Trakošćan castle of Croatia is one of the best historic sites of Croatia. The classic building of Trakošćan castle is well preserved and maintained which was constructed in the 13^th century. The remains of the originally constructed structure of Trakošćan castle are found in the walls of the north-east wing, the central tower and the entrance tower on the south-east side. Trakošćan castle was built as a defense fortification network of the Zagorje principality and in the beginning the Trakošćan estate was in the possession of Jan Vitovec and after that it was taken over by Ivaniš Korvin who presented it to his deputy Ban (Vice-Roy) Ivan Gyulay. In 1566, Trakošćan castle was taken over by the Royal Treasury. After this, the king granted the estate to Cardinal and Croatian Ban Juraj Drašković who remained its hereditary owners until World War II.

Trakošćan castle of Croatia

Trakošćan castle has also been used as a fortification and as a housing unit which is comprised of a small fortified yard, and a massive high tower.The location of Trakošćan castle is magnificent which makes it more glorious.

Trakošćan castle of Croatia : Image by Borisfrkovic

Presently Trakošćan castle of Croatia houses a large group of portraits showing more than ten generations of the Drašković family and their relatives. Moreover, the collection features an interesting group of Drašković army officers from the time of the Seven-Year War which may be judged as a good example of the 18th century popular painting. There is also a group of works called “The Four Continents” by Mihael Stroy, the best-known Biedermeier painter in this part of the world.In 1953, Trakošćan castle of Croatia was established as the Museum with collections on permanent. Presently, the castle is today owned by the Republic of Croatia.

Every year hundreds of thousands of bike crazy people move to Sturgis, which is famous for one of the largest motorcycle festivals of the world. Sturgis is a very small town of South Dakota, United States of America and the city has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²), all land.

Sturgis Motorcycle Event

The town of Sturgis has the population of only 6,000 people which means that the city remains silent in the whole year. But in the month of August when the annual bike festival is held, the city becomes over crowded with thousands of bikers. The annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is also particularly famous and associated with this small city which is usually organized in the first full week of August.

Women bikers in Sturgis

Sturgis is a very colorful and unique event in which you can see the best motorcycles of the world. The motor bikers present the best example of brotherhood and respect to each other. The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum offers informative and comprehensive exhibits, showcasing nearly 100 unique and historic motorcycles that date back to 1905.

One of the most fascinating spots of Sturgis is Sturgis Harley-Davidson which is located in downtown Sturgis. This magnificent place is surrounded by the wonderful Black Hills of the western South Dakota and hosts the largest motorcycle rally of the world. According to an estimate, almost 1 to 2 million visitors annually come to the annual motorcycle event of Sturgis from around the globe to attend this fantastic event and the events, fun and rides of this festival are indescribable.

Lahore Museum, which was established in 1894 is an ideal place which showcases many historic items from the great Indo Pak heritage and archaeology. The museum is located on the Mall, which is the most famous road of Lahore and a very special and unique historic article which is a property of Lahore Museum, is displayed right in front of the museum. This is called as ‘The Zamzama Cannon’ or ‘The Zamzama Gun’.

Zamzama Gun at Lahore Museum

This massive gun was cast by Shah Nazir upon the instructions of Shah Wali Khan, who was the prime minister in the reign of the Afghan King Ahmed Shah Durrani. The gun has the date of manufacture, names of the monarch and the technician along with verses in Persian molded with floral patterns all over the barrel. At the time of its manufacturing, Zamzama Gun was the largest gun ever made in Indian Sub Continent. An appeal was made before the people for Lahore for the donations for the manufacturing of Zamzama Gun. The metal composition of Zamzama Gun consists of brass and copper. The people also donated many household items and some metal was acquired from these utensils. Zamzama Gun was firstly used by Ahmed Shah in 1761 in the battle of Panipat. In 1762 Zamzama Gun was seized by Bhangis in a battle and named it as Bhangianwala Toap. After some years it was become under the occupation of Charat Singh who snatched it from Bhangi Sardars.  From Charat Singh, Zamzama Gun was carried off by the Pashtuns of Chatha who took it to Ahmadnagar where it became an apple of discord between the Pathan brothers Ahmad Khan and Pir Muhammad.

A fantastic view of Zamzama Gun ( Image Courtesy : Panoramio by Farhan Raza )

With the passage of time, during to usage at different war occasions , Zamzama Gun was damaged badly. At last it was brought back to Lahore and it was placed outside Delhi Gate until 1860. Presently , Zamzama Gun or Zamzama Cannon at Lahore Museum is kept on the Mall which is also known as Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam with Department of Fine Arts, University of Punjab on one side, and National College of Arts (NCA) and Lahore Museum on the other.

The ancient city of Bergen in Norway is well known for its classic architecture of wharf commonly known as Bryggen which has been center of commercial activities for centuries. This old city was founded in 1070 and it is no doubt a marvelous emblem of a medieval district. During the later middle Ages, Bryggen remained a strong hub for lively exercise of trade and commerce. The classic structure of parallel houses in a row has remained an exceptional attraction for the viewers for the last eight centuries.

Architecture of Bergen

All the buildings on Bryggen were constructed in long rows having a common passageway. Actually they were warehouses and big dwelling places and they were used to store the goods especially fish from north Norway and edible grains imported from Europe. In each building there was a dock area with a storing chamber. The possession of these Bryggen properties was retained by hanseatic merchants for a long time and the traditional use of Bryggen buildings was carried on till the end of nineteenth century. But ultimately, when modern ways of communication were adopted by the traders the conventional use of Bryggen was ended.

Wharf, Bryggen Buildings of Bergen in Norwary

Bryggen properties have faced many losses throughout their history, especially fire damages due to their wooden structure. In 1702 the most part of the administrative buildings were destroyed from fire and new wharf warehouses were built. However a few buildings dating back to 15th century still exist. In 1955 again Bryggen was ransacked by a huge fire and when this area was excavated, many ancient artifacts, handicrafts and precious items of medieval times were discovered.

Today, Bryggen houses comprise of hotels, restaurants, gift shops, pubs and museums. A museum is built over the remains of the first settlement of Bryggen.  The items displayed in Bryggen’s Museum reflect the glorious history of Bryggen commercialism. Bryggen in Bergen was protected under the Cultural Heritage Act in 1927 and also has been designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO.