Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Church in Cologne, Germany the world famous tourist attraction site. It is visited by 20 thousand people every day. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, and is under the administration of the archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned as a monument of Christianity, of German Catholicism in particular, of Gothic architecture and of the continuing faith and perseverance of the people of the city in which it stands. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The cathedral is a World Heritage Site, one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany, and Cologne's most famous landmark, described by UNESCO as an exceptional work of human creative genius. The details of Cologne Cathedral are described in world tour guides.

The Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete a period of over 600 years. It is 144.5 metres long, 86.5 m wide and its two towers are 157 m tall. The cathedral is one of the world's largest churches and the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. For four years, 1880-84, it was the tallest structure in the world, until the completion of the Washington Monument. It has the second-tallest church spires, only surpassed by the single spire of Ulm Minster, completed 10 years later in 1890. Because of its enormous twin spires, it also presents the largest façade of any church in the world. The choir of the cathedral, measured between the piers, also holds the distinction of having the largest height to width ratio of any medieval church, 3.6:1, exceeding even Beauvais Cathedral which has a slightly higher vault.

Cologne's medieval builders had planned a grand structure to house the reliquary of the Three Kings and fit its role as a place of worship of the Holy Roman Emperor. The design of Cologne Cathedral was based quite closely on that of Amiens Cathedral in terms of ground plan, style and the width to height proportion of the central nave. The plan is in the shape of a Latin Cross, as is usual with Gothic cathedrals. It has two aisles on either side, which help to support one of the very highest Gothic vaults in the world, being nearly as tall as that of the ill-fated Beauvais Cathedral, much of which collapsed. Externally the outward thrust of the vault is taken up by flying buttresses in the French manner. The eastern end has a single ambulatory, the second aisle resolving into a chevet of seven radiating chapels.

The medieval choir is more varied and less mechanical in its details than the 19th century building. It presents a French style arrangement of very tall arcade, a delicate narrow triforium gallery lit by windows and with detailed tracery merging with that of the windows above. The clerestory windows are tall and retain some old figurative glass in the lower sections. The whole is united by the tall shafts which sweep unbroken from the floor to their capitals at the spring of the vault. The vault is of plain quadripartite arrangement. The choir retains a great many of its original fittings, including the carved stalls, which is made the more surprising by the fact that French Revolutionary troops had desecrated the building. A large stone statue of St Christopher looks down towards the place where the earlier entrance to the cathedral was, before its completion in the late 19th century.

The nave is enhanced by a good many 19th century stained glass windows including a set of five on the south side called the "Bayernfenster" which were a gift from Ludwig I of Bavaria, a set highly representative of the painterly German style of that date. Externally, particularly from a distance, the building is dominated by its huge spires which are entirely Germanic in character, being openwork like those of Ulm, Vienna and Regensburg Cathedrals. One of the Treasures of the cathedral is the High Altar which was installed in 1322. It is constructed of black marble, ith a solid slab 15 feet long forming the top. The front and sides are overlaid with white marble niches into which are set figures, with the Coronation of the Virgin at the centre.

The most celebrated work of art in the cathedral is the Shrine of the Three Kings, a large gilded sarcophagus dating from the 13th century, and the largest reliquary in the Western world. It is traditionally believed to hold the remains of the Three Wise Men, whose bones and 2,000-year-old clothes were discovered at the opening of the shrine in 1864. In the Sacrament Chapel is the Mailander Madonna, dating from around 1290, a wooden sculpture depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. The altar of the patron saints of Cologne with an altar piece by the International Gothic painter, Stephan Lochner is in the Marienkapelle. Other works of art are to be found in the Cathedral Treasury. Embedded in the interior wall are a pair of tablets on which are carved the provisions worked out by Archbishop Englebert II (1262-67) under which Jews were permitted to reside in Cologne.

The cathedral has eleven church bells, four of which are medieval. The first was the 3.8-ton Dreikonigenglocke Bell of the Three Kings, cast in 1418, installed in 1437, and recast in 1880. Two of the other bells, the Pretiosa 10.5 tons at that time the largest bell in the Occident and the Speciosa which is 5.6 tons were installed in 1448 and remain in place today. During the 19th century, as the building neared completion, there was a desire to extend the number of bells. This was facilitated by Kaiser Wilhelm I who gave French bronze cannon, captured in 1870-71, for this purpose. The 22 pieces of artillery were displayed outside the Cathedral on the 11th of May 1872. The Central Cathedral Association agreed to take over the costs, did not want this bell either. Another attempt took place on the 3rd of October 1874. The colossal bell was shipped to Cologne and on the 13th of May 1875, installed in the Cathedral. This Kaiserglocke was eventually dismantled in 1918 to support the German war effort. The 24-ton St. Petersglocke Bell of St. Peter, Dicke Pitter in the Kolsch dialect, was cast in 1922 and is the largest free-swinging bell in the world.

Mount Elbrus

Mount Elbrus is an inactive volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino Balkaria and Karachay Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia. The tourist attraction of Mount Elbrus is explained in world tour guides. Mt. Elbrus highest peak is the highest mountain in the Caucasus, in Russia, and in all of Europe. Mt. Elbrus west summit stands at 5,642 metres or 18,510 ft the east summit is slightly lower at 5,621 metres or 18,442 ft.

The name Elbrus is a metathesis of Alborz. The name Alborz is derived from that of Hara Barazaiti, a legendary mountain in Persian mythology. Barazaiti is the reconstructed ancestor of modern Persian boland and Barz/Berazandeh. Hara may be interpreted as watch or guard, from an Indo-European root protect. In Middle Persian, Hara Barazaiti became Harborz, Modern Persian Alborz, which is cognate with Elbrus. Other names of Mount Elbrus are Mingi Taw a Karachay Balkar, Mingi Taw means an eternal mountain or Thousand Mountain, Jin-Padishah a Turkic name of Perso-Arabic origin and Yalbuz ice mane.

Elbrus stands 20 km or 12 miles north of the main range of the Greater Caucasus and 65 km or 40 miles south-southwest of the Russian town of Kislovodsk. Its permanent icecap feeds 22 glaciers, which in turn give rise to the Baksan, Kuban, and Malka Rivers. Russia is just off the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is responsible for many of the world's volcanic and seismic activity. Elbrus sits on a moving tectonic area, and has been linked to a fault. Apparently, Elbrus has a "deep" supply of magma that resides underneath it.

The volcano is currently considered inactive, as no eruptions have ever been recorded. Elbrus' last eruption was probably as recent as the Holocene, according to the Global Volcanism Program, and took place between 0 and 100 AD. Evidence in the form of several lava flows on the mountain which look fresh and roughly 260 square kilometres or 100 square miles of volcanic debris has been analyzed. The longest flow extends 24 kilometres or 15 miles down the northeast summit, indicative of a large eruption. There are still more various signs of activity still present on the volcano, including solfateric activity and hot springs.

The Normal Route is the easiest, safest and fastest on account of the cable car and chairlift system which operates from about 9am till 3pm. Starting for the summit at about 2am from the Diesel Hut should allow just enough time to get back down to the chairlift if movement is efficient. Note in bad weather the chairlift section may be closed, also note the chairlift ride is 15 minutes long and can be very cold. The majority of groups take the cable car system from Azau roadhead to Mir Station from where either a 1 hour walk or a chairlift takes them to Garabashi - The Barrels. Above it may be possible to hire a snow cat to go to the Diesel Hut site of the burnt Priut Hut or higher to Pastukhova Rocks. Walking this takes 90 minutes to the hut and almost 2 hours more to the rocks. The walk to the Saddle takes another 3 to 4 hours and from there to the summit, a further 5 to 6 hours.

There are no major difficulties on the route, however after strong winds icy sections may be exposed and a fall could result in a slide. Particular care should be taken on the traversing ascent from the Saddle. The Saddle hut is a ruin that offers no shelter. There are few crevasses of any size or danger if you stick to the route but only 50m off the route you could be in dangerous terrain. A longer ascent route starts from below the cable-way Mir station and heads west over glacier slopes towards the Khotiutau pass. Some distance before reaching this the south spur of the Kiukurtliu Cupola is climbed to a broad glaciated saddle behind pt.4912 top of the SW spur. Now a rising traverse north is made to attain the easy northwest spur by which the summit is gained. This expedition involves 3 nights camping-bivouacs; parties also need a rope, axe and crampons. Kiukurtliu route details

Climbing Elbrus from other directions is a tougher proposition because of lack of permanent high facilities. Freshfield always maintained that a route from the east up the Iryk valley, Irykchat glacier and over the Irykchat pass 3667m on to snowfields below long rock ribs of the east spur would become the shortest and most used approach. A hut built long ago on the north side of the lrykchat pass is now wrecked, and in any event the vertical interval calls for at least 2 camp-bivouacs. Three permits are required to visit Mount Elbrus. They are: Border Zone Permit, Prielbrusie National Park Permit and OVIR Registration. All of these permits are generally arranged in advance by agents.

Mount Elbrus is said to be home to the world most awful outhouse which is close to being the highest privy in Europe. The title was conferred by Outside Magazine following a 1993 search and article. The outhouse is surrounded by and covered in ice, perched off the end of a rock, and with a pipe pouring effluvia onto the mountain.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a tourist attraction prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 3.2 kilometres or 2.0 miles west of Amesbury and 13 kilometres or 8.1 miles north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. It is at the centre of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.

Archaeologists had believed that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC, as described in the chronology below. One recent theory, however, has suggested that the first stones were not erected until 2400-2200 BC, whilst another suggests that bluestones may have been erected at the site as early as 3000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury Henge monument. It is a national legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage, while the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.

Archaeological evidence found by the Stonehenge Riverside Project in 2008 indicates that Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. The dating of cremated remains found on the site indicate burials from as early as 3000 BC, when the initial ditch and bank were first dug. Burials continued at Stonehenge for at least another 500 years.Stonehenge was a place of burial from its beginning to its zenith in the mid third millennium B.C. The cremation burial dating to Stonehenge sarsen stones phase is likely just one of many from this later period of the monument's use and demonstrates that it was still very much a domain of the dead. Stonehenge evolved in several construction phases spanning at least 1500 years. There is evidence of large-scale construction on and around the monument that perhaps extends the landscape's time frame to 6500 years.

Archaeologists have found four, or possibly five, large Mesolithic postholes, which date to around 8000 BC, beneath the nearby modern tourist car-park. These held pine posts around 0.75 metres or 2 ft 6 inches in diameter which were erected and eventually rotted in situ. Three of the posts were in an east-west alignment which may have had ritual significance; no parallels are known from Britain at the time but similar sites have been found in Scandinavia. Salisbury Plain was then still wooded but four thousand years later, during the earlier Neolithic, people built a causewayed enclosure at Robin Hood's Ball and long barrow tombs in the surrounding landscape. In approximately 3500 BC, a large cursus monument was built 700 metres or 2,300 ft north of the site as the first farmers began to clear the trees and develop the area.

Stonehenge was produced by a culture that left no written records. Many aspects of Stonehenge remain subject to debate. This multiplicity of theories, some of them very colourful, is often called the mystery of Stonehenge. There is little or no direct evidence for the construction techniques used by the Stonehenge builders. Over the years, various authors have suggested that supernatural or anachronistic methods were used, usually asserting that the stones were impossible to move otherwise. However, conventional techniques using Neolithic technology have been demonstrably effective at moving and placing stones of a similar size. Proposed functions for the site include usage as an astronomical observatory, or as a religious site. Other theories have advanced supernatural or symbolic explanations for the construction.

All the way through recorded history Stonehenge and its surrounding monuments have attracted attention from antiquarians and archaeologists. John Aubrey was one of the first to examine the site with a scientific eye in 1666, and recorded in his plan of the monument the pits that now bear his name.

A new landscape investigation was conducted in April 2009. A shallow mound, rising to about 40 cm or 16 inches was identified between stones 54 inner circle and 10 outer circle, clearly separated from the natural slope. It has not been dated but speculation that it represents careless backfilling following earlier excavations seems disproved by its representation in 18th and 19th century illustrations. A shallow bank, little more than 10 cm or 4 inches high, was found between the Y and Z hole circles, with a further bank lying inside the Z circle. These are interpreted as the spread of spoil from the original Y and Z holes, or more speculatively as hedge banks from vegetation deliberately planted to screen the activities.

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House is a famous tourist attraction with a multi venue performing arts centre on Bennelong Point in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, who, in 2003, received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour. There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world a symbol for not only a city, but a whole country and continent.

Sydney Opera House was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007. Currently, it is the most recently constructed World Heritage Site to be designated as such, sharing this distinction with such ancient landmarks as Stonehenge and the Giza Necropolis. It is one of the 20th century most distinctive buildings and one of the most famous performing arts centres in the world. Sydney Opera House is situated on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It sits at the northeastern tip of the Sydney central business district, surrounded on three sides by the harbour and neighboured by the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Contrary to its name, the building houses six venues. The two largest venues, the Opera Theatre and Concert Hall, are housed in the two larger sets of shells. Three smaller theatres, the Drama Theatre, Playhouse and Studio are situated on the western side of the building, and the Utzon Room on the eastern side. The award winning Guillaume at Bennelong restaurant occupies the smaller set of shells. A seventh performance space, The Forecourt, is regularly used for free community events and large scale outdoor performances.

As one of the busiest performing arts centres in the world, providing over 1,500 performances each year attended by some 1.2 million people, Sydney Opera House promotes and supports many performing arts companies including the four key resident companies Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, Sydney Theatre Company and Sydney Symphony. Sydney Opera House also presents more than 700 of its own performances annually that offer an eclectic mix of artistic and cultural activities for all ages from the educational to the experimental. It is also one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, with more than 7 million people visiting the site each year. The Sydney Opera House has been a featured Santa Cam location, since the start of Santa Cam use with the 1998 NORAD Tracks Santa tracking season. Sydney Opera House is administered by the Sydney Opera House Trust, under the New South Wales Ministry of the Arts.

Sydney Opera House is a modern expressionist design, with a series of large precast concrete shells each composed of sections of a hemisphere of the same radius, forming the roofs of the structure, set on a monumental podium. The building covers 1.8 hectares or 4.5 acres of land and is 183 metres or 605 ft long and 120 metres or 388 ft wide at its widest point. It is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk as much as 25 metres below sea level. The roofs of the House are covered in a subtle chevron pattern with 1,056,006 glossy white- and matte-cream-colored Swedish-made tiles from Hoganas AB, though, from a distance, the shells appear a uniform white.

The Opera House was formally completed in 1973, having cost $102 million. H.R. Sam Hoare, the Hornibrook director in charge of the project, provided the following approximations in 1973: Stage I: podium Civil & Civic Pty Ltd approximately $5.5m. Stage II: roof shells M.R. Hornibrook Pty Ltd approximately $12.5m. Stage III: completion The Hornibrook Group $56.5m. Separate contracts: stage equipment, stage lighting and organ $9.0m. Fees and other costs $16.5m.

The original cost estimate in 1957 was £3,500,000 or $7 million. The original completion date set by the government was 26 January 1963 Australia Day. Thus, the project was completed ten years late and over-budget by more than fourteen times. The Opera House was formally opened by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on 20 October 1973, with a large crowd of audience.

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World dedicated on October 28, 1886, is a monument commemorating the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, given to the United States by the people of France to represent the friendship between the two countries established during the American Revolution. It represents a woman wearing a stola, a radiant crown and sandals, trampling a broken chain, carrying a torch in her raised right hand and a tabula ansata, where the date of the Declaration of Independence JULY IV MDCCLXXVI is inscribed, in her left arm.

Standing on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, it welcomes visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans traveling by ship. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi sculpted the statue and obtained a U.S. patent for its structure. Maurice Koechlin chief engineer of Gustave Eiffel's engineering company and designer of the Eiffel Tower engineered the internal structure. The pedestal was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt. Eugene Viollet-le-Duc was responsible for the choice of copper in the statue's construction, and for the adoption of the repousse technique, where a malleable metal is hammered on the reverse side.

The statue is made of a sheathing of pure copper, hung on a framework of steel with the exception of the flame of the torch, which is coated in gold leaf. It stands atop a rectangular stonework pedestal with a foundation in the shape of an irregular eleven-pointed star. The statue is 151 ft or 46 m tall, but with the pedestal and foundation, it is 305 ft or 93 m tall. Worldwide, the Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable icons of the United States. For many years it was one of the first glimpses of the United States for millions of immigrants and visitors after ocean voyages from around the world.

The statue is the central part of Statue of Liberty National Monument, administered by the National Park Service. The National Monument also includes Ellis Island. In 1984, the Statue of Liberty was added to the list of World Heritage Sites. In 2007, the Statue of Liberty was one of 20 finalists in a competition to name the New Seven Wonders of the World.The climb to the top is 146 stairs on the double-helix stair case. Inside the copper statue it is approximately 15 to 20ºF warmer than it is outside. The NPS allows 10 people at a time with 3 groups an hour up into the crown. This provides a view of New York Harbor the orientation of the statue faces Brooklyn through 25 windows, the largest approximately 18" or 46 cm high. The view does not, therefore, include the skyline of Manhattan, except through the smallest windows on the left side of the crown.

There are 354 steps inside the statue and its pedestal, with 25 windows in the crown which comprise the jewels beneath the seven rays of the diadem. The keystone which the statue holds in her left hand reads, in Roman numerals, July 4, 1776 the day of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The Statue of Liberty was engineered to withstand heavy winds. Winds of 50 miles per hour or 80 km/h cause the Statue to sway 3 inches or 76 mm and the torch to sway 5 inches or 130 mm. This allows the Statue to move rather than break in high wind load conditions.

The Statue of Liberty quickly became a popular icon, featured in scores of posters, pictures, motion pictures, and books. A 1911 O. Henry story relates a fanciful conversation between Mrs. Liberty and another statue it figured in 1918 Liberty Loan posters. During the 1940s and 1950s, pulp Science Fiction magazines featured Lady Liberty surrounded by ruins or by the sediments of the ages. It has been in dozens of motion pictures.