and the Tioman walking catfish are both unique and can be seen on rainforest walks.

The island is served by ferries from the Malaysian mainland, and a propeller plane service by Berjaya Air from the Seletar Airport in Singapore and Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Kuala Lumpur. Tioman has been used for thousands of years by fishermen as an important navigation point and a source of fresh water and wood. During the past thousand years, it has played host to Chinese, Arab, and European trading ships, and often porcelain shards can be found on beaches around the island.

In more recent history, Tioman played host to both the British and the Japanese during the Second World War, and the waters around the island are littered with war remains including HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales.

According to legend, Tioman Island is the resting place of a beautiful dragon princess. Whilst flying from China to visit her prince in Singapore, this beautiful maiden stopped to seek solace in the crystal-clear waters of the South China Sea. Enraptured by the charms of the place, she decided to discontinue her journey. By taking the form of an island, she pledged to offer shelter and comfort to passing travelers.

Tioman Island lends its name to the state constituency of Tioman, comprising the island and part of the Rompin district including the town of Kuala Rompin. Its representative to the State Legislative Assembly is YB Mohd. Johari from Barisan Nasional. Its representative to the Malaysian Parliament is former MOSTI Minister Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis, also from Barisan Nasional.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral

Saint Isaac's Cathedral is a cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city and was the tallest Eastern Orthodox Church upon its completion subsequently surpassed only by the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. It is also called as Isaakievskiy Sobor. It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great who had been born on the feast day of that saint. The details of Saint Isaac's Cathedral are explained in world tour guides below.

The church on St Isaac's Square was ordered by Tsar Alexander I, to replace an earlier Rinaldiesque structure. A specially appointed commission examined several designs, including that of the French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand, who had studied in the atelier of Napoleons designer, Charles Percier. Monferrands design was criticised by some members of the commission for the dry and allegedly boring rhythm of its four identical pedimented octastyle porticos. It was also suggested that despite gigantic dimensions, the edifice would look squat and not very impressive. The emperor, who favoured the ponderous Empire style of architecture, had to step in and solve the dispute in Monferrand's favour.

The cathedral took 40 years to construct, under Montferrands direction, from 1818 to 1858. Under the Soviet government, the building was abandoned, then turned into a museum of atheism. The dove sculpture was removed, and replaced by a Foucault pendulum. During World War II, the dome was painted over in gray to avoid attracting attention from enemy aircraft. On its top, in the skylight, a geodesical intersection point was placed, with the objective of aiding in the location of enemy cannon. With the fall of communism, the museum was removed and regular worship activity has resumed in the cathedral, but only in the left-hand side chapel. The main body of the cathedral is used for services on feast days only.

The severe neoclassical exterior expresses a traditional Russian-Byzantine formula: a Greek-cross groundplan with a large central dome and four subsidiary domes. It is similar to Andrea Palladio's Villa La Rotonda, with a full dome on a high drum substituted for the Villa's low central saucer dome. The design of the cathedral in general and the dome in particular later influenced the design of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. and the Cathedral in Helsinki.

The exterior, which barely hints at the riotously rich interior, is faced with gray and pink stone, and features a total of 112 red granite columns with Corinthian capitals, each hewn and erected as a single block: 48 at ground level, 24 on the rotunda of the uppermost dome, 8 on each of four side domes, and 2 framing each of four windows. The rotunda is encircled by a walkway accessible to tourists. 24 statues gaze down from the roof, and another 24 from the top of the rotunda. The cathedral bronze doors are covered in reliefs, patterned after the celebrated doors of the Battistero di San Giovanni Florence in Florence, designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti. Suspended underneath the peak of the dome is a sculpted dove representing the Holy Spirit. Internal features such as columns, pilasters, floor, and statue of Montferrand are composed of multicolored granites and marbles gathered from all parts of Russia. The iconostasis is framed by eight columns of semiprecious stone six of malachite and two smaller ones of lazurite. The four pediments are also richly sculpted.

The interior was originally decorated with scores of paintings by Carlo Brullo and other great Russian masters of the day. When these paintings began to deteriorate due to the cold, damp conditions inside the cathedral, Montferrand ordered them to be painstakingly reproduced as mosaics, a technique introduced in Russia by Mikhail Lomonosov. This work was never completed. William Handyside and other engineers used many technological innovations in the construction of the building. The massive portico columns were raised with the use of enormous wooden frameworks before the walls were erected.

The enormous building rests on 10,000 tree trunks that were sunk by an army of serfs into the marshy banks upon which the cathedral is situated. The dome was gilded by a technique similar to spraypainting the solution used included toxic mercury, the vapors of which caused the deaths of an unknown number of workers. Over a dozen gilded statues of angels, each six metres high, face each other across the interior of the rotunda. They were constructed using galvanoplastic technology, making them only millimeters thick and very lightweight. St. Isaac's Cathedral represents the first use of this technique in architecture.

Rila Monastery

The Rila Monastery is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is also called as Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila or Rilski manastir. It is situated in the northwestern Rila Mountains, 117 km or 73 mi south of the capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River at an elevation of 1,147 m or 3,763 ft above sea level. The monastery is named after the famous Bulgaria saint and hermit Ivan of Rila. The details of Rila Monastery are explained in World tour guides below.

The Rila Monastery is founded in the 10th century, the Rila Monastery is regarded as one of Bulgaria's most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments and it is a key tourist attraction for both Bulgaria and Southeastern Europe as a whole. The monastery is depicted on the reverse of the Bulgarian 1 lev banknote, issued in 1999. It is traditionally thought that the monastery was founded by the hermit St. Ivan of Rila, whose name it bears, during the rule of Tsar Peter I (927-968). The hermit actually lived in a cave without any material possessions not far from the monastery's location, while the complex was built by his students, who came to the mountains to receive their education.

The Rila Monastery has been supported and respected by the Bulgarian rulers. Large donations were made by almost every tsar of the Second Bulgarian Empire up until the Ottoman Conquest, making the monastery a cultural and spiritual centre of Bulgarian national consciousness that reached its apogee from the 12th to the 14th century. The Rila Monastery was reerected at its present place by a local feudal lord named Hrelyu Dragovola during the 14th century. The oldest buildings in the complex date from this period were the Tower of Hrelyu 1334–1335 and a small church just next to it is1343. The bishop's throne and the rich-engraved gates of the monastery also belong to the time. However, the arrival of the Ottomans in the end of the 14th century was followed by numerous raids and a destruction of the monastery in the middle of the 15th century.

The Rila Monastery was rebuilt in the end of the 15th century by three brothers from the region of Kyustendil, who moved Ivan of Rila's relics into the complex. The complex acted as a depository of Bulgarian language and culture in the ages of foreign rule. During the time of the Bulgarian National Revival, it was destroyed by fire in 1833 and then reconstructed between 1834 and 1862 with the help of wealthy Bulgarians from the whole country, under the famous architect Alexi Rilets. The erection of the residential buildings began in 1816, while a belfry was added to the Tower of Hrelyu in 1844. Neofit Rilski founded a school in the monastery during the period.

The monastery complex, regarded as one of the foremost masterpieces of Bulgarian National Revival architecture, was declared a national historical monument in 1976 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Since 1991 it has been entirely subordinate to the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. On 25 May 2002, Pope John Paul II, the Slavic Pope visited Rila monastery during his pilgrimage to Bulgaria. He was greeted by the Monastery's igumen, Bishop Ioan, who had been an observer at the Second Vatican Council. The whole complex occupies an area of 8,800 m² and is rectangular in form, centred around the inner yard 3,200 m², where the tower and the main church are situated.

The main church of the monastery was erected in the middle of the 19th century. Its architect is Pavel Ioanov, who worked on it from 1834 to 1837. The church has five domes, three altars and two side chapels, while one of the most precious items inside is the gold-plated iconostasis, famous for its wood-carving, the creation of which took five years to four handicraftsmen. The frescoes, finished in 1846, are the work of many masters from Bansko, Samokov and Razlog, including the famous brothers Zahari Zograf and Dimitar Zograf. The church is also home to many valuable icons, dating from the 14th to the 19th century.

The four-storey residential part of the complex consists of 300 chambers, four chapels, an abbot's room, a kitchen, a library housing 250 manuscripts and 9,000 old printed matters, and a donor's room. The exterior of the complex, with its high walls of stone and little windows, resembles a fortress more than a monastery. The museum of the Rila Monastery is particularly famous for housing Rafail's Cross, a wooden cross made from a whole piece of wood. It was whittled down by a monk named Rafail using fine burins and magnifying lenses to recreate 104 religious scenes and 650 miniature figures. Work on this piece of art lasted not less than 12 years before it was completed in 1802, when the monk lost his sight.

Rion Antirion Bridge

The Rion Antirion Bridge which is officially the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge after the statesman, who first envisioned it, is the Worlds longest multi-span cable-stayed bridge. It crosses the Gulf of Corinth near Patras, linking the town of Rion on the Peloponnese to Antirion on mainland Greece. Its official name is the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge. Charilaos Trikoupis was a 19th century Greek prime minister, and suggested the idea of building a bridge between Rio and Antirrio however, the endeavour was too expensive at the time, when Greece was trying to get a late foot into the Industrial Revolution. The details of Rion Antirion Bridge is explained in world tour guides below.

The 2,880 m or 9,449 ft long bridge dramatically improves access to and from the Peloponnese, which could previously be reached only by ferry or via the isthmus of Corinth at its extreme east end. Its width is 28 m or 92 ft it has two vehicle lanes per direction, an emergency lane and a pedestrian walkway. Its five-span four-pylon cable-stayed portion of length 2,252 m or 7,388 ft is the world's second longest cable-stayed deck only the deck of the Millau Viaduct is longer at 2,460 m or 8,071 ft. However, as the latter is also supported by bearings at the pylons apart from cable stays, the Rio-Antirrio bridge deck might be considered the longest cable-stayed suspended deck.

This bridge is widely considered to be an engineering masterpiece owing to several solutions applied to span the difficult site. These difficulties include deep water, insecure materials for foundations, seismic activity, the probability of tsunamis, and the expansion of the Gulf of Corinth due to plate tectonics. The bridge was planned in the mid-1990s and was built by a French-Greek consortium led by the French group Vinci, and which includes the Greek companies Hellenic Technodomiki-TEV, J&P-Avax, Athena, Proodeftiki and Pantechniki.

The consortium operates the bridge under concession under its G.E.F.Y.R.A., Greek for bridge, French-Greek Carrier of Oversea Connection of Rio-Antirrio subsidiary. The lead architect was Berdj Mikaelian. Site preparation and dredging began in July 1998, and construction of the massive supporting pylons in 2000. With these complete in 2003, work began on the traffic decks and supporting cables. On May 21, 2004, the main construction was completed; only equipment sidewalks, railings, etc. and waterproofing remained to be installed. The bridge was finally inaugurated on August 7, 2004, a week before the opening of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The total cost of the bridge was about € 630,000,000, funded by Greek state funds, the consortium and loans by the European Investment Bank. It was finished ahead of its original schedule, which had foreseen completion between September and November 2004, and within budget.

Due to the peculiar conditions of the straits, several unique engineering problems needed to be considered. The water depth reaches 65 m, the seabed is mostly of loose sediment, the seismic activity and possibility of tectonic movement is significant, and the Gulf of Corinth is expanding at a rate of about 30 mm a year. For these reasons, special construction techniques were applied. The piers are not buried into the seabed, but rather rest on a bed of gravel which was meticulously leveled to an even surface. During an earthquake, the piers should be allowed to move laterally on the seabed with the gravel bed absorbing the energy. The bridge parts are connected to the pylons using jacks and dampers to absorb movement; too rigid a connection would cause the bridge structure to fail in the event of an earthquake. It was also important that the bridge not have too much lateral leeway either so as not to damage the piers. There is provision for the gradual expansion of the strait over the bridges lifetime.

On 28 January 2005, six months after the opening of the bridge, one of the cable links of the bridge snapped from the top of the M3 pylon and came crashing down on the deck. Traffic was immediately halted. The first investigation claimed that a fire had broken out on the top of the M3 pylon, after a lightning strike in one of the cables. The cable was immediately restored and the bridge re-opened. A structural Health monitoring system was installed during construction on the bridge. It is still in place today and provides a 24/7 surveillance of the structure.

The system has more than 100 sensors, including 3D accelerometers on the deck, pylons, stay cables, and on the ground to characterize wind movements and seismic tremors. Strain gages and load cells on the stay cables and their gussets. Displacement sensors on the expansion joints to measure the thermal expansion of the deck. Water-level sensors on the pylon bases to detect infiltration. Temperature sensors in the deck to detect freezing conditions. Linear variable differential transducer or LVDT sensors on the stay cables to measure movement. Load cells on the restrainers for recalibration in the event of an earthquake. Two weather stations to measure wind intensity, direction, air temperature, and relative humidity. One of the specific element of the system is the ability to detect and specifically treat Earthquake events.

Piatra Craiului Mountains

The Piatra Craiului Mountains are a mountain range in the Southern Carpathians in Romania. In Romanian Piatra Craiului means Rock of the King. The Piatra Craiului mountains form a narrow and saw-like ridge, which is about 25 km long. The highest elevation in the massif is the Varful La Om with 2238 m. The details of Piatra Craiului Mountains are explained in world tour guides below.

The ridge is regarded as one of the most beautiful sights in the Carpathians. The two day north-south ridge trail is both challenging and rewarding. Starting at either Plaiul Foii in the north-west or Curmatura in the north-east, walkers climb up to the ridge before following a somewhat precarious path along the narrow spine. The descent at the southern end leads into a karst landscape of deep gorges and pitted slopes where water penetrating the rock has carved a series of caves.

The massif is bordered in the west by the Dambovita Valley which separates it from the Papusa massif; in the north-west the river Barsa and Curmatura Foii separates it from the Fagaras Mountains and in the east the Rucar-Bran Passage delimits it from the Bucegi and Leaota mountains. The southern border is the confluence of the valleys of Dambovita and Dambovicioara rivers, in the Podul Dambovitei depression.

The whole range is included in the national park Parcul National Piatra Craiului or Piatra Craiului National Park. The first protection of this area started in 1938 when 4.4 km² were declared as a Nature Reserve. The Law 5/2000 enlarged this area to 148 km². In 2003 the external limits and internal zoning were created. Since 1999 a park administration has existed and since 2005 a management plan has been in place.

In the national park area about 300 fungi species, 220 lichen species, 100 different mosses, 1100 species of superior plants a third of the number of all plant species found in Romania, 50 Carpathians endemic species and also two endemic species for Piatra Craiului can be found. There are also 2 endemic species of spiders, 270 butterflies species, amphibians and reptiles, 110 birds species, 17 bats species, chamois and other large herbivores and also many large carnivores like wolves, brown bears, lynx living in the national park.

Zarnesti is the most important town for visiting the national park. It is also an ideal starting point for approaches in the northern part of the massif. This town lies at a distance of 28 km from the city of Brasov, by road, bus or railway. From Zarnesti, an 11 km long road makes the connection with the comfortable chalet "Plaiul Foii", which is a good starting point for climbing the ridge.

Also, from Zarnesti a forest road starts from the south-western part of the town, leading through the Zarnesti Gorges and further up to the ridge. In Zarnesti the office of the administration of the National Park can be found. A new visitor center has been built 1 km west of the town, but it is not currently open. The traditional villages Magura, Pestera, Ciocanu, and Sirnea are interesting starting points for the routes on the eastern slope and for getting in touch with the traditional Romanian way of life.

Durham Castle

Durham Castle is a Norman castle in the city of Durham, England, which has been wholly occupied since 1840 by University College, Durham. It is open to the general public to visit, but only through guided tours, since it is in use as a working castle and is home to over 100 students. The castle stands on top of a hill above the River Wear on Durham's peninsula, opposite Durham Cathedral. The details of Durham Castle are explained in world tour guides below.

The castle was originally built in the 11th century as a projection of the Norman kings power in the north of England, as the population of England in the north remained wild and fickle following the disruption of the Norman Conquest in 1066. It is an excellent example of the early motte and bailey castles favoured by the Normans. The holder of the office of the Bishop of Durham was appointed by the King to exercise royal authority on his behalf: the Castle was his seat. It remained as Bishops palace for Bishops of Durham until the Bishops made Bishop Auckland their primary residence and castle was converted into a college. The castle has a vast Great Hall, created by Bishop Antony Bek in the early 14th century. It was the largest Great Hall in Britain until Bishop Richard Foxe shortened it at the end of the 15th century. However, it is still 14 m high and over 30 m long.

In 1837, the castle was donated to the newly formed University of Durham by Bishop Edward Maltby as accommodation for students. It was named University College. Architect Anthony Salvin rebuilt the dilapidated keep from the original plans. Opened in 1840, the castle still houses over 100 students, the majority of which are in the keep.

Students and staff of the college eat their meals in Bishop Beks Great Hall. The Great Hall's Undercroft, meanwhile, serves as the Junior Common Room, including its bar i.e. as the principal common room for the college's undergraduate members. The two chapels are still used, both for services and other purposes such as theatrical performances. Other facilities contained within the castle include the colleges library, the college offices, and the college's IT suite. During university vacations, the college offers rooms in the castle for conferences and as hotel accommodation. Access to the castle for the public is restricted to guided tours. Outside of these, only members of the college or vacation guests may visit the castle.

The college makes extensive use of the castle two chapels the Norman Chapel, built around 1078, and Tunstalls Chapel, built in 1540. The Norman Chapel is the oldest accessible part of the castle. Its architecture is Anglian in nature, possibly due to forced Anglian labour being used to build it. In the 15th century, its three windows were all but blocked up because of the expanded keep. It thus fell into disuse until 1841 when it was used as a corridor through which to access the keep. During the Second World War, it was used as a command and observation post for the Royal Air Force when its original use was recognised. It was re-consecrated shortly after the war and is still used for weekly services by the college.

Tunstalls Chapel is the more heavily used of the chapels, being somewhat larger. Bishop Cosin and Bishop Crewe extended it in the late 17th century. At the back of the chapel, some of the seats are 16th-century misericords. These were designed such that a person standing for long periods of time could rest on a ledge of the upturned seat.

Durham Castle is jointly designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Durham Cathedral, a short distance across Palace Green. The following quotation is taken from the British government's nomination for the World Heritage List. Few buildings in England can boast a longer history of continuous occupation than Durham Castle. Founded soon after the Norman Conquest, the Castle has been rebuilt, extended and adapted to changing circumstances and uses over a period of 900 years.

Charlottenburg Palace

Charlottenburg Palace is the largest palace in Berlin and the only building in the city dating back to the time of the Hohenzollern family. It is also called as Schloss Charlottenburg. It is located in the Charlottenburg district of the Charlottenburg Wilmersdorf area. The details of Charlottenburg Palace are explained in World tour guides below. The Charlottenburg palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much exotic internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles. A large formal garden surrounded by woodland was constructed behind the palace. In the grounds of the palace various buildings were erected, including a belvedere, a mausoleum, a theatre and a pavilion. During the Second World War the palace was badly damaged but has since been reconstructed. The palace, its gardens and the buildings in the grounds are major visitor attractions.

The original palace was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg in what was then the village of Lietzow. Originally named Lietzenburg, the palace was designed by Johann Arnold Nering in baroque style. It consisted of one wing and was built in 2½ storeys with a central cupola. The facade was decorated with Corinthian pilasters. On the top was a cornice on which were statues. At the rear in the centre of the palace were two oval halls, the upper one being a ceremonial hall and the lower giving access to the gardens. Nering died during the construction of the palace and the work was completed by Martin Grunberg and Andreas Schluter. The inauguration of the palace was celebrated on 11 July 1699, Fredericks 42nd birthday.

Friedrich crowned himself as King Friedrich I in Prussia in 1701. Two years previously he had appointed Johann Friedrich von Eosander as royal architect and sent him to study architectural developments in Italy and France, particularly the Palace of Versailles. On his return in 1702 Eosander began to extend the palace, starting with two side wings to enclose a large courtyard, and the main palace was extended on both sides. Sophie Charlotte died in 1705 and Friedrich named the palace and its estate Charlottenburg in her memory. The Orangery was built on west of the palace and the central area was extended with a large domed tower and a larger vestibule. On top of the dome was a gilded statue representing Fortune designed by Andreas Heidt. The Orangery was originally used to over winter rare plants. During the summer months, when over 500 orange citrus and sour orange trees decorated the baroque garden, the Orangery regularly was the gorgeous scene of courtly festivities.

Inside the palace was a room described as the eighth wonder of the world, the Amber Room, a room with its walls surfaced in decorative amber. It was designed by Andreas Schluter and its construction by the Danish amber craftsman Gottfried Wolfram started in 1701. Friedrich Wilhelm I gave the Amber Room to Tsar Peter the Great as a present in 1716. The palace was badly damaged in 1943 during the Second World War. The garden was designed in 1697 in baroque style by Simeon Godeau who had been influenced by Andre Le Notre, designer of the gardens at Versailles. Godeaus design consisted of geometric patterns, with avenues and moats, which separated the garden from its natural surroundings. Beyond the formal gardens was the Carp Pond. Towards the end of the 18th century a less formal, more natural-looking garden design became fashionable. In 1787 the Royal Gardener Georg Steiner redesigned the garden in the English landscape style for Friedrich Wilhelm II, the work being directed by Peter Joseph Lenne. After the Second World War the garden was restored to its previous baroque style.

The palace and grounds are a major visitor attraction. For an admission charge parts of the interior of the palace are open to visitors, including Old Palace and New Wing. The Old Palace contains many rooms with baroque decoration, and includes a room called Porcelain Cabinet which holds thousands of porcelain objects. The New Wing includes the opulent rococo State Apartments of Frederick the Great and the more modest Winter Chambers of Friedrich Wilhelm II. The formal and informal gardens are freely open to the public. For an admission charge the Mausoleum, the Belvedere and the Neue Pavilion are open to visitors. The Mausoleum contains the graves of, and memorials to, members of the Hohenzollern family.

A large equestrian statue of Friedrich Wilhelm I is present in the palace courtyard. This was designed by Andreas Schluter and made between 1696 and 1700. From 1703 it stood on the Langen Brucke but was moved to a place of safety in the Second World War. On its return after the war the barge carrying it sunk and it was not salvaged until 1949. In 1952 it was erected on its present site. To the south of the palace are two more museums, the Brohan Museum, which contains art nouveau and art deco articles, and the Sammlung Berggruen, which houses modern art, in particular works by Picasso and Klee.

The Great Orangery was reconstructed on the model of the baroque building which was destroyed during Second World War Today, it shines in its old brilliance again. The light flooded festival room provides a pleasant framework for cultural events, concerts and banquets. Over the centuries the Orangery of Charlottenburg Palace saw lots of illustrious personalities but not only in the past. For instance, Queen Elizabeth II and the Chinese Prime Minister were welcomed in the Orangery lately.

Commerzbank Tower

Commerzbank Tower is a skyscraper located in the city centre of Frankfurt, Germany. After it was completed in 1997 it ranked as the tallest building in Europe until 2005 when it was surpassed by the Triumph Palace in Moscow. The tower is only two metres taller than the MesseTurm which is also located in Frankfurt. The MesseTurm was the tallest building in Europe before the construction of the Commerzbank Tower. The details of Commerzbank Tower is explained in world tour guides below.

With a height of 259 metres or 850 ft, 56 stories, it provides 121,000 m² or 1.3 million sq.ft. of office space for the Commerzbank headquarters, including winter gardens and natural lighting and air circulation. The signal light on top of the tower gives the tower a total height of 300.1 metres or 985 ft.

In its immediate neighbourhood are other high rise buildings including the Eurotower which is the home of European Central Bank, the Maintower, the Silver Tower, the Japan Center and the Gallileo skyscraper. The area is commonly known as Bankenviertel. It is also called as banking district or financial district.

It was designed by Foster & Partners, with Arup and Krebs & Kiefer structural engineering, J. Roger Preston with P&A Petterson Ahrens mechanical engineering, Schad & Holzel electrical engineering. Construction of the building began in 1994 and took three years to complete. The building is illuminated at night by a yellow light scheme which was designed by Thomas Ende who was allowed to display this sequence as a result of a competition.

When the building was planned in the early 1990s Frankfurt's Green Party, who governed the city together with the Social Democratic Party, encouraged the Commerzbank to design a 'green' skyscraper. The result was the world's first so-called ecological skyscraper: besides the use of 'sky-gardens' environmental- friendly technologies were employed to reduce energy required for heating and cooling.

The Commerzbank Tower is shaped as a 60 metres or 197 ft wide rounded equilateral triangle with a central, triangular atrium. At nine different levels, the atrium opens up to one of the three sides, forming large sky gardens. These open areas allow more natural light in the building, reducing the need for artificial lighting. At the same time it ensures offices in the buildings two other sides have a view of either the city or the garden.

In order to eliminate the need of supporting columns in the sky gardens, the building was constructed in steel instead of the conventional and cheaper concrete. It was the first skyscraper in Germany where steel was used as the main construction material. Commerzbank Tower appears in the Euro Contemporary tileset in SimCity 4 Deluxe or with Rush Hour. In 2007, Wrebbit released a 3D puzzle from the Towers Made To Scale Collection, which includes the Commerzbank Tower and the Messeturm in one box-set.

Muskau Park

The Muskau Park is the largest and one of the most famous English gardens of Germany and Poland. The Muskau Park is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in poland. It is also called as Muskauer Park, Furst Puckler Park and Park Muzakowski. The details of Muskau Park are explained in world tour guides below.

Muskau Park is situated in the historic Upper Lusatia region, it covers 3.5 square kilometers or 1.4 sq mi of land in Poland and 2.1 km2 or 0.8 sq mi in Germany. The park extends on both sides of the Lusatian Neisse river, which constitutes the border between the countries. The 17.9 km2 or 6.9 sq mi buffer zone around the park encompassed the German town Bad Muskau in the West and Polish Lęknica in the East. While Muskau Castle is situated west of the Neisse, the heart of the park are the partially wooded raised areas on the east bank called The Park on Terraces.

On July 2, 2004, the UNESCO inscribed the park on the World Heritage List, as an exemplary example of cross border cultural collaboration between Poland and Germany. It was inscribed to the list on two criteria for breaking new ground in terms of development towards the ideal man made landscape, and its influence on the development of landscape architecture as a discipline.

A fortress on the Neisse river at Muskau was first mentioned as early as in the 13th under the rule of Margrave Henry III of Meissen. The founder of the adjacent park was Prince Hermann von Puckler Muskau, the author of the influential Hints on Landscape Gardening and owner of the state country of Muskau since 1811. After prolonged studies in England, in 1815 during the time when the northeastern part of Upper Lusatia fell to Prussia, he laid out the Park. As time went by, he established an international school of landscape management in Bad Muskau and outlined the construction of an extensive landscape park which would envelop the town in a way not done before on such a grand scale.

The works involved remodelling the Baroque Old Castle actually a former castle gate - and the construction of a Gothic chapel, an English cottage, several bridges, and an orangery designed by Friedrich Ludwig Persius. Puckler reconstructed the medieval fortress as the New Castle, the compositional centre of the park, with a network of paths radiating from it and a pleasure ground influenced by the ideas of Humphry Repton, whose son John Adey worked at Muskau from 1822.

The extensions went on until 1845, when Puckler due to his enormous debts was constrained to sell the patrimony. The next year it was acquired by Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, who employed Eduard Petzold, Pucklers disciple and a well-known landscape gardener, to complete his design. Upon his death in 1881, he was followed by his daughter Princess Marie, who sold the estates to the Arnim noble family.

During the Battle of Berlin, both castles were levelled and all four bridges across the Neisse were razed. The Arnims were dispossessed by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany and since the implementation of the Oder Neisse line in 1945, the park has been divided by the state border between Poland and Germany, with two thirds of it on the Polish side. Not before the 1960s the Communist authorities slowly accepted the legacy of the Junker Prince Puckler. The Old Castle was rebuilt by the East German administration in 1965-72, while the New Castle and the bridges are still being restored.

Bourges Cathedral in France

Bourges Cathedral is a cathedral dedicated to Saint Stephen, located in Bourges, France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Bourges. It is also called as Cathedrale Saint-Etienne de Bourges. The details of Bourges Cathedral are explained in world tour guides below.

The site occupied by the present cathedral was once the northeastern corner of the Gallo-Roman walled city has been the site of the cities main church since Carolingian times and probably since the foundation of the bishopric in the 3rd century. The present Cathedral was built as a replacement for a mid 11th century structure, traces of which survive in the crypt. The date when construction began is unknown, although a document of 1195 recording expenditure on rebuilding works suggests that construction was already underway by that date. The fact that the east end protrudes beyond the line of the Gallo-Roman walls and that royal permission to demolish those walls was only granted in 1183 shows that work on the foundations cannot have started before that date.

The main phase of construction is therefore roughly contemporaneous with Chartres Cathedral begun in 1194, some 200 km to the northwest. As with most Early- and High-Gothic cathedrals, the identity of the architect or master-mason is unknown. The choir was in use by 1214 and the nave was finished by 1255. The building was finally consecrated in 1324. Most of the west facade was finished by 1270, though work on the towers proceeded more slowly, partly due to the unfavourable rock strata beneath the site. Structural problems with the South tower led to the building of the adjoining buttress tower in the mid-14th century. The North tower was completed around the end of the 15th century but collapsed in 1506, destroying the Northern portion of the facade in the process. The North tower and its portal were subsequently rebuilt in a more contemporary style.

The cathedral suffered far less than some of its peers during the French Wars of Religion and in the Revolution. Its location meant it was also relatively safe from the ravages of both World Wars. The cathedral was added to the list of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1992. The cathedral's nave is 15m wide by 37m high; its arcade is 20m high; the inner aisle is 21.3m and the outer aisle is 9.3m high. The use of flying buttresses was employed to help the structure of the building. However, since this was a fairly new technique, one can easily see the walls were still made quite thick to take the force.

Bourges is notable for the unity of its design, seen in no other cathedral of the High Gothic era. It features two distinct horseshoe aisles that wrap around a central nave and choir. The inner aisle has a higher vault than the outer aisle, a feature which was copied at Toledo Cathedral and in the choir at Le Mans. Each ambulatory or aisle has its own portal at the west end. The five portal entrance necessitated more careful design to create a more coherent facade. This also eliminated the usual cross-shaped transept design. The gallery is absent instead the inner aisle has been raised. This gives the cathedral a pyramidal shape under the buttresses. The flying buttresses are very structurally efficient as the steep angle channels the thrust from the nave vaults and from wind loading more directly to the outer buttress piers.

The Great Tower is a copy of one found at the Louvre and symbolizes royal power. The statues on the facade smile at the tympanum of the Last Judgment, welcoming the Judgment of Christ. The Romanesque carved portals from about 1160-70, probably intended for the facade of the earlier cathedral, have been reused on the south and north doors. The profuse ornamentation is reminiscent of Burgundian work.

Bourges Cathedral retains almost all its original ambulatory glass apart from the axial chapel, dating from about 1215. The iconography used in many of these windows uses typology such as Old Testament episodes prefiguring events in the life of Christ and symbolism such as the pelican who pecks her breast to feed her young on her own blood and the lioness who licks the malformed cub into shape to communicate theological messages. Other windows show the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, the story of Dives and Lazarus, and the Apocalypse.

Belize Barrier Reef

The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belizeroughly 300 meters or 1,000 ft offshore in the north and 40 kilometers or 25 mi in the south within the country limits. The Belize Barrier Reef is a 300 kilometers or 186 mi long section of the 900 kilometers or 560 mi long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, which is continuous from Cancun on the northeast tip of the Yucatan Peninsula through the Riviera Maya up to Honduras. It is the second largest coral reef system in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, popular for scuba diving and snorkeling. It is Belize top tourist destination, attracting almost half of its 260,000 visitors, and vital to its fishing industry. The details of Belize Barrier Reef are explained in world tour guides below.

Charles Darwin described it as the most remarkable reef in the West Indies in 1842. A large portion of the reef is protected by the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which includes seven marine reserves, 450 cays, and three atolls. It totals 960 km² or 370 miles² in area, including Glovers Reef Marine Reserve, Great Blue Hole, Half Moon Caye, Natural Monument and Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Cayes include Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, Caye Chapel, St. Georges Caye, English Caye, Rendezvous Caye, Gladden Caye, Ranguana Caye, Long Caye, Maho Caye, Blackbird Caye, Three Coner Caye, Northern Caye and Sandbore Caye.

Because of its exceptional natural beauty, significant on going ecological and biological processes, and the fact that it contains the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, the Reserve System has been designated as a World Heritage Site since 1996.

Despite these protective measures, the reef is under threat from oceanic pollution as well as uncontrolled tourism, shipping, and fishing. The main threats are considered to be hurricanes along with global warming and the resulting increase in ocean temperatures, which cause coral bleaching. It is claimed by scientists that over 40% of Belize's coral reef has been damaged since 1998.

The Belize Barrier Reef has been affected by two mass-bleaching events. The first mass bleaching occurred in 1995, with an estimated mortality of 10% of coral colonies, according to a report by the Coastal Zone Management Institute in Belize. In 1997 and 1998, a second mass-bleaching event occurred, coinciding with devastation effected by hurricane Mitch. Biologists observed a 48% reduction in live coral cover across the Belize reef system.

Usually, it is hard to distinguish whether the reason for coral bleaching is human activities or natural reasons such as storms or bacterial fluctuations. But in the case of the Belize Barrier Reef, many factors which make the distinction difficult don’t apply. Human population in this area is much sparser than the corresponding areas near other coral reefs, so the human activity and pollution are much lower compared to other coral reefs and the Belize reef system is in a much more enclosed area.

When coral bleaching occurs, a large part of the coral dies, and the remaining part of the ecosystem begins the process of repairing the damage. But the chances of recovery are low, as corals that are bleached become much more vulnerable to disease. Disease often kills more corals than the bleaching event itself. With continuous bleaching, the coral reef will have little to no chance of recovery.

Sabratha in Libya

Sabratha is a World Heritage Site in the Az Zawiyah District in the northwestern corner of modern Libya, was the westernmost of the three cities of Tripolis. It is also called as Sabratah or Siburata. From 2001 to 2007 it was the capital of the former Sabratha Wa Surman District. It lies on the Mediterranean coast about 65km or 40 miles west of Tripoli. The extant archaeological site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.
Sabratha port was established, perhaps about 500 BC, as a Phoenician trading post that served as a coastal outlet for the products of the African hinterland. Sabratha became part of the short-lived Numidian Kingdom of Massinissa before being Romanized and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The Emperor Septimus Severus was born nearby in Leptis Magna, and Sabratha reached its monumental peak during the rule of the Severans.

The city was badly damaged by earthquakes during the 4th century, particularly the quake of AD 365. It was rebuilt on a more modest scale by Byzantine governors. Within a hundred years of the Arab conquest of the maghreb, trade had shifted to other ports and Sabratha dwindled to a village.

Besides its magnificent late 3rd century theatre that retains its three storey architectural backdrop, Sabratha has temples dedicated to Liber Pater, Serapis, Isis, and Ian Flom. There is a Christian basilica of the time of Justinian and also remnants of some of the mosaic floors that enriched elite dwellings of Roman North Africa for example, at the Villa Sileen, near Al-Khoms. However, these are most clearly preserved in the coloured patterns of the seaward baths, directly overlooking the shore, and in the black and white floors of the Theatre baths.
There is an adjacent museum containing some treasures from Sabratha, but others can be seen in the national museum in Tripoli. In 1943, during the Second World War, archaeologist Max Mallowan, husband of novelist Agatha Christie, was based at Sabratha as assistant to the Senior Civil Affairs Officer of the Western Province of Tripolitania. His main task was to oversee the allocation of grain rations, but it was, in the words of Christies biographer, a glorious attachment, during which Mallowan lived in an Italian villa with a patio overlooking the sea and dined on fresh tunny fish and olives.

Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge

The Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge also known as the President JK Bridge or just the JK Bridge, is a steel and concrete bridge that crosses Lake Paranoa in Brasilia in Brazil. It links the southern part of the lake, and St. Sebastian Paranoa the Pilot Plan or the central and original part of the city, through the Monumental Axis. The details of Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge is explained in world tour guides below.

The bridge was inaugurated in December 15 of 2002, the structure of the bridge has a total length of crossing of 1,200 metres, a width of 24 meters with two carriage ways with three lanes in each direction, two walkways on the sides to use cyclists and pedestrian 1.5 meters width and length total span of 720 meters. It is named for Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, former president of Brazil, who in the late 1950s decided to build Brasilia as the new capital of the country. It was designed by architect Alexandre Chan and structural engineer Mario Vila Verde.

The main span structure has four supporting pillars submerged under Lake Paranoa, and the deck weight is supported by three 200-foot-tall or 61 m asymmetrical steel arches that crisscross diagonally. The decks are suspended by steel cables alternating at each side of the deck, interlacing in some kind of twisted plane. The entire structure has a total length of 1,200 m, and it was completed at a cost of US$56.8 million R$160 million Brazilian Reais, current 2003. The bridge has a pedestrian walkway and is accessible to bicyclists and skaters.

Despite the structural design complexity and the higher cost of the chosen solution, these characteristics give the bridge a great architectonical beauty and grandiosity, up to the level of Brasilias majestic scale. Inaugurated on December 15, 2002, this bridge immediately became one more of Brasilias favorite landmarks, especially at night. Chan won the Gustav Lindenthal Medal for this project at the 2003 International Bridge Conference in Pittsburgh. This medal is awarded for a single, recent outstanding achievement showing harmony with the environment, aesthetic merit and successful community participation.

This bridge was also awarded the Premio Abcem 2003 ABCEM Award Best Steel Work of the Year, Bridges and Highway Overpasses Category, granted by the Brazilian Metal Construction Association. The bridge architectural design seems similar to a pedestrian walkway in the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium located at 35 05 25 N 136 52 47 E. However architectural design also included structure shapes and solutions that step away from that footbridge.

The main characteristics of the Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge structure are given in detail below in world tour guides. The Total length of the Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge is 1,200 m. Main span supported by the archs are 720 m. Deck Width is 24 m with three lanes in each direction. Lateral sideways for pedestrians and bicycles are 1.5 m on each side. The Rise of the bridge is 60 m. The Clearance of the bridge is18 m. The Arch span of the bridge is 3 x 240 m.

Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen

Rosenborg Castle is a renaissance castle located in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is also called as Rosenborg Slot. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV many architectural projects. It was built in the Dutch Renaissance style, typical of Danish buildings during this period, and has been expanded several times, finally evolving into its present condition by the year 1624. Architects Bertel Lange and Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger are associated with the structural planning of the castle. The details of Rosenborg Castle are explained in world tour guides below.

The castle was used by Danish regents as a royal residence until around 1710. After the reign of Frederik IV, Rosenborg was used as a royal residence only twice, and both these times were during emergencies. The first time was after Christiansborg Palace burned down in 1794, and the second time was during the British attack on Copenhagen in 1801. Located on the first floor, the Long Hall was completed in 1624. It was originally intended as a ballroom. Around 1700 it was used as Royal Reception Room and for banquets. It was not until the second half of the 19th century that it became known as the Knights Hall.

Christian V had the hall partly modernised with twelve tapestries depicting the King's victories in the Scanian War. The stucco ceiling seen today is from the beginning of the 18th century. It shows the Danish Coat of Arms surrounded by the Orders of the Elephant and of Dannebrog. Side reliefs depict historical events from the first years of the reign of Frederik IV, including the liberation of the serfs, the founding of the dragoons and of the land militia among them. The frescos in the ceiling by Hendrick Krock, represent the Regalia.

Among the main attractions of Rosenborg are the coronation chair of the absolutist kings and the throne of the queens with the three silver lions standing in front. The Long Hall also contains a large collection of silver furniture, of which most is from the 17th century.


The castle is open to the public for tours and houses a museum exhibiting the Royal Collections, artifacts spanning a breadth of royal Danish culture, from the late 16th century of Christian IV to the 19th century. Some of these articles once belonged to the nobility and the aristocracy. The castle, now state property, was opened to the public in 1838. Of special interest to tourists is an exhibition of the Crown Jewels and the Danish Crown Regalia located in the castle. A Coronation Carpet is also stored there. In the summer time, flowers bloom in front of the castle in the castle garden.

The castle is situated in Kongens Have which is called as The Kings Garden, also known as Rosenborg Castle Garden. The Rosenborg Castle Garden is the countries oldest royal garden and was embellished in the Renaissance style by Christian IV shortly before the construction of the main castle. Today, the gardens are a popular retreat in the centre of Copenhagen, and attract an estimated 2.5 million visitors every year. Next to the castle are barracks where the Royal Life Guards is garrisoned. The Life Guard guards the castle.

Bruny Island

Bruny Island is an island off the south eastern coast of Tasmania, from which it is separated by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. Storm Bay is located to the island's northeast. Both the island and the channel are named after French explorer Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. Its traditional Aboriginal name was Alonnah Lunawanna, which survives as the name of two island settlements, Alonnah and Lunawanna. The details of Bruny Island are explained in world tour guides below.

Geologically, Bruny Island is actually two islands North Bruny and South Bruny that are joined by a long, narrow sandy isthmus. The holiday village of Dennes Point is located in North Bruny, while South Bruny is the site of the towns of Alonnah, Adventure Bay and Lunawanna. The Bruny Island is one of the tourist attraction and travel destinations to visit.

Outside its settlements the island is covered in grazing fields and large tracts of dry eucalyptus forest. Inland forests continue to be logged, but other large sections mostly along the southeastern coast are preserved as the South Bruny National Park. While the seaward side of the island features two long beaches Adventure Bay and Cloudy Bay it is for the most part extremely rugged, with cliffs of dolerite that tower over 200 metres above sea level, and which are amongst the highest sea cliffs in Australia. Brunys channel side is far more sheltered and a favourite fishing and recreational boating area for local and interstate visitors.

The island is accessed by vehicular ferry, funded by the State Government. Since 1954, four vessels have operated the Bruny Island Ferry service between the island and Kettering on the mainland. The service is currently plied by the Mirambeena, which is unusual for using a Voith Schneider propulsion system rather than a conventional propeller.

Bruny Island was originally inhabited by the Aborigines until European arrival, although there is still a large community of people who identify as Aboriginal. Abel Tasman tried to land in the vicinity of Adventure Bay in November 1642. In 1773 Tobias Furneaux discovered and named Adventure Bay; four years later on 26 January 1777 James Cook's two ships, the Resolution and Discovery stayed in the bay for two days. Cook carved his initials in a tree that was destroyed in a 1905 bushfire and is now commemorated by a plaque. In 1788 and again in 1792 William Bligh anchored in Adventure Bay.

The island itself however is named after the French explorer Bruni d'Entrecasteaux who explored the Channel region in 1792. It was known as Bruni Island until 1918, when the spelling was changed to Bruny. Since then the island has become known as a holiday location with surfing beaches, National Parks and historical sites. In more recent history the Bruny Island was the site of a land transfer by the state Government to local Aboriginal people.

A key contributor to Bruny Island's economy is its growing tourism industry. Being home to the South Bruny National Park, tourism on the island centres around the showcase of its natural assets. The Cape Bruny Lighthouse on 1838 is an iconic Australian lighthouse and was the oldest continuous lighthouse under operation by the Commonwealth. Now out of service, it has been transferred to the Tasmanian Government and is part of the South Bruny National Park. The main areas of Bruny Island or townships are Adventure Bay, Alonnah, Barnes Bay, Cloudy Bay, Dennes Point, Fluted Cape, Lunawanna and Simpsons Bay.

Fountains Abbey in England

Fountains Abbey is near to Aldfield, approximately two miles southwest of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. It is a ruined Cistercian monastery, founded in 1132. Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved Cistercian houses in England. It is a Grade I listed building and owned by the National Trust. Along with the adjacent Studley Royal Water Garden, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The details of Fountains Abbey are explained in World tour guides below.

Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132 following a dispute and riot at St Marys Abbey in York. Following the riot, thirteen monks were exiled and after unsuccessfully attempting to return to the early 6th century Rule of St Benedict, were taken into the protection of Thurstan, Archbishop of York. He provided them with a site in the valley of the River Skell. The enclosed valley had all the required materials for the creation of a monastery, providing shelter from the weather, stone and timber for building, and a running supply of water. The monks applied to join the Cistercian order in 1132.

The abbey operated for over 400 years, until 1539, when Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The Abbey buildings and over 500 acres or 2 km² of land were then sold by the Crown, on 1 October 1540, to Sir Richard Gresham, the London merchant, father of the founder of the Royal Exchange, Sir Thomas Gresham.

The construction of Abbey began in 1132, with rock quarried locally, although the original monastery buildings received considerable additions and alterations in the later period of the order, causing deviations from the strict Cistercian type. The church stands a short distance to the north of the River Skell, the buildings of the abbey stretching down to and across the stream. The cloister is to the south, with the three-aisled chapter-house and calefactory opening from its eastern walk, and the refectory, with the kitchen and buttery attached, at right angles to its southern walk.

Parallel with the western walk is an immense vaulted substructure, incorrectly styled the cloisters, serving as cellars and store-rooms, and supporting the dormitory of the conversi above. This building extended across the river. At its southwest corner were the necessaries, also built, as usual, above the swiftly flowing stream. The monks' dormitory was in its usual position above the chapter-house, to the south of the transept.

Peculiarities of arrangement include the position of the kitchen, between the refectory and calefactory, and of the infirmary above the river to the west, adjoining the guest-houses. In addition, there is a greatly lengthened choir, commenced by Abbot John of York, 1203–11, and carried on by his successor, terminating, like Durham Cathedral, in an eastern transept, the work of Abbot John of Kent, 1220–47, and to the tower, added not long before the dissolution by Abbot Huby, 1494–1526, in a very unusual position at the northern end of the north transept. Among other apartments, for the designation of which see the ground plan, was a domestic oratory or chapel, 46½ ft by 23 ft, and a kitchen, 50 ft by 38 ft. St Mary's Church, designed by William Burges is nearby.

Fountains Abbey is maintained by English Heritage, and owned by the National Trust. It is immediately adjacent to another National Trust property, Studley Royal Park, with which it is jointly marketed. The Trust also owns Fountains Hall, to which there is partial public access. The Porter's Lodge, formerly the gatehouse entrance for the Abbey property, features a modern exhibit area with displays about the history of Fountains Abbey and the monks’ lives. In January 2010, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal became two of the first National Trust properties to be included in Google Street View, using the Google Trike.

Europaturm

The Europaturm is a 337.5 meter or 1,107.3 ft high telecommunications tower in Frankfurt am Main in Germany. It is also called as Tower of Europe. The details of Europaturm are explained in World tour guides below.

The tower was designed by architect Erwin Heinle and the construction of tower was begun in 1974. At its completion five years later, it became the tallest free standing structure in the Federal Republic of Germany at 331 meters or 1,086 ft. Even without the height of the antenna at its top, the building still is over 295 meters or 968 ft high, which still makes it Germany second tallest structure, after the Fernsehturm Berlin 368 meters or 1,207 feet. Its base, at 59 meters or 194 ft thick, is the widest of any similar structure in the world.

The top of the tower can turn and provides a panoramic view of the Rhine Main area. For a number of years, the upper part of the structure housed a restaurant and discotheque, but since 1999, the Europaturm has been closed to the public. In September, 2004, the antenna at the top of the tower was replaced, increasing the total height to 337.5 meters or 1,107.3 ft. The six-ton antenna was lifted to the top in two parts by helicopter. The height of the tower is roughly equal to that of the Eiffel tower in Paris, which stands approximately 300 meters tall, less its 24-meter television antenna.

With the new antenna, the tower became capable of broadcasting high-definition digital television signals using the DVB-T standard which is the European counterpart to the ATSC digital standard used in the United States. It is capable of broadcasting four channels per transmitter, for a total of twenty-four channels, at 100 kilowatts per channel. It is capable of receiving satellite broadcasts and redistributing them via cable or terrestrial broadcasts.

The tower is owned and operated by T-Systems, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom. At night, it is illuminated with magenta lighting, the company's corporate colors. The tower is colloquially known as the Ginnemer Spaschel dialect of Frankfurt for The Ginnheimer Asparagus, or Ginnheimer Spargel in standard German, even though it is located in the Bockenheim of the City Ginnheim also a district, is a few meters away. The Fernsehturm or Television Tower was the first broadcast tower in Frankfurt.