Malbork Castle, Zamek w Malborku
The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork is a 13th-century Teutonic castle and fortress located near the town of Malbork, Poland. It is the largest castle in the world measured by land area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wikipedia

It was originally constructed by the Teutonic Knights, a German Catholic religious order of crusaders, in a form of an Ordensburg fortress. The Order named it Marienburg in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. In 1457, it since served as one of the several Polish royal residences and the seat of Polish offices and institutions to 1772. From then on the castle was under German rule for over 170 years until 1945.
The castle is a classic example of a medieval fortress and, on its completion in 1406, was the world's largest brick castle. UNESCO designated the "Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork" and the Malbork Castle Museum a World Heritage Site in December 1997. It is one of two World Heritage Sites in the region (north-central Poland), together with the "Medieval Town of Toruń", which was founded in 1231.

Malbork Castle is also one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated on 16 September 1994. Its listing is maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

With the rise of Adolf Hitler to power in the early 1930s, the Nazis used the castle as a destination for annual pilgrimages of both the Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls. The Teutonic Castle at Marienburg served as a blueprint for the Order Castles of the Third Reich built under Hitler's reign. In 1945 during World War II combat in the area, more than half the castle was destroyed. At the conclusion of the war, the city of Malbork and the castle became again part of Poland. The castle has been mostly reconstructed, with restoration ongoing since 1962. A new restoration was completed in April 2016. Malbork Castle remains the largest brick complex in Europe.

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Slightly sketchy and soft colors using Lightroom, Photoshop and Aurora HDR post-processing.

Open-air mall in Spanish architecture with a variety of well-known chain retailers, plus a movie theater & dining. Santa Barbara, CA.

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Snow on peaks of Los Angeles National Forest (Mt. San Antonio and several other peaks). Downtown Los Angeles and Dodger Stadieum

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Royal Route: The city has some buildings surviving from the time of the Hanseatic League. Most tourist attractions are located along or near Ulica Długa (Long Street) and Długi Targ (Long Market), a pedestrian thoroughfare surrounded by buildings reconstructed in historical (primarily during the 17th century) style and flanked at both ends by elaborate city gates. This part of the city is sometimes referred to as the Royal Route, since it was once the former path of processions for visiting Kings of Poland. Gdańsk Town Hall
Ratusz Głównego Miasta. Oddział Muzeum Gdańska

Gdańsk Main Town Hall is a historic Ratusz located in the Gdańsk Main City borough of Śródmieście. It is one of the finest examples of the Gothic-Renaissance historic buildings in the city, built at the intersection of Ulica Długa and Długi Targ, in the most popular part of Gdańsk. The Main Town Hall in Gdańsk houses the History Museum of the City of Gdańsk.
The Main Town Hall in Gdańsk is located on Ulica Długa, part of the Royal Route.
The oldest fragments of the town hall come from 1327 to 1336 - the building was then much smaller in size, which led to its expansion in the subsequent years.
The first major expansion of the building began in 1378. The tower was complete in the years of 1486-1488; the building of which was led by Henryk Hetzel. The tower was completed by Michał Enkinger, with a high dome in 1492.
Heavily damaged in WW2, with the loss of the top of the tower, it was carefully repaired and reconstructed, largely complete by 1952.

The Artus Court, formerly also Junkerhof, (Polish: Dwór Artusa) is a building in the centre of Gdańsk, Poland, at Długi Targ 44, which used to be the meeting place of merchants and a centre of social life. Today it is a point of interest of numerous visitors and a branch of the Gdańsk History Museum.

Tags:   Gdańsk Pomeranian Voivodeship Poland

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Door panels, wood Ayutthaya style 16-18th century, from Wat Vihara Thong, Ayutthaya


The Chao Sam Phraya National Museum is a Thai national museum in Ayutthaya . The museum is named after King Borommaracha II (Chao Sam Phraya), who built Wat Ratchaburana in Ayutthaya in 1424 .

The Chao Sam Phraya National Museum is located on Rochana Street in the old town of Ayutthaya, the capital of the Ayutthaya empire for 417 years.

In the course of the extensive repair and reconstruction work carried out in Ayutthaya by the Thai government between 1956 and 1957, many valuable objects were found that were able to survive the almost complete devastation of the city by the Burmese in 1767.

On December 26, 1961, the museum opened its first building, the two-story Chao Sam Phraya Building, in the presence of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit.

Tags:   Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Thailand

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