Author: Ms. R.

The walls underneath Lindenhof hold evidence of Zurich’s past. These walls include remnants from the Gallo-Roman, and Carolingian periods, each contributing to the rich tapestry of the city’s history.  During the Roman occupation, the area known as Turicum was fortified with a castellum (a small Roman fort), parts of which still exist today. These fortifications were part of a broader network of Roman military sites intended to secure the region. The walls from this period are visible in the……

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Founded in 1945, this non-profit sanctuary honors the memory of Sanderson Sloane, as well as all the fallen men and women who served in World War II. It is situated on the 236-acre property, on a hilltop with breathtaking views of Monadnock Mountain. This non-denominational worship space, adjacent buildings, trails, and gardens charge no entry fee and are open from dawn to dusk, year-round.   Although it has no nave or stained glass windows, this ‘cathedral’ still performs many of the functions……

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Lake Clifton, nestled within the Yalgorup National Park in Western Australia, is a captivating site renowned for its unique thrombolites. Thrombolites are microbial formations shaped by the intricate interplay of cyanobacteria, contributing to the trapping and cementation of sedimentary particles. Unlike stromatolites, thrombolites are living structures, and Lake Clifton is home to one of the few places globally where these formations can be observed. The thrombolites in Lake Clifton are distinctive, manifesting as rounded domes emerging from the lake’s……

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Each week, Atlas Obscura is providing a new short excerpt from our upcoming book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders (September 17, 2024). In most places, midges don’t command much respect, inspiring annoyance and vague shooing motions and disappearing by the billions into the mouths of larger creatures. At the bottom of the world, though, everything is topsy-turvy. The Antarctic midge is the largest land animal endemic to the continent. In other words, Africa and……

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Visitors to Murcia might be surprised to see a big fish showing its head and tail in the shallow waters of the Segura River near the Puente Viejo (Old Bridge). This sculpture is actually a tribute to a deeply rooted tradition in Murcia.  The Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the Sardine) is a ceremony that celebrates the end of Lent. Burials usually consist of a parade that parodies a funeral procession, and culminates with the burning of the……

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As Malta is an island nation in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, it is a natural place for people to make salt from seawater. In fact, people have been manufacturing salt in Malta since the Phoenicians arrived on the islands. The most notable place in Maltese Archipelago where people have been making salt using traditional methods is a section of the north coast of the island of Gozo stretching from Reqqa Point (the northernmost point of Malta) to……

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Square de l’Île-de-France, a small public park at the very end of Île de la Cité, might seem to be a peaceful green plot of land now, but it hides a much darker and morbid history. The site was home to one of the first Paris morgues, which not only served as the place to keep unidentified bodies but also as a peculiar exhibition open to the public. The original building, which opened in 1804, was situated a little……

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Several waves of German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries. The first wave, invited by William Penn himself, consisted largely of Anabaptists, including Amish, Mennonites, and Dunkers. These groups were seeking religious freedom after the chaos of the Thirty Years’ War, which had devastated much of Germany. After around 1720 they were joined by mainstream Protestant denominations such as Lutherans, Moravians, and members of the German Reformed church. On the eve of the American Revolution,……

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Deep in the woods below Mount Saint Helens, a short boardwalk traverses a natural mosaic of green and black. As beautiful as it is, it might be hard at first glance to see both forests mentioned in the site’s name. The two forests of this trail are not separated by biome type or ecosystem, but instead by centuries of history. One is the forest you see today, verdant with Douglas fir and moss. The other is just a shadow……

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The clouds seemed to be conspiring against Jimo Pereira last summer. The university student from Buenos Aires spent much of her time curled up in a sleeping bag on the grounds of Eichsfelder Hütte, a hostel deep in Germany’s rugged Harz Mountains. Night after chilly night she’d be out in the open field with her project partner, trying to stay warm. Every so often one of them would get up to check their telescope, but the clouds stubbornly barred……

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The steeple of St. Anne’s Church in Cork is affectionately known as the “Four-Faced Liar.” That’s because it boasts a quirky feature: four clocks on its tower, each displaying a slightly different time. The church was originally built in 1722, but the clocks weren’t added until more than a century later in 1847. Depending on the angle from which you view the clocks, how strong the wind is, and a number of other factors that affect the clocks, the times……

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