- 1. PARQUE DE EUROPATorrejn de Ardoz (Madrid) Travel Agencies
and Events Management2011-201230th January 2012
2. BRANDENBURG GATE (GERMANY)The monumental gate was designed by
CarlGotthard and commissioned by emperor WilhemII. The design of
the gate, 65.5m wide and 28mheight was based on the Propylaea (the
gate tothe Acropolis in Athens).It was constructed between 1778 and
1791. Thedecoration includes scenes of Greek mythology, ittooks
another four years to complete.Quadriga: The quadriga of Victory
crowning thegate. It was built in 1793. The bronze quadriga
isdriven by the goodness of peace.During the cold war the gate
symbolizedGermanys division, but with the fall of the wallpeople
reopened Brandenburg Gate to celebrateit.During the war the gate
suffered several damagesand the monument was renovated again
in2001, it opened as good as new on October3, 2002, and now is a
symbol of a reunified Berlin.(By Maribel Campoverde) 3. WINDMILLS
(HOLLAND)In Holland there are more than one thousandwindmills among
them we can point outSchiedam and Kinderkijk mills.The Schiedam
mills are the five biggest mills inthe world. Some of them are 40
meters high.They were used to grind cereal and they wereimportant
in the Jenuer production (DutchGin) too.Kinderdijk is the most
popular group of polder(a Netherlands word to describe lands
areasplaced near to the sea) mills, they arenineteen mills; It was
declared World Heritagein 1997 by de UNESCO. The mills are placed
intwo rows, one in front of the other, as part ofa water management
system to preventflooding. (By Maite Benito) 4. ANGLOIS BRIDGE
(FRANCE)The monument on the right is theLanglois bridge.This bridge
is a replica that Van Goghpainted , inspired by a bridge
locatednear Arles, a village of France, Van Goghwas interested in
wooden bridges whichcrossing the Rhone. The bridge, is datedfrom
1888.It is relevant that Van Gogh chose ascene whose main technical
elementswhere the canal and the bridge, becausethere are elements
built long time ago.The scene had to evoke to Van Gogh theimages of
the Midis region, it waspainted four times until he convinced
thefinal picture.We can see this picture in the VincentVan Gogh
museum, in Amsterdam.(By David Gaviln) 5. BELEM TOWER
(PORTUGAL)This tower is located in the city of Lisbon.Its
construction was started in 1514 under the reignof Manuel I, and
was started to be built by thearchitect Francisco de Arruda. The
work wascompleted in 1520.The style of the tower is a blend of
Moorish style onthe outside, and the Gothic style in the
interior.The tower has five floors: on the first, second, andthird
floor there are halls and rooms, on the fourththere is a chapel,
and finally the fifth level is theterrace.The tower was built to
defend the city, and is built onthe beach from where the Portuguese
left to goaround the world. It is a symbol of the country,
andUNESCO has listed it as a World Heritage monument.(By Nacho
Anasagasti) 6. ALCAL GATE (SPAIN)It is one of the most
emblematicmonuments of Madrid.It is located in the
IndependenceSquare, immersed in the neural centre ofthe city.Alcal
street, Serrano Street well knownbecause it is plenty of fashion
shops andcoffee shops, and Alfonso XII street arethe main streets
which lead to thisroundabout.It commemorates the arrival of Charles
IIIto the capital city.It was designed by the Italian
architectFrancesco Sabatini.The headstone says King CharlesIII,
1778. It is built with granite and whitestone and on the top there
are the fourvirtues: Prudence, Justice, Temperanceand Fortitude.(By
Elena Villar) 7. ATOMIUM (BELGIUM)The monument you can see is The
Atomium. Itslocated in Brussels is the most popular
touristattraction of Europes capital. It was built for theworld
fair of Brussels in 1958, commonly called Expo58. It was created by
the engineer Andr Waterkeyn.It symbolized the democratic will to
maintain peaceamong all the nations, faith in progressand, finally,
an optimistic vision of the future.With its nine spheres and a
height of 102 meters, thebuildingis indeedanelementary ironcrystal,
magnified 165 billion times. The nine largespheres, are connected
by 20 tubes, are supportedby three enormous pillars. Five of the
nine spheresare open to the public. One of them is used for
apermanent exhibition dedicated to Expo 58 witharchive documents,
photographs, videos; anothersphere is dedicated to temporary
exhibitions withscientific themes. The upper sphere
offersspectacular views of the city of Brussels; has got
arestaurant.The Atomium is open everyday from 10:00 to 18:00pm.(By
Adrin Arroyo) 8. MANNEKIN PIS (BELGIUM)Created in the 15th century,
Manneken Pis is oneof the most representative and dear symbols
ofBrussels.The Manneken Pis is a statue of bronze ofapproximately
15cm, located near Grand Place.The current statue is a copy on that
it put in1619, because the original was stolen by a soldier.It
commemorates a child who, according tolegend, saved the city off
the fuse that somesoldiers had been ignited to explode the walls
ofthe city with their urine.There are many legends about the
Manneken Pis.According to another legend, the son of anobleman
urinated on the wall of the house of awitch who threw a spell
becoming statue.The Manneken Pis has more than 650 suits thathave
been giving him. It has some very curious asone of Elvis or of
Mickey Mouse.There is the female version of Manneken Pis, called
Jeanneken Pis, also located in Brussels. (By Lorena Cifuentes) 9.
TREVI FOUNTAIN (ITALY)It is the largest baroque fountain inRome.It
is considered one of the most famousfountain in the world.The
fountain was designed by NicolaSalvi, commissioned by Pope
ClementeXII.The work began in 1732, and thefountain was completed
in 1762.It is 26 meters high and 20 meters wide.The central figure
of the fountain isNeptune, god of the sea; and the waterat the
bottom of the fountain representsthe sea.The legend has... if you
want return toRome you should throw a coin into thewater. You
should toss it over youshoulder with you back to the fountain. (By
Vanesa Prado) 10. EIFFEL TOWER (FRANCE)The Eiffel Tower is an iron
structure; itwas designed by theFrenchengineer Gustave Eiffel for
the Universal Exhibition1889 in Paris. This monument is located at
the end ofthe Champ de Mars at the shore of the River Seine;this
Parisian monument is symbol of France and itscapital. The height of
this monument is 325 metersincluding its antenna.The Eiffel Tower
was the highest building inthe world for over 40 years.The Eiffel
Tower was built in two years, two monthsand five days. Initially it
was used for scientificexperiments, today it serves besides
touristattraction, as issuer of programs of radio
andtelevision.Eiffel Tower has 1665 steps, transparent
elevatorsthat lead up to the second floor, where there are alot of
souvenir boutiques and the best view of thecity. In the evening,
the Eiffel Tower is lit entirelywith over 20 thousand lights and
300 projectorsoffering a wonderful show. The Eiffel tower is
visitedby 5 million of people each year.(By Johanna Murillo) 11.
DAVID (ITALY)David by Michelangelo is a white marble sculpture.In
total it has 5,17 m. The body has4, 10 m and 1, 07 mpedestal.The
sculpture was made by Miguel AngelBuonarroti, between 1501- 1504.It
represents the biblical King David, when facing thegiant Goliath.
It is the symbol of the city ofFlorence, Italy.David by
Michelangelo is one of the masterpieces of theRenaissance. It is
one of the most famous sculptures inthe world.Until 1910, it was
located in the Square lordshipToscana. Today is in the Gallery of
the Academy ofFlorence.The sculptor represented King David as a
strong man.His appearance shows the figure with the typicalfeatures
of a fighter. It expresses a deep look and bodytension. The muscles
(tendons and hands), are clearlyvisible.The sculptural figure of
King David is considered asymbol of freedom.European Sculpture Park
represents a smaller scale allthe details of the original creation.
(By Marilena Tudose) 12. OSEBERG BOAT (NORWAY)The Oseberg ship is a
well preserved viking shipdiscovered in a large burial mound at the
Oseberg Farm,near Tnsberg in Vestfold county, Norway. It
wasdiscovered by Swedish archaeologist Gabriel Gustafsonin 1905,
and right now we can see it at the Viking ShipMuseum, in Bygdoy.The
ship was built almost enterely of oak, with a lengh ofalmost 22 m.
and a width of 5 m. The mast is about 10m. long, and it has 15 row
lines, wich means that up to30 people could row the ship if
necessary. The bow andstern of the ship are elaborately decorated
with complexwoodcarvings in the characteristic "gripping beast"
style,also known as the Oseberg style.Inside the ship there were
found two women skeletons.There were supposed to belong to Queen
Asa of theYngling Clan, grandmother of Harald Fairhair,
firstNorwegian King. The other one was probably a servantof the
queen, sacrificed when she died, to continueserving her in the
afterlife.There were also found theskeletons of 14 horses, which
Vikings believed could helpthe dead to reach afterlife, 3 dogs (to
guard theirmasterss possesions in the afterlife) and an ox.(By
David Rodrguez) 13. LITTLE MERMAID (DENMARK)The Little Mermaid is
placed on Langelinie which isthe preferred place for cruises ships
to enter whenthey visit Copenhagen. It has become almost asymbol of
the city of Copenhagen.The sculptor Edward Eriksen created the
bronzestatue and was presented in 1913. The bronze statueis only
165 centimeters high sitting on a natural rockjust at the
waterfront at Langelinie.It was made on the order of Carl Jacobsen;
theinspiration for his wish was his joy of seeing theballerina
Ellen Price dancing the ballet The LittleMermaid on the Royal
Theatre of Copenhagen.Several times the statue has been a victim of
insult.The most famous attack was in 1964, her head wascut of. The
head was never found and the presenthead is a reconstruction.The
Danish legend tells that the singings of themermaid were bewitching
the men of the sea. In itscapital, Copenhagen, a humble fisherman
wassuccumbed by the singings of a young woman littlemermaid while
it was working, and then the littlemermaid resigned his immortality
in exchange forpossessing the aspect of a woman.(By Ftima Rojas)
14. GREEK THEATREThe Greek theatre history began with
festivalshonoring their gods. A god, Dionysus, was honoredwith a
festival called by "City Dionysia".Between 600 and 200 BC, the
ancient Athenianscreated the theatre.Theatre buildings were called
a theatron. Thetheaters were large, open-air structures
constructedon the slopes of hills. They consisted of three
mainelements: the orchestra, the skene, and theaudience.Orchestra
or "dancing place", A large circular area atthe center part of the
theatre, where theplay, dance, religious rites, acting used to take
place.Skene: A large rectangular building situated behindthe
orchestra, actors could change their costumesand masks.Rising from
the circle of the orchestra was theaudience. The theatres were
originally built on a verylarge scale to accommodate the large
number ofpeople on stage, as well as the large number ofpeople in
the audience, up to fourteen thousand.Tragedy, comedy, and satyr
plays were the theatricalforms.(By Alexandra Marls) 15. WINGED
VICTORY OF SAMOTHRACE(GREECE)The goddess of Victory (Nike, in
Greek), It wasfound in 1863 and is estimated to have beencreated
around 190 B.C on the island ofSamothrace in Greek.It was created
to not only honor thegoddess, Nike, but to honor a sea
battle.Victory shown in the form of a winged womanstanding on the
prow of a ship, braced againstthe strong wind blowing through her
garmentswith her right hand cupped around hermouth.The arms, the
figures head has never beenfound, but various other fragments have
sincebeen found in 1950.Since 1883, the marble figure has
beendisplayed in the Louvre.(By Alexandra Marls) 16. MAYOR SQUARE
(SPAIN)Plaza Mayor is the starting point for visit to the "old
town" Madrid. Is located en CityCenter The origin is the old Plaza
del Arrabal which was the meeting point for the towns traders The
King Felipe II moved the Regions Government from Toledo to Madrid
in 1561 and askedJuan de Herrera, architect of the Escorial, to
change the market place into a real squareIn year 1580 it was
started and and completed in just two years by Juan Gmez de laMora,
which was of Herreras successor, The result was a large square,
measuring 120m long and 90m wide (394ft x 295ft). In 1590 Felipe
III closed the square on four sides. Same to many buildings in
medieval Europe, the Plaza Mayor were constructed withwooden floor
susceptible to fire and during 160 years three major fires
devastated thesquare. (Between 1631 and 1790) The original design
had five floors, and after de fire, the new design by Juan de
Villanuevadecided to reduce the structure of just three floors what
we see today. The statue of Felipe III was incorporated in the
center of the square in 1848 The Plaza Mayor has been the center of
many festivities.Has been used for every activity: 1)bull fights
2)royal coronations 3)executions during theInquisition. Depending
on the form of execution would be located in a different part of
the square.Methods: Hanging, Beheading. Today it is used for public
celebrations witch capacity as many as 50,000 peoplesIn 1992 was
decorated the "Casa de la Panadera" (The Bakers House) with a large
muralwith angels and saints. Inside there is a Tourist Office, you
can take brochures which sightseeing to Madrid to seeshows,
locations to book hotels and the other things necessary for tourist
Within the square, are numerous local of Tapas Bars and
Restaurants..One of the restaurants "Sobrino de Botn" near the
square, is officially recognized by theGuinness Book of Records as
being the worlds oldest restaurant, founded in 1725 The Plaza Mayor
has had different names"Plaza de la Constitucin" - Square of the
Constitution"Plaza Real" - The Royal square"Plaza de la Repblica" -
Square of the Republic(By Mario Martn) 17. BERLIN WALL (GERMANY)
&TOWER BRIDGE (THE UK)We also learnt about these two places.
18. PARQUE DE EUROPATorrejn de Ardoz (Madrid) Travel Agencies and
Events Management2011-201230th January 2012
