166 UNITED KINGDOM - Liverpool - Maritime Mercantile City (UNESCO)

The city and port of Liverpool are exceptional testimony to the development of maritime mercantile culture in the 18th and 19th centuries, and played an important role in the growth of the British Empire. Liverpool is an outstanding example of a world mercantile port city, which represents the early development of global trading and cultural connections throughout the British Empire. The city was also a major centre generating innovative technologies and methods in dock construction and port management in the 18th and 19th centuries. Six areas in the historic centre and docklands of Liverpool bear witness to the development of one of the world's major trading centres in the 18th and 19th centuries, based on its harbour. The first ocean steamship left from Liverpool in 1840; from that date onwards the town became a fundamental link connecting Europe to America. It also became the major port for the mass movement of people: it was a centre for the slave trade until its abolition in 1807, and for emigration from northern Europe to America. Thousands of people from all over Europe gathered here to migrate to the New World. Liverpool was a pioneer in the development of modern dock technology, transport systems and port management. The listed sites feature a great number of significant commercial, civic and public buildings, including St George's Plateau. The view of Liverpool's waterfront was once very different from that of today. Where the world-famous riverside now stands was the tidal reach of the Mersey, merging with the Pool from which the town drew its name. The River Mersey is a tidal basin that flows into the Irish Sea and this geographical relationship was the foundation of its emergent overseas trade starting in the days of King John, who granted Liverpool its charter in 1207. The Pool was the safest mooring place for boats, and the borough council petitioned parliament to introduce legislation to build the first commercial wet dock in the world in 1715.

This development of the sea trade led inevitably to the expansion of associated trades such as sail-makers, blacksmiths, riggers and basket-makers. The growth of Liverpool continued dramatically in the 19th century: the population grew from 78,000 in 1801 to 685,000 by 1901. The borough council petitioned for Liverpool to be given city status, which it achieved in 1888, and by the early 20th century it was proclaimed the 'Second City of the Empire'. After the First World War, Liverpool experienced economic downturn, yet the city council continued to make improvements with the construction of the East Lancashire Road and the Mersey Queensway Tunnel, which in its time was the longest underwater tunnel in the world. Liverpool was bombed more heavily in the Second World War than any other provincial city in Europe and was almost completely devastated. During the war 1,000 convoys entered Liverpool and the city was the headquarters of the battle of the Atlantic from 1941. Post-war rebuilding took place and by the 1950s Liverpool was once again the second most important port in the empire in terms of the value of its imports and exports and the most important in terms of its passenger figures. In the late 20th century, after a prolonged period of unemployment and decline, the revival of the fortunes of the city lay in the redevelopment of its dock system. The Albert and Wapping Docks were restored as visitor attractions and a retail centre, and the installation of new dock gates at Canning facilitated the Tall Ships and Mersey River Festival in the 1980s and 1990s. It should not be forgotten also that Liverpool was the heart of a musical revolution during the 1960s.

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Binnington (UNESCO Forum) sent from Liverpool (UK, England) on 23.01.2014

165 GERMANY - Luther Memorials in Wittenberg (UNESCO)

These memorials are of outstanding universal value as bearing unique testimony to the Protestant Reformation, which was one of the most significant events in the religious and political history of the world, and as outstanding examples of 19th-century historicism. They are all associated with the lives of Martin Luther and his fellow-reformer Melanchthon. In the 15th and 16th centuries Eisleben owed its great prosperity to copper and silver mining, Martin Luther was born there on 10 November 1483 at lodgings in a house in a street then known as Lange Gasse. The family moved in the following year to Mansfeld, some 10 km distant from Eisleben. After studying philosophy at Erfurt University, Martin Luther joined the Augustinian Order in 1505. He stayed there until 1510, when he transferred to the newly built Augustinian monastery at Wittenberg, where he also held the chair of Bible studies at the University. Two years later, on 31 October 1517, he launched the Reformation by nailing his 95 Propositions to the north door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Luther developed his views on the authority of Holy Scripture and the doctrine of salvation by faith in publications in the years that followed, actions which led to his being excommunicated and banished from the empire by the imperial Diet of Worms in 1521. Frederick of Saxony extended his protection to Luther, whom he sheltered in his castle of Wartburg, enabling him to begin translating of the Bible into German. He returned to Wittenberg in March 1522, and in 1525 he broke with his monastic vows and married the former nun, Katharina von Bora.His household became the centre for reformists from all over Europe, and the family room that he created on the first floor was the setting for his 'table talks,' which were later to be published.

The following individual sites and monuments are included in the World Heritage site:

• Luther Hall, Wittenberg : a three-storey building housing the Luther Hall, part of the early 16th-century monastery.
• Melanchthon's house, Wittenberg : built in 1536 in typical Renaissance style - a narrow three-storey building crowned by a tripartite round-arched staggered gable. The internal arrangement of rooms is original; unlike the previous houses; it retains much of its 16th-century character.
• Town Church, Wittenberg : located near the Market Place in the centre of the old town;in late Gothic Style, with two massive towers. The most striking feature is the main altar, the work of Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Younger, and strongly influenced by Luther and Melanchthon in its iconography.
• Castle Church, Wittenberg : the castle rises above the medieval town, to the west, and the spire of its church crowns the north-western corner. Much of the original character of the castle has been lost, as a result of its having been reused as a barracks in the 19th century, but the church is largely as it was at the time of Luther. It is a long basilical structure with an eastern apse, a typical example of the German Hallenkirche in very late Gothic style. Access is through the western door; because of its symbolic importance, the second door on the north side, the famous Propositions Portal, is only used on special occasions. Its ogival arch is contemporary with the original construction in 1499, as an inscription testifies. The decoration around the door includes representations of Luther and Melanchthon, and the Latin text of the 95 Propositions is displayed on the bronze doors. The church houses the tombs of Luther and Melanchthon.

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Bianka Kopplin (direct swap) sent from Wittenberg (Germany) on 01.02.2014

164 CZECH REPUBLIC - Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc (UNESCO)

The Olomouc Holy Trinity Column is one of the most exceptional examples of the apogee of central European Baroque artistic expression. Columns of this type constituted a unique material demonstration of religious faith in central Europe during the Baroque period, and the Olomouc example represents its most outstanding expression. In the reconstruction following the Thirty Years' War (1648-50) the city of Olomouc took on a new appearance. Many impressive public and private buildings were constructed in a local variant of the prevailing style, which became known as 'Olomouc Baroque'. The most characteristic expression of this style was a group of monuments (columns and fountains), of which the Holy Trinity Column is the crowning glory. Václav Render submitted the project to the City Council and work started in the spring of 1717. In this first stage, in the 1720s, the first part of the sculptural decoration was carried out by the Olomouc sculptor Filip Sattler. The remaining sculptural work was carried out in 1745-52 by the distinguished Moravian sculptor Ondrej Zahner (1709-52). The Column was ceremonially consecrated on 9 September 1754, in the presence of the Empress Maria Theresa.

In essence, the basic ground plan of the Holy Trinity Column is derived from a circle 17m in diameter. From the circular base, which has eighteen peripheral guard stones linked by a forged chain, a staircase of seven steps rises to the column's first level, the ground plan of which is hexagonal. The first level comprises a small chapel, again with a circular ground plan. At the points of the hexagon there are six conical balustrades. At the points of the hexagon, supported by six massive pedestals richly decorated on three sides with motifs such as scrolls and acanthus, are to be found the first six larger than life-size statues of saints (c. 220-240 cm) adjoining the body of the chapel on the first level. The first level is richly decorated with fluted pilasters, ribbon motifs, conches, relief cartouches with relief figures of apostles and other masonry details. The same pattern is consistently repeated in both the second and third levels. The second level retains the ground plan of the first, and is crowned by the second group of six statues of saints, placed on isolated pedestals. The third level tops the base of the column. It recedes slightly towards the centre, its periphery furnished again with six massive pedestals carrying the third row of six saints, another row of six relief figures of apostles and rich masonry decoration. This base of the third level supports a monolithic pillar 10 m high and richly decorated with fluting and acanthus motifs. The sculptural group of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is mounted on the first third of the monolith, the figure of the Virgin Mary supported by a pair of angels. Again, the group is executed on a larger-than-life-size scale, in gilded copper. On the top of the pillar-monolith itself, crowned by a capital featuring scroll and acanthus motifs, there is a group of God the Father giving a blessing and Christ with the cross, both placed on a globe, with the figure of the Archangel Michael below. The entire structure is completed by a radial target-star with a dove in the centre, to symbolize the Holy Spirit. Once more, the entire group is on a larger-than-life-size scale in wrought and gilded copper. The overall height of the column is 35 m. The concept of the Holy Trinity involved the two principal elements of the essential hierarchy of values in the Baroque period. Faith and religious tradition are intermingled with the idea of the city - its traditions, protection and civil administration. The ideas of Christianity and of citizenship (allegiance to the city in the best meaning of the word) combine here as a triumphal statement in the form of a stone monument.

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Klára Mrázková (direct swap) sent from Ostrava-Proskovice (Czech Republic) on 17.02.2014

163 MEXICO - The city of Lagos de Moreno

Lagos de Moreno is a city and its surrounding municipal area of the same name, located in the extreme northeastern part of the state of Jalisco in Mexico. It is part of the macroregion of Bajío. At the 2010 census the city had a population of 153,817 inhabitants, making it the 6th largest city in the state of Jalisco. The city serves as the municipal seat of the municipality, which has an area of 2,648.22 km² (1,022.48 sq mi) and a population of 153,817 inhabitants, and includes many other outlying small communities, the largest of which are Paso de Cuarenta (San Miguel de Cuarenta) and Los Azulitos. Lagos de Moreno is called by Mexicans, with some hyperbole, the "Athens of Jalisco" because of the numerous writers and poets who were born there. Important industries include food processing, including milk and dairy products, vegetable oils, and meats, manufacture of footwear and agricultural machinery.

The city was founded on March 31, 1563 by Captain General and Grand Major of the Teocaltiche Valley, Hernando de Martell a.k.a. Hernán Gallegos, and named Villa de Santa Maria de los Lagos. Gallegos founded the village in the Spanish style in the remains of Chichimecas and Caxcans cultures. DNA studies of the area of Jalisco are enlightning yet normal for Western Europeans. It was renamed as Lagos de Moreno in memory of insurgent General Pedro Moreno (1775-1817), who led the struggle for independence from Spain. The old pre-Hispanic name of the city was Pechichitlán or Teziziatlan and was the great capital city of the Chichimecatlalli Empire founded by Ahnuvic-VII nearly 1028 B.C. It celebrates a fair "Fiestas de Agosto" at the end of July and beginnings of August, several events take place in the area of sports, art, culture and Mexican folklore. The city of Brea, California, has a long relationship with its sister city, Lagos de Moreno, Mexico, which began October 13, 1969.

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Cernus Diego (direct swap) sent from Lagos de Moreno (Mexico) on 27.01.2014

162 SPAIN - Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (UNESCO)

The first Homo sapiens arrived by small groups in northern Spain around 35,000 BP. They cohabited for a time with the last of the Neanderthals, and then developed a significant culture known as Upper Palaeolithic, from 30,000 to 25,000 BP, producing bone projectiles and stone blade tools, and producing the first artistic artefacts and the first decorated walls (La Peña de Candamo). The last Ice Age then began to make its influence felt, ending in around 18,000 BP. During this period cave art developed in the eastern part of Cantabria, producing an individual style (Altamira, La Peña del Candamo, El Castillo, Las Pasiega, El Pendo, La Garma, Chufin and El Pendo).

The artistic apogee, known as Magdalenian, corresponds to the end of the Ice Age, from 17,000 to 13,000 BP. This was the period of the major works in the decorated caves, with a great variety of motifs and techniques of representation. This was one of the key moments of the history of art, as seen for example in the polychrome figures of Altamira and El Castillo, the combination of engraving and painting, the use of the rock forms themselves, and realistic detail in the animal figures in most of the nominated caves. From 13,000 to 10,000 BP, the climate became warmer (Holocene), causing a profound transformation in human lifestyles, together with a decline in cave art. Las Monedas is an example of late cave art, and there is no evidence of cave art later than 11,000 BP.

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Postcrosser Spain (direct swap) sent from Isla (Spain) on 19.02.2014

161 BELARUS - Mir Castle Complex (UNESCO)

The region in which Mir Castle stands has a long history of political and cultural confrontation and coalescence, which is graphically represented in the form and appearance of the ensemble. This is a fertile region in the geographical centre of Europe, at the crossroads of the most important trade routes, and at the same time at the epicentre of crucial European and global military conflicts between neighbouring powers with different religious and cultural traditions. The short period of history starting in the late 15th century was marked by a combination of unprecedented changes in the religious, humanitarian and economic spheres. The Mir Castle complex in its setting vividly symbolizes the history of Belarus and, as such, it is one of the major national symbols of the country. Construction of the castle by the Ilyinichi family began at the end of the 15th century, in Gothic style; it was subsequently extended and reconstructed. The initial work consisted of building the walls and towers in Gothic style, but work came to an end for some unknown reason. Building had been completed by the beginning of the 17th century with the addition of palatial accommodation, with some Renaissance features, after it had passed to the Radzivill family. Following sieges in 1655 and 1706 reconstruction work involved the addition of some Baroque features. After being abandoned for almost a century and suffering severe damage during the Napoleonic period, the castle was restored at the end of the 19th century, with the addition of a number of other elements and the landscaping of the surrounding area as a park. Its present form is graphic testimony to an often turbulent history. The old castle survived as a romantic ruin.

The Mir Castle complex is situated on the bank of a small lake at the confluence of the Miryanka river and a small tributary. The fortified walls of the castle form an irregular quadrilateral; there are four exterior corner towers with hipped roofs rising to five storeys and a six-storey external gate tower on the western side. The facades are in brick, with recessed painted plasterwork, and the window and door frames and the balconies are sandstone. The roofs are tiled, some of the tiling being glazed. Near the castle is the Chapel-Crypt of the Dukes of Svyatopolk-Mirsky. Its facade is decorated with a mosaic panel depicting the image of Christ, made from multicoloured tesserae. Other features are the watchman's house, close to the north of chapel crypt; the palace annex built in the late 19th century, which is located in the landscape park area with stuccoed and decorated facades. The ruins of the main palace building are situated at the eastern outskirts of the complex and are not currently in use. The 19th-century chapel is a tiny stone stuccoed building. The memorial on the site of the massacre of the Mir ghetto prisoners lies in the northern part of the complex, to the east of the former Italian garden.

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Extremely_Loud (UNESCO Forum) sent from ? (Belarus) on ?

160 CANADA - Shannon Falls Provincial Park and Flag of Canada

Shannon Falls Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is located 58 kilometers (36 mi) from Vancouver and 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) south of Squamish along the Sea to Sky Highway. Shannon Falls is the third highest waterfall in British Columbia. The park covers an area of 87 hectares (210 acres). The main point of interest is Shannon Falls, the third highest waterfall in BC, where water falls from a height of 335 meters (1,099 ft). The falls are named after a William Shannon who first settled the property in 1889 and made bricks in the area. The park also protects the surrounding area on the north-east shore of the Howe Sound. Just to the north are Murrin Provincial Park and Stawamus Chief Provincial Park. Located immediately across the highway from Shannon Falls is a privately operated campground and restaurant, plus the entrance to the Darrell Bay ferry terminal for Woodfibre (Darrell Bay was formerly named Shannon Bay). The falls and adjoining woods are commonly used in television and film production.

The National Flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf and l'Unifolié (French for "the one-leafed"), is a flag consisting of a red field with a white square at its centre, in the middle of which is featured a stylized, 11-pointed, red maple leaf. Adopted in 1965 to replace the Union Flag, it is the first ever specified by statute law for use as the country's national flag. The Canadian Red Ensign had been unofficially used since the 1890s and was approved by a 1945 Order in Council for use "wherever place or occasion may make it desirable to fly a distinctive Canadian flag". In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson appointed a committee to resolve the issue, sparking a serious debate about a flag change. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George Stanley and John Matheson, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was selected. The flag made its first official appearance on February 15, 1965; the date is now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day. Many different flags have been created for use by Canadian officials, government bodies, and military forces. Most of these flags contain the maple leaf motif in some fashion, either by having the Canadian flag charged in the canton, or by including maple leaves in the design. The Royal Union Flag is also an official flag in Canada.

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Charlotte Halvorson (direct swap) sent from Princegeorge (Canada) on 15.02.2014

159 TAIWAN - Liushidan Mountain

Liushishi Mountain(Sixty Stone Mountain) is located to the east of Zhutian Village, Fuli Township, in Hualien County. It is situated at an elevation of around 800 meters above sea level, in the Coastal Mountain Range. There is a daylily field of 300 hectares in size, and along with Chihke Mountain, this is regarded as one of Hualien County's two large daylily cultivation areas. So why is this area called Liushishi Mountain(Sixty Stone Mountain)? According to locals, during the Japanese occupation era, the average paddy field could only yield around forty or fifty dan of millet. (A "dan" is a unit of dry measure for grain equal to 100 liters). However, in this area, the average paddy field could yield sixty dan of millet, thus it was called LiushishiMountain(Sixty dan Mountain). Because the Chinese character used for the word dan is the same as the one used for the word stone, this name became "Liushishi Mountain(Sixty Stone Mountain)". According to another account, during the Japanese occupation era, a lush camphor forest was located on this mountain, and in order to produce camphor, the trees were all cut down. Afterwards, sixty large scattered stones were found on the side of this vast mountain, thus the name "LiushishiMountain(Sixty Stone Mountain)". After turning onto Liushishi Mountain Industrial Road (Chanye Road) from Provincial Highway No. 9, a length of zigzagging mountain road will lead to Liushishi Mountain's daylily fields. Upon arrival at the mountain ridge, the scene of this stretch of exquisite and vast open country will immediately cause drivers to forget their weariness from car-driving. The immense daylily fields look like a vast dark green carpet, spread out on one mountain ridge after another. The red tiled farms scattered across these green, overflowing fields create a natural scene of more beauty than one can take in. In recent years, the East Rift Valley National Scenic Area Administration has built ten pavilions on Liushishi Mountain, each of a different design. They are designed according to different varieties of daylilies and given beautiful names based on these varieties. Standing in the pavilion, facing the mountain wind, one will almost feel like a bird soaring in the skies, freely and unhurriedly roaming this emerald green valley. Each pavilion has its own style: you can face the Coastal Mountain Range, or enjoy the impressive sight of the sea of daylily flowers, or look down at the rift valley's open country landscape. At night, you can enjoy the star-studded sky, looking like diamonds scattered across a black velvet cloth. The daylily flowering season takes place in August and September of every year. This is when most tourists come to LiushishiMountain. Many visitors can be seen crowding the narrow Chanye Road, coming up the mountain to enjoy the sight of the daylily seas. Actually, if you visit off-season, you can experience quiet, beautiful and mysterious scenery to an even greater degree, especially during the winter. At that time, as you look down at the East Rift Valley from Liushishi Mountain, the incomparably imposing rapeseed flower fields that look like a giant oil painting are unforgettable!  About the sender baaciiga (postcrossing) sent from New Taipei City (Taiwan) on 13.02.2014

158 IRAQ - Al Qashla Clock Tower

I'm sorry, I don't have any information about this clock tower. The only information I have is, that it was built in the time of the Ottoman Empire. Sorry!

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Ahmed A. Mohammed (Starring You) sent from ? (Iraq) on 25.01.2014

157 CHINA - Ancient City of Ping Yao (UNESCO)

The Ancient City of Ping Yao is an outstanding example of a Han Chinese city of the Ming and Qing dynasties (14th-20th centuries) that has retained all its features to an exceptional degree and, in doing so, provides a remarkably complete picture of cultural, social, economic and religious development during one of the most seminal periods of Chinese history. The Ping Yao region has been settled by humans since Neolithic times. There has been an urban settlement on the site since at least the Western Zhou dynasty, as it was fortified with earthen ramparts during the reign of King Xuan (827-782 BC). With the implementation of the system of prefectures and counties in 221 BC, Ping Yao became the seat of a county administration, and continues to play that role. In 1370, during the reign of the Ming Emperor Hong Wu, the city was greatly extended. It was fortified with a massive new defensive wall and the internal layout was greatly altered, reflecting the strict rules of planning of the Han peoples. The circuit of walls built in the late 14th century measures 6 km in length, the precise dimension for a city of this grade according to Han prescriptions. There are six fortified gates and 72 massive bastions along its length. Since that time it has evolved steadily as a Han city during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It emerged as one of the leading commercial cities in northern China during the 16th century, and retained that status well into the present age. In the second half of the 19th century the banking community of Ping Yao dominated Chinese financial life. Ping Yao City is located at the end of the alluvial fan resulting from the confluence of the Hui Ji and Liu Gen rivers. The area enclosed is 2.25 km2 , comprising six large temple complexes, administrative offices for county and municipal administrations, and other public buildings as well as office buildings. The internal street layout is symmetrical and rectilinear. The main cross-streets are lined with shops built in the 17th-19th centuries which effectively preserve the historic townscape.

Ping Yao contains a number of cultural monuments protected by national, provincial, or county designation. The 10th-century Ten Thousand Buddha Hall of Zhen Guo Temple is a fundamental reference for the study of early Chinese painted statues, as well as for its architecture. The 12th-century Main Hall of the Confucian Temple is a classic example of this form of structure, where large oblique beams are used to bear the main roof timbers, instead of the more conventional technique using brackets. The Shuang Lm Temple, founded in the 6th century, is also renowned for its collection of over 2,000 decorated clay statues dating from the 12th-19th centuries. The Qing Xu Daoist Temple, founded in the 7th century, consists of 10 main buildings. Its Dragon Hall is noteworthy for the rare constructional technique used, a system of suspension beams and pendant columns. A group of more recent temples, include the 19th-century Temple of the Town God, the Auspicious Temple and the Temple to General Guan Yu. The County Administrative Building is a complex that contains elements from the 14th to the 19th centuries. The two-storey wooden City Tower is the highest structure within the historic city. It owes its present appearance to a reconstruction in 1688. From the same period comes the Hui Ji Bridge, built from stone with stone balustrades on either side. The prosperity deriving from trade, and later from the draft banks, resulted in Ping Yao being endowed over the centuries with many high-quality, well built private houses, and these have survived to a large extent. They follow the feudal and hierarchical Han tradition closely, with distinguishing local features. They are built round four sides of an open courtyard, and fall into three main groups. The first are conventional single-storeyed structures in wood and brick, with tiled roofs. Next come the below-ground structures in brick with corridors lined with wood and extended eaves. The third group is two-storey buildings, in which the underground structure is surmounted by a wooden second storey.

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xinyuh (UNESCO Forum) sent from Shanghai (China) on 15.02.2014

156 BRAZIL - Iguacu National Park (UNESCO)

The park shares with Iguazu National Park in Argentina one of the world's largest and most impressive waterfalls. It is home to many rare and endangered species of flora and fauna, among them the giant otter and the giant anteater. The clouds of spray produced by the waterfall maintain a lush growth of vegetation. The Iguaçu Falls span the border between Argentina and Brazil. Some 80 m high and 3 km wide, the falls are made up of many cascades and rapids that generate vast sprays of water and produce one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world.

The lower park is subtropical rainforest rich in tree ferns, lianas and epiphytes. The upper part is mainly humid subtropical deciduous forest with stands of the Brazilian pine with two palms, the Assai palm and wild coconut palm, and the imbuya. These stands are limited to a small section in the north-east of the park. Subtropical rainforest occupies in total about 90% of the park. Fauna recorded within the park include giant otter, La Plata otter, ocelot, jaguar, puma, margay, brocket deer, American tapir, collared peccary, white-lipped peccary, great dusky swift, solitary tinamou, ornate hawk eagle, red-breasted toucan and harpy eagle. Giant anteater has been recorded as well as pampas deer, black howler monkey, capybara, puma, black eagle, chimango caracara, crested cayman and urutu viper. Noteworthy birds include solitary tinamou, harpy eagle, black-fronted piping guan, glaucous macaw, vinaceous-breasted and red-spectacled parrots and white-tailed trogon.

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Davi Cesar Correia Jr (direct swap) sent from Cianorte (Brazil) on 04.02.2014

155 GERMANY - The capital of Germany: Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city and is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern Germany on the River Spree, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which has about 4½ million residents from over 180 nations. Due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes. First documented in the 13th century, Berlin became the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–33) and the Third Reich (1933–45). Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world. After World War II, the city, along with the German state, was divided - into East Berlin — capital of the German Democratic Republic, colloquially identified in English as East Germany — and West Berlin, a political exclave (surrounded by the Berlin Wall from 1961 to 1989) and a de facto (although not de jure) state of the Federal Republic of Germany, known colloquially in English as West Germany from 1949 to 1990. Following German reunification in 1990, the city was once more designated as the capital of all Germany. Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media, and science, hosting 147 foreign embassies. Its economy is primarily based on high-tech industries and the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations, and convention venues. Berlin also serves as a continental hub for air and rail transport and is a popular tourist destination. Significant industries include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, biotechnology, electronics, traffic engineering, and renewable energy.

Berlin is home to renowned universities, research institutes, orchestras, museums, and celebrities and is host to many sporting events. Its urban setting and historical legacy have made it a popular location for international film productions. The city is well known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts, public transportation networks, and an extremely high quality of living. Berlin is the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany. The President of Germany, whose functions are mainly ceremonial under the German constitution, has his official residence in Schloss Bellevue. Berlin is the seat of the German executive, housed in the Chancellery, the Bundeskanzleramt. Facing the Chancellery is the Bundestag, the German Parliament, housed in the renovated Reichstag building since the government moved back to Berlin in 1998. The Bundesrat ("federal council", performing the function of an upper house) is the representation of the Federal States (Bundesländer) of Germany and has its seat at the former Prussian House of Lords. Though most of the ministries are seated in Berlin, some of them, as well as some minor departments, are seated in Bonn, the former capital of West Germany. Discussions to move the remaining branches continue.

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Magdalena Oppel (one of my friends) sent from Berlin (Germany) on 13.01.2014