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Larger Pictures of Castles, Communities and
Regional Highlights
Here are additional images of tour highlights and regional scenes in
higher resolution than regular website pictures.
Most of the pictures in this updated Gallery were
taken on the 2008 Imperial Castles Tour.
Most gallery pictures are displayed as approximately 800 x 600
pixels. Click on the pictures to view.
Use your browser's BACK button to return to the Gallery.
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Munich Orientation, Munich Residence, and Nuremberg
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Munich, capital of Bavaria
and Germany's 3rd-largest
city (metro 6 million) |
Munich's Olympic Park, site
of the 1972 Summer
Olympics |
Olympic Park is still an
integral part of the life of
Munich (München) |
Konigsplatz (Königsplatz), created at the
command of Crown Prince Ludwig |
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Munich's Ludwigstrasse,
Residence, Odeonsplatz,
and Theatine Church (L-R) |
Munich's opera house,
the National Theatre |
Marienplatz is Munich's
central square, dominated
by the Rathaus (city hall). |
Munich's Hofbrauhaus
is Germany's most famous
beer hall. |
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Inside Munich
Residence,
the former royal palace of
the Bavarian monarchs |
One of ten courtyards in
the Munich Residenz
complex |
The Hall of Antiquities,
largest Renaissance hall
north of the Alps |
The
Court Chapel of the
Munich Residence, added
between 1612 and 1617 |
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The Ancestral Gallery,
added between 1726
and 1731 |
Royal regalia of Bavaria
(1804) in the Munich
Residence 9Treasury |
Old town of Nuremberg,
170 km / 105 miles north
of Munich |
The White Tower of the
Nuremberg city wall, built
in the mid 13th century |
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Prague and Prague Castle
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Part of downtown Prague,
seen from a vantage point
at Prague Castle |
The Charles Bridge across
the Vltava River, built over about 50 years from 1357. |
Mostecka Street, leading to
the Charles Bridge, Church
of St. Nicholas in back |
Prague's Old Town Square,
dominated by the Church
of Our Lady Before Tyn |
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Interior of Tyn Church, begun
in the mid 14th century and
completed in 1511 |
The amazing Astronomical
Clock on the Old Town City Hall, built from 1410 to 1490 |
Powder Gate, guarding the
gateway to Old Town, this
rebuild begun in 1475 |
The massive Prague Castle, the world's
largest , really
a city
within a city |
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Prague Castle's main gates,
with the 1614 Baroque
Mattias Gate inside |
Prague Castle's St. Vitus
Cathedral, the most important
place of worship in Bohemia |
The Basilica of St. George
in Prague Castle, rebuilt
beginning in 1142 |
The Hradcany castle district ,
a mix of history and culture,
businesses and residences |
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Czech Republic: Hluboka and Cesky Krumlov
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Hluboka Castle, re-
constructed during the 19th
century in Romantic style |
An early Gothic castle was
built on the Hluboka Castle
site around 1250 |
 Hluboka Castle is
surrounded by formal
gardens |
A cafe, adjacent to the
Bohemian art gallery at
Hluboka Castle |
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Construction of the town and
castle at Cesky Krumlov
began in the late 13th century |
The entire town of Cesky
Krumlov is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site |
Cesky Krumlov was built at
a ford in the Vltava River, an
important trade route |
An outdoor cafe along the
Vltava River |
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Krumlov Castle, towering
over the Vltava, is one of the
largest in central Europe |
Krumlov Castle consists of
40 buildings and palaces
around 5 castle courtyards |
St. Vitus is a Gothic church
in the castle dating back to
the 15th century |
The tower rises from the
Little Castle, the oldest
part of the Krumlov Castle. |
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Vienna and its Schonbrunn Palace
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Vienna's Hofburg Imperial
Palace was the home of
the Hapsburg dynasty |
The Austrian Parliament
Building in Vienna, built
between 1874 and 1883 |
Vienna State Opera house,
home of the world-famous
State opera company |
Celebrations in front of
Vienna's Rathaus (City
Hall), built 1872 - 1883 |
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St. Stephen's Cathedral in
central Vienna, on the site
of an 1147 parish church |
Interior of
St. Stephen's
Cathedral, seat of the
Archbishop of Vienna |
Karlskirche (Church of St.
Charles) on Karlsplatz, built
between 1716 and 1737 |
Schonbrunn Palace evolved
over centuries from a hunting
lodge begin in 1696 |
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Queen Maria Theresa made
Schönbrunn the imperial
summer residence |
The Neptune Fountain, one
element of Maria Theresa's
gardens and park plan |
The Roman Ruin is an
artificial garden feature
created by sculptors in 1778 |
The 18th century gardens are
used by Vienna for current
day concerts and celebrations |
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The Gloriette crowns a 60m
/ 200 ft hill overlooking the
Palace and Vienna |
The Gloriette was built on
Maria Theresa's instructions
in 1775 |
Maria Theresa's Tiergarten
first opened in 1752, and is
the world's oldest zoo. |
The Palm House pavilions
with temperate and tropical
sections, added in 1881-82 |
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Austria: Salzburg and Innsbruck
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Salzburg has one of the best-
preserved city centres north
of the Alps (UNESCO). |
Mirabell Palace, built by a
Prince Bishop in 1606 for
his mistress |
Mozart was born in a home
on Getreidegasse and
raised in Salzburg |
17th century baroque
Salzburg Cathedral was the
site of Mozart's baptism |
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Fortress Hohensalzburg,
on Festungsberg hill, can
now be reached by funicular. |
The fortress, begun in 1077,
is one of the largest medieval
castles in Europe. |
Its hilltop location gave the
fortress a view (and control)
of a wide region. |
Hellbrunn Palace, built in
1613-19 by the Prince-
Archbishop of Salzburg |
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Hellbrunn is famous for its
extensive trick fountains and
"watergames". |
Innsbruck's older pedestrian
district, with the Alps in the
background |
The Golden Roof (Goldenes
Dachl) was built
in 1500 with
2657 fire-gilded
copper tiles. |
Empress Maria Theresa had
the Hofburg transformed into
a Baroque palace 1754-73. |
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Interior of the St. Jakob
Cathedral, converted from
Gothic to Baroque 1717-24. |
The 1654 Landestheater was
converted into Classical style
between 1844 and 1846. |
Traditional Tyrolean enter-
tainment at an Innsbruck
dinner show |
The view at a rest stop
between Innsbruck and
Munich |
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