200 years since the first balloon flight Maxicard 1984 - McLean, Virginia

The picture depicts the first manned balloon ascent in Austria, which was carried out by Johann Georg Stuwer (1732-1802).

On July 6, 1784, Johann Georg Stuwer ascended a hot-air balloon of his design from his fireworks display, marking the beginning of manned aviation in Austria. Instead of a basket, Stuwer had a "large wooden ship" attached. On board, along with Stuwer, were his son Kaspar, his assistants Michael Schmalz and Johann Hiller, and the architect Daniel Hakmillner. 15,000 spectators watched the spectacle. After the successful ascent, the balloon was pulled down again and the evening concluded with the allegorical fireworks display "Monument of Honor to the Invention of Mr. Montgolfier."

 

Souk Fakharine in Marrakech - Berlin, Germany

Pass Souk el Styleyah on the left and continue to Souk el Fakharine, the next opening on the right.  Turn and walk through an exquisite display of pottery, then to the left a few steps down to a metal workers section.  Around you are brass shops with artisans chiselling out plates that glimmer in the sun.  Between them are stores that exhibit eye-catching traditional silver jewellery and other metal products.  If you wish to purchase Berber ornaments or shining brass articles, bargain.

 

Altare della Patria in Roma - Ottawa, Canada

Vittoriano is a large national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honour Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy, in Rome, Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill. The monument was realized by Giuseppe Sacconi.

 

Civil War photograph - United Nations New York

Gen. George Gordon Meade (at the center, with beard), commander of the Union Army of the Potomac and the victor at the Battle of Gettysburg, with staff officers on the steps of the Wallack house in Culpeper, VA.

Photograph September 1863 by Timothy H. O'Sullivan. 

 

The Kenilworth Hotel - Miami Beach, Florida

A vintage postcard showing The Kenilworth Hotel.

 

Gauja National Park in Latvia - Brest, Belarus

Gauja National Park is the largest national park in Latvia, with an area of 917.86 km² running from the north-east of Sigulda to the south-west of Cēsis along the valley of the Gauja River, from which the park takes its name.

The national park is characterized by high biological diversity, rock outcrops and varied terrain shapes, springs, picturesque landscapes, and many historical and cultural monuments from different centuries. 

 

Faro - Estoi, Portugal

Estoi is a village and parish in the municipality of Faro, a rural zone that extends from the fertile fields of Campina de Faro until the peaks of Serra do Monte Figo. 

The Palace of Estoi is a rococo building renowned for its gardens and azulejos (blue and white tiled ceramic). The palace was built in the late 19th century.