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THE WINTER PALACE - ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA [1053 RU] Located between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, the Winter Palace (Russian: Зимний Дворец), seen here from across the Neva River, was built between 1754 and 1762 as the winter residence of the Russian tsars. It was designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli in Baroque style.The State Hermitage Museum is one of the largest, oldest, most important and famous art galleries and museums of human history and culture in the world. The vast Hermitage collections are displayed in six buildings, the main one being the Winter Palace. Strong points of the Hermitage collection of Western art include Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Rubens, van Dyck, Rembrandt, Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Watteau, Tiepolo, Canaletto, Canova, Rodin, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Cezanne, van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso, and Matisse.THE WINTER PALACE - RUSSIA [1054 RU]ST. ISAAC'S AND THE ST. PETERSBURG COAST - RUSSIA [1056 RU]AUSTRIA [1041 AU]BUDAPEST, HUNGARY [_B2K0005] Chain BridgeBUDAPEST, HUNGARY [1005 HU]PARLIAMENT BUILDING - BUDAPEST, HUNGARY [1002 HU]BUDAPEST, HUNGARY [1001 HU]WAWEL ROYAL CASTLE - KRAKOW, POLAND [_B2K_0140] Things began to get into gear in 1138, when Krakow became the main royal seat. However, it was during the reign of Kazimierz the Great (1333-70) that the castle was truly born. A fire in 1499 destroyed much of this, yet also paved the way for Krakow's first taste of the Renaissance. It was then that the stunning courtyard was built, a design that started a long-lasting fashion in Poland.AUSCHWITZ - POLAND [_B2K_0164] It's a strange feeling taking photos at such an ugly (but important) place to visit. I tried to reflect that in these images.WHERE DO YOU FOCUS? AUSCHWITZ - POLAND [_B2K_0170] The camp opened June 14, 1940, when the first transport of Polish political prisoners arrived. Soviet prisoners of war, Gypsies, and prisoners of other nationalities were also incarcerated there. The overall number of victims of Auschwitz in the years 1940-1945 is estimated at between 1,100,000 and 1,500,000 people. The majority of them, and above all the mass transports of Jews who arrived beginning in 1942, died in the gas chambers.BIRKENAU - POLAND [6021 PO] At the end of 1944, in the face of the approaching Red Army offensive, the Auschwitz administration set about removing the traces of the crimes that they had committed. They destroyed documents, dismantled some buildings, and burned others down or demolished them with explosives.BIRKENAU - POLAND [_B2K_0171] Prisoners capable of marching were evacuated into the depths of the Third Reich in late January 1945, at the moment when Soviet soldiers were liberating Krakow, some 60 kilometers from the camp. Approximately 56,000 men and women prisoners were led out of Auschwitz from January 17-21 in marching columns escorted by heavily armed SS guards. Many prisoners lost their lives during this tragic evacuation, known as the "Death March." On January 27, 1945, Red Army soldiers liberated the few thousand prisoners whom the Germans had left behind in the camp.NEAR OAMARU - NEW ZEALAND [1163 NZ] I took this shot on our way back from the Kakanui River while staying at John and Betsy McKenzie's farmhouse near Oamaru. That is a Merino wool sheep, one of many soon to be sheared. We just had an unusual snow storm which made for some spectacular scenery.SOUTH ISLAND - NEW ZEALAND [1151 NZ] We were stopped for a few minutes during bridge repair. Most of the bridges on the South Island are one-way so we also had to wait for the cars from the other side to pass. These buildings, with their bright colored doors matching the color of the telephone pole, were on the side of the road so I figured I'd pass the time by taking a photo.NEAR OAMARU - NEW ZEALAND [9048 NZ] This is the McKenzie's sheep shearing shed.BIRDS ON THE WHITESTONE - NEW ZEALAND [7150 NZ] This was a fly fishing trip so we were off the beaten track most of the time. Sometimes just getting to the river is a challenge. You have to be careful not to step on the nests scattered throughout the area.AUCKLAND - NEW ZEALAND [1257 NZ]
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ST. ISAAC'S AND THE ST. PETERSBURG COAST - RUSSIA [1056 RU]



Copyright © Megan Delehanty. Contact Megan at megan@hitopimages.com.