Culture – Europe2.eu

Orkney may take into consideration to become Norwegian again

Kirkwall Harbour, Orkney — Kirkwall Harbour. Photo: Stevekeiretsu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Orkney Islands are dissatisfied with the current funding and attention it receives from the UK government. Something that now has lead to Orkney council to start to investigate “alternative forms of governance”. The most radical of proposals being becoming a Norwegian territory again.

Historically Orkney was under Norwegian and later Danish rule from the early viking age until 1472 when the islands became Scottish as part of the wedding dowry for Margaret of Denmark when she married the future wife of King James III of Scotland.

The less radical – and probably more likely – options for Orkney to pursue is however a status more akin to that which the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man enjoy today.

Source: BBC Scotland

Malbork – A crusader castle at the Baltic Sea coast

Situated at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in Poland is one of the largest medieval castles of northern Europe. Malbork, or Marienburg as it is known in German, once served as the headquarters for the Teutonic Order whose crusader knights once ruled a large swath of of land along the southeastern and eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea.

Neuschwanstein Castle

The Bavarian picturesque Neuschwanstein Castle is the epitome of a fairy tale castle. Built on the orders of king Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century, it was already at its construction a anachronism in its recalling of a romanticized medieval era.

Neujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker

1024px-Musikverein-DSC_0213 — Wiener Musikverein, Vienna, Austria.
Photo: Peter Haas/Wikimedia

The New Year’s Concert in Vienna is a longstanding and very popular tradition on New Year’s Day, which is broadcast on TV not only in Austria and the German-speaking countries of Europe but also in more than 70 other countries around the world. Since 1939 the concert is held in the Großer Saal (Large Hall) in the Wiener Musikverein, situated in the city centre of Vienna.

The classical music performed always include works written by the famous Strauss family.

Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum reopens

One of the most famous art museums in the world, the Dutch Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has reopened with a grand ceremony after several years of renovations and construction of new space for the multitude of art in its collections. Among the most famous in the long list of invaluable classical artworks are Rembrandt’s The Night Watch and works by Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer and Vincent van Gogh.

The museum now has 80 galleries, some of which – in very Dutch fashion – are located under the sea level which together contains more than 8000 objects of art, spanning 800 years of history.

Source: BBC News

The problem with Swiss nudist hikers

The Swiss cantonal government of Appenzell Innerrhoden wants a new law in place to cope with the rise in popularity of nudist mountain hiking.

I must admit that until I read this news, I hadn’t even reflected over the possibility that it was something that existed, and definitely not something that apparently has become so prevalent that the canton sees it as a problem. To be perfectly honest, I’m almost as surprised – if not more – to read that it apparently under current Swiss law is perfectly legal. As for the actual question at hand, I don’t know what to say.

Source: BBC World