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Posts Tagged ‘unesco’

The city of Salzburg is the 4th largest in Austria. It is the capital of the Salzburg province and it is said to be among the most beautiful cities not only in Austria but in Europe. Salzburg is especially well known as the place where the musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born. This city has a lot of interesting things to see and explore. With churches, castles, palaces and baroque architecture, a unique historical feel can be sensed when visiting Salzburg. Especially the Old Town area which was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 is fascinating to explore. The Salzburg Cathedral, the Hohensalzburg Castle, Mozart’s birthplace and Mozart’s residence are just some of the many attractions in that area.

Salzburg is one of Europe's most beautiful cities.

The population of Salzburg is around 150.000 and slowly growing. While this number is not especially large for a major European city, it is evident that the importance of Salzburg goes way beyond the size of its current population. With a huge number of significant cultural events (including such highlights as SommerSzene, Salzburg Festival, and Mozart Week) Salzburg is indeed a cultural metropolis.

Belém Tower (also known as Tower of St Vincent) is an UNESCO World Heritabe Site (with Jerónimos Monastery which is located nearby) and it is a monument to Portugal’s Age of Discovery. The tower was built in 1515 with the purpose of acting as a fortress that guards the entrance to the harbor of Lisbon. The Portuguese Manueline style is evident in the buidding, though it also displays some aspects of other architectural styles.

The Belém Tower is an UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Tower of Belem consists of a bastion and a 30 meter high, four-storied tower. It received maintenance and restoration from early 1997 to early 1998. In 1999, the Belém Tower received the Europa Nostra award.

Online Resources
Introducing Belém (Lonely Planet)
Belém Tower (GoLisbon)

The Prague Castle is an important cultural monument in the Czech Republic and it is perhaps the biggest tourist attraction in Prague. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and world’s largest ancient castle. The Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors, and later the presidents of Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic have had their offices there. The castle was founded about 880. Having gone through many destructive wars and fires as well as subsequent renovations, it is today approximately 570 meters in length and on average, it is about 130 meters wide. The buildings of the castle include amost every architectural style of the previous millennium.

According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the Prague Castle is the biggest ancient castle in the world.

Saint Vitus Cathedral which is a part of the castle complex is the most recognizable landmark of the city of Prague. Other parts that make up the castle complex include the viewing towers, museums and art galleries, a monastery, Golden Lane, St. George’s Basilica, and several palaces such as the Lobkowicz Palace.

The information centres of Prague Castle provide guided tours in the castle. One thing that visitors may find interesting is the ceremony of changing the guard which takes place every hour at the gates of the castle.

The changing of the guard takes place every hour at the gates of the castle.

Kronborg Castle is among the most historically significant Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. It is also made famous by being the setting of Shakespeare’s tragedy play Hamlet. Kronborg Castle was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites list in November 30th of 2000.

The castle is situated near Helsingør (Elsinore), and one can reach it with about 15 minute’s walk from Elsinore rail station. Most of the rooms and fortifications in the castle and the nearby area are open to the public, and one can also visit the Danish Maritime Museum, which is holds many exhibitions, both permanent and temporary. The castle is visited by about 200.000 people each year.

Kronborg Castle is known as the setting of Shakespeare's Hamlet

The caves of Aggtelek are situated in the Aggtelek national park in the north eastern part of Hungary in the border of Slovak Republic. In order to protect the geological formations this park was set up as the first ever national park of the country of Hungary.

The limestone of the bedrock is liable to the natural creation of caverns and sink holes. This condition is known as karstification.

The park lies on the bedrock of limestone as it was formed in shallow seas during the Triassic period over 200 million years ago. This limestone bedrock is liable to the natural creation of caverns and sink holes. This condition is called karstification.

One can count up to 250 caves which were thus formed in the shallow seas in the park. The Aggtelek national park contains the ruins of Haromhegyi Palos church and a monastery near Martonyi village. The palos date back to 1308 since they were the only religious order founded in Hungary. These caves of Aggtelek were declared a UNESCO World heritage site in the year 1995.