3034 - Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Cape Town is one of South Africa's three capital cities. Cape Town is the legislative capital, while Pretoria is the executive capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital and home to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Cape Town is considered a Beta City on the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. The Dutch India Company founded the town as a supply station for Dutch ships sailing to East Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck arrived on 6 April 1652 and established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa.

Robben Island, located 6 kilometers from Cape Town, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nelson Mandela is its most famous prisoner having spent 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment here. He, of course, went on to serve as South Africa's president from 1994-1999. Two other South African presidents also spent time on Robben Island as prisoners - Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma. Mandela also went on the win the Nobel Peace Prize. The island has been used for 400 years as a prison where people were isolated, banished, and exiled. It has also been used as a leper colony, a post office, a grazing ground, a mental hospital, and an outpost.

The maximum security prison closed to prisoners in 1991 and the medium security prison was closed five years later. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site for its importance to South Africa's political history and development as a democratic society. Thousands of tourists now visit the prison via ferry and it is open year round. Nelson Mandela's former cell is part of the tour.

3227 - Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Mölln is a small city of about 20 000 located in northern Germany. The Elbe-Lübeck Canal flows through the town, and there are eight small lakes that surround the city. It was founded in the 12th century and was a part of the Old Salt Route. Salt that was produced in the salt mines of Lower-Saxony was shipped to the Baltic Sea. Till Eulenspiegel, a legendary trickster known for exposing vices and provoking thought, is said to have lived in Mölln the last year of his life. He apparently died of the plague in 1350, but his existence has never been proven. Mölln has several monuments dedicated to him.

3322 - Hamburg, Germany

Happy birthday to me! What a lovely handmade card from the sender. Beautiful penmanship. Am Rothenbaum is the site of the main court of the German Open Tennis Championships. The International German Open has been played at the Rothernbaum since 1892, making it Germany's longest running tennis tournament. The current stadium was built in 1999 and can hold 13 200 people.

3232 - Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States of America

The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal North Pierhead Light was built in 1882. There were nine keepers of the light until 1897. It was redesigned in 1903 and is 12 meters high. The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal was started in 1872 and wasn't opened for large-scale watercraft until 1890. The canal is 2.1 kilometers long that goes from Sturgeon Bay in Lake Michigan to Green Bay. There are no locks on this canal. The canal was sold to the United States government in 1893 and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains the canal.

Search This Blog