Jaap van 't Veen's photos

The Cistercian Abbey of St Mary and St Chad is dating back to the year of 1135 and was founded as a Savignac monastery. It was was inhabited by a small community of monks. The stone from which the abbey was built came from a quarry in the nearby settlement of Broseley. The main income for the abbey came from tolls charged on the adjacent bridge over the river Severn. Located near the border of Wales meant the abbey was destined to have a turbulent history. Welsh Princes and their followers regularly raided the Abbey and on one occasion in 1406 even kidnapped the abbot. The abbey was closed in 1536 by the order of Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The remaining buildings - situated on the banks of the river Severn - are now in the care of English Heritage and are open to the public. They can view the church, which remains largely complete and unaltered since its construction, although it is now without its roof. The impressive ruins are considered being one of the best preserved 12th-century examples of a Cistercian church in Britain.

Lund University (Lunds universitet) has roots going back to 1425, when a Franciscan studium generale was founded next to the Lund Cathedral, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Scandinavia. After Sweden won the province Scania from Denmark in the Treaty of Roskilde, the current university was founded in 1666 on the location of the old studium generale. The university is traditionally housed in the centre of Lund, with over hundred buildings scattered around town, but most of them are concentrated in the city centre. Lund University is ranked among the world’s top 100 universities; it has 42.000 students and more than 7.500 staff members.

One of the few remaining windmills on the Lasithi Plateau, located on an altitude of more than 800 metres in the eastern part of Crete. The plateau was famous for its thousands of windmills with their typical white sails. As a matter of fact they were more wind-pumps, a local invention that have been used for two centuries to irrigate the land. Despite their vast number in the past, most of them are not used any longer, but replaced by modern diesel and electrical pumps. However, there is renewed interest in the restoration of the windmills, which would bring back the picture of the Lasithi Plateau as it once was.

Clemenswerth Castle (Schloss Clemenswerth) was erected as a hunting lodge for Elector Clemens August I of Bavaria. It was built between 1737 and 1747 in baroque style. The complex consists of a main building (which was only used by the elector), surrounding lodges for guests, a chapel (PiP’s) with monastery and a large kitchen. Clemenswerth (meaning Island of Clemens) is the only remaining star-shaped hunting complex in the world and is considered being one of the most unique castles in Germany. The buildings are surrounded by a baroque garden with flowerbeds, hedges and avenues with imposing trees. Nowadays 18th century Clemenswerth Castle houses the Emslandmuseum and numerous events take place in the buildings and grounds.

Lake Brienz: looking westward from the jetty in Brienz.

The botanical garden of Lund University is dating back to the year of 1690 and in those days located on the present site of the university building. In 1746 a new garden was laid out, which was in operation for more than 110 years. In 1862 the botanical garden moved again, now to its current location in central Lund. Today the garden covers 8 hectares and shows 7.000 species of plants. Two hundred plants grown in greenhouses, customized to nine different climate zones. The garden runs a diversified operation within the areas of botany, gardening and ecology, not only for education and research, but also serves as a tranquil park or inspirational source of ideas for visitors.

Agios Dimitrios is a small Orthodox church. It is a real hidden gem, located a little bit out of the way. I tried to find any further information, but didn’t succeed; even the tourist information centre of Heraklion couldn’t tell anything about the church.

The Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, also known as the English Grounds of Wörlitz, is one of the first and largest English parks in Germany and continental Europe. It was created in the late 18th century under the regency of Duke Leopold III of Anhalt-Dessau (1740-1817) The Gardens had its origin in the 17th century, when the marriage of Leopold's great-grandfather Prince John George II of Anhalt-Dessau to the Dutch Princess Henriëtte Catharina van Oranje in 1659 brought a team of engineers and architects from the Low Countries to lay out the town, the palace and a baroque garden in the former settlement of Nischwitz, which was renamed Oranienbaum in 1673. The Dutch influence remained prevalent in the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau for many decades. The central Wörlitzer Park lies adjacent to the small town of Wörlitz at an anabranch of the Elbe river, making it rich in water and diversity. It was laid out between 1769 and 1773 as one of the first English gardens on the continent. According to the ideals of Duke Leopold III the park would also serve as an educational institution in architecture, gardening and agriculture, therefore large parts were open to the public from the beginning.

Cannenburgh Castle was built in 1543 by a famous Dutch figure, Marten van Rossem. He constructed a country house on the spot of a medieval castle. In the Middle Ages the village of Vaassen had a castle, called Kannenberg, but its not kwon when it was built. The first records date from 1365 and at that point in history, it was a leasehold estate belonging to the dukes of Guelders. The ruins of fortress were bought in 1543 by Marten van Rossem. He chose the style of the Dutch Renaissance for Cannenburgh Castle and built it on top of the remains of the old stronghold. However, he never managed to see the castle completed. Van Rossem died in 1555 and his nephew, Hendrik van Isendoorn, inherited the castle and it remained in the family for over three centuries. Over the years, the castle has been altered and extended many times and it became also a stone entrance bridge. Since the 1950’s Cannenburgh Castle and surrounding park are owned and managed by the ‘Stichting Geldersch Landschap en Geldersche Kasteelen’, a Dutch heritage foundation; castle and park are open for visitors.

The history of the ‘Sint-Nicolaaskerk (Church of Saint Nicholas) is dating back to the year of 1276, when Denekamp was mentioned as a parish for the first time. The church is one of the few religious buildings erected in the region of Twente in the 13th century that is still largely preserved. The medieval part of the present church consists of a single-bay. As far as this region of the Netherlands is concerned it is the oldest preserved single-bay church, though no longer completely intact. The medieval parts were built of sandstone from nearby Bentheim. The tower was built against the church in the second half of the 15th century (or early 16th century). Later there were many more enlargements, the last one started in 1910 with the construction of a new transept and choir and apse, which were built with bricks. Architect ‘Te Riele’ also gave the tower - which had been fully closed - an entrance in a pseudo-Romanesque style. After the reformation the church was used by the protestant minority for about two centuries. In 1809 King ‘Lodewijk Napoleon’ gave back the church to the Catholics. The church is still used for services. (Main picture: the modern brick part of the church; PiP the 15/16th century tower and medieval single bay)

The Helsingborg Town Hall (or City Hall) - "Rådhuset" in Swedish - was ceremoniously inaugurated on the 7 January 1897. The building was designed by the architect Alfred Hellerström. This landmark of Helsingborg is built in a neo-Gothic style with towers and pillars, lavishly decorated facades and a 65-m high bell tower. Nowadays it is still the workplace for politicians and the government administration.

The watermill in Lage was first officially mentioned in the year of 1270. It was about 200 years later that King Philip II of Spain, as ruler of the Netherlands*, approved building of a mill on the river Dinkel. It is supposed that this was a reconstruction or expansion of an existing mill. The current mill looks like it is from the late 17th century. A distinguishing feature is the two undershot waterwheels that drive both a flour mill and an oil mill. In the early years of the 20th century, electricity was also generated at the mill to supply the community of Lage. After World War I, the oil mill was shut down. The grist mill kept running until 1957, although the last years by a diesel engine. After the last miller’s death, the mill stood empty. In 1962, when the building was threatening to fall down, the most urgent safety work started. Ten years later, Grafschaft Bentheim brought about a comprehensive restoration on the mill, giving it once more its two waterwheels and restoring the weir to improve flow rates. Nowadays the mill can be run again. The former miller’s dwelling houses a tea parlour (Grafschafter Teestube). *Lage, or officially ‘Herrlichkeit Lage’, refers to the time between the end of the Thirty Years' War and the year of 1803, in which Lage was a self-standing small state with its own jurisdiction. Since the late 19th century large parts of Lage are Dutch-owned, since 1977 by the Dutch ‘Twickel Foundation’.

The first attempt to create a harbour in the bay of Heraklion (in that time called Chandax) took place during the Arab period (9th-10th century). Following the restoration of Crete to the Byzantine Empire in the year of 961, Chandax developed into a thriving city and its harbour was consequently fortified and improved. When the island fell into the hands of the Venetians (1204), Candia (as the Venetians called both Heraklion and the whole island) became "the other Venice of the East". Especially during the last two centuries of Venetian rule, it was the greatest harbour in the Eastern Mediterranean. Very few modifications were carried out to the harbour during the Turkish period (17th-19th century). In the 20th century the construction of a coast road demolished much of the Venetian harbour installations. Nowadays the old Venetian harbour is used by fishing boats and yachts. In the background of the image stands the Venetian fortress of Koules (Rocca al Mare), dominating the entrance to the old harbour. The PiP shows a Venetian lion above the entrance of the fortress.

The ‘Molen van Frans’ (Mill of Frans) was built in 1711 as a paper mill by Bernardus Kremer. In 1870 the mill was sold to the family ‘Frans’ and it became its current name. The new owners turned the mill into a flour mill. To increase the efficiency the undershot mill was transformed into an overshot mill and a mill pond was constructed. Since 1963 the mill is owned by ‘Landschap Overijssel’, a foundation for conservation of the nature in the province of Overijssel. They ordered several restorations; the last took place in 1999. Nowadays the mill can still be used for grinding grain. But one can also visit the mill for information (although it has limited opening hours) about the mill and the flora and fauna in the surrounding countryside of the valley of the Mosbeek. It even has a small ‘eco shop’, selling their own flour and seed of wild flowers.

Sofiero slott (Sofiero Castle) lies a few kilometers north of Helsingborg. This country mansion was built in 1864 for Crown Prince Oscar II and Crown Princess Sofia (of Nassau-Weilburg). It has long been used as a summer residence for the Swedish royal family. It was expanded to its current size between 1874 and 1876, after crown prince Oscar had been crowned king Oscar II of Sweden and Norway. The castle lies in a flowering oasis of 10.000 plants, and 300 different varieties of rhododendron and various gardens; including an English and a Victorian garden. Until the year of 1973 Sofiero slott was the official summer residence of the royal family. King Gustaf VI Adolf donated the castle after his death to the city of Helsingborg. Nowadays the former palace can be visited and a part is used by a cafe/restaurant.

Forggensee (Lake Forggen), a man made storage reservoir between Füssen and Roßhaupten, created in 1954, when the River Lech was dammed for the first time to create the Lechsee Lake. Forggensee is the fifth-largest lake in Bavaria, with a surface area of more than 15 km². The River Lech flows through it. Forggensee is known primarily as a tourist destination for aquatic sports and recreation.

The church of Agios Titos (Saint Titus Church) is one of the most important monuments in Crete. It can be found on a lovely square in the city centre of Heraklion. The original church of Agios Titos on this location was built in the 10th century by the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, who liberated Crete from the Arabs. During the Turkish occupation of Crete, the church of Agios Titos was turned into a mosque, named Vezir mosque. During its many historical phases the church suffered substantial damages, and renovations - including major alterations by the Venetians in the 16th century - and was used as the metropolitan church by the Catholics. The severe earthquake of 1856 totally destroyed the church, which was rebuilt in 1872 on its own foundations. The minaret was demolished in 1920, when the last Ottomans left the island. In 1925 the church was renovated and nowadays the cathedral still works as an Orthodox church, dedicated to St. Titus, St. Paul’s disciple and the first bishop on Crete and guardian of the island.

The road between Gustow on Rügen and Stralsund is part of the first segment - Rügen to Reinsberg - of the Deutsche Alleenstraße (German Avenue Road), which was inaugurated in the year of 1993. The scenic German Avenue Road is a 2.900 kilometres long tree-lined holiday route between the Baltic Sea and Lake Constance.