Architecture

Tuesday, 17 March 2026
18 facts about Hagia Sophia
18 facts about Hagia Sophia
The most significant work of Byzantine architecture
The Hagia Sophia's Temple, now an Istanbul mosque, was initially built as the Church of Divine Wisdom. It was the highest-ranking temple in the Byzant ...

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Palais Garnier
Between the columns of the building’s front façade are gilded galvanoplastic bronze busts.
These busts depict many composers, including Rossini, Auber, Beethoven, Mozart, Spontini, Meyerbeer, and Halevy, as well as librettists Eugene Scribe and Philippe Quinault.
Notre-Dame
The cathedral's pipe organ was built in 1403 but has not survived to the present day. Only 12 pipes and a small part of the wooden structure remain. The creator of the original pipe organs was Frédéric Schambantz.
It was replaced in 1733 with a new one, built by François Thierry - a member of a famous French fami ...
Golden Gate Bridge
The construction took only four years to finish.
It was ahead not only of schedule but under the budget as well.
Stonehenge
After the completion of Stonehenge, human activity continued at the site for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
Some researchers claim people gathered there for rituals as late as the Iron Age or early Middle Ages.
Mont Saint-Michel
During the period of Roman rule in Armorica (a historical land in ancient Gaul), the island was known as Mont Tombe (Cemetery Mountain).
The Romans continued to develop there the cult of the Sun god, whom they called Mithras. Local legend has it that Julius Caesar was buried on the hill in golden shoes and a coffin.
Taj Mahal
In 1983, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Space Needle
Since its opening, there have been six parachute jumps from the Space Needle.
Four out of six were legally carried out, the other two ended with an arrest.
Great Pyramid of Giza
Another famous ancient historian who described the pyramid was Strabo.
He visited Egypt around 25 BC a few years after it was conquered by Octavian Augustus. In his work e ...
Schönbrunn Palace
In the past, the palace belonged to the Habsburg family.
It had been in their possession since 1569, when Emperor Maximilian II bought a vast estate in Khatt ...
Windsor Castle
When George III came to the throne in 1760, he reversed the trend in Windsor.
Initially, the atmosphere in the castle remained very informal, local children played there, and the ...