Stolzenfels castle in Rheim - Nuremberg, Germany

Stolzenfels Castle is a former medieval fortress castle turned into a palace, near Koblenz on the left bank of the Rhine, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Stolzenfels was a ruined 13th-century castle, gifted to the Prussian crown prince, Frederick William in 1823. He had it rebuilt as a 19th-century palace in the Gothic Revival style. Today, it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley.

 

Tausendschön PK721 - Cologne, Germany

Cologne Cathedral is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 6 million people a year. At 157 m, the cathedral is the tallest twin-spired church in the world, the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster, and the third tallest church of any kind in the world.

 

Camino de Santiago in France - Chatenois, France

The Soulac route is a secondary route of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage which runs along the Silver Coast. It offers the pilgrim of Santiago de Compostela an alternative to the four main paths described in the 12th century by Aimery Picaud in his Pilgrim's Guide, namely (from north to south): the via Turonensis, the via Lemovicensis, the via Podiensis and via Tolosane.

The Soulac route starts from Soulac-sur-Mer in France and ends in Irun in Spain. The Jacobean route then continues via the Camino del Norte. It is also possible to join the Camino Francés in Pamplona by continuing on the Baztan route.

 

Fenghuang Ancient Town On the Tuo Jiang River - Hong Kong

The ancient town of Fenghuang was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on March 28, 2008, in the Cultural category. It was built in 1704 and has 300 years of history. The ancient city is a gathering place for Miao and Tujia ethnic minorities. 

It is an exceptionally well-preserved ancient town that harbours unique ethnic languages, customs, and arts as well as many distinctive architectural remains of Ming and Qing styles. The town is placed in a mountain setting, incorporating the natural flow of the river Tuojiang into the city layout.

 

Stari Most - Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mostar is situated on the Neretva River and is the fifth-largest city in the country. During the Ottoman era, Mostar was named after the bridge keepers who guarded the Stari Most over the Neretva. The Old Bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century, is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's most visited landmarks and is considered an exemplary piece of Islamic architecture in the Balkans.

 

Struve Geodetic Arc - Kuopio, Finland

The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulation measurements stretching from the Arctic Sea to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820km. These are points of a survey, carried out between 1816 and 1855 by the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve, which represented the first accurate measuring of a long segment of a meridian. 

This helped establish the exact size and shape of our planet and marked an important step in the development of earth sciences and topographic mapping. It is an extraordinary example of scientific collaboration among scientists from different countries and of collaboration between monarchs for a scientific cause. The original arc consisted of 258 main triangles with 265 main station points. The listed Unesco World Heritage site includes 34 of the original station points, with different markings, i.e. a drilled hole in a rock, iron cross, cairns, or built obelisks.

 

Nesvizh Palace Complex - Minsk, Belarus

It's a residential castle of the Radziwiłł family. Built in the 16th and 17th centuries, and maintained by the Radziwiłł family until 1939, the castle and the nearby Corpus Christi Church were instrumental in the development of Central European and Russian architecture. In 2005, the castle, church, and surrounding environment were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

 

Santuário do Bom Jesus de Matosinhos - Congonhas, Brazil

The Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos is an 18th-century Roman Catholic basilica in Congonhas, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The basilica is noted for its grand outdoor stairway with statues of Old Testament prophets. The interior has seven side chapels that illustrate the Stations of the Cross. The basilica was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in 1939, and designated at It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

 

Archway in front of the town of Xidi - Shanghai, China

Xidi is a village in the historical Huizhou region of Anhui province, China. It was declared a part of the "Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui" World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000, along with Hongcun.

 

Marktplatz mit Hotel Kaiserworth - Goslar, Germany

The history of Goslar is closely related to the mining of metal ores in the current district of Rammelsberg. Founded in 922, the city became the seat of the emperors of the Salic dynasty, who built an imperial palas here (German: Kaiserpfalz) to better control silver production.

In 1992, the medieval old town of Goslar with the mine in Rammelsberg was entered on the UNESCO cultural heritage list.

 

Mount Fuji - Tsukuba, Japan

In 2013, Mount Fuji was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a cultural heritage site - a sacred place and a source of artistic inspiration. 

Mount Fuji is also a sacred mountain for Shinto followers - as the female deity of Konohana-no-sakuyahime-no-mikoto. Three torii gates and two shrines were built on it. Until 1868, women were not allowed to climb the mountain.

 

La Sagrada Familia - Reus, Spain

Art Nouveau church in Barcelona in Catalonia with minor basilica status considered the main achievement of the designer Antoni Gaudí. The unusual architecture of the sanctuary inspired Tomasz Bagiński to make the 2002 Oscar-nominated animated film "The Cathedral".   

View of Valletta - Valletta, Malta

Valletta:

- with 320 monuments, it is one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world.

- is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

- sometimes called the "open-air museum". 

- was elected European Capital of Culture 2018.

- is the sunniest place in Europe.

In 1249, the Muslim population of Malta was expelled from the country or converted to Christians by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.

The monastery church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the Sedlec - Kutná Hora, Czech Republic

In 1995 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The development of Kutná Hora is associated with the extraction of silver, which dates back to the 13th century.

The 14th century brought further development of the city, the royal mint of the Italian court was founded (Vlašský dvůr), which employed Florentine craftsmen. The Italian Court also became a royal residence, after which the most valuable souvenir is the Gothic royal chapel.

Lantern Press 85233 - San Antonio, Texas

Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) in San Antonio is celebrated in La Villita Historic Arts Village. 

A Calavera is a representation of a human skull. The term is most often applied to edible or decorative skulls made from either sugar (called Alfeñiques) or clay.

Traditional methods for producing Calaveras have been in use since the 1630s.

In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Kotor panorama - Petrovac, Montenegro

Natural and Cultural and Historical Region of Kotor - a place in Montenegro inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.

The Old Town in Kotor with a string of defensive walls, the church of Our Lady of Health and the fortress of St. John.

Meteora - Kalabaka, Greece

Μετέωρα - sandstone and conglomerate rock massif in central Greece.
A group of 24 Orthodox monasteries (monasteries) is located on the rock tops.
Meteors were the scenery for one of James Bond's adventures titled "For your Eyes Only".