Walensee

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Walensee is one of the larger lakes in Switzerland, for about 2/3 of its surface in the Canton of St. Gallen and for 1/3 in the Canton of Glarus. It is also known as Lake Walen or Lake Walenstadt, after Walenstadt. Other towns and villages at the lake include: Weesen, Quinten, Quarten, and Murg.

The three main rivers leading to this lake are the Seez, Murgbach, and Linth. The latter continues its course from Walensee to Lake Zurich.

The Churfirsten range raises steeply on the North side from the lake's level at 419 m to 2,300 m above sea level.

The lake provided the inspiration for a solo piano piece by Hungarian romantic composer Franz Liszt, called Au lac de Wallenstadt. The piece is part of a collection of solo piano works inspired by the composer's travels in 1830s Switzerland.

Source: Wikipedia - Walensee

Galleries of Justice

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The Galleries of Justice is a museum of Crime and Punishment and tourist attraction on High Pavement in the Lace Market area of Nottingham, England.

The courtrooms date back to the 14th century and the gaol dates back to at least 1449. The prisons are still there. There was also a working police station from 1905 to 1985, and the courts closed in 1991.

The museum is housed in what was once a fully functioning Victorian courtroom and claims to be "The only site in the country where you could be arrested, sentenced and executed." (stated by Tim Desmond, Chief Executive of Galleries of Justice).

Source: Wikipedia - Galleries of Justice

Machu Picchu

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Machu Picchu (Quechua: Machu Pikchu) – "Old Mountain", pronounced [ˈmɑtʃu ˈpixtʃu]) – is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) above sea level.[1][2] It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", it is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World.

The Incas started building the estate around AD 1400 but it was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a century later at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Although known locally, it was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction and, since it was not found and plundered by the Spanish after they conquered the Incas, it is important as a cultural site.

Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.[2] In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll.

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its primary buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. These are located in what is known by archaeologists as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu. In September 2007, Peru and Yale University reached an agreement regarding the return of artifacts which Hiram Bingham had removed from Machu Picchu in the early twentieth century.

Source: Wikipedia - Machu Picchu