I probably don't think of any other composer as often as I think of Messiaen in my daily life - at least not with this...
Cultural history
Roman Slavery and Christian Charity in Late Antiquity
Since the first advanced civilisations, slavery had been an important factor in the social and societal fabric of the...
Johann Strauss Radetzky March
It is probably the best known and most played march in the world: the Army March II dedicated to Field Marshal Josef...
Two Stubborn Men – Michelangelo and Pope Julius II.
Michelangelo Buonarroti, the star of the Renaissance, had a real problem with Pope Julius II. The Rovere Pope...
The Palazzo Ducale in Venice and the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence
Venice and Florence are certainly among the highlights of a tour of Italy. Both cities grew massively in size, wealth...
Calvaries and churchyards in Brittany
In Brittany, i.e. in the north-west of France, there are these wonderful, legendary and usually very picturesque...
Ravel’s Bolero – a classic earworm
Maurice Ravel composed his Bolero in 1928 for the dancer Ida Rubinstein. Throughout his life, he was to have a very...
European food culture around 0 and 1500
Despite all the contrasts in our modern world and despite all the differences between the cultures and regions of this...
Technical Museum for Industry and Trade
On June 20, 1909, Emperor Franz Joseph I laid the foundation stone for the Technical Museum of Industry and Trade in...
The Benedictine Monastery of St. Peter and Paul in Hirsau
Already in the early Middle Ages, a monastery was founded in Hirsau in the northern Black Forest, which housed the...
Styria joins Austria
24 May 1192: Styria becomes part of Austria. On 17 August 1186 the Georgenberg Handfeste was concluded on the...
The painter Raoul Dufy and his Normandy
"I know the sea as a bather, as a sailor and as a painter. It is as a painter that it is dearest to me." (Raoul Dufy)...
History of the Flower Island Mainau
The flower island of Mainau is one of the most visited attractions on Lake Constance. There are very few travel groups...
Josef Ressel, the inventor of the ship’s propeller
Josef Ludwig Franz Ressel, Austrian forestry official and developer of the ship's propeller, was born on June 29,...
The history of the monastery island of Reichenau
The largest island of Lake Constance is located between Constance and Radolfzell and is connected to the mainland by...