The Tourist

Top Attraction of Berlin Charlottenburg Palace Schloß Charlottenburg

2014-09-29T15:10:00.001+02:00

Schloss Charlottenburg is an early eighteenth century Baroque palace in Berlin's western Charlottenburg district. The building burned to the ground during the Second World War but has been completely reconstructed.

History

Charlottenburg Palace

Charlottenburg Palace is the largest palace in Berlin. The original, central part was constructed between 1695 and 1699 as the summer residence for Sophie Charlotte, wife of the Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick III.

The palace, designed by Johann Arnold Nering, was expanded shortly after Frederick became the first Prussian King in 1701 as Friedrich I.

Swedish master Johann Friedrich Eosander von Göthe supervised the expansion, which included the addition of the 48 meter tall cupola and the construction of the orangery at the west wing.

Glass Bedchamber

Chapel

A statue of the goddess Fortuna was placed on top of the cupola.

In 1740 Frederick the Great - king Frederick III - commissioned the expansion of the east wing to complement the longer west wing. It was completed six years later after a design by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff. The palace was hit in 1943 during an allied air raid causing a fire which completely destroyed the building. After the war the palace was meticulously reconstructed.

Interior

The interior was just as beautifully reconstructed. The royal rooms are open to visitors, such as the Oak Gallery, paneled with oak and lined with oil paintings. The porcelain gallery, decorated with mirrors, has a fine display of Chinese porcelain. Other interesting rooms include the White Hall, the rococo style Golden Gallery and The Gallery of the Romantics, which has a collection of paintings from the German Romantic period. Also noteworthy is the Schlosskapelle, the completely reconstructed palace chapel.

Charlottenburg park

Schlossgarten

Belvedere

The park behind Schloss Charlottenburg was originally laid out in French Baroque style. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the park was converted into a less formal, landscaped garden. With the reconstruction of the park after the war, a small part was laid out in French style again.

In the beautiful park you'll find a number of buildings such as the mausoleum, a Doric temple built in 1810 as the burial place for members of the royal family. It contains the sarcophagus of Friedrich Wilhelm II among others.

Another building in the garden is the Belvedere, commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm II and built between 1788 and 1790 as a teahouse. Near the palace is the Schinkel pavilion, built by the renowned German architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel for king Friedrich Wilhelm III. In front of the pavilion are two columns, topped with statues symbolizing victory.

Statue of the Great Elector

The Great Elector

At the entrance of the palace stands a large equestrian statue of the Great Elector. It was designed in 1698 by Andreas Schlüter and commissioned by king Friedrich I, the elector's son. At the base of the statue are four chained warriors, symbolizing the four temperaments (which stem from the antiquity where they were used to describe personalities).

The statue was originally located in front of the Stadtschloss at the Museum Island, but during the Second World War the statue was submerged to the bottom of the Tegeler See, a large lake in Berlin. The statue was recovered in 1952 and after a restoration it was moved to the Charlottenburg Palace.

Top Attractions of London St. Paul's Cathedral

2014-06-09T16:36:00.003+03:00

The majestic St. Paul's Cathedral was built by Christopher Wren between 1675 and 1711. It is one of Europe's largest cathedrals and its dome is only exceeded in size by that of the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

History

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral seen from Millennium Bridge

St. Paul's Cathedral has had an eventful history. Five different churches were built at this site. The first church, dedicated to the apostle Paul, dates back to 604 AD, when King Ethelbert of Kent built a wooden church on the summit of one of London's hills for Mellitus, Bishop of the East Saxons. At the end of the seventh century, the church was built in stone by Erkenwald, Bishop of London.

In 962 and again in 1087, the cathedral was destroyed by fire, but each time it was rebuilt and expanded. By that time, it had become one of the largest cathedrals in Europe. Renovations and extensions in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries enlarged the cathedral even more.

The Great Fire

Scale model of the
old St. Paul's Cathedral

In 1665 Christopher Wren designed a plan for the renovation of the St. Paul's Cathedral, which was starting to fall into decay. But disaster struck again on the night of September 2, 1666, when the Great Fire of London destroyed four fifth of all of London, wiping 13,200 houses and 89 churches, including the St. Paul's Cathedral off the map.

Christopher Wren's Masterpiece

In 1669, three years after the fire, Christopher Wren was appointed 'Surveyor of Works' and was tasked with the construction of a new church to replace the destroyed Gothic cathedral.

South facade

St. Paul's Cathedral front facade

His first design was deemed too modest. In his second design, known as the 'Great Model', the cathedral was shaped like a Greek cross, with a portico, Corinthian columns and a striking large dome, which would be the world's largest after Michelangelo's dome at the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. This design was rejected as well; the Bishop considered it unsuitable for large processions.

Wren suggested a third design, this time with a larger nave and smaller dome, which was accepted in 1675. After the approval however Wren enlarged the dome and made several other adjustments so that the built cathedral now resembles the 'Great Model' and not the approved design.
The cathedral was built in a relative short time span: its first stone was laid on June 21, 1675 and the building was completed in 1711.

The Church

The Dome

Cathedral dome

The dome reaches a height of 111 meters (366 ft) and weights about 66,000 ton. Eight arches support the dome. On top of the dome is a large lantern with a weight of 850 ton.
560 steps lead visitors along three galleries all the way to the top of the dome. The first gallery, the Whispering Gallery, just inside the dome, is renowned for its acoustics. The second gallery, the Stone Gallery, is situated at a height of 53 meters (174 ft) on the outside of the dome, right above the colonnade. On top of the dome, at a height of 85 meters (279 ft), is the narrow Golden Gallery, which encircles the lantern's base. From here you have a magnificent view over the City.

Interior

The Baroque interior is just as imposing as the exterior of the church. The mosaics on the ceiling were added in 1890 by William Richmond after Queen Victoria complained that there was not enough color in the cathedral. The baldachin above the altar was rebuilt in 1958 after it was damaged by bombardments during World War II. The design is based on a sketch created by Wren. The only monument in the church that survived the fire of 1666 is the tomb of John Donne, from 1631.
Several famous people are entombed in the cathedral's crypt. Most notable are the tomb of the Duke of Wellington - who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo - and the tomb of Admiral Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar.

The west facade

There is also a tomb of Christopher Wren himself and a number of important artists are buried here as well.

The West Facade

The impressive facade at the west side of the church consists of a large portico and pediment. A relief on the tympanum depicts the conversion of Paul and was created in 1706. The portico is flanked by two towers which weren't part of the original plan. Wren added them at the last minute, in 1707.

Important Events

The church was the site of a number of important historic events such as the funeral of Admiral Nelson in 1806 and the funeral of Winston Churchill in 1965. Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married here in 1981.

Top Attractions of London Gherkin 30 St. Mary Axe

2014-06-08T20:24:00.000+03:00

30 St Mary Axe, better known by its nickname Gherkin, is one of the most eye-catching buildings in London and it stands out prominently in the city's skyline. The Gherkin is one of several modern buildings that have been built over the years in a historic area of London.

Construction

Construction of the Gherkin was commissioned by Swiss Re, a reinsurance company. The 41-story skyscraper was built in 2004 after a modern glass and steel design by the architectural firm of Foster and Partners.

The Gherkin

Glass facade of the Gherkin

Gherkin at dusk

Originally known as the Swiss Re Building, it was later renamed to its street address 30 St. Mary Axe after Swiss Re sold the building in 2007. Even before its construction was complete Londoners dubbed the building the 'Gherkin' for its distinctive shape, and it is still known by that name.

High-rises in the City

The tower was built in the heart of London's financial center at the site of the 1903 Baltic Exchange Building which had been damaged by a terrorist attack in 1992. The construction of a glittering high-tech building in the middle of a relatively low-rise area with plenty of historic buildings and narrow medieval streets set off a new debate about the need for tall buildings in the City of London. But even as many new skyscrapers are now built in Canary Wharf - well outside the city's historic center - the Gherkin has acted as a catalyst for the growing cluster of high-rises in the City.

Architecture

Street level

The cigar-shaped structure has a steel frame with circular floor plans and a glass facade with diamond-shaped panels. The swirling striped pattern visible on the exterior is the result of the building's energy-saving system which allows the air to flow up through spiraling wells.
On the street level, the Gherkin's base is well integrated with an open public plaza. Huge white X braces create a dramatic entrance. The top of the tower, where visitors find an open hall covered by a glass conical dome is even more spectacular. From here you have great views over the city. Unfortunately the building is not open to the public.
Its unique, bold and energy efficient design has won the Gherkin many awards including the Stirling Prize, the London Region Award, and the Emporis Skyscraper Award.

Top Attractions of New York City - Chrysler Building

2014-05-30T16:22:00.001+03:00

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the race for the world's tallest building started in earnest with several developers in New York vying for the coveted title. The Chrysler Building was the first building to top the then tallest structure, the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Chrysler Building

New York would keep the tallest building in the world until 1974, when the Sears Tower was built in Chicago.

A race for the tallest building

For Walter P. Chrysler, from the car manufacturer, building the tallest building in the world was a status symbol. The Chrysler Building was in a race with the Bank of Manhattan (now 40 Wall Street) for obtaining the title of tallest building in the world. It looked like the Bank of Manhattan would win the race, with an expected height of 282 meters (927ft) to around 230 meters for the Chrysler Building. But the spire of the Chrysler Building was constructed in secret inside the tower.

Art Deco Entrance

Gargoyle

The spire

Just one week after the Bank of Manhattan had topped out, the spire of the Chrysler Building was put in place, making it 318 meters (1045ft) tall, thus beating the Bank of Manhattan as the tallest building in the world. It would not keep this title for long: one year later the Empire State Building was erected.

Art Deco

The Chrysler building is one of the last skyscrapers in the Art Deco style. The gargoyles depict Chrysler car ornaments and the spire is modeled on a radiator grille. Since it was restored in 1996 it glitters again like it must have in the 1930s.

And the building's Art Deco interior is even more magnificent than its exterior. The marble floors and many Art Deco patterns such as on the stylish elevator doors make the Chrysler Building one of New York's most beautiful office towers.

Popularity

The building's design by architect William van Alen was largely dismissed by contemporary architecture critics, who claimed the spire's design was kitsch and the tower nothing more than a folly.

But ever since its construction the popularity of the building has grown constantly, both among New Yorkers and architecture critics. It is now regarded as one of America's greatest buildings, and the Chrysler Building is often featured on the cover of architectural books and magazines.

Top Attractions Of London - Piccadilly Circus

2014-05-26T21:09:00.002+03:00

Piccadilly Circus is a busy square in the heart of London. It is famous for the fountain that was installed here at the end of the nineteenth century and for the neon advertising that turned the square into a miniature version of Times Square.

Piccadilly Circus

The Circus lies at the intersection of five main roads: Regent Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, Piccadilly Street, Covent Street and Haymarket. It was created by John Nash as part of the future King George IV's plan to connect Carlton House - where the Prince Regent resided - with Regent's Park.

Billboards

The creation of Shaftesbury Avenue in 1885 turned the plaza into a busy traffic junction. This made Piccadilly Circus attractive for advertisers, who installed London's first illuminated billboards here in 1895. For some time the plaza was surrounded by billboards, creating London's version of Times Square, but currently only one building still carries large (mostly electronic) displays.

Eros statue

Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain

At the center of the Circus stands the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain. It was built in 1893 to commemorate Lord Shaftesbury, a philanthropist known for his support of the poor.
The seminude statue on top of the fountain depicts the Angel of Christian Charity but was later renamed Eros after the Greek god of love and beauty. The fountain was made in bronze, but the statue is made of aluminum, at the time a novel and rare material.

Piccadilly

The name 'Piccadilly' originates from a seventeenth-century frilled collar

named piccadil. Roger Baker, a tailor who became rich making piccadils lived in the area. The word 'Circus' refers to the roundabout around which the traffic circulated.

The Circus at night

Piccadilly Circus Today

Piccadilly Circus is now partly pedestrianized and a favorite place for people to congregate before going to the nearby shopping and entertainment areas. Soho, Chinatown, Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square are all within walking distance.

Top Attractions of New York City - Wall Street

2014-05-25T16:22:00.001+03:00

Wall Street is one of the world's most famous streets. Historically known as the center of New York's financial district, Wall Street is often associated with wealth and ambition in America.

How It Got Its Name

Wall Street

NYSE

40 Wall Street

After the Dutch purchased "New Amsterdam" from the Native Americans, a palisade was erected that formed the northern boundary of the new colony. The first "walls" along the street were basic plank fences, but as time passed and tensions grew, a stronger, taller wall was built in order to defend the colony against both the British and the American Indians tribes that still dominated the area. In 1685, after the original palissade was torn down and replaced with a new wall, a new street was created parallel with the wall, aptly named Wall Street. The British removed the defensive wall in 1699.

How It Got Its Reputation

Records show that in the years after the Revolutionary War, traders and speculators would gather under a particular buttonwood tree that sat at the foot of Wall Street. They soon formed The Buttonwood Association (1792), which is believed to be the roots of the New York Stock Exchange, whose headquarters has been located on Wall Street for centuries.

Buildings along Wall Street

By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Wall Street was "the place" to be if you were a large financial institution or other big business. So many buildings sprung up on this tip of Manhattan that the Wall Street district began to boast its own distinct skyline, separate from the buildings in Midtown.

People like J.P Morgan built headquarters like the one at 23 Wall Street, which was - for decades - the most important financial institution in the country. (One can still see the pockmarks on the building, left there from an unsolved bombing that occurred in 1920.)

Other notable buildings include the columned Federal Hall, originally built to house City Hall and its offices. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Building is also quite grand, built by George B. Post in a neoclassical style

Federal Hall

Charging Bull

that earned it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Equally as notable is the ornate 40 Wall Street, once home to the Bank of Manhattan.

The Charging Bull Statue

One of the Financial District's most famous symbols is the 'Charging Bull' Statue (The bull represents a bull market, a constantly rising market).

Inspired by the stock market crash in 1987, sculptor Arturo Di Modica created the 7,000-pound (3175kg) bull statue as a token of optimism. In 1989 he placed it - without authorisation - in front of the New York Stock Exchange in Wall Street. Police removed the statue but thanks to a public outcry it was reinstalled, but this time on Bowling Green, a small square annex park near Wall Street. The statue has become one of Lower Manhattan's most popular attractions.

Top Attractions of New York City - Grand Central Terminal ( Station )

2014-05-19T20:42:00.001+03:00

Grand Central Terminal is one of two magnificent train stations that were built in New York in the heyday of railway transportation. The other, Penn Station, was demolished in the 1960s.

Grand Central Terminal

Interior

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Side Entrance

The monumental railway station was constructed in 1903-1913 for the New York and Harlem Railroad company. It is a grand Beaux-Arts building which serves as a transportation hub connecting train, metro, car and pedestrian traffic in an efficient way. It has 67 train tracks on two different levels.

Penn Station

The other, even grander railway station - Penn Station - was built in 1902-1911 after a design by Charles McKim. In an act of vandalism, the monumental landmark - which was modeled on the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome - was destroyed in 1963-1966 and replaced by a banal railway station and office tower.

Grand Central Terminal almost suffered a similar fate but thanks to New York City's new landmark preservation laws - implemented in part thanks to the outcry over the demolition of Penn Station, the building was able to escape the wrecking ball.

The First Grand Central Station

The current Grand Central Terminal was not the first railway station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue. As early as in 1863 Cornelius Vanderbilt, known as 'the Commodore' consolidated railroad lines including the Harlem Railroad and New York Central Railroad. As a result of the consolidation the need for a large railway station soon became apparent.

In 1869, Vanderbilt commissioned architect John B. Snook to build the largest railway station in the world on a large property at 42nd Street. The resulting station, named Grand Central Station, featured a large glass and steel train shed, 650ft long, 200ft wide and 100ft high (198 x 60 x 30 meters). But increasing traffic and the smoke from the steam engines obscured vision in the Park Avenue tunnel, causing an accident in 1902. Seventeen people were killed and a public outcry called for electrification of the railway system. This resulted in a new state law requiring that steam engines would not be allowed in Manhattan, starting in 1910.

A New Railway Station

Shortly after the accident, the New York Central Railroad proposed plans for a new, larger Grand Central Station. The costly electrification and construction of the new railway station was compensated by the use of air rights: Electrification made it possible for the tracks to be covered and paved over all the way to 49th Street. Developers were allowed to construct buildings on top of it, but had to pay an extra sum to the railway company, the so-called air rights. Even the air on top of low-level buildings can be sold this way so that taller neighboring buildings are allowed.

In 1903 a competition was held for the design of the new Grand Central. The firm of Reed and Stem was chosen. William K. Vanderbilt II, one of the descendants of the 'Commodore'

Elevated road separating
cars from pedestrians

Underground corridor

Hercules, Mercurius and Minerva

The Main Concourse

asked Warren and Wetmore to collaborate with Reed and Stem. While the latter were responsible for the overall design and layout, Warren and Wetmore were responsible for the architectural details and Beaux-Arts style.

Terminal City

The project included not just the new railway station, but a whole complex with office buildings and apartments, which became known as 'Terminal City'. This was a 'city in the city' complex, similar to the concept of Rockefeller Center, created several decades later. Special attention was paid to the circulation of traffic. Pedestrians and cars are separated by special elevated ramps - the so-called Park Avenue Viaduct - which lead the cars around the railway station.

Construction of the new station, now known as Grand Central Terminal, lasted ten years and cost eighty million dollars. In the process, 180 buildings between 42nd and 50th Street, including hospitals and churches, were demolished. The railway station officially opened on Sunday February 2, 1913. But it would last until 1927 before the station was fully operational.

A Grand Design

The building's facade on 42nd Street has a true Beaux-Arts design. Large arches flanked by Corinthian columns are topped by a large sculpture group designed by Jules-Alexis Coutan. The 50ft / 15m high group depicts Mercury (the god of commerce) supported by Minerva and Hercules (representing mental and moral strength).

Ceiling Painting

Central Clock

Chandelier

Inside, the main concourse is most impressive. It is 470ft long, 160ft wide and 150ft high (143 x 49 x 43 meters). The ceiling was painted by the French artist Paul Helleu. The design with zodiac constellations was taken from a medieval manuscript. It is painted backwards, alledgedly so that the stars are shown as they would be seen by god, not by man.

Light enters the main concourse through six 75ft / 23m high arched windows. The western double staircase in Botticino marble was designed after the large staircase in the Opera Garnier in Paris. It connects the main concourse with the entrance on Vanderbilt Avenue. The floor of the concourse is of Tennessee marble, the walls of Caen stone.

Redevelopment

In 1994, the firms of LaSalle Partners and Williams Jackson Ewing were chosen by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to redevelop Grand Central Terminal.

The firms were chosen for their successful renovation of another Beaux-Arts icon, the Union Station in Washington DC.
The MTA's goal was to increase revenue while restoring the building's former grandeur. This was achieved by renovating the large public areas, removing former alterations (like lowered ceilings), adding a new entrance and creating a retail mall and food court, similar to the renovation project in Washington DC.

During the 197 million dollar restoration process, a large iron eagle was added on top of the new Lexington Avenue & 43rd Street entrance. This eagle once adorned the first Grand Central Station in 1898.

Top Attractions of New York City - Central Park

2014-05-18T20:05:00.000+03:00

Central Park is one of those places that make New York such a great place to live. The huge park, 341 hectare large (843 acres), is located in the center of Manhattan. Its design has served as an example for city parks around the world.

The park boasts several lakes, theaters, ice rinks, fountains, tennis courts, baseball fields, many playgrounds and other facilities. It is also home to the Central Park Zoo and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Especially during the weekends, when cars are not allowed into the park, Central Park is a welcome oasis in this hectic city.

History

Conception

When the terrain for Central Park was bought by the City of New York in 1853, it was faraway from civilization, somewhere between the City of New York and the village Harlem. The area contained sheds from colonists, quarries, pig farms and swamps.

In 1857, the city of New York organized a competition for the design of this new park, which had to rival with the great parks in London and Paris. A design by Frederic Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, named 'the Greensward Plan' was chosen.

Charles A. Dana Discovery Center

This plan featured an English style landscape with large meadows, several lakes and hills. Winding pedestrian roads were separated from main roads and the huge number of trees ensured the city's buildings were not visible from within the park.

Creation

To convert the swampy area into the park the designers had envisioned, several hundred thousand trees were planted, more than 3 million cubic yards of soil was moved, roads and bridges were constructed and a large reservoir was dug out. It took more than 15 years before the 20,000 workers had completed the park.

The Lake

Central Park immediately became a popular place for all New Yorkers, attracting millions of visitors each year.

From Relaxation to Recreation

Frederic Law Olmstead's goal was to create a place where people could relax and meditate. He saw the park as a kind of social experiment where people from both upper and lower classes would meet, a rather revolutionary idea at that time.

After the appointment of Robert Moses in 1934 as New York City Parks Commissioner, the focus of the park shifted from relaxation to recreation.

Small bridge at The Pond

During Moses's 26 year tenure he constructed many sports facilities, playgrounds and the Wollman rink. He also renovated the Zoo, and installed several sculptures including 'Alice in Wonderland '.

Decline and renovation

After the departure of Moses in 1960, Central park started to decline. Graffiti, garbage and criminality kept both citizens and tourists from visiting the park. In the 1970s the park became a symbol of New York City's decline.

Rowboats at The Lake

The tide started to turn in 1980 when a group of citizens created the Central Park Conservancy. Together with the city, it started a 50 million dollar renovation project. Several parts of the park, including Sheep Meadow and Bethesda Terrace were restored. Three employees were hired to remove the graffiti - it took them three years to complete this task. Criminality was reduced with the deployment of a large police force.

Balto Statue

Thanks to these efforts by both the city and private groups, Central Park is now a relatively clean and safe place, visited by more than 30 million people each year.

Sights & Attractions

There's plenty to see and do in Central Park. Sports facilities can be found all over the park but most of the interesting sights are found in the lower half of Central Park. You'll come across historical buildings, statues, monuments, beautiful bridges, and of course plenty of nature. Some of it is quite rugged like the forest-like Ramble while other parts of the park are more manicured and feature beautiful flowers and shrubs.

Merchants' Gate

There are eighteen gated entrances to the park. Each of them has its own name. Several of these gates are ornate such as the Vanderbilt Gate, Engineers' Gate and in particular Merchants' Gate at Columbus Circle.

Central Park Zoo

Many people enter the via the Scholars' Gate at Grand Army Plaza, near Fifth Avenue, which leads to a nice pond with a beautiful stone bridge. More to the north is one of the park's most popular attractions: Central Park Zoo. The zoo has exhibits divided into several regions such as a tropic zone and polar circle. Some of its popular residents include polar bears, snow leopards, red pandas and penguins. Just north of the Central Park Zoo is the Tisch Children's Zoo, where small children can see and touch domestic animals.

Dairy

West of the Central Park Zoo is the Dairy, a Victorian style cottage created in 1870. The picturesque building houses a Visitor Center where you can get maps, guides, gifts, and information on events that are planned in Central Park. The Dairy is located at a former pasture, where cows grazed to provide fresh milk for the city's children, hence the name of the building.

Bethesda Terrace

Bethesda Fountain and Terrace

The Mall, a wide boulevard lined with American elm trees, brings you from the Dairy to the Bethesda Terrace, one of Central Park's architectural highlights. The terrace has a central covered arcade flanked by two staircases that lead to a plaza. The focal point of the plaza is the Bethesda Fountain, installed here in 1873. The fountain's statue, Angel of the Waters, was created in 1842 by Emma Stebbins to commemorate the opening of the Croton water system, which for the first time provided New York with clean water. Bethesda Terrace overlooks The Lake and the Loeb Boathouse, where you can rent rowing boats or even a gondola.

Statues

Alice in Wonderland

Remote controlled model boat enthusiasts head to the Conservatory Water, a pond situated east of The Lake. There are two statues near the pond that are very popular with children. At the west side of the pond stands a statue of Hans Christian Andersen while a sculpture group of Alice in Wonderland and her friends can be found just north of the Conservatory Water. Children love to climb on the giant mushroom. Another famous statue in Central Park shows Balto, a Siberian Husky sled dog who in 1925 helped transport medicine across Alaska to deliver a serum necessary to stop a deadly outbreak of diphtheria.

Sheep Meadow and Great Lawn

Just west of the Mall is one of Central Park's largest open spaces: Sheep Meadow, an expansive pasture popular in summertime with sunbathers. The Great Lawn, more to the north and at the geographical center of Central Park, is even larger. The oval lawn, created in 1937, often plays host to free summer concerts.

Metropolitan Museum and Cleopatra's Needle

Cleopatra's Needle

The most important monument in Central Park is Cleopatra's Needle, an authentic Egyptian obelisk, located east of the Great Lawn. The 20 meter tall granite obelisk was originally erected at Heliopolis and later moved to Alexandria. In the mid 19th century it was donated to the US as a gift from Egypt.
The obelisk stands near the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the world's most important museums, with an enormous collection of artwork from all continents, covering a period from prehistory to today.

Strawberry Fields

Strawberry Fields is a memorial garden situated near the entrance to Central Park at W 72nd Street. It was created in honor of John Lennon, who was shot dead in front of the Dakota Apartments, where he lived. The tear-shaped garden was dedicated in 1985 as a garden of peace. It is named after a Beatles song written by John Lennon.

Strawberry Fields Mosaic

The famous mosaic with the word Imagine (another Lennon song) was a gift from the city of Naples in Italy.

Bow Bridge and Ramble

There are many bridges in Central Park - each with a unique design. One of the most interesting in the 18 meter (60 ft) long cast-iron Bow Bridge, that spans The Lake between Cherry Hill near the Bethesda Terrace and the Ramble, a 15 hectare (38 acre) large woodland. Here Central Park is at its most natural, with narrow paths winding through thickets of trees. This is a popular place for bird-watching: the Ramble is on a trans-Atlantic migration route and more than 250 different bird species have been spotted here.

Belvedere Castle

Belvedere Castle

Just north of the Ramble is the Belvedere Castle, situated at the highest point in the park. The castle was created in 1869 as a lookout tower after a design by Calvert Vaux. The tower overlooks Turtle Pond, named for the many turtles that live here.

Shakespeare Garden

Shakespeare Garden was created in 1913 as the Garden of the Heart. Three years later, on the 300th anniversary of the Shakespeare's death, it was dedicated to the famous play writer. The garden contains plants that were mentioned in Shakespeare's plays. Stairs connect the garden with the Swedish Cottage, a replica of a Swedish school from the 19th century. It was transported to Philadelphia on the occasion of the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 and it eventually ended up here in New York's Central Park.

Conservatory Garden

Conservatory Garden

The upper part of Central Park is less visited and there are also less interesting sights. One major exception is the Conservatory Garden, the only garden in Central Park with a formal layout. It is divided into three sections: a central Italianate garden flanked by a French-style garden to the north and an English-style garden to the south. The gardens are adorned with several beautiful fountains, including "Three Dancing Maidens", created in 1910 by the German sculptor Walter Schott.

Charles A. Dana Discovery Center

Further up north, bordering Harlem, is Harlem Meer, one of the largest lakes in Central Park. The pretty Victorian-style building near the lake is much younger than it looks: it was built in 1993. It is home to the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, an environmental educational center targeting families and children.

Top Attractions of New York City - Times Square

2014-05-16T23:25:00.001+03:00

Times Square, the most bustling square of New York is known for its many Broadway theatres, cinemas and electronic billboards. It is one of those places that make New York a city that never sleeps.

History

Times Square

At the end of the 19th century, New York City had expanded up to 42nd street and the area was becoming the center of the city's social scene. In 1904, the New York Times built the Times Tower on 43rd street just off Broadway to replace its downtown premises. The square in front of the building was called Longacre square, but was soon renamed Times Square. The name is now used for the area between 40th and 53rd street and 6th and 9th avenue.

New York Times Headquarters

The inauguration of the New York Times' new headquarters at 1 Times Square was celebrated with a fireworks display, starting a New Year's Eve tradition which still continues today.

Billboards

The first famous ball-lowering from the 1 Times Square's rooftop pole was held on New Year's Eve 1907.

Theater District and Billboards

At the start of the First World War, Times Square was the center of the Theater District and attracted a large number of visitors. This made the square an ideal place for billboards. In 1917 the first large electric display billboard was installed. Eleven years later, the first running electric sign was lit for the first time, to announce Herbert Hoover's victory in the Presidential elections. The billboards have become such a tourist attraction for the area, that the zoning now requires the buildings to be covered with billboards!

Decline

Times Square at night

In the thirties, the Great Depression led to a sharp decline in theater attendance. Many businesses had to close down, and they were quickly replaced by strip teases and and peep shows. The area continued to attract visitors though and after the Second World War, the Theater District was booming again. At the end of the sixties, the area started to go downhill and by the mid-seventies, tourists avoided Times square, which had become a seedy, crime-ridden and drug-infested place.

Disneyfication

In the 1980s redevelopment proposals were submitted, with little result. This changed a decade later, when the Walt Disney Company opened a Disney store on Times Square. This attracted more family-friendly businesses to the area, leading to a so-called 'Disneyfication'. The area was now - like most of New York City - a lot safer than in the early nineties and Times Square once again became a magnet for tourists and a center of New York's social scene.

Times Square Today

Today Times Square is a constantly buzzing tourist magnet; the square is even one of the most visited places in the world.

Pedestrianization

Pedestrianized area

For most of its existence Times Square wasn't much more than a large traffic intersection, but it is now being redeveloped into a pedestrian-friendly square with large car-free plazas replacing much of the asphalt. The redevelopment project - dubbed Times Square Transformation - started in 2012 and is expected to be completed in 2016.

Entertainment

Many people come to Times Square for the ambiance and the billboards spectacle, but there are also many restaurants and shops - well over 100 - in the area including some crowd-pullers such as the Disney Store and a large Toys"R"Us. But Times Square is best known for its entertainment, and plenty of visitors come here to attend a Broadway show. Times Square is also home to MTV's headquarters and ABC's 'Good Morning America' is broadcast in front of a live audience from its office at 44th and Broadway.

Paramount Building and Visitors Center

Paramount Building

The most famous building at the square is undoubtedly the iconic Paramount Building. The building was home to the Paramount theater where stars such as Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra performed in their heyday. Unfortunately the theater was demolished and the Paramount building is now merely an office tower.
Another former theater, the Embassy Theater, is now the home of Times Square's own visitors center. Here you can get information about events and Broadway shows. There's also a small museum that tells the history of Times Square.

Top Attractions of Chicago - Magnificent Mile

2014-05-14T20:15:00.004+02:00

The Magnificent Mile, the northern part of Michigan Avenue between the Chicago River and Lake Shore Drive, is Chicago's version of the Champs-Elysées: a grand wide boulevard with exclusive shops, museums, restaurants and ritzy hotels.

Shopper's Paradise

Magnificent Mile

Michigan Avenue
Bridge

Wrigley Building

All the big names in shopping are present here, from Disney, Apple and Niketown to Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue. The wide sidewalks, often adorned with well-maintained flowerbeds are always crowded. The areas around the Magnificent Mile are some of Chicago's wealthiest.

Landmarks

Architectural landmarks like the John Hancock Center and the Tribune Tower can be found in abundance along the avenue. Building booms in the 1920s, 70s and 90s turned the once low-rise residential street into an economically thriving area bordered by tall skyscrapers.

Michigan Avenue Bridge

Following Daniel Burnham's plan of 1909, Michigan Avenue was widened to create a thoroughfare able to cope with the growing traffic. In order to connect the avenue with Pine street across the Chicago River, the Michigan Avenue bridge was built in 1920. The beautiful bascule bridge, modeled on the Pont Alexandre III in Paris, allowed traffic to move freely from the busy South Michigan Avenue to the north side of the river, which was renamed to North Michigan Avenue.

Soon after the completion of the bridge construction on the north side started: in 1920 the Drake Hotel at the northern end and the now famous Wrigley Building at the southern end of N. Michigan Ave. were completed. They were soon followed by other remarkable buildings, including the Allerton Hotel (1924), the Tribune Tower (1925), the Medinah Athletic Club (1929) and 919 N. Michigan Avenue (1929).

Magnificent Mile

Magnificent Mile's sidewalk

In 1947, when the North Michigan Avenue already had become Chicago's most fashionable street, real estate developer Arthur Rubloff - who had ambitious plans for the avenue - dubbed North Michigan Avenue 'Magnificent Mile'. The name stuck and in 2001 it was even trademarked.

Building Boom

900 N. Michigan Ave.

Water Tower and
Magnificent Mile

A new building boom started in 1969 with the construction of the John Hancock Center, a 100-story tall residential skyscraper. The tower, situated at the northern end of the avenue, attracted other large buildings, including the nearby Water Tower Place (1976), a tower with more than 100 shops, theaters and restaurants. Another boom started at the end of the 1980s and added some more skyscrapers at the Magnificent Mile, among them the 900 N. Michigan Avenue (1989) and Park Tower (2000).

Old Water Tower

The oldest building along the Magnificent Mile is the Old Water Tower. The tower was built in 1869 and its castle-like architecture looks a bit out of place in this modern high-rise district. One of the lone survivors of the Chicago Great Fire in 1871, the building symbolizes Chicago's resilience. It faced demolition several times; in 1906, 1918 and 1948 but each time preservationists were able to save the Water Tower.

A Grand Avenue

Thanks to all the landmarks, the wide and beautiful boulevard and the avenue's great vistas, at the south end bordered by the Michigan Avenue bridge and at its northern end by Oak Street Bridge, the Magnificent Mile is a unique street that you shouldn't miss on your visit to Chicago.

Top Attractions of Chicago - Old Water Tower Old Water Tower and Pumping Station

2014-05-13T15:27:00.000+02:00

The Water Tower and nearby pumping station were the only two buildings in downtown Chicago that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1781 which razed the whole city to the ground.

Water Tower

Old Water Tower and Pumping Station

Magnificent Mile seen from City Place

The Tower is situated at 800 N. Michigan Avenue, at the center of Magnificent Mile, and contrasts sharply with nearby modern buildings such as John Hancock Center and Water Tower Place.

Castle Design

Constructed in 1869 using big limestone blocks, the Chicago Water Tower, with all its small neo-gothic towers resembles more a tiny European medieval castle than a water tower. It was designed by architect William W. Boyington and houses a 40 meter standpipe which was used to equalize the pressure of the water pumped from the adjacent pumping station. The tower reaches a height of 154 ft or 47 meter and towered over all the neighboring buildings. Today it is dwarfed by the many skyscrapers surrounding the tower.

Water Pump

The pumping system was built to provide the city with clean water, pumped from intake bins that were located in Michigan Lake. Until then the city retrieved water from basins along the shoreline which were polluted with water from the Chicago River, which at the time was in fact used as an industrial sewage.

Water Tower at night

The plan was not a great success since the bins eventually became polluted as well. The problem was only solved at the end of the 19th century after the direction of the Chicago river was reversed. The tower became functionally obsolete in 1906.

Water Landmark

Since its survival of the Great Fire, the Water Tower became one of the city's most famous icons as it symbolized Chicago's resilience. It was threatened with demolition several times - in 1906, 1918 and 1948 - but it was saved each time thanks to a public outcry. The tower was eventually restored in 1962.
In May of 1969, during the year of its centennial anniversary, the Chicago Water Tower was selected by the American Water Works Association to be the first American Water Landmark.
Today the tower is one of the most important historic attractions in Chicago. It houses a gallery which showcases works from local photographers.

Top Attractions of Chicago John Hancock Center

2014-05-12T17:10:00.001+02:00

Known locally as 'Big John', the John Hancock Center is one of the Chicagoans' favorite skyscrapers. The 100 - story building, completed in 1969, has a remarkable design, with the huge X-braces serving both a structural and a visual purpose. Visually, it gives the impression of stability and it moves the eye away from the human-sized windows.

North side seen from John Hancock Center

John Hancock Center at night

John Hancock Center

X Braces

The construction was designed by the engineer Fazlur Kahn and architect Bruce Graham from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Fazlur Kahn devised the frame-tube system, which he also implemented in the Sears Tower.

This new construction method was made possible by new technologies, like more advanced software and new developments in steel. Thanks to the new construction method, it was possible for Kahn to design constructions which could resist the strong windforces more effectively by having the forces absorbed by all three dimensions of the building. The diagonals are connected to the exterior columns, making it possible for the forces to be carried over from the braces to the columns and back.

John Hancock Center

The innovative construction also resulted in a 50% decrease of required steel compared to skyscrapers built with interior columns.

Multifunctional

Just like Marina City, the John Hancock Center is a multifunction building. It includes 48 stories of apartments (with a total of 711 apartments), 29 stories offices, shops, a hotel, a swimming pool, an ice rink, restaurant and on top of the 344 meters (1127 ft) tall building radio and television facilities. On top it offers services like its own post office and a refuse collection. The apartments are located at the top of the tower. Some of them are so high that the inhabitants sometimes have to call the doorkeeper to ask what the weather's like down on the ground, as the apartments are sometimes above the clouds.

Criticism

At the beginning of the project, it was controversial mostly because of the location of this massive tower, near the much smaller and more gentle buildings on Michigan Avenue. After its completion, most of the criticism dwindled, but much like with the Sears Tower, the plaza at the entrance was considered very user- unfriendly, being afflicted by heavy gales and loud traffic noise from Michigan Avenue. It was redesigned in 1995 and now includes a 3,5 meters high fountain to muffle the noise and a recirculation of office and shopping traffic.

Observation Deck

The observation deck at the top of the John Hancock Center gives one of the best views you can have of the Loop, Chicago's downtown area.

Top Attractions of Chicago Buckingham Fountain Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain

2014-05-11T18:18:00.001+02:00

Buckingham Fountain, officially known as the 'Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain' is one of Chicago's most popular landmarks. The fountain is located in Grant Park at the center of a formally laid out garden.

Kate Buckingham

Buckingham Fountain

The fountain was commisioned in 1927 by Kate Buckingham to honor her late brother Clarence. She had frequently traveled to Europe, where she admired the huge public fountains and wanted to bring some of Europe's monumentality to Chicago. She also left an endowment to maintain the fountain.

Design

The design of the fountain is based on the 'Bassin de Latone' at the Versailles Palace near Paris and was built by Edward H. Bennett, who had also constructed

the Michigan Avenue Bridge.

One of Buckingham Fountain's Seahorses

The fountain rises more than 7 meters high (23ft) and consists of 3 layers of bassins surrounded by four pairs of bronze seahorses. Each sea horse symbolizes a state bordering Lake Michigan (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin) while the fountain represents the lake itself. The statues were created by the French sculptor Marcel F. Loyau, who won the Prix National at the 1927 Paris Salon for it.

A Monumental Fountain

The fountain at night

One of the largest fountains in the world, the Buckingham Fountain measures 85m/280ft in diameter. It features 134 jets powered by 3 pumps.
The fountain's hourly 20 minute water display starts with small sprays. While the basins are filled more and more jets are activated until it reaches its climax when the central jet pushes water up to a height of 46m/150ft. The animation is best seen at dusk - after 8 pm - when it is accompanied with music and beautifully animated with a now computerized choreography of color spotlights.

Top Attractions of Paris France - Place de la Concorde Square of Concord

2014-05-06T15:47:00.000+02:00

At eight hectares (20 acres), the octagonal Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris. It is situated between the Tuileries and the Champs-Elysées.

Creation

Place de la Concorde

In 1763, a large statue of king Louis XV was erected at this site to celebrate the recovery of the king after a serious illness. The square surrounding the statue was created later, in 1772, by the architect Jacques-Ange Gabriel. It was known as the place Louis XV.

Guillotine

In 1792, during the French revolution, the statue was replaced by a another, large statue, called 'Liberté' (freedom) and the square was called Place de la Révolution. A guillotine was installed at the center of the square and in a time span of only a couple of years, 1119 people were beheaded here. Amongst them many famous people like King Louis XVI, Marie-Antionette, and

revolutionary Robespierre, just to name a few. After the revolution the square was renamed several times until 1830, when it was given the current name 'Place de la Concorde'.

Cleopatra's Needle

Obelisk

In the 19th century the 3200 years old obelisk from the temple of Ramses II at Thebes was installed at the center of the Place de la Concorde. It is a 23 meters (75 ft) tall monolith in pink granite and weighs approximately 230 tons. In 1831, it was offered by the Viceroy of Egypt to Louis Philippe.

Obelisk's pedestal

Three obelisks wereoffered by the Viceroy, but only one was transported to Paris.

The obelisk - sometimes dubbed 'L'aiguille de Cléopâtre' or Cleopatra's Needle - is covered with hieroglyphs picturing the reign of pharaohs Ramses II & Ramses III. Pictures on the pedestal describe the transportation to Paris and its installation at the square in 1836.

Statues & Fountains

Brest Monument, Place de la Concorde

Statue of galloping horse

Fontaine des Mers

Maritime Fountain at Place de la Concorde

At each corner of the octagonal square is a statue representing a French city: Bordeaux, Brest, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Rouen and Strasbourg. They were installed in 1836 by Jacob Ignaz Hittorf, who redesigned the Place de la Concorde between 1833 and 1846. That same year a bronze fountain, called 'La fontaine des Mers' was added to the square. A second one, the 'Elevation of the Maritime' fountain, was installed in 1839. Both fountains were designed by Hittorf.

Orientation

From the Place de la Concorde you can see the Arc de Triomphe (west), the Madeleine (north), the Tuileries (east) and, across the Seine, the Palais Bourbon, now the Assemblée Nationale(south).

Top Attractions of Paris France - Centre Pompidou

2014-05-05T17:43:00.001+02:00

In 1969 French President Georges Pompidou launched the idea of creating a new cultural institution in Paris dedicated to modern art.

Functional Design

Centre Pompidou

In 1971 a competition for this new cultural center attracted 650 entries. The winning project, submitted by the architects Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano and Gianfranco Franchini broke with architectural conventions by moving functional elements such as escalators, water pipes and air conditioning to the outside of the building, freeing interior space for the display of art works. The pipes and ducts are all color-coded: blue for air, green for water, red for elevators, yellow for electricity, gray for corridors and white for the building itself.

Opposition

The construction of the glass and metal building in the centrally located Beaubourg neighborhood ran into a lot of opposition from people who disliked the idea of an 'oil refinery' in a historic district. But when the museum opened in December 1977, it became an instant success: originally designed to accommodate some

5,000 visitors per day, the Centre Pompidou has been welcoming over 25,000 visitors per day making it one of the most visited attractions in Paris.

Pipes of the Centre Pompidou

More Than a Museum

The Centre Pompidou is home to one of the world's most important museums of modern art, the MNAM, but it also contains a very popular library, a bookshop, a movie theater and a panoramic terrace. The Public Information Library or BPI boasts a collection of 450,000 books, 2,600 magazines and a large number of new media items.

The library occupies the first three floors of the building, while the museum's permanent collection is located on floors 4 and 5. The first and top floor are used for large expositions. The museum has one of the most important collections of modern art. Its more than 59,000 works cover a broad spectrum of 20th century arts.

The 4th floor contains works from 1905 to 1965 and covers art movements such as fauvism, abstract art, surrealism and cubist art. Some of the featured artists include Matisse, Kadinsky, Miró and Picasso.

Stravinsky Fountain

The 5th floor covers the period after 1965, including the pop-art movement and figurative art.

Place Beaubourg

The square in front of the Centre Pompidou, the 'Place Georges Pompidou' or 'Place Beaubourg', is very popular. The large crowds are animated by mimes, street portraitists and entertainers.

If you want to see some modern art without going into the museum, just go to the right of the square, to the place Igor Stravinsky where you'll find the most famous modern fountain in Paris. The fountain has several kinetic sculptures, designed by Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely.

Top Attractions of Paris France - Jardin du Luxembourg Luxembourg Garden

2014-05-04T16:48:00.004+02:00

The Jardin du Luxembourg is probably the most popular park in Paris. The park, situated near the Latin Quarter, offers a lot of variety and attracts all kinds of people, from students and parents with children to tourists.

Jardin du Luxembourg

The 22.45 hectare large park (about 55 acres) can get pretty crowded when the sun comes out. Students come here to rehearse their courses, neighbors come here for a stroll and like with all great places in Paris, there are always plenty of tourists. But despite its popularity, the Jardin du Luxembourg is plenty enjoyable and a welcome relief from the crowded Parisian streets.

History

The park was originally owned by the duke of Luxembourg, hence the name. The domain was purchased in 1612 by Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV. After the king was murdered in 1610 she decided to move out from the Louvre to a new residence.

Marie de' Medici was of Italian descent and had spent her youth in Florence at the Pitti Palace. The Boboli garden at this palace was the inspiration for the Jardin du Luxembourg.

She commissioned Salomon de Brosse with the construction of a new palace and had the garden laid out in Italian fashion. At the time the garden was quite small due to the existence of a Carthusian monastery to the south of the palace. Despite the insistence of Marie de' Medici the Carthusians refused to leave and the garden stretched no further than the current octagonal pond.

Almost two hundred years later, during the French Revolution, the Carthusians were forced to leave when revolutionaries confiscated the monastery. This paved the way for a significant expansion of the gardens and a redesign in a more French style. Baron Haussmann, during his massive urban renewal of Paris in the mid nineteenth century, nibbled at the edges of the park, but it is still one of the largest green spaces in the center of Paris.

The Park

Relaxing in the park

Orangery

In the middle of the park is a large octagonal pond, known as the Grand Bassin. Here, children can rent small boats. The Jardin du Luxembourg boasts many other attractions for children such as a puppet theater, pony rides, a merry-go-round and a large playground.

Around the pond are nice lawns, paths, and some of Paris's most beautiful flower beds, all laid out in a geometrical pattern and enclosed by a balustrade. Numerous statues adorn the park. This is also one of the parks where you can simply get hold of one of the many chairs and take it to the exact spot where you want to sit. The park is also popular with chess players and jeu de boules players. There's also a tennis court, a music pavilion and an orangery in the park. Right behind the orangery is the Musée du Luxembourg, a museum that is only open for temporary exhibitions.

Fountains

The Jardin du Luxembourg features several noteworthy fountains. The most famous one is the Fontaine Médicis, a romantic Baroque fountain designed in the early seventeenth century.

Fontaine Médicis

It is located at the end of a small pond at the northeast side of the park. A central sculpture group shows the Greek mythological figure of Polyphemus who observes the lovers Acis and Galatea. It is flanked by allegorical figures depicting the rivers Seine and Rhône.

Very few people realize that there's another fountain, the Fontaine de Léda, at the back of the Fontaine Médicis. This fountain was created in 1806. A relief shows a mythical scene with Leda and Zeus disguised as a swan.

Fontaine Delacroix

There's a third fountain on the other, west side of the palace. It honors the French painter Eugène Delacroix and consists of a rectangular basin with six jets. At the center is a tall pedestal with a bust of the painter. Sensual allegorical statues of Time, Glory and Genius stretch from a plinth towards the bust.

At the southern end of the park, in an extension known as the Jardins de l'Observatoire, is yet another fountain, the Fontaine de l'Observatoire. The monumental fountain was created in 1873 by Davioud, Carpaux and Frémiet. The centerpiece of the fountain shows a globe supported by four women, each representing a continent.

Statues

La Liberté

There are almost seventy statues and monuments scattered around the park. Among them are twenty statues of French Queens, including Marie de' Medici. The patroness of Paris, Sainte-Geneviève, is another woman whose effigy you can find here. Many of the statues in the Jardin du Luxembourg honor famous (mostly French) people, from politicians and scientists over sculptors and painters to poets and composers like Chopin and Beethoven. Other statues depict animals or are inspired by mythology, such as the Dancing Faun.

Many visitors will be surprised to see La Liberté, a miniature version of the Statue of Liberty created by Auguste-Bartholdi himself. And there's also a bit of Rome in the Jardin du Luxembourg thanks to the Bocca della Verità monument, which depicts a woman who puts her hand in the Mouth of Truth.

The Palace

Palais du Luxembourg

Between 1615 and 1627 the Palais du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Palace) was constructed at the northern end of the Jardin du Luxembourg.

The palace was built for Marie de' Medici, who was nostalgic about her youth at the Pitti Palace in Florence, so she asked the architect, Salomon de Brosse, to look at the Pitti Palace for inspiration, hence the Florentine style of the palace. The widowed queen did not get the time to enjoy her new palace and gardens for long as she was banished by Richelieu in 1625, before the palace was completed.

In 1794, during the French Revolution, the palace served as a prison. It also served as the headquarters of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. The building currently houses the French Senate.

Top Attractions of Paris Sacré-Coeur Basilica of the Sacred Heart

2014-04-23T16:26:00.000+02:00

The Sacré-Coeur Basilica is one of Paris's major tourist draws. The majestic building is located on top of the Montmartre hill.

Sacré-Coeur

Montmartre

Above all, Montmartre, an area on a hill in the 18th arrondissement, north of downtown Paris, is known for its many artists who have been omnipresent since 1880. The name Montmartre is said to be derived from either Mount of Martyrs or from Mount of Mars. Until 1873, when the Sacré-Coeur was built on top of the hill, Montmartre was a small village, inhabited by a mostly farming community.

The Basilica Project

The project to build the Sacré-Coeur Basilica (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) was initiated by a group of influential people. Their reasons to build this monument was two-fold:

King Louis IX

they had pledged to build a church if Paris escaped unscathed from the war with the Prussians and they saw the defeat of the French at the hands of the Prussian army in 1870 as a moral condemnation of the sins of Paris.
The project was authorized by the National Assembly in 1873, and a competition was organized. The goal was to build an imposing basilica true to Christian traditions.

Statue of King Louis IX on the Sacré-Coeur

Statue of Joan of Arc on the Sacré-Coeur

The Building

The winner of the competition was Paul Abadie, who had already restored two cathedrals in France. He designed an immense basilica in a Roman-Byzantyne style. This architectural style stands in sharp contrast with other contemporary buildings in France,

View from the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont

which were mostly built in a Romanesque style.

Sacré-Coeur seen from Rue Laffitte

Construction of the Basilica started in 1876 with Abadie as the lead architect. When Paul Abadie died in 1884, he was succeeded by Lucien Magne, who added an 83 meter (272 ft) tall clock tower. The Savoyarde clock installed here is one of the world's largest.

Due to its location on the Montmartre hill, the basilica towers over the city; its highest point is even higher than the top of the Eiffel Tower. Thanks to this prominent location the Sacré-Coeur Basilica is one of the most

noticeable landmarks in Paris.

White Stones

The Sacré-Coeur Basilica has managed to keep its beaming white color even in the polluted air of a big city like Paris. This can be attributed to the Château-Landon stones which were used for the construction of the Sacré-Coeur. When it rains, the stones react to the water and secrete calcite, which acts like a bleacher.

Top Attractions of Chicago Navy Pier

2014-04-12T18:18:00.001+02:00

Navy Pier is a large pier on Lake michigan near Streeterville, close to Chicago's downtown. Originally known as the Municipal Pier nr 2, it is one of two piers called for in Daniel Burnham's 1909 Chicago plan. The other pier was never built.

Construction

Construction started May 1914 and in 1916 it was opened to the public.

Navy Pier Entrance to Dock Street

At the time it was the world's largest pier, 292 ft wide and 3000ft long (89m x 914m).
The pier was designed as a shipping and entertainment area. In its first decade, the Municipal Pier was successfully attracting both visitors and ships. It was also temporarily used as a military facility during the first world war.

Decline

By the end of the 1920s, the Navy Pier's success started to decline. The introduction of cars and the opening of movie theaters created more competition for the Pier and the number of visitors dwindled. Shipping started to decline in the 1930s due to the Great Depression and the competition of transportation by trucks.

Navy Pier

In 1927 the pier was renamed Navy Pier in honor of World War I veterans. It would turn out to be a prophetic name change, as the Navy Pier

served as a naval training facility during the second World War. After the war it served as the Chicago branch of the University of Illinois. In 1965 the university moved to its new location and the Navy Pier started to decay.

Redevelopment

The first step in the redevelopment of the Navy Pier was the 1976 restoration by Jerome R. Butler, Jr. of the Auditorium building at the eastern end of the pier. One year later it was designated a Chicago Landmark. Another step to the redevelopment of the Navy Pier was taken in 1989, when the city of Chicago and the State of Illinois installed the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority, an organisation responsible for the management of the pier.
At the same time they committed 150 million dollar for reconversion of the pier as a recreational center. The renovation by Benjamin Thompson & associates started in 1992 and was completed in 1994.

Beer Garden

The result is a very successful recreational center next to Chicago's downtown area. Thanks to its many attractions and 50 acres of parks and gardens (20 ha) it attracts more than 8 million visitors each year.

Headhouse & Auditorium

The two major buildings on the Navy Pier, Headhouse and Auditorium - both designed by the architect Charles Summer Frost and constructed in 1916 - have survived its ups and downs.

The most western building, a brick and terra cotta building with two prominent towers is the Navy Pier Headhouse. The name was derived from the area, which at the time was known as the Headlands. Each tower housed a huge

2-million liter tank for the fire sprinkler system. The Headhouse is now home to Chicago's children museum. At the western side of the building is the 19 acre (8 ha) Gateway Park, featuring a modern, computerized granite fountain with 240 jets.

Auditorium Building, Navy Pier

Beer Garden & Auditorium

At the other end of the pier is the Auditorium, also known as the Hall. This beautiful building with a magnificent Grand Ballroom measures 138 ft by 150 ft (42m x 48m) and has a 100ft (30m) high half-domed ceiling.

Attractions

The Navy Pier is home to many attractions, some may vary depending on the season.

Ferris Wheel, Navy Pier

Here's an overview of attractions found at the pier:

- The most eye-catching is the 148 ft (45m) high Ferris Wheel. It was modeled after the first ferris wheel built for the 1893 World Columbian Exposition.

- Near the Ferris Wheel is a 44ft high musical carousel with 36 hand-painted animals.

- The skyline stage, a 100ft (30m) high vaulted roof structure, is used as an ice skating rink during wintertime and as a 1500-seat theater during summer.

- The Navy Pier features two museums: the Children's museum (which plans a move to Grant Park) and the Smith museum of Stained Glass Windows, which opened in 2000.

Children's Museum

- A 7 story Shakespeare theater complex with a 525 seat theater is another recent addition to the Navy Pier.
- The Navy Pier Aeroballoon, an anchored hlium-filled balloon that floats above the lakefront with up to 18 passengers allows visitors to admire Chicago's skyline from a height of 350ft (107m).
- Other attractions are an 18 hole miniature golf course, a funhouse maze, a beer garden, a 40ft high wave swinger and an IMAX theater.

- Navy Pier is also a starting point for many boat trips. You have ample choice: You can take a trip on a 148ft high, four-masted schooner or you can hop on one of the 4 seadogs reaching speeds of up to 25 knots

Spirit of Chicago

Architecture cruises and water taxis are also available. You can also opt to take a romantic dinner cruise and you can even charter ships.
- You can also rent some of the pier's areas, including the English Garden Tent and the Crystal Gardens, a one-acre indoor glass atrium with more than 70 palm trees.

Top Attractions of Rome Piazza Navona Navona Square

2014-03-31T16:11:00.002+02:00

Piazza Navona is one of the most famous and arguably the most beautiful of Rome's many squares. The large and lively square features no less than three magnificent fountains. Another eyecatcher is the Baroque church of Sant'Agnese in Agone.

Piazza Navona

Domitian's Stadium

Moor Fountain

Domitian's Stadium

Fountain of the four rivers

Neptune Fountain

The square is built on the former Stadium of Domitian, built by Emperor Domitian in 86 AD. Hence the long, oval shape of the square. The stadium, which had a larger arena than the Colosseum was mainly used for festivals and sporting events.

The stadium was known as 'Circus Agonalis' (competition arena). It is believed that over time the name changed to 'in agone' to 'navone' and eventually to 'navona'.

In the fifteenth century the stadium was paved over to create the Navona square, but remnants of Domitian's stadium are still visible around the area. Guided tours to this underground monument are available, they start at Piazza Tor Sanguigna 13.

Fountain of the Four Rivers

The main attraction of Piazza Navona is the trio of fountains that adorn the square. The central and largest fountain is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers). It was constructed between 1647 and 1651 on request of pope Innocent X.

The design of the fountain was first commissioned to Borromini, but it was ultimately handed to his rival Bernini. The fountain features four figures, each representing a river from a different continent - the Nile, Ganges, Danube and Rio de la Plata. The statues are at the base of a rock supporting an obelisk, originally located at the Circus of Maxentius, near the Appian Way.

Neptune Fountain & Moor Fountain

The two other fountains on the piazza are the Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune fountain) at the northern end and the Fontana del Moro (Moor fountain) at the southern end of the square.

The Fontana del Nettuno, also known as the Calderari, was built in 1576 by Giacomo della Porta. The statues of Neptune surrounded by sea nymphs were added in the nineteenth century.

Giacomo della Porta also built the Fontana del Moro. The central statue of a Moor holding a dolphin, a design by Bernini, was added in the seventeenth century. The tritons are nineteenth-century additions.

Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone

Sant'Agnese in Agone

Another highlight at Navona square is the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone. It was commissioned in 1652 by Pope Innocent X and built on the site where according to legend, St. Agnes was stripped naked, but miraculously saved from disgrace by extraordinary growth of hair.

The front facade of the Baroque church was designed by Borromini, Bernini's main rival. Construction started just two years after the completion of Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers, right in front of the building. The church was completed in 1670.

Location

The Piazza Navona is situated in the historic center of Rome, west of the Pantheon. It is one of Rome's liveliest squares, with many outdoor cafes, restaurants and night clubs in the neighborhood.

Top Attractions of London Tower of London

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The Tower of London was built at the beginning of the eleventh century by William the conqueror. The tower was expanded during the thirteenth century into the fortified complex that we know today. The Tower's most popular attraction is its famous collection of Crown Jewels.

Tower of London

Construction of the Tower of London was initiated in 1070 by William the Conqueror, shortly after his victory at Hastings in 1066. The Tower was built to enforce the power of the Norman king over the newly conquered land.

The fortress, strategically located at the Thames, was originally not more than a temporary wooden building which was replaced later by the White Tower. Over time the complex was expanded into a stronghold with about twenty towers.

Enceinte of the Tower of London

Today the Tower of London is best known for its Crown Jewels, but it used to be notorious for the many political opponents of the kings that were locked, tortured and killed in the Tower. The Tower was also a royal residence: several kings lived here, especially during turbulent times when the donjon seemed a lot safer than the palace in Westminster.

White Tower

The White Tower

The oldest part of the fortress is the so-called White Tower, which was completed in 1097. This keep was long the tallest building in London at 27.4 meters (90ft). Its walls are 4.6 meter wide.

The tower was whitewashed during the reign of Henry III, which gave the tower's facade its white appearance. Ever since the tower has been known as White Tower. The building has four domed turrets at each corner. Three of them have a square shape, the other is round, due to its spiral staircase. The round turret was long used as an observatory.

Other Towers

The Tower of London was significantly expanded in the thirteenth century, during the reign of Henry III, when two defensive walls were built around the White Tower. The inner wall had thirteen towers and the outer wall another six. The towers were mostly used to imprison political opponents.

Traitors' Gate

Some of the most famous prisoners locked in the Tower were two princes, the sons of king Edward IV. After Edward's dead in 1483 the children were locked in the Bloody Tower by their uncle, who would later ascend the throne as king Richard III. The princes were never seen again and were probably killed by guards.
The St. Thomas Tower is located close to the Bloody Tower. Here, prisoners were brought into the fortress by boat through the Traitor's gate.

Important prisoners were often locked in the Beauchamp Tower, sometimes with their servants. An inscription on the wall of the tower is believed to refer to Lady Jane Grey, who, nine days after she was crowned Queen, was executed on Tower Green, an open terrain in the Tower of London.

Byward Tower

Thomas More was imprisoned in the Bell Tower until his execution after he refused to accept king Henry VIII as head of the Anglican church. Even Queen Elisabeth I was confined here for some time.

Cradle Tower

Yeoman Warders

The main entrance of the Tower of London is at the Byward Tower, where you'll find the so-called Beefeaters or Yeoman Warders.
Dressed in historic clothes, they not only guard the tower, but also give guided tours of the fortress. One of the about forty Yeoman Warders is known as the Ravenmaster, responsible for the ravens that have been living here for centuries.

Yeoman Warder

Yeoman WarderLegend has it that the Tower and the kingdom will fall if the ravens leave. Hence King Charles II placed the birds under royal protection and the wings of the ravens are clipped to prevent them from flying away.

Crown Jewels

The most famous tourist attraction in the Tower of London is the collection of Crown Jewels that has been on display here since the seventeenth century, during the reign of Charles II. Most of the jewels were created around the year 1660, when the monarchy was reinstalled. The majority of the older crown jewels were destroyed by Oliver Cromwell.

The jewels can be found in the Jewel House, which is part of the Waterloo Barracks just north of the White Tower. Some of the highlights of the collection are the 530 carat First Star of Africa, which is set in the

Scepter of the Cross; the Imperial State Crown with more than 2800 diamonds and the famous Koh-I-Noor, a 105 carat diamond.

Imperial State Crown

More Sights

There's plenty more to see in the Tower of London, such as the Royal Armories, which includes the personal armory of King Henry VIII, one of the world's largest.

The medieval palace in the Tower of London is also open to visitors and there are often reenactments of historic events in the fortress. For more information on the highlights of the Tower of London, check out their excellent and exhaustive website.

Top Attractions of Chicago Sears Tower

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At the time the Sears tower was constructed in 1974, it was the world's tallest building, eclipsing New York's twin-towered World Trade Center by 25 meters (83 ft). It would keep the title of tallest building in the world until the Petronas twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were constructed in 1997.

Sears Tower

Ledges on the Sears Tower (Willis Tower)

Sears Tower seen from the Shedd Aquarium

The Tallest

There was much discussion on whether the Petronas Towers are actually taller than the Sears Tower as the height of the antennas on the Petronas Towers are included in the total height, while the height of the antennas are not included in the height calculation of the Sears Tower as they are not considered an actual part of the building.

With the construction of the 508 meters tall Taipei 101 in 2004 this discussion became irrelevant. However, when in November 2013 New York's One WTC was officially declared taller than the Sears Tower - grabbing the coveted title of the tallest building in the US, the issue was brought up once again: one WTC's rather pathetic spire was included in the calculation of its height, so that even though the Sears Tower's roof is a substantial 25 meters (83 feet) higher than One WTC's, the latter is now officially 99 meters (325 ft) taller.

Anyhow, the Sears tower is still the tallest Chicago skyscraper, exceeding the height of the number two, the Trump International Hotel and Tower by 27 meters (89 ft) and the Aon Center by 96 meters (315 ft).

The Structure

Sears Tower at night

The building consists of nine framed tubes, which are actually nine skyscrapers on themselves taken together into one building. Originally, the plan included no less than fifteen tubes, but when the planned hotel was

taken out of the project, only nine tubes were used in the final designs. The nine tubes all reach forty-nine stories. At that point, two tubes end. The other rise up to the sixty-fifth floor. From the sixty-sixth to the ninetieth floor, the tower has the shape of a crucifix. Two tubes, creating a rectangular, reach the full height of 442 meters (1451ft).

Wind Load

The result is an interesting tower, which looks different from all angles. The construction, designed by Fazlur Kahn (1929-82), has other advantages : the construction with separate tubes provides lateral strengths to withstand the strong Chicago wind loads, as each tube only needs to take a part of the pressure.

Observation Deck

The Sears Tower's observation deck - known as the skydeck - is one of Chicago's most popular attractions. At 1,353 ft or 412 m, it's Chicago's

highest observatory, besting the John Hancock Center's by 323 ft (98m).
The most spectacular attraction at the skydeck is 'the ledge', a glass balcony extending 4.3 ft where you can look straight down. It will make most people feel uneasy at first but the balconies offer spectacular views over Wacker Drive and the Chicago River.

Willis Tower

The tower was named after Sears, Roebuck and Co., an American chain of Department Stores which was headquartered here. Sears sold the building in 1993 after moving to the suburbs. The building's name was left unchanged until Juli 16, 2009, when it was renamed Willis Tower for one of the skyscraper's tenants, a British insurance firm. The move was met with local opposition however, and some even started online petitions to protest the name change.

Top Attractions of Rome Circus Maximus Circo Massimo

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The Circus Maximus was the largest stadium in ancient Rome. Popular chariot races were held here for almost a millennium. At one point the Circus could seat 250.000 people, one quarter of Rome's population.

Early History

Circus Maximus Today

Chariot races were one of the Roman's most popular forms of entertainment. Romulus, the first of Rome's seven kings, is said to have held chariot races.

The origins of the Circus Maximus go back to the 6th century BC when Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome, created a track between the Palatine and Aventine hills. The first permanent starting gates were created in 329 BC. In 174 BC the gates were rebuilt and seven wooden eggs were placed on top of the spina, the central wall in the arena. The eggs were used to count the number of laps; after each lap one egg was removed. In 33 BC seven bronze dolphins were added to the spina for the same purpose.

Wooden Structures

A fire in 31 BC, the first of three, destroyed the wooden structure. It was rebuilt by Emperor Augustus who also added an imperial box on the Palatine Hill. A large obelisk from Heliopolis was added to the spina as a decoration. The obelisk can now be found at the center of the Piazza del Popolo. Another obelisk was added much later, in the 4th century.
A second fire, in AD 64, which started in wooden shops at the bottom around the track started the fire that burned much of Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero.

Scale model of the Circus Maximus in Ancient Rome

The Marble Stadium

After yet another fire the Circus was rebuilt by Trajan in AD 103. The Roman Empire was at the height of its power and the new Circus Maximus reflected this status. The Circus was now a stone construction, three stories high. The lower part of the cavea (seating area) was built in marble. The arena complex was now more than 600m long and 150m wide (2000x500ft).

Popular Events

The Circus Maximus was occasionally used for events such as processions or gladiator combats, but on most days only chariot races with quadrigaes, pulled by four horses, were held here. The races themselves were wildly popular with people fanatically supporting one of the four factions: red, white, green and blue representing summer, winter, spring and autumn respectively. Bets were laid on one of the factions and supporters of the different factions often clashed, sometimes resulting in deaths among the spectators.

The Last Race

The last race at the Circus Maximus was held in AD 549, almost a millennium after the first races were held at this location. Today only the layout of the original circus can be seen in what is now a large grassland. Most of the original structure was used as building material for medieval and Renaissance constructions.

Top Attractions of Rome Trevi Fountain Fontana di Trevi

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The Fontana di Trevi or Trevi Fountain is the most famous and arguably the most beautiful fountain in all of Rome. This impressive monument dominates the small Trevi Square located in the Quirinale district.

Aqua Virgo

Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain is situated at the end of the Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct constructed in 19 BC by Agrippa, the son-in-law of Emperor Augustus. The aqueduct brings water all the way from the Salone Springs (approx. 21km from Rome) and supplies the fountains in the historic center of Rome with water.

According to legend, Agrippa sent out a group of soldiers to search for a spring near Rome. The spring was found after a young virgin (virgo) showed the source to the soldiers, hence the name of the aqueduct.

Construction of the Fountain

Statue of Neptune, Trevi Fountain

Already in the fifteenth century a small Trevi Fountain was built here during the papacy of Nicholas V. In 1732, pope Clement XII commissioned Nicola Salvi to create a large fountain at the Trevi Square to replace the existing fountain. A previous undertaking to build the fountain after a design by Bernini was halted a century earlier after the death of pope Urban VIII. Salvi based his theatrical masterpiece on this design. He never saw his monumental Baroque fountain completed. The Trevi Fountain was only inaugurated in 1762, eleven years after Salvi had passed away.

The Fountain

Tritone and horse, Trevi Fountain

Triton and Restive Seahorse

The obedient sea horse

The fountain, which is designed like a monumental triumphal arch, was built against a wall of the Palazzo Poli. It measures twenty meters wide and twenty-six meters high and occupies more than half the square.

The central figure of the fountain, standing in a large niche, is Neptune, god of the sea. He rides a shell-shaped chariot that is pulled by two sea horses. Each sea horse is guided by a Triton. One of the horses is calm and obedient, the other one restive. They symbolize the fluctuating moods of the sea. The statues were sculpted by Pietro Bracci.
On the left hand side of Neptune is a statue representing Abundance, the statue on the right represents Salubrity. Both these statues were the work of Filippo della Valle.
Above the two allegorical statues are bas-reliefs. The one on the left shows Agrippa, the general who built the aqueduct that carries water to the fountain.

He is shown explaining his plan for the aqueduct to Augustus. The bas-relief on the right captures the moment the virgin points to the source of the spring. The allegorical statues in front of the attic symbolize the four seasons. Crowning the top is the coat of arms of pope Clement XII.

Water flows over artificial rocks into a large semicircular basin that represents the sea. Every day some eighty million liters of water flow through the fountain. The water is reused to supply several other Roman fountains, including the Fountain of the Four Rivers, the Tortoise Fountain and the Fountain of the Old Boat in front of the Spanish Steps.

Tossing a Coin

The crowded square

Tradition has it that you will return to Rome if you throw a coin into the fountain's water basin. You should toss it with your right hand over your left shoulder (or left hand over your right shoulder) with your back to the fountain. You're not allowed to look behind you while you're tossing the coin but the fountain is so large it's basically impossible to miss.

Top Attractions of London Houses of Parliament Palace of Westminster

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The Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster, is the seat of the two parliamentary houses of the United Kingdom: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The most famous feature of the Houses of Parliament is its clock tower, known as Big Ben.

The Seat of Government

Houses of Parliament

In the middle of the eleventh century, King Edward the Confessor had moved his court to the Palace of Westminster, situated on a central site near the river Thames. In 1265 a parliament was created with two houses: the Lords and the Commons. The House of Lords met at the Palace of Westminster while the House of Commons did not have a permanent location.

Houses of Parliament seen from Lambeth Bridge

After King Henry VIII moved his court to Whitehall Palace in 1530, the House of Lords continued to meet in Westminster. In 1547 the House of Commons also moved here, confirming Westminster as the central seat of government, a position it still holds today.

View from the London Eye

The new Palace of Westminster

In 1834 a fire destroyed the Palace of Westminster, leaving only the Jewel Tower, the crypt and cloister of St. Stephens and Westminster Hall intact. After the fire, a competition was organized to create a new building for the two houses of parliament.

A design by Sir Charles Barry and his assistant Augustus Welby Pugin was chosen from ninety-seven entries. They created a large but balanced complex in neo-Gothic style and incorporated the buildings that survived the fire. The whole complex was finished in 1870, more than thirty years after construction started. It includes the Clock Tower, Victoria Tower, House of Commons, House of Lords, Westminster Hall and the Lobbies.

Big Ben

The most famous part of Charles Barry's design is the elegant clock tower. Originally called St. Stephen's Tower, it was soon named after the tower's largest bell, the Big Ben. A light at the top of the tower is illuminated when Parliament is sitting at night.

Commons Chamber & Lords Chamber

The Commons Chamber, where the House of Commons meets, was destroyed during the Second World War but rebuilt in 1950 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in the same neo-Gothic style. The Commons Chamber's interior (with green colored benches) is rather austere compared to the lavishly decorated Lords Chamber (with red colored benches).

Over the centuries the balance of power has moved from the elitist House of Lords to the more agitated House of Commons, where the governing party and the opposition are seated opposite each other with exactly two sword lengths and one foot separating the two parties.

Central Lobby

One of several lobbies in the Houses of Parliament is the Central Lobby where people can meet the Members of Parliament and persuade them to

defend their interests. Hence the verb 'to lobby'.

Victoria Tower

Victoria Tower
Victoria Tower seen from Victoria Tower Gardens

The tower opposite the Big Ben is the Victoria Tower, built in 1860. The tower contains the records of both the House of Lords and the House of Commons since 1497. During the parliamentary year the Union Flag is hoisted on top of the 98 meter-tall tower.

Westminster Hall

The oldest hall of the Houses of Parliament is Westminster Hall, dating back to 1097. The large hammer beam roof was built in the fourteenth century and replaced the original roof which was supported by two rows of pillars. The hall is one of Europe's largest unsupported medieval halls.

Top Attractions of Berlin, Germany, Reichstag

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The Reichstag, the seat of the German Parliament, is one of Berlin's most historic landmarks. It is close to the Brandenburger Gate and before the unification, it was located right next to the Berlin Wall.

Construction

Reichstag

Reichstag at twilight

View of the Reichstag from the river Spree

Front view of the Reichstag Building

Pediment, Reichstag

After the founding of the German Empire in 1872, there was a need for a large parliamentary building in Berlin. It would take another ten years before there was an agreement on the design. A competition was held and out of 183 submissions, a design by Paul Wallot was chosen. The German architect created an imposing neo-Renaissance building, 137m long and 97m wide (450 x 318 ft).

The building was constructed between 1884 and 1894, mainly funded with wartime reparation money from France, a result of Prussia's defeat of France in 1871. The famous inscription 'Dem Deutschen Volke' (To the German People) was added later, in 1916, by emperor Wilhelm II. The bronze letters were cast from seized French cannons.

Reichstag Dome

Historic Symbol

In 1933 fire broke out in the building, destroying much of the Reichstag. It is to date still unclear who started the fire, but the Communists were blamed. It gave a boost to Hitler's Party, the NSDAP, who would soon come to power.

The building was damaged even more at the end of the war, when the Soviets entered Berlin. The picture of a Red Army Soldier raising the Soviet flag on the Reichstag is one of the most famous 20th century images and symbolized Germany's defeat.

Glass dome

View inside from the top of the dome of the Reichstag

Inside the Reichstag Dome

The spiraling walkways in the dome of the Reichstag

Oculus of the Reichstag Dome

After the war, the Reichstag ended up in West Berlin, right near the Berlin Wall. It was reconstructed between 1958 and 1972 but the central dome and most of the ornamentation were removed. During Berlin's division the West German parliament assembled here once a year as a way to indicate that Bonn was only a temporary capital. After the unification the decision was soon made to move the Bundestag (Germany's Parliament) from Bonn to Berlin.
This decision resulted in a renovation which started in 1995 and was completed in 1999.

The design by Sir Norman Foster added a glass dome over the plenary hall. At first the subject of much controversy, the dome has become one of the city's most recognized landmarks.
Since April 1999, the Reichstag is once again the seat of the Bundestag. A part of the Reichstag is open to the public. An elevator brings you to the building's roof and you can even walk all the way to the top of the dome via a spiral walkway.