23/04/2011
22/04/2011
21/04/2011
20/04/2011
Buda Castle (Budavári Palota), Budapest, Hungary
This is a photo of the Buda Castle (Budavári Palota) is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest. It was established in the 14th century by the Angevin rulers of the Kingdom of Hungary , later it was destroyed and rebuilt many times. In the past, it was also called Royal Palace (Királyi-palota) and Royal Castle (Királyi Vár). Buda Castle was built on the southern tip of Castle Hill, bounded on the north by what is known as the Castle District (Várnegyed), famous for its Medieval, Baroque and 19th century houses and public buildings. Buda Castle is part of the Budapest World Heritage Site, declared in 1987.
18/04/2011
Wat Benchamabophit Dusitvanaram (วัดเบญจมบพิตรดุสิตวนารามราชวรวิหาร), Bangkok
This is a photo of Wat Benchamabophit Dusitvanaram (วัดเบญจมบพิตรดุสิตวนารามราชวรวิหาร), a Buddhist temple (wat) in the Dusit district of Bangkok, Thailand. Also known as the marble temple, it is one of Bangkok's most beautiful temples and a major tourist attraction. Construction of the temple began in 1899 at the request of King Chulalongkorn after building his palace nearby. The temple's name literally means the Temple of the fifth King located nearby Dusit Palace. It was designed by Prince Naris, a half-brother of the king, and is built of Italian marbel. Inside the ordination hall (ubosot) is a Sukhothai-style Buddha statue named Phra Buddhajinaraja, cast in 1920 after the original located in Wat Mahathat in Phitsanulok. The ashes of King Chulalongkorn are buried beneath the statue. In the gallery surrounding the ordination hall are 52 buddha statues, collected by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab for his king. The image of the temple's façade is visible on the reverse side of the Five-Baht coin of the Thai currency.
16/04/2011
15/04/2011
Hungarian Parliament Building (Országház), Budapest, Hungary
This is a photo of the Hungarian Parliament Building (Országház, literally country house), the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary, one of Europe's oldest legislative buildings, a notable landmark of Hungary and a popular tourist destination of Budapest. It is currently the largest building in Hungary, and the largest Parliament in Europe.
14/04/2011
13/04/2011
Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens), France
Above and below photos are photos of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens), or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and seat of the Bishop of Amiens. Along with the cathedrals of Chartres and Reims, Amiens is a member of the illustrious triad of "High Gothic" or "Classical" French cathedrals built in the 13th century. The cathedral is the tallest complete cathedral in France, with the greatest interior volume (estimated at 200,000 m³). The vaults of the nave are 42.30 m high, the tallest nave vaults in any completed French cathedral, and surpassed only by the incomplete Beauvais Cathedral. This monumental cathedral is located in Amiens, Picardy, in the Somme River valley a little over 100 kilometers north of Paris.
Notre-Dame d'Amiens has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.
Notre-Dame d'Amiens has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.
12/04/2011
11/04/2011
Saint-Cirq-Lapopie (Plus Beaux Villages de France), Lot, France
This is a photo taken in , Lot, south-western France. It is designated as one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (one of the prettiest towns in France). It is in the regional park Les Causses du Quercy. The stronghold of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie was the main seat of one of the four viscountcies that made up Quercy, divided among four feudal dynasties, the Lapopie, Gourdon, Cardaillac and Castelnau families. Its position, originally selected for defense, perched on a steep cliff 100 m above the river has helped make the town is one of the most popular tourist destinations Saint-Cirq-Lapopie in the department, and the entire town is almost a museum. After it was "discovered" by the Post-Impressionist Henri Martin, it became popular with other artists and the home of the writer Andre Breton. Saint-Cirq-Lapopie is situated along the French pilgrimage route, Way of St. James.
Saint-Cirq-Lapopie is classified amongst "the most beautiful villages in France" ("Les Plus Beaux Villages de France"), a label attributed by a french association to villages presenting several interests and meeting certain criteria (rural size ie less than 2,000 inhabitants, at least 2 protected sites or monuments). Today, the association includes 154 villages spread over 21 regions and 69 départements. They aim to avoid certain pitfalls such as villages turning into soulless museums or, on the contrary, "theme parks". Their well-reasoned and passionate ambition is to reconcile villages with the future and to restore life around the fountain or in the square shaded by hundred-year-old lime and plane trees. Please also check at the official website www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/ or the unofficial onewww.villagesdefrance.free.fr/. You can also check my Flickr Set.
10/04/2011
08/04/2011
07/04/2011
General Electric Building a.k.a RCA Victor Building a.k.a 570 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, New York City
This is a photo of the top of the General Electric Building, also known as 570 Lexington Avenue, a historic 50-floor, 195 m -tall, skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, at the southwest corner of Lexington Avenue and 51st Street. Originally known as the RCA Victor Building when designed in 1931 by John W. Cross of Cross and Cross, and sometimes known by its address to avoid confusion with the later GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The building was deeded by RCA to GE before construction was completed.
It backs up to the low Byzantine dome of St. Bartholomew's Church on Park Avenue and shares the same salmon brick color. But from Lexington, the building is an insistently tall 50-floor stylized Gothic tower with its own identity, a classic Art Deco visual statement of suggested power through simplification. The base contains elaborate, generous masonry, architectural figural sculpture, and on the corner above the main entrance, a conspicuous corner clock with the curvy GE logo and a pair of silver disembodied forearms. The crown of the building is a dynamic-looking burst of flamboyant Gothic tracery, which is supposed to represent radio waves, and is lit from within at night, making the top look like a giant torch.
06/04/2011
Frederick's Church (Marble Church), Copenhagen, Denmark
This is a photo of Frederick's Church (Frederiks Kirke), popularly known as the Marble Church (Marmorkirken), a church in Copenhagen, Denmark. The church was designed by the architect Nicolai Eigtved in 1740 and was along with the rest of Frederiksstaden, a district of Copenhagen, intended to commemorate the 300 years jubilee of the first coronation of a member of the House of Oldenburg. Frederick's Church has the largest church dome in Scandinavia with a span of 31m, though there are three larger domes elsewhere in Europe. The dome rests on 12 columns. The inspiration was probably St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The foundation stone was set by king Frederik V on October 31, 1749, but the construction was slowed by budget cuts and the death of Eigtved in 1754 and in 1770 the original plans for the church were discarded by Johann Friedrich Struensee. The church was left incomplete and, in spite of several initiatives to complete it, stood as a ruin for nearly 150 years. A further consequence of this lapse was that the original plans for the church to be built almost entirely from marble had to be discarded and instead construction was completed mostly with limestone. The present version of the church was designed by Ferdinand Meldahl and financed by Carl Frederik Tietgen. It was opened August 19, 1894. Above the columns is inscribed: HERRENS ORD BLIVER EVINDELIG (Danish for "the word of the Lord endureth for ever"). A series of statues of prominent theologians and ecclesiastical figures, including one of the Danish philosopher Kiekegaard (who incidentally was very critical of the established church by the end of his life), encircles the grounds of the building.
05/04/2011
Organ Pipes (Dolerite), Twyfelfontein, Damaraland, Namibia
These photos of Organ Pipes, were taken closed to Twyfelfontein, Damaraland, Namibia.
This mass of perpendicular dolerite pillars are located down the river bed, formed by the intrusion of volcanic rock dolerite about 120 million years ago.
04/04/2011
"Sweeping It Under The Carpet", Banksy, London
This photo was taken in East London and represents one of the famous Banksy's murals.
Banksy explained the meaning behind the pictures: "In the bad old days, it was only popes and princes who had the money to pay for their portraits to be painted. This is a portrait of a maid called Leanne who cleaned my room in a Los Angeles motel. She was quite a feisty lady."
03/04/2011
Denon Wing, Cour Napoléon, Musée du Louvre - Louvre Museum, Paris, France
This is a photo of the Denon wing of the Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum), taken from the Cour Napoléon.
02/04/2011
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