Zoo Karlsruhe was founded in 1865 and now have more than 1000 animals representing 150 species. There are about 800 trees and more than 15,000 roses (300 different species).

Zoo Karlsruhe is thematically divided into 10 main sections:

• Water exposure (polar bears, penguins and seals)
• The African savanna (giraffes, zebras, antelopes, ostriches)
• Owl aviary
• Wild cats
• Pachydermata
• Australian animals
• Exposure to South America
• The world of birds
• Children’s Zoo

Among the most popular animals are polar bears. The first descendant of this representative of Arctic fauna was born in the zoo already in 1889. Your attention should be given also to penguins, Chinese leopards, emus, kangaroos, meerkats and giant tortoises. It is worth to see also a House of monkeys, with more than 30 species of primates.

Zoo Karlsruhe is open all year but the opening hours change frequently, so it is better to visit Official site of Zoo Karlsruhe before your visit. Basic whole-day ticket costs €5,50.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Marc Evans

Among the most beautiful castles – not only in Britain but also in Europe – we can find the Leeds Castle in Kent, UK. It was built back in 1119 as a Norman fortress on the spot where the manor house stood already two hundred years before.

During its long existence, Leeds Castle served as the residence (also as the refuge) for the kings, deluxe residences for six medieval English Queens, exhibition of Henry VIII. and much more. The interesting is, that the castle was inhabited up to the 80′s of the last century.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Herry Lawford

The castle is surrounded by the massive walls which protect also a huge garden full of trees, shrubs and flowers. The romantic character is supplemented by the large moats, built long ago to hide the estate from the eyes of simple villagers.

Today, it has only an aesthetic function, as well as an aviaries, that are now a home for over a hundred endangered species of birds. Curiosity of the whole area is treacherous maze of hedges, with a sort of mound in the middle.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by gailf548

At the entrance, you will receive a card, with the important facts about the castle’s history and description of everything interesting regarding the castle rooms, including the authors of pictures etc. Although the current design was influenced by many minor changes and especially by the gradual expansion, the most of the internal equipment is original.

In Leeds Castle you can see – amongst others – the royal bedroom of Catherine of Valois, or a library and room of Lady Baillie. Also noteworthy is the restaurant named after Henry VIII., who frequently visited the castle. During a visit, you can also visit the Maiden’s Tower, which was built in Tudor times as the castle’s bakery and brewhouse beer. Now the premises of the Maiden’s Tower hold various exhibitions.

The only task of Leeds Castle is to impress every visitor and I’m sure that you will be impressed as well.

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If you reshuffle historical records and manuscripts, you will learn that King Francois I played a significant role to reshape this castle after modification. There are many critics and historians who claim that Domenico da Cortona attributed a lot to redesign this building. Some of them claim that Philibert Delorme – the French Renaissance architect or Leonardo da Vinci had an important role in designing the structure of chateau.

Architectural Beauty of Le Château de Chambord

According to researchers, exterior and interior parts of Le Château de Chambord are fantastic to look as professional architects have used sumptuous marble slabs, stones and wall painting color shades. The central keep is beset with four decorated pillars with arches (four immense bastion towers at the corners). Le Château de Chambord is also designed with an eye-catching garden, moats and backyards. Conventional moat or water ditch adjacent to the castle was not constructed to defend enemy but this water moat has accelerated overall beauty of the building. There are 440 spacious rooms, 365 fireplaces along with more than 80 well decorated staircases inside the building.

So far as architectural aesthete is concerned, architects have borrowed Italian architectural style to install large windows and a rooftop gallery with open sides (loggia) to gear up visibility and clarity. Designers used their razor sharp intelligence and imaginative faculty to construct roof of the castle by setting up 11 towers, 3 different chimneys inclusive of double helical or spiral staircases in the chateau. There is also a well decorated beautiful lighthouse at the top of Le Château de Chambord.

Le Château de Chambord was confiscated as enemy property in 1915 but after severe legal battle, it was got back to the family of the Duke of Parma. Engineers and architects started the building renovation works after World War II. Right now, this historical site has become one of the most attractive tourist centers.

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