CASTLES OF RUSSIA

   When we think of Russia, we think of the biggest country. But there is something else that represents Russia beautifully - castles...

1. Winter Palace                                               

Located in St. Petersburg, Russia, construction on the Winter Palace began in 1711 by Peter the Great(Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov), he wanted it to show imperial Russia. Together with the city, the palace rebuilt for a lot of times. It has seen so much misery and destruction. Now the palace is known as part of Russia's famous Hermitage Museum. It attracts over 3.5 million visitors annually.

2. Gatchina Palace
Located in the town of Gatchina, Russia, above Lake Serebryannoe, the Gatchina Palace was built by order of Count Grigori Grigoryevich Orlov, and work began on the palace by Antonio Rinaldi in 1766. The palace has a secret underground tunnel led from the lake to a cellar beneath Count Orlov's bedchamber, treasurses in the interior, many structures such as brigdes, pavillions... Tsar Nicholas I built the Arsenal Hall, which he used as a summer residence. Alexander II and Alexander III both resided at Gatchina Palace. The last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, spent his childhood at Gatchina Palace. During WWII, Gatchina was bombed and burnt by Germany. From that time to today, the palace've been restored. Now it's home to a grand museum in Russia.

3. Stroganov Palace
It's also located in St, Petersburg, on the Moika River. The Stroganov family was the richest one in Russia. They hired most famous architects to build the palace. After the family emigrated out of Russia, the palace was belonging to the state. Nowaday the palace became an exhibition hall of the Russian Museum and houses great art work and ornate decor.

4. Grand Kremlin Palace
Located at the Moscow. It was built in 1837 as a residence for the Russian Tsars. The Grand Kremlin Palace seen replaces some other palaces like the palace of Empress Elizabeth. The palace's interior has over 700 chambers which include five ceremonial halls, the long Red Staircase, the royal apartments, servants quarters, and numerous other grand rooms. The Grand Kremlin is now home to the president of Russia.

5. Ivangorod Castle
Located outside the town of Ivangorod and overlooking the Narva (Narova) River, Ivangorod Castle was built by Ivan III (Ivan the Great) in 1492 to protect the lands against the Livonian Knights. During the Russo-Swedish War, the castle was seized and many of those who took refuge within its walls were put to the sword, the castle was then set on fire. Later, Peter the Great took returning the castle to the the Russian Empire until the Germans seized the castle in WWI and Nazi Germany returned the castle in WWII turning it into a POW camp. Today, the palace is in a ruinous state.

Top 10 London Attractions

1. British Museum
The world-famous British Museum exhibits the works of man from prehistoric to modern times from around the world. Highlights include the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, and the mummies in the Ancient Egypt collection.

2. National gallery

The crowning glory of Trafalgar Square, London's National Gallery is a vast space, filled to the rafters with Western European paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries. In this iconic art gallery you can find works by masters such as Van Gogh, da Vinci, Botticelli, Constable, Renoir, Titian and Stubbs.

3. Tate Modern
Sitting grandly on the banks of the Thames is Tate Modern, Britain's national museum of modern and contemporary art. Its unique shape is due to its previously being a power station. Inside you'll find temporary exhibitions by top artists from Damien Hirst to Gauguin. The gallery's restaurants offer fabulous views across the city.

4. Natural History Museum
As well as the permanent (and permanently fascinating!) dinosaur exhibition, the Natural History Museum boasts a collection of the biggest, tallest and rarest animals in the world. See a life-sized Blue Whale, a 40-million-year-old spider and the amazing new Darwin Centre.

5. The London Eye
The London Eye is a major feature of London's skyline. It is the world's highest observation wheel, with 32 capsules, each weighing 10 tonnes, and holding up to 25 people. Climb aboard for a breathtaking experience, offering you unforgettable views of more than 55 of London's most famous landmarks – all in just 30 minutes!

6. Science Museum
From the future of space travel to asking that difficult question, "Who am I?", the Science Museum makes your brain perform Olympic-standard mental gymnastics. See, touch and experience the major scientific advances of the last 300 years; don't forget the awesome Imax cinema.

7. The Tower Of London
Take a tour with one of the Yeoman Warders around the Tower of London, one of the world's most famous buildings. Discover its 900-year history as a royal palace, prison and place of execution, arsenal, jewel house and zoo! Gaze up at the White Tower, tiptoe through a medieval king's bedchamber and marvel at the Crown Jewels.

8. National Maritime Museum
One of the world's greatest maritime museums, the National Maritime Museum contains models, paintings and trophies from every continent. Find out about the traditions of maritime London, recall the romance of great ocean liners, and study the controversial history of trade across the Atlantic.

9. Victoria and Albert Museum
The V&A celebrates art and design with 3,000 years worth of amazing artefacts from around the world. A real treasure trove of goodies, you never know what you'll discover next: furniture, paintings, sculpture, metalwork, and textiles, the list goes on and on…

10. Madame Tussauds
At Madame Tussauds, you'll come face-to-face with some of the world's most famous faces. From Shakespeare to Britney, you'll meet influential figures from showbiz, sport, politics and even Royalty. Sing along with Kylie; strike a penalty with Rooney or receive a once-in-a-lifetime audience with Her Majesty the Queen.

The Eiffel Tower

During the best structure at the world, this Eiffel Tower is Europe’s   best called Paris’s most popular landmark area.
 

The Eiffel Tower, Paris

You could not possibly leave the Paris without looking Eiffel Tower. Whenever you do not require visiting all world popular structure, you would only look its top all over the Paris. These tower raises about 300 m very tall ( about 984 ft); while  it is completed at the end of 19th century, it  is twice  higher  than the Washington , at  present  time  with the tallest structure of the world.

In the year-1889 the World Exhibition

This Eiffel Tower was completely built for World Exhibition at the year 1889, which is held at the celebration of French Revolution at 1789.

These construction is the only means to last  duration of Exposition, since it  will continue to stands  currently, despite  of the  protests  with the  contemporary  spot that is feared  , would be  advent of  the structures without any ‘individuality’ & the despite  of many people  feared that it is very huge ‘ the object’ easily  fit the architecture  at Paris.

Eiffel Tower at Paris

Currently, there   is more aversion among all Parisians, and all could just imagine Paris with Eiffel Tower, it is becoming the symbols of City of the Light.

The Gustave Eiffel

The man  in the Eiffel Tower  is Gustave Eiffel, called  from  the  revolutionary  building with techniques, as employed is the best viaduct in Garabit at 1884. Those techniques  could  form  all bases for this construction  at the Eiffel Tower. He also called for construction  at the Statue of the  Liberty’s ironing frameworks.

This structure takes more than 2 years to complete fully.

Holland - The land of windmills

History
It is not known for certain when the first mills came into being but by 1274 water mills, driven by rivers and streams, had becomefamiliar sight.In 1414 the earliest known drainage mills were invented and by 1450 many could be found in South Holland. The mills did not originate in Holland but were said to have been introduced to Europe by the Middle East during the times of the Crusades. 

The development of the mills, however, are most certainly attributable to Holland as it is unrivaled in the diversity of types of mills. The advent of technology, however, brought a quick end to the mill's usefulness. First the steam engines, the internal combustion and finally the electric motor, all gradually took over the jobs previously undertaken by the wind or the water. 

The mills were no longer profitable and were either destroyed or used for storage.By 1923 only three thousand out of 10 thousand mills remained which further declined to just over the one thousand remaining today. 

Various types 

The Dutch countryside contains two distinctive types of mills, the water mill and the windmill.The water mill can be found in the Eastern and Southern provinces of Twente, Oost-Veluwe, theAchterhoek, Oost-Brabant, and Limburg. These are the places where there was sufficient flow of water to drive the wheel of the mill.These mills were usually used as corn mills but they also produced paper, oil, and sawed timber.There are approximately 70 of these types left in Holland. The windmill is divided in two categories, the industrial mills and the drainage mills. The industrial mills were named according to their use, sawmill, etc., but have succumbed to modern technology (there are still a few left). The drainage mills keep the land behind the dykes free of surplus water thereby creating "polders" (reclaimed land). These mills are still working in some of the older polders. They are driven by catching the wind in their sails which in turn begins the millstones.There are approximately 975 windmills left and can be found dispersed throughout 12 provinces, with the majority residing in South Holland. 

The maintenance 

Some mill societies have been created to preserve the remaining thousand mills. The Dutch Windmill Society was founded in 1923. Its primary purpose was to maintain and operate the mills but it also ended up renovating and providing technical advice to others who wished to do the same. Another society is called the Guild of Voluntary Millers. Since the profession of miller has all but disappeared, the members of this guild keep the mills going as they had in the old days to prevent them from standing still and being left for deterioration. 

Speak a language 

The mills speak a language which can be read from the position of the sails. There are four positions; the celebration, mourning, brief resting, and longer time resting positions. In each position the sails will be slightly tilted one way or another so that the towns people will know what is occurring in the miller's life.Certain resting positions were also used to signal messages to confidants, such as letting the millwright know hisservices were required. During World War II, messages were relayed by prearranged signals used to warn people in hiding for the raidings.Although the number of mills has dropped, the image of the mill has and always will remain an integral part of Dutch society. Families, streets, places, and products frequently have the word mill in their names. Likewise references to the mill occur in Dutch-language proverbs.An irrational person is said to have "had a bang on his head from the windmill". 

The history of the windmills is preserved in six special windmill museums located throughout the Netherlands. De Valk Windmill Museum in Leiden, located between The Hague and Amsterdam, is situated in a mill built in 1743.It has been left in as much of its original state as possible including the original furniture of the last miller who resided there, Willem van Rhijn. 

A variety of mills are also featured at the Dutch Open Air Museum in Arnhem. Among the old houses, old factories, and farms stand 7thw`e proud windmills that have played such a significant role in the history of the country. Other windmill museums are located at Nieuw-Vossemeer in the province Noord Brabant, in Vijfhuizen near Heemstede, in Koogaan de Zaan, and in Schermerhorn.

Nineteen windmills can also be found at Kinderdijk near Rotterdam. When visiting the Netherlands, visitors may notice a "Blue Ribbon" attached to the mills. This occurs on the first Saturday of every month and means that these mills can be visited, often free of charge or for a minimal sum towards the upkeep. However, on a day when a mill is working visitors will most likely be more than welcome because the millers are proud of their mill and always pleased to show people around.