New Year and Christmas traditions in Russia re-appeared not so long ago. In times immemorial, this holiday was celebrated in the spring, then, after the baptism of Rus, a Byzantine calendar was established in Russia. Tthe New Year was celebrated on September 1 according to this calendar. Since […]
In 1572, the greatest battle of a Christian civilization took place and defined the future of the European continent and the world many centuries ahead. In that battle, which claimed more than a hundred thousand lives, not only the fate of Russia was decided but was decided the fate of the European civilization.
From the late Middle Ages to the Baroque, Habsburg emperors and archdukes collected exotic and uncommon materials, to which they often ascribed magical powers, such as precious stones, ostrich eggs, coral and shark’s teeth, which were considered to be dragon’s tongues. From these natural products, artists created virtuoso works of art.
February 18, 1905, marks a tragic event that Russians consider very important. Indeed, when the terrorist attack occurred the world was in shock and ever since Russians remember the appalling assassination carried out by Bolshevik insurgents.
We are accustomed to believe that kings erected fabulous castles for their lovers, favourites or wives. However, Neuschwanstein Castle, perhaps the most famous castle in Germany, featured on the screensaver of Disney cartoons, was dedicated by the last Bavarian King Ludwig to the great composer Richard Wagner.
Once upon a time, there was a king who ran a small country. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box, but he was lucky to have a smart priest. And he once asked this priest a question, how to maintain absolute power if people regularly do their own thing and don’t want to listen?
The history of the Oberammergau Passion Play begins in 1633. In the midst of the Thirty Years’ War, after months of suffering and dying from the plague, the people of Oberammergau pledged to act out the »play of the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ« once every 10 years.
The aqueduct of Segovia is a classic example of Roman water transport architecture—simple in design, yet magnificent to behold, and surprisingly durable. The aqueduct was built in the 1st century AD to convey water from Frío River, 17 km away, to the city, and it has been carrying out this function in one form or another for the past 2,000 years. This is all the more impressive when you realize that this aqueduct was built without a single ounce of mortar.
Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov), the 26-year-old son of Emperor Alexander III, inherited the throne on November 2, 1894, after the sudden death of his father Alexander III of Russia. In 1894, Alexander III became ill with terminal kidney disease (nephritis) due an accident at Borki.
From ancient times, the rise and fall of landscapes and panoramas have enchanted man. Yet none captivated him as much as the rise and fall of woman’s flowing curves.
Michael Walsh Stories and Books 
Recent Comments