Bunad

Bunad (Norwegian plural: bunader) is a Norwegian umbrella term encompassing, in its broadest sense, a range of both traditional rural clothes (mostly dating to the 19th and 18th centuries) as well modern 20th-century folk costumes. In its narrow sense the word bunad refers only to clothes designed in the early 20th century that are loosely based on traditional costumes. The word bunad in itself is a 20th-century invention.

The bunad movement has its root in 19th-century national romanticism, which included an interest for traditional folk costumes not only in Norway, but also in neighbouring countries such as Denmark and notably Germany. However, in Norway national romanticist ideas had a more lasting impact, as seen in the use of folk inspired costumes.

Source: http://creativeroots.org

The designs are typically elaborate, with embroidery, scarves, shawls and hand-made silver or gold jewelry known as sølje. There are bunads both for men and women, although women's bunads are more diverse and popular. However, according to daily manager Turid Liss Agersborg at Husfliden Oslo, they now produce and sell more men’s bunads than women’s for the first time in history. The male customers are often characterized as urban and modern, and range between the ages of 20 and 40 years old.

In Norway, it is common to wear bunad at various celebrations such as: folk dances, weddings, and especially the May 17 National Day celebrations. In recent years, its use has reached far outside folk dancing, folk music, and particular holidays. Accepted as proper gala attire, it is increasingly common to see people, and especially women, dressed in bunad. The former Norwegian foreign minister, Thorvald Stoltenberg, made history by presenting his accreditation as ambassador to Margrethe II of Denmark dressed in a bunad. Bunads were also conspicuous among those present at the Blessing of the Reign of King Harald and Queen Sonja, demonstrating that the bunad is now considered acceptable as an alternative form of formal wear even on the most solemn public occasions. Moreover, people tend to wear bunads to festive celebrations such as anniversaries and birthdays, and for religious occasions including baptisms, confirmations and Christmas.

There is ongoing debate about the official status of various outfits, and what allowed variations are. In 1947 an official institution, the Landsnemnda for Bunadspørsmål (National Committee for Bunad-related Questions) was organized to act in an advisory capacity on all questions dealing with bunads in Norway. Due to ongoing discussions on the status of bunads, it is not possible to state accurately the number of different types of bunads in Norway, but most estimates place the number at around 200.

Hulda Garborg (1862–1934) and Klara Semb (1884–1970) are cited as pioneers in bringing bunads into mainstream culture. With Garborg's publication of the pamphlet Norsk Klædebunad in 1903, the focus moved from the creation of a single national costume to the development of several regional bunads. Although bunads are based on traditions in various areas, these designs are embellished by additions such as embroidery. The overarching sense of bunad design is to preserve the way people dressed for festive occasions in one particular era. This has led local and national councils to impose official constraints on various details in the bunad, including colors, fabric, embroidery, jewellery, cut, and allowable headwear.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunad

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Posted in: Culture,Norway

Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo is a zoological garden at Upton-by-Chester, in Cheshire, England. It was opened in 1931 by George Mottershead and his family, who used as a basis some animals reported to have come from an earlier zoo in Shavington. It is one of the UK's largest zoos at 111 acres (45 ha).The zoo has a total land holding of approximately 400 acres (160 ha).

Chester Zoo is currently operated by the North of England Zoological Society, a registered charity founded in 1934. The zoo receives no government funding. It is the most-visited wildlife attraction in Britain with more than 1.3 million visitors in 2007. In the same year Forbes described it as one of the best fifteen zoos in the world, above Beijing Zoo and San Diego Zoo.

Source: http://www.creativereview.co.uk

The zoo is managed by both Mark Pilgrim, the Director General and Jamie Christon, The Managing Director. Mark is responsible for the Zoological teams,Science and Education as well as the whole Zoo site. Jamie Christon is responsible for development, finance, commercial operations, marketing and PR, HR, safety and security. Both report into the Board of Trustees.

The zoo has a scheme whereby people can adopt an animal of their choice, they are also given two complimentary tickets to allow them to visit the animals. They can also become members which allows them to visit Chester and a range of other zoos across England free of charge for a year. Every three months, members and adopters receive Z magazine, which provides updates and information about what is happening at the zoo.

In April 2011 the zoo announced the Islands project. To be built to the South West of the current zoo, it will include a boat ride around the enclosures for visitors to view some of the zoos key species including Sumatran tigers, Malayan tapirs, lemurs, saltwater crocodiles, and Komodo dragons, and other reptiles, birds, and invertebrates. Construction started in August 2013 and will take about 18 months to complete, Laing O'Rourke have being appointed as the Contractor it will ready for opening in summer 2015. Islands will showcase areas where the zoo is involved in conservation programmes, including Sumatra, Madagascar, the Mascarene Islands, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Zoo

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Posted in: United Kingdom

Alton Towers

Alton Towers Resort is a theme park and resort located in Alton, England, UK. In 2012, it attracted 2.4 million visitors, making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom and 9th most visited theme park in Europe. It employs in excess of 2400 staff members during the summer months, over 1,000 of whom are full-time. It is based north of the village of Alton in Staffordshire (approximately 16 miles (26 km) east of Stoke-on-Trent, and not to be confused with the town of Alton in Hampshire), in the grounds of Alton Towers, a semi-ruined gothic revival country house. 

The estate was a former seat of the Earls of Shrewsbury. The park has developed progressively since the 1950s. In 1990 it was purchased by The Tussauds Group. Fifteen years later Alton Towers was acquired by the investment group Dubai International Capital (DIC) when it purchased Tussauds for £800 million in 2005. The Tussauds Group was bought by Merlin Entertainments in March 2007 for over £1billion from DIC, placing Alton Towers under their control. In July 2007, the resort and park was sold to Nick Leslau and his investment firm Prestbury who now lease the park back to Merlin Entertainments to operate on a 35-year lease.

Source: http://www.dogandpartridge.co.uk

The resort includes the theme park as well as the Alton Towers Hotel, Splash Landings Hotel, Waterpark, Spa, Extraordinary Golf and Conference Centre. It is the flagship attraction of Merlin Entertainments in the United Kingdom. Major attractions at Alton Towers include Nemesis, Oblivion, Air, Rita and Th13teen, and in 2013, The Smiler opened, becoming the world's first 14 inversion roller coaster.

The park's maximum daily capacity is set at 28,000 guests. Its promotional music has been Edvard Grieg's classical composition In the Hall of the Mountain King for the past two decades. In 2009 the park attracted 2,668,576 people, this coincided with the opening on new kids land 'Cloud Cuckoo Land' and the opening of new family attraction 'Sharkbait Reef – By Sea Life'.

Alton Towers is set in a dedicated Conservation Area, which puts a restriction on the height of any ride or building development in the park. It has been agreed with the local council that no buildings should be built above the tree line and if so should be disguised to fit the landscape; this can be seen on the ride Rita, where part of the track is painted dark green to fit in with the trees.

Noise pollution is also a problem for the park due to the close proximity to the villages of Alton and Farley. There have been several cases where Alton Towers have been taken to court over the noise levels emitted from the park and have been served noise abatement orders in 2004 and 2005 and 2006.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alton_Towers

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Posted in: United Kingdom

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum in London dedicated to human history and culture. Its permanent collection, numbering some 8 million works, is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence and originates from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present.

The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montagu House in Bloomsbury, on the site of the current museum building. Its expansion over the following two and a half centuries was largely a result of an expanding British colonial footprint and has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, the first being the British Museum (Natural History) in South Kensington in 1887. Some objects in the collection, most notably the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, are the objects of intense controversy and of calls for restitution to their countries of origin.

Source: htt://commons.wikimedia.org

Until 1997, when the British Library (previously centred on the Round Reading Room) moved to a new site, the British Museum was unique in that it housed both a national museum of antiquities and a national library in the same building. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and as with all other national museums in the United Kingdom it charges no admission fee, except for loan exhibitions. Since 2002 the director of the museum has been Neil MacGregor.

Although today principally a museum of cultural art objects and antiquities, the British Museum was founded as a "universal museum". Its foundations lie in the will of the physician and naturalist Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753). During the course of his lifetime Sloane gathered an enviable collection of curiosities and, not wishing to see his collection broken up after death, he bequeathed it to King George II, for the nation, for the princely sum of £20,000.

At that time, Sloane's collection consisted of around 71,000 objects of all kinds including some 40,000 printed books, 7,000 manuscripts, extensive natural history specimens including 337 volumes of dried plants, prints and drawings including those by Albrecht Dürer and antiquities from Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Ancient Near and Far East and the Americas.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museum

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Posted in: United Kingdom

Stroopwafel

A stroopwafel (English translation: syrup waffle, treacle waffle, or caramel waffle; lit "syrup waffle") is a waffle made from two thin layers of baked batter with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle. They were first made in Gouda in the Netherlands. Large versions are sold in the streets as a snack.

The stroopwafel originates from Gouda in the Netherlands. It was first made during the late 18th century or early 19th century by a baker using leftovers from the bakery, such as breadcrumbs, which were sweetened with syrup. One story ascribes the invention of the stroopwafel to the baker Gerard Kamphuisen, which would date the first stroopwafels somewhere between 1810, the year when he opened his bakery, and 1840, the year of the oldest known recipe for syrup waffles. In the 19th century, there were around 100 syrup waffle bakers in Gouda, which was the only city in which they were made until 1870. After 1870 they were also made at parties and in markets outside the city of Gouda. In the 20th century, factories started to make stroopwafels. In 1960, there were 17 factories in Gouda alone, of which four are currently still open.

The traditional way to eat the stroopwafel is to place it atop of a drinking vessel slightly smaller in diameter than the waffle, and filled with a hot steaming beverage. The rising steam warms the waffle, slightly softens the inside, and makes the waffle soft on one side while still crispy on the other.

Source: http://www.snackish.com

To really enjoy the stroopwafel you need a hot beverage and the right mug. My default drink is some kind of tea (jasmine or earl grey, usually), so I grab my kettle, fill it with water, and set it to boil. Next step: mug selection. My default mug – a ceramic, pint-glass height, japanese tea cup (I drink a lot of tea) – isn’t what I’m looking for today. What you need is a mug that just fits the diameter of the cookie so that it rests on the rim, and my default would see thestroopwafel sink to the bottom like the Titanic. A little more digging in the cupboard yields a coffee mug that fits the bill perfectly.

I hear the familliar click of the kettle as the water finishes its boil and I fill my mug with the steaming hot water, watching the pearls of jasmine tea dance around the bottom of the cup. I stop the pour when I get to about 3cm/1″ from the top – enough space to ensure that no liquid will touch the cookie directly. I place the stroopwafel gently on the rim – and now here’s the hard part – I have to wait about 5 minutes. 5 minutes to anticipate that first bite as your teeth sink into the soft-and-crispy treat. 5 minutes for the gentle aroma of cinnamon and sugar to rise from the warming cookie.

It’s a long 5 minutes.

Finally ready, one side will be soft and slightly damp from the heat of the steam and the other will have retained its crispness. You should breathe in the warm scent of waffle and spice as you bring the cookie to your mouth. Sometimes, like tectonic plates, the two waffle discs will slide and shift a bit as you take your first bite. A bit crumbly and a bit chewy, strings of the caramel-like syrup will briefly bridge the gap between teeth and cookie as you pull it away.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroopwafel

http://www.foodpr0n.com

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Posted in: Culinary,Netherlands

Stamppot

Stamppot (English: Mash Pot) is a traditional Dutch dish made from a combination of potatoes mashed with one or several other vegetables, sometimes also with bacon. These vegetable pairings traditionally include sauerkraut, endive, kale, spinach, turnip greens, or carrot and onion (the combination of the latter two is known as hutspot in the Netherlands and as wortelstoemp in Belgium). It is usually served with sausage (in the Netherlands often smoked, in Belgium more often fried) or stewed meat. Stamppot can be purchased from shops and supermarkets. It can also be ordered in cafe style restaurants, but the combination of more strict recent regulations about allowed foods in taverns versus restaurants has restricted the custom of offering simple dishes in many Belgian pubs.

Source: http://bijnanetzolekkeralsthuis.blogspot.com

The best-known stamppot is stamppot boerenkool (kale or farmer‘s cabbage). This is also a strictly cold weather dish, as boerenkool leaves are best frosted — the cold softens the leaves thus improving their taste.

Most Dutch buy their boerenkool at the supermarket in neatly packaged plastic bags, however if you are keen on finding the freshest kale you can try a local farmers market or a health food store.

Kale is a primitive version of cabbage and whether it is red, green or white, it’s certainly not the world’s most elegant vegetable. Still, there's something about the taste of kale that made it become a national dish in three different countries. But whereas the Brazilians are very proud of their Couve Minera (kale in the style of Minias Gerais) and most Portuguese love to chat about the taste of a plate of Caldo Verde (Portuguese kale-potato soup), it will be very hard to find a Dutch citizen boasting about ‘stamppot boerenkool’.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamppot

http://www.expatica.com

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Posted in: Culinary,Netherlands

The Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum (English: State Museum) is a Dutch national museum dedicated to arts and history in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Concertgebouw.

The Rijksmuseum was founded in The Hague in 1800 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808, where it was first located in the Royal Palace and later in the Trippenhuis. The current main building was designed by Pierre Cuypers and was originally opened in 1885, but was closed for renovation from 2003 to 2013. On 13 April 2013, the main building was reopened by Queen Beatrix after the ten-year renovation which cost € 375 million.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org

The museum has on display 8,000 objects of art and history, from their total collection of 1 million objects from the years 1200–2000, among which are some masterpieces by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Johannes Vermeer. The museum also has a small Asian collection which is on display in the Asian Pavilion.

It started with merely 200 paintings at first. Now, it possesses almost 5,000 rare paintings, sculptures, historical objects and the work of Asiatic arts which accounts for another 43,000 additional art work.

Inside the Rijksmuseum, various kinds of art works and artifacts can be seen. The oriental art section features Chinese porcelains, Japanese Prints and some other items that came from Southeast Asia and the Far East.

In the sculpture and handicrafts section you will see a wide range of liturgical robes, furniture, tapestries, pottery, costumes, doll houses, jewels, snuff boxes, lace and many more.

Museums in general help educate people. It reminds us of our country’s history and for foreigners, this will help them better understand and appreciate the country.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rijksmuseum

http://famouswonders.com

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Posted in: Netherlands

Keukenhof

Keukenhof ("Kitchen garden"), also known as the Garden of Europe, is the world's largest flower garden. It is situated near Lisse, the Netherlands. According to the official website for the Keukenhof Park, approximately 7,000,000 (seven million) flower bulbs are planted annually in the park, which covers an area of 32 hectares.

Keukenhof is located in South Holland in the small town of Lisse, south of Haarlem and southwest of Amsterdam. It is accessible by bus from the train stations of Haarlem, Leiden and Schiphol. It is located in an area called the "Dune and Bulb Region" (Duin- en Bollenstreek).

Keukenhof is open annually from mid-March to mid-May. The best time to view the tulips is around mid-April, depending on the weather.

Source: http://gsputih.blogspot.com

Keukenhof is situated on 15th century hunting grounds. It was also a source of herbs for Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut's castle, which is the source of the name Keukenhof (it served to provide herbs for the castle's kitchen). Rich merchants took over the grounds after the Countess's death. VOC captain and governor Adriaen Maertensz Block lived there in his retirement years in the 17th century in the country house (now known as Castle Keukenhof) which he had let built in 1641.

In the 19th century, the Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt assigned the landscape architect Jan David Zocher and his son Louis Paul Zocher, who had also worked on the Vondelpark, to design the grounds around the castle.The garden was established in 1949 by the then-mayor of Lisse. The idea was to present a flower exhibit where growers from all over the Netherlands and Europe could show off their hybrids – and help the Dutch export industry (the Netherlands is the world's largest exporter of flowers).

Keukenhof doesn't contain long fields of Tulips which many visitors search for! The Garden will display variety of flowers grown in different fashion but all in small arena. However there are Tulip fields outside the Garden (mostly owned by private owners).These fields may have restricted access but they are not part of Keukenhof ticket that visitors need to purchase.

Keukenhof is scheduled to be open from 20 March to 18 May 2014. The Flower Parade will be held on Saturday, 3 May 2014.

The grounds of Castle Keukenhof are open all year long and are frequently used for festivals such as Castlefest, the Ladies Winternight, and the Christmas Fair. The castle also houses classical music performances.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keukenhof

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Posted in: Netherlands

Madurodam

Madurodam is a miniature park and tourist attraction in the Scheveningen district of The Hague, Netherlands, home to a range of perfect 1:25 scale model replicas of famous Dutch castles, public buildings, and large industrial projects as found at various locations in the country. The park was opened in 1952 and has been visited by tens of millions of visitors since that date.In 2012 Madurodam celebrated its 60th anniversary.

Madurodam was named after George Maduro, a Jewish law student from Curaçao who fought the Nazi occupation forces as a member of the Dutch resistance and died at Dachau concentration camp in 1945. In 1946 Maduro was posthumously awarded the medal of Knight 4th-class of the Military Order of William, the highest and oldest military decoration in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, for the valor he had demonstrated in the Battle of the Netherlands against German troops.

Source: http://www.duinrell.com

Madurodam wants to show their visitors a realistic view of The Netherlands but then in a small version. Even the trees around the buildings are on the scale 1:25. These trees need to be kept small, so there is a lot of work in that. Also there are a lot of little people around the buildings. This shows the real life of the Dutch people. These ‘residents’ also change with the weather. In the winter they wear jackets and warm cloths and in the summer they wear t-shirts. Also the residents of Madurodam become more and more multicultural. Now it’s also possible to see some ‘residents’ who come from other countries (immigrants), because this is also the reality in real life in The Netherlands.

Some facts about Madurodam:

• The official opening of Madurodam was 2 Juli 1952.
• Madurodam has a railway network of approximately 4 km.
• Madurodam is the first city in the Netherlands that started with a chosen major.
• There are 50.000 lights in this city.
• The cars drive an average of 14,000 miles per year (which is almost the same as an average Dutchman).

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madurodam

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Posted in: Netherlands

Mont des Arts

The Kunstberg (Dutch) or Mont des Arts (French), meaning "hill/mount of the arts", is a historic site in the center of Brussels, Belgium.

The area of the Kunstberg/Mont des Arts used to be a densely populated district, the Sint-Rochuswijk/Quartier Saint Roches. By the end of the 19th century, King Leopold II had the idea to convert the hill into a Mont des Arts and bought the whole neighbourhood. After the demolition of the old buildings, the site turned into an ugly urban void because the Mont des Arts project lacked sufficient finance. To give the area, situated between the Royal Palace and the Grand Place, a better look during the Universal Exposition held in Brussels in 1910, the king ordered the landscape architect Pierre Vacherot to design a 'temporary' garden on the hill. It featured a park and a monumental staircase with cascading fountains descending the gentle slope from Place Royale down to Boulevard de l'Empereur/Keizerslaan.

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org

Although the garden was conceived as temporary, it became a well-appreciated green area in the heart of the capital. But when the plans for the Mont des Arts came back by the end of the 1930s, this park had to be demolished to create a new square as the centre of the urban renewal project. Between 1956 and 1958 the park and its surroundings gave way to massive, severely geometric structures such as the Royal Library of Belgium and the Congress Palace. The new geometric garden on the square was designed by landscape architect René Péchère.

The Mont des Arts offers one of Brussels' finest views. From the elevated vantage point, the famous tower of the Brussels Town Hall in the Grand Place is clearly visible. On a sunny day, the Koekelberg Basilica and even the Atomium can be seen.

Major tourist attractions are located within walking distance of the Kunstberg: the Musical Instrument Museum, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, the Royal Palace, and the city's cathedral.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_des_Arts

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Posted in: Belgium

Atomium

The Atomium is an iconic building in Brussels originally constructed for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn and architects André and Jean Polak, it stands 102 m (335 ft) tall. Its nine 18 m (59 ft) diameter stainless steel clad spheres are connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.

Tubes connect the spheres along the 12 edges of the cube and all eight vertices to the centre. They enclose escalators and a lift to allow access to the five habitable spheres which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere provides a panoramic view of Brussels. CNN named it Europe's most bizarre building.

Source: http://www.panoramio.com

Renovation of the Atomium began in March 2004; it was closed to the public in October, and remained closed until February 18, 2006. The renovations included replacing the faded aluminium sheets on the spheres with stainless steel. To help pay for renovations, the old aluminium was sold to the public as souvenirs. A triangular piece about 2 m long sold for €1,000.

Three of the four uppermost spheres lack vertical support and hence are not open to the public for safety reasons, although the sphere at the pinnacle is open to the public. The original design called for no supports; the structure was simply to rest on the spheres. Wind tunnel tests proved that the structure would have toppled in an 80 km/h wind (140 km/h winds have been recorded in Belgium). Support columns were added to achieve enough resistance against overturning

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomium

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Posted in: Belgium

The Grand Place Brussels

The Grand-Place is an outstanding example of the eclectic and highly successful blending of architectural and artistic styles that characterizes the culture and society of this region. Through the nature and quality of its architecture and of its outstanding quality as a public open space, it illustrates in an exceptional way the evolution and achievements of a highly successful mercantile city of northern Europe at the height of its prosperity.

The earliest written reference to the Nedermarckt (Lower Market), as it was originally known, dates from 1174. The present name came into use in the last quarter of the 18th century.

The Grand Place is the central square of Brussels. It is surrounded by guildhalls, the city's Town Hall, and the Breadhouse (French: Maison du Roi, Dutch: Broodhuis). The square is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels. It measures 68 by 110 metres (223 by 360 ft), and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org

The Grand Place was voted the most beautiful square in Europe in 2010. A survey by a Dutch website (stedentripper.com asked its users to rate different squares across Europe. Moscow’s Red Square and the Place Stanislas in Nancy, France, took second and third place.

Every two years in August, an enormous "flower carpet" is set up in the Grand Place for a few days. A million colourful begonias are set up in patterns, and the display covers a full 24 by 77 metres (79 by 253 ft), for area total of 1,800 square metres (19,000 sq ft). The first flower carpet was made in 1971, and due to its popularity, the tradition continued, with the flower carpet attracting a large number of tourists.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Place

http://whc.unesco.org

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Posted in: Belgium

Mini Europe

Mini-Europe is a miniature park located in Bruparck at the foot of the Atomium in Brussels, Belgium. Mini-Europe has reproductions of monuments in the European Union on show, at a scale of 1:25. Roughly 80 cities and 350 buildings are represented. The models cost as much as €350,000 to make (the Brussels Grand-Place).

The park contains live action models (train, mills, eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Airbus, cable cars, etc.). A guide gives the details on all the monuments. At the end of the visit, the “Spirit of Europe” exhibition gives an interactive overview of the European Union in the form of multimedia games.

The park is built on an area of 24,000 m². The initial investment was of €10 million in 1989, on its inauguration by Prince Philip of Belgium.

Source: http://atomium.be

The monuments were chosen for the quality of their architecture or their European symbolism. Most of the monuments were made using moulds. The final copy used to be cast from epoxy resin, but now polyester is used. Three of the monuments were made out of stone (e.g. the tower of Pisa, in marble). A computer-assisted milling procedure was used for two of the models.

Many of the monuments were financed by European countries or regions.

More than 50 ateliers of 9 member states of the Europe Union were contacted to realize the scale models. These were created with a new technique which guaranteed a superb quality. The different parts or units were cut from different materials ( for example wood, cartoon etc.) and merged on a Master plate. It was a process with high precision and required much time to realize such superb quality. Twenty four thousand hours were necessary to realize of the scale model of the Santiago de Compostela.

The animations are designed especially for Mini-Europe. These work approximately 2.900 hours in one year and in all weather circumstances (rain, wind, snow etc.). Every animation is considered as an industrial prototype.

Nowadays, Mini-Europe has more than 350 scale models of monuments from more than 80 European cities. Regularly, there are new scale models added. Mini-Europe in the Bruparck of Brussels can be considered as a top attraction in Brussels and attracts approximately 300.000 visitors each year from all continents of the world.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini-Europe

http://belgium.knoji.com

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Posted in: Belgium

Skara Sommarland

Skara Sommarland is an amusement park located 8 km east of Skara. It was founded in 1984 by Swedish entrepreneur Bert Karlsson.

Skara opened in 1984. Since 2001, Skara part of the Parks and Resorts Scandinavia. The group consists of Grönalund, Kolmårdens Zoo, Skara, Vildmarkshotellet, Aquaria Water Museum, Furuviksparken and ABBA The Museum.

Source: http://www.hallekis.com

Parks and Resorts is one of the leading players in the entertainment industry and operates some of the most popular parks. Skara's vision is to offer a complete experience in the world and we are constantly working to improve and adapt our offer to all our guests.

Skara is one of Västergötland's biggest tourist attractions, and a popular destination for families from all over the country. Even in Norway, many visitors. Each year, the park is visited by between 300 000 and 400 000 people. The season lasts from early June to late August, totaling about 80 days.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skara_Sommarland

http://www.sommarland.se

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Posted in: Sweden

Drottningholm Palace

The Drottningholm Palace (Swedish: Drottningholms slott) is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. It is located in Drottningholm. It is built on the island Lovön (in Ekerö Municipality of Stockholm County), and is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 16th century. It served as a residence of the Swedish royal court for most of the 18th century. Apart from being the private residence of the Swedish royal family, the palace is a popular tourist attraction.

The name Drottningholm (literally meaning "Queen's islet") came from the original renaissance building designed by Willem Boy, a stone palace built by John III of Sweden in 1580 for his queen, Catherine Jagellon. This palace was preceded by a royal mansion called Torvesund.

Source: http://www.scenicreflections.com

The Queen Dowager Regent Hedwig Eleonora bought the castle in 1661, a year after her role as Queen of Sweden ended, but it burnt to the ground on 30 December that same year. Hedwig hired the famous Swedish architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder to design and rebuild the castle. In 1662, work began on the reconstruction of the building. With the castle almost complete, Nicodemus died in 1681. His son Nicodemus Tessin the Younger continued his work and completed the elaborate interior designs.

The current Swedish royal family have used Drottningholm as their primary residence since 1981. Since then, the Palace has also been guarded by the Swedish Military in the same fashion as Stockholm Palace.

The palace and its grounds have seen many renovations, changes and additions over the past 400 years. The largest renovation, in which electricity, heating, sewage, water lines were either installed or updated and the castle roof replaced, took place between 1907 and 1913. During a 20-year-period beginning around 1977, several major areas of the palace were restored and rebuilt. The library and national hall received much of the attention and fire protection was installed throughout the palace. In 1997, work began to clean and rebuild the exterior walls. This was completed in 2002.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxf0gjw7tTs&hd=1

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drottningholm_Palace

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Posted in: Sweden

Nordic Museum Stockholm

The Nordic Museum (Swedish: Nordiska museet) is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the Early Modern age (which for purposes of Swedish history is said to begin in 1520) until the contemporary period. The museum was founded in the late 19th century by Artur Hazelius, who also founded the open-air museum Skansen, long part of the museum, until the institutions were made independent of each other in 1963.

The Museum was originally (1873) called the Scandinavian ethnographic collection (Skandinavisk-etnografiska samlingen), from 1880 the Nordic Museum (Nordiska Museum, now Nordiska museet). When Hazelius established the open-air museum Skansen in 1891, it was the second such museum in the world.

For the Nordic museum, Hazelius bought or managed to get donations of objects – furniture, clothes, toys etc. – from all over Sweden and the other Nordic countries; he was mainly interested in peasant culture but his successors increasingly started to collect objects reflecting bourgeois and urban lifestyles as well. For Skansen he collected entire buildings and farms.

Source: http://www.globeimages.net

Although the project did not initially get the government funding he had hoped, Hazelius received widespread support and donations, and by 1898 the Society for the promotion of the Nordic Museum (Samfundet för Nordiska Museets främjande) had 4,525 members. The Swedish parliament allocated some money for the museums in 1891 and doubled the amount in 1900, the year before the death of Hazelius.

The present building, the design of Isak Gustaf Clason, was completed in 1907. Originally, it was intended to be a national monument housing the material inheritance of the nation. It was, however, only half-completed for the Stockholm Exposition 1897, and it never was completed to the extent originally planned, three times the actual size. It takes its style from Dutch-influenced Danish Renaissance architecture (i.e. buildings such as Frederiksborg Palace) rather than any specifically Swedish historical models. The core of the "cathedralesque" building is taken up by a huge main hall passing through all the stories up to the roof and dominated by the enormous sculpture of King Gustav Vasa, the Swedish so called founder-king. For the construction, brick and granite was used for the walls, while concrete was used for the roof.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_Museum

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Posted in: Sweden

Stockholm Palace

The Stockholm Palace or the Royal Palace (Swedish: Stockholms slott or Kungliga slottet) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (the actual residence of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia is at Drottningholm Palace). Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen ("city island"), in Gamla Stan (the old town) in the capital, Stockholm. It neighbours the Riksdag building and Stockholm Cathedral.

The offices of the King, the other members of the Swedish Royal Family, and the offices of the Royal Court of Sweden are located here. The palace is used for representative purposes by the King whilst performing his duties as the head of state.

The southern façade is facing the grand-style slope Slottsbacken; the eastern façade is bordering Skeppsbron, an impressive quay passing along the eastern waterfront of the old town; on the northern front is Lejonbacken, a system of ramps named after the Medici lions sculptures on the stone railings; and the western wings border the open space Högvaktsterrassen.

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org

The palace is built of brick, with midsections of the west, south, and east façades covered by sandstone. The roof slopes slightly inwards. The roof is covered with copper and is surrounded by a stone balustrade which is stretched around the entire main building.

The palace has 1430 rooms, 660 with windows and is one of the largest royal palaces in the world still in use for its original purpose. The palace consists of four rows: western, southern, eastern, and northern. The southern façade represents the nation, the west façade represents the king, the east façade represents the queen, and the northern façade represents the common royal. From west to east the palace façade is 115 m (without wings); from north to south the palace façade is 120 m. These four rows surround the inner courtyard.

From the main buildings' corners, four wings stretch out east and west. All wings are 48 m long and 16 m wide except the southwest wing which is only 11 m. The irregularity is hidden by two free-standing half-round wings that surround the outer courtyard. The Logården ("Lynx Yard") is a small garden between the southeast and northeast wing.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Palace

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Posted in: Sweden

Manneken Pis

Manneken Pis (literally Little Man Pee in Marols, a Dutch dialect spoken in Brussels, also known in French as le Petit Julien), is a famous Brussels landmark. It is a small bronze fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. It was designed by Hiëronymus Duquesnoy the Elder and put in place in 1618 or 1619.

The famous statue is located at the junction of Rue de l'Étuve/Stoofstraat and Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat. To find it, one takes the left lane next to the Brussels Town Hall from the famous Grand Place and walks a few hundred metres southwest via Rue Charles Buls/Karel Bulsstraat.

Source: http://openbuildings.com

The statue is dressed in costume several times each week, according to a published schedule which is posted on the railings around the fountain. His wardrobe consists of several hundred different costumes, many of which may be viewed in a permanent exhibition inside the City Museum, located in the Grand Place, immediately opposite the Town Hall. The costumes are managed by the non-profit association The Friends of Manneken-Pis, who review hundreds of designs submitted each year, and select a small number to be produced and used.

Although the proliferation of costumes is of twentieth-century origin, the occasional use of costumes dates back almost to the date of casting, the oldest costume on display in the City Museum being of seventeenth-century origin. The changing of the costume on the figure is a colourful ceremony, often accompanied by brass band music. Many costumes represent the national dress of nations whose citizens come to Brussels as tourists; others are the uniforms of assorted trades, professions, associations, and branches of the civil and military services.

On occasion, the statue is hooked up to a keg of beer. Cups will be filled up with the beer flowing from the statue and given out to people passing by.

The statue has been stolen seven times, the last time being the 20th century by students from the village of Broxeele, a town with the same etymology asBrussels.

There is also a statue of Manneken Pis in Tokushima, Japan, which was a present from the Belgian embassy (Tokushima being twinned with Brussels).

Since 1987, the Manneken has had a female equivalent, Jeanneke Pis, located on the east side of the Impasse de la Fidélité/Getrouwheidsgang.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manneken_Pis

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Posted in: Belgium

Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-Michel is an island commune in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometre (0.6 miles) off the country's northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Coues non River near Avranches. 247 acres (100 ha) in size, the island has a population of 44 (2009).

The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times, and since the eighth century AD has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. The structural composition of the town exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it. On top God, the abbey and monastery, below this the Great halls, then stores and housing, and at the bottom, outside the walls, fishermen and farmers' housing.

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org

During the early 19th century, there were campaigns that called for the restoration of what was seen as a national treasure. One of these had Victor Hugo as a prominent supporter. In 1874, the abbey was handed over to the French government with the aim of preserving it for future generations. At the end of the 19th century, a causeway was built so that the island could be more easily accessed at low tide. In 1895, a copper statue of St. Michael was commissioned to adorn the abbey's spire.

In 1966, the abbey on Mont Saint Michel was returned to the Benedictines in a symbolic ceremony that formed part of the island's millennium celebrations. The year of 1979 saw the island and the bay in which it stands become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zq0axpbPns&hd=1

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Saint-Michel

http://www.world-guides.com

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Posted in: France