History of Groenlo. Around 610 Groenlo’s first buildings were built. More than 600 year later, in 1277, Groenlo received his city rights. In 1334 it finally got walls to defense itself. However, no major battles were fought there during medieval times. … Read More

 Castle of Vorden. The first written account of this castle was in 1315. The current building was built on the old ruins of this castle. During the 80-years-war (or war of independence) between Spain and the Netherlands this castle was … Read More

Kita Maria Himmelfahrt In the old center of the small town of Andernach is a old church. People do not know when the first version of this church was built. However, under the church are Carolingian graves. This means that … Read More

During medieval times there was a castle in Huriel. Only the keep and two of the four corner towers have survived the dawn of time. The castle was owned by the lords of Huriel and due to the labor it … Read More

I was born in Groenlo and grew up in this area. I always thought this basilique in the center of Groenlo was a really old church. However, during the making of this album I found out it is only little … Read More

Basel. Basel is one of the first cities on the banks of the Rhine. Five bridges connect the two parts of the city. Somewhere in the 4th century this city was founded. It was an important city, because the Bishop … Read More

The Donjon of Andernach. One of the most visual reminders of the 9-year-war is the Round Tower of Andernach, its donjon. After the french army sieged and captured this city they destroyed many of Andernach’s city defences. Its favorite way … Read More

Château de Corcelles. This castle was built to defend the east border of this region. It has never seen battle, but it is a great castle to visit for an hour. You can buy wine that they produce here. Make … Read More

Close to Utrecht Centraal Railway Station you can find a courtyard that used to belong to an 11th century Church dedicated to Maria. The Church is no longer there, but you can still visit the cloister and the houses that … Read More

Ganzenmarkt. Every medieval city has a lot of small market squares that only traded in one product. Groenlo has a few left of them and one of them is the Ganzenmarkt or Geese Market. On this square geese were traded. … Read More

City walls of Andernach. Andernach is a small city near the river the Rhine. It is one of the cities that still has most of her medieval city walls. Every medieval city had a few gates to let people and … Read More

Elephant Nature Park A few years back my wife visited this nature park in the north of Thailand. It was created by Saengduean “Lek” Chailert, a Thai  woman who wanted to create a home for abused elephants.  These days the park … Read More

Sint Jan. In 1220 they built a parish church dedicated to Sint Jan (‘Saint John’), and subsequently transformed it into a collegiate church in 1366. Finally, in 1559, it turned into a Cathedral after a fire. This Cathedral church is … Read More

  Saint Peter and Paul Church. When you walk through the mainstreet of Krakow’s city center, you can’t miss this church. It is located near the building Pope John Paul II lived in during his years in Krakow. It took … Read More

Marl quarry. In the Middle Ages a cheap way to get building stones was getting them out of a marl quarry. Marl is a soft type of stone, that can be cut out with a big saw. In one day, … Read More