P h o t o g e o g r a p h y

There are 25 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Romania. Seven of this list are Saxon villages in southern Transylvania. They are dominated by their fortified churches, which illustrate building styles from the 13th to the 16th century. One of them is Hărman Fortified Church. I have already presented the beautiful village of Viscri, which houses one of the fortified churches - also listed on the UNESCO list ( click to read my article about Viscri ). The church in Hărman is just as beautiful and it displays the typical characteristics of a fortified church. The village of Hărman (Honigburg in German, meaning Honey Castle) is located some 10 km east of Brașov , in the Burzenland region of southeastern Transylvania. When visiting Brașov, you must visit Hărman (and Prejmer too) ( click to read my article about Medieval fortifications in Brașov ).  Hărman was established and long inhabited mainly by Transylvanian Saxons. The church at Hărman dates back to 12...

Tatra Mountains and Pieniny Mountains Poland is a relatively low-lying country. More than 90% percent of its territory lies ca 300 m above sea level, but there are three main mountain ranges located mainly in the southern part of the country. They run in a direction from west to east and include the Carpathian Mountains (Carpathians), the Sudety Mountains (Sudetes), and the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains).  All of these mountain ranges, except for the Świętokrzyskie Mountains form a natural southern border of Poland. Sudetes Śnieżka (1603 m a.s.l.)  - the highest peak of Karkonosze Mountains Sudetes (Sudety Mountains) The Sudetes stretches from eastern Germany along the south-western Poland. The highest peak of the range is Śnieżka in the Karkonosze Mountains (Giant Mountains) on the Czechia-Poland border, which is 1,603 metres in elevation. The Sudetes are usually divided into Eastern Sudetes (in Poland are two ranges: Golden Mountains a...

Not more than 34 km north of Warsaw, on the territory of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, in the fork of the Vistula River, the Narew River and Wkra River, is located Modlin Fortress, one of the largest fortresses in Poland and all of Europe. The fortress is a monument of defensive architecture of international significance. In Europe, only Verdun can compete with it.  Defence barracks Residential buildings History of Modlin Fortress The first fortifications around Modlin were built during the Swedish invasion in the 17th century, but the beginnings of the most impressing fortress in Europe falls in the first half of 19th century when Napoleon Bonaparte recognised the strategic importance of the area. In 1807 Emperor of the French ordered the construction of new fortifications. His military architects began to expand the fortress to both sides of the River Narew at the estuary into the Vistula to secure his leadership in Eastern Europe.  Officer's Cassino ...