Just outside the small city of Šiauliai stands a small hill with a big history. Kryžių Kalnas, or “The Hill of Crosses,” rises proudly from the landscape as the national pilgrimage center of Lithuania and a beacon of the nation’s rich history and tradition.
Few people consider Germany as a destination for a tropical getaway. Fewer still would expect an abandoned airfield to be home to sandy beaches, over 600 varieties of tropical plants, and exotic animals like flamingos, turtles, and peacocks.
An ancient art dating back thousands of years, tattooing, has helped to shape and show the history behind each civilization and culture. Though tattooing evolved independently throughout various countries, it holds a similar meaning for each culture: the art of story-telling through keeping an ancient tradition alive.
The islands of the Bahamas are rich with culture and history, preserving traditions that date back hundreds of years. One of the most renowned, both in the Caribbean and around the world, is the national festival known as “Junkanoo.”
Off the island of Crete in Greece, the crumbling remains of Spinalonga Island hold the secrets of a castaway colony from long ago. Spinalonga was initially constructed as a fortress to protect the Port of Olous in the early 1700s. With its steep walls and impenetrable defenses, it remained under Venetian control long after the Ottomans conquered the rest of Crete.
All across the “Windy City,” history is coming to life for culture lovers, tourists, and Chicago residents of all ages. The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation in partnership with the City of Chicago and Chicago Park District have created “Statue Stories Chicago” – turning some of the city’s most notable art displays into interactive experiences.
It has been 13 years since astronaut Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit from the historic Apollo 11 moon landing has been on display to the public. Now visitors to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. can see the famed suit for themselves, as part of an exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.
Located less than 1,000 feet from Greece’s famed Parthenon, the Acropolis Museum in Athens offers a panoramic view of the very archaeological sites from which its exhibits came. Designed by modern architects Bernard Tschumi and Michael Photiadis, the 150,000-square-foot property holds more than 3,000 artifacts from the ancient Athenian citadel known as the Acropolis.
Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, the creator of the 1740 French fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast,” actually drew her inspiration from real historical events. In the 1500s, a man named Petrus Gonsalvus was born in Tenerife, Spain, with a rare genetic condition called “hypertrichosis,” or “werewolf syndrome.”
Chicago is not the first city to turn historic buildings into trendy apartments, but its dwellings may be among some of the most unique. The Cedar Street Companies’ FLATS® development line has been steadily transforming notable Chicago properties into modern apartment complexes while retaining the character of the historic buildings.
