memolands

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Draisine - One of the forerunners of the bicycle is being exhibited in Heidelberg

The “wooden horse”, also called Laufmaschine, was invented by Karl Freiherr von Drais around 1820 and is powered by the rider’s feet on the ground instead of the pedals of later bicycles. The first Laufmaschine was invented by the German inventor in Mannheim in 1817 and then patented in France in February 1818 using the term vélocipède. The Draisine named after Karl von Drais is displayed in the…

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Chiesa di San Carlo Borromeo - A small religious treasure in the heart of Lugano

The structure was built between 1640 and 1642 on a project by Giovanni Angelo Galassini and Antonio Castelli, on commission of the confraternity named after San Carlo Borromeo. It was restored, but deprived of the right side, in 1950. The façade, made by the Curieglian Domenico Fontana, dates back to 1829. The façade, made by the Curieglian Domenico Fontana, was restored in 2001 / Image:…

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Władysław Szpilman - The real Pianist rests in Warsaw

A Polish pianist and classical composer of Jewish descent. Szpilman is widely known as the central figure in the 2002 Roman Polanski film The Pianist, which was based on Szpilman’s autobiographical account of how he survived the German occupation of Warsaw and the Holocaust. Władysław Szpilman’s grave in Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw / Image source Szpilman studied piano in Berlin and…

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Flagg Grove School - The Child School of Tina Turner in Brownsville

  The great singer was born Anna Mae Bullock in 1939, the youngest daughter of Floyd Richard Bullock and his wife Zelma Priscilla. The family lived in the nearby rural unincorporated community of Nutbush, Tennessee. The former one-room school before its reconstruction. Turner contributed to the restoration of the school and it was made into the Tina Turner Museum in her honor / Image…

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Royal Shakespeare Theatre - The world's most suitable amphitheater for performing Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon

    The theatre opened next to the River Avon in 1879, after local brewer, Charles Flower donated the land and launched a campaign to build a theatre in the town. Originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, it is a theatre with over 1,000 seats owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. The Royal Shakespeare Company was founded…

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Kalmar Castle - One of Sweden's best preserved renaissance castles in Kalmar

  During the twelfth century a defense tower was built on the site where castle now stands. At the end of the thirteenth century during, the reign of King Magnus III, additional towers and a ring wall were built. The large square Guard Tower contained the original main entrance. The intention was to protect the area, a bustling trading hub, from attacks by pirates and other enemies. The history…

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Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic - The “acoustical gem” in Szczecin

  The idea to build a new music hall in the place where the old Concert Hall (Konzerthaus) used to be located came about in 2004. Three years later a contest to present of a new Philharmonic was opened. From the offers of about forty studios from all over the world, the jury chose the project designed by the Barozzi/Veiga studio from Barcelona. In 2015, the new Philharmonic building was awarded…

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FIFA World Cup Trophy - The world's most beautiful sports award was created in Paderno Dugnano

FIFA World Cup Trophy – The world’s most beautiful sports award was created in Paderno Dugnano

  The golden original trophy of FIFA was designed in 1970 by artist Silvio Gazzaniga, winning the international contest for the new World Cup trophy. After Brazil retained the right to keep the Rimet Cup as a result of winning it for the third time at the World Cup Final in Mexico in 1970, FIFA needed to create another trophy. Silvio Gazzaniga created the world’s most sought after football…

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Aristotle's school - The world's greatest ancient educational institution in Naoussa

Aristotle’s school – The world’s greatest ancient educational institution in Naoussa

   The ruins of school is the site where the greatest philosopher of the antiquity taught the greatness of classical Greek thought and the ideals of the Platonic philosophy to the King’s of Macedonia, Phillip II, son, Alexander and the other nobles of the Macedonian court. Aristotle was hired by Alexander’s father, Philip II of Macedon, to teach his son, and was given the Temple of the Nymphs as…

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Wimbledon Championships - The world's oldest tennis tournament in Wimbledon

Wimbledon Championships – The world’s oldest tennis tournament in Wimbledon

   It has been held at the All England Club since 1877 and is played on outdoor grass courts, with retractable roofs over the two main courts since 2019. The club was founded at the offices of The Field in1868 as the All England Croquet Club, and held its first competition in 1870. Its original ground was situated off Worple Road, Wimbledon. Croquet was very popular there until the then-infant…

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Baarle Nassau-Hertog - The Europe's most complicated boundary in Baarle

Baarle Nassau-Hertog – The Europe’s most complicated boundary in Baarle

  A town whose territory is divided into a patchwork of Belgian and Dutch territories. The Belgian parts of the town are called Baarle-Hertog and the Dutch elements are called Baarle-Nassau. The Belgian part includes 16 exclaves within Dutch territory. The exclaves, in turn, surround seven Dutch areas. Belgian territory also surrounds an eighth Dutch area near Ginhoven. Cafe in Baarle-Nassau,…

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ANU - The green public national research university in Canberra

ANU – The green public national research university in Canberra

  The university established in 1946, and is the only university to have been created by the Parliament of Australia. It traces its origins to Canberra University College, which was established in 1929 and was integrated into Australian National University in 1960. ANU is regarded as one of the world’s leading universities, and one of the best in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. Calls for…

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UNIL - The historic quality and innovative university in Lausanne

UNIL – The historic quality and innovative university in Lausanne

The university was founded in 1537 as the Schola Lausannensis, as a school of theology with the purpose of training pastors for the church, before being made a university in 1890. It is the second oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities in the world to be in continuous operation. University of Lausanne forms a vast campus at the shores of Lake Geneva. The main campus is adjacent…

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POSTECH - The private research university of science and technology in Pohang

POSTECH – The private research university of science and technology in Pohang

  The university was established in 1986 to serve the nation and humanity by disseminating research results to society through the concrete realization of industry-university-research cooperation. Despite its short history, Pohang University considered as one of the world’s innovative institutions. POSTECH is a 400-acre campus that provides the highest educational investment and the most…

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Paramount Pictures Studio - One of the world's oldest surviving film studio in Los Angeles

Paramount Pictures Studio – One of the world’s oldest surviving film studio in Los Angeles

  The American film and television production and distribution company, dates its existence from the 1912 founding date of the Famous Players Film Company. Hungarian-born founder Adolph Zukor with partners, Daniel Frohman and Charles Frohman, he planned to offer feature-length films that would appeal to the middle class. Its first film was Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth, which starred Sarah…

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Paranal Observatory - The world-class "astronomical eyes" on Cerro Paranal

Paranal Observatory – The world-class “astronomical eyes” on Cerro Paranal

An observatory operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). By total light-collecting area, it is the largest optical-infrared observatory in the Southern Hemisphere. The Very Large Telescope (VLT), is composed of four separate 8 meter telescopes and four auxiliary telescopes of 1.8 meter each, which are also part of the astronomical interferometer (VLTI) to make it available when the…

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Mile High Stadium - The former legendary baseball and football stadium in Denver

Mile High Stadium – The former legendary baseball and football stadium in Denver

  It was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado from 1948 to 2001. The stadium originally designed as a baseball venue was and built to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of the Western League during its construction. Although the stadium was originally built as a baseball-specific venue, it became more popular as a pro-football stadium despite…