• Camera: Canon
• Camera model: Canon EOS 70D
• Exposure time: 1/2000
• Aperture: f/4.0
• ISO: 100

Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex located in the city of Himeji, Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 buildings with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. The castle is frequently known as ("White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle") because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight. (5 years and 794 days ago)

5 Comments

still26 says:

A lovely POV really makes this shot.

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madamemonty says:

Congrats again Vibeke, 1 & 2, this is a very interesting looking castle.

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author says:

Thanks Megan, it was the only castle I saw in Japan that looked like a castle to me.

(5 years and 790 days ago)

still26 says:

Great presentation and Congrats.

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author says:

Thanks Still

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• Camera: Canon
• Camera model: Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
• Exposure time: 1/200
• Aperture: f/9.0
• ISO: 200

The Royal Palace, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, is a complex of buildings which serves as the royal residence of the king of Cambodia. Its full name in the Khmer language is Preah Barum Reachea Veang Chaktomuk Serei Mongkol.
The establishment of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh in 1866 is a comparatively recent event in the history of the Khmer and Cambodia. The seat of Khmer power in the region rested in or near Angkor north of the Great Tonle Sap Lake from 802 AD until the early 15th century. After the Khmer court moved from Angkor in the 15th century after destroyed by Siam, it first settled in Phnom Penh which back then named as Krong Chatomok Serei Mongkol (Khmer: ក្រុងចតុមុខសិរីមង្គល) in 1434 (or 1446) and stayed for some decades, but by 1494 had moved on to Basan, and later Longvek and then Oudong.The capital did not return to Phnom Penh until the 19th century and there is no record or remnants of any Royal Palace in Phnom Penh prior to the 19th century. In 1813, King Ang Chan (1796–1834) constructed Banteay Kev (the 'Crystal Citadel') on the site of the current Royal Palace and stayed there very briefly before moving to Oudong. Banteay Kev was burned in 1834 when the retreating Siamese army razed Phnom Penh. It was not until after the implementation of the French Protectorate in Cambodia in 1863 that the capital was moved from Oudong to Phnom Penh, and the current Royal Palace was founded and constructed. (5 years and 798 days ago)

• Camera: Panasonic
• Camera model: DMC-FZ200
• Exposure time: 1/1250
• Aperture: f/4.0
• ISO: 100

The Krujë castle is a castle in the city of Krujë, Albania and the center of Skanderbeg's rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. Inside the castle is the Teqe of Dollme of the Bektashi (an Islamic Sufi sect), the National Skanderbeg Museum, the remains of the Fatih Sultan Mehmed mosque and its minaret, an ethnographic museum and a Turkish bath.
During the Albanian Revolt of 1432-1436 the city was unsuccessfully besieged by Andrea Thopia and Ottoman rule was restored. After Skanderbeg's rebellion in 1443 the castle withstood three massive sieges from the Turks respectively in 1450, 1466 and 1467 with garrisons usually no larger than 2,000-3,000 men under Skanderbeg's command. Mehmed II "The Conqueror" himself could not break the castle's small defenses until 1478, 10 years after the death of Skanderbeg. Today it is a center of tourism in Albania, and a source of inspiration to Albanians. Krujë Castle is situated at an elevation of 557 metres (1,827 ft).
(Wikipedia)

(5 years and 798 days ago)

• Camera: Panasonic
• Camera model: DMC-FZ38
• Exposure time: 10/5000
• Aperture: f/5.6
• ISO: 125

Le Mont-Saint-Michel is an island commune in Normandy, France. It is located about one kilometre off the country's northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is 100 hectares (247 acres) in size. As of 2009, the island has a population of 44. The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times and since the 8th century AD has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. The structural composition of the town exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it: on top, God, the abbey and monastery; below, the great halls; then stores and housing; and at the bottom, outside the walls, houses for fishermen and farmers. The commune's position — on an island just 600 metres from land — made it accessible at low tide to the many pilgrims to its abbey, but defensible as an incoming tide stranded, drove off, or drowned would-be assailants. The Mont remained unconquered during the Hundred Years' War; a small garrison fended off a full attack by the English in 1433. The reverse benefits of its natural defence were not lost on Louis XI, who turned the Mont into a prison. Thereafter the abbey began to be used more regularly as a jail during the Ancien Régime. One of France's most recognizable landmarks, visited by more than 3 million people each year, Mont Saint-Michel and its bay are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Over 60 buildings within the commune are protected in France as monuments historiques. (Wikipedia) (5 years and 794 days ago)

• Camera: Panasonic
• Camera model: DMC-FZ200
• Exposure time: 1/640
• Aperture: f/4.0
• ISO: 100

The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork, located in the Polish town of Malbork, is the largest castle in the world measured by land area.
It was originally built by the Teutonic Knights, a German Roman Catholic religious order of crusaders, in a form of an Ordensburg fortress. The Order named it Marienburg (Mary's Castle). The town which grew around it was also named Marienburg. In 1466, both castle and town became part of Royal Prussia, a province of Poland. It served as one of the several Polish royal residences, interrupted by several years of Swedish occupation, and fulfilling this function until Prussia claimed the castle as a result of the First Partition of Poland in 1772. Heavily damaged after World War II, the castle was renovated under the auspices of modern-day Poland in the second half of the 20th century and most recently in 2016. Nowadays, the castle hosts exhibitions and serves as a museum.
The castle is a classic example of a medieval fortress and, on its completion in 1406, was the world's largest brick castle. UNESCO designated the "Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork" and the Malbork Castle Museum a World Heritage Site in December 1997. It is one of two World Heritage Sites in the region with origins in the Teutonic Order. The other is the "Medieval Town of Toruń", founded in 1231 as the site of the castle Thorn.
(5 years and 796 days ago)

1 Comment

still26 says:

Nicely composed, makes me want to go back there.

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