An interesting temple is located near the Varshavsky railway station in St. Petersburg (now turned into a shopping and entertainment complex). And it is remarkable not only for its architecture, but also for its amazing fate. During the tsarist years, the temple gathered tens of thousands of teetotalers, the wives prayed here for the deliverance of their husbands from drunkenness, and alcoholics - about finding the strength to quit drinking. And in Soviet times, parachutists made jumps from the bell tower
Tomsk is a unique city from an architectural point of view, because there are still many wooden houses preserved in it. Among them you can find real masterpieces of Russian architecture, which look like either mysterious castles, or teremki from some old Russian fairy tale. You look at the turrets and intricate carved patterns and you are amazed: how much imagination and talent the local architects had, who built these elegant houses at the beginning of the last century
The Japanese woman is sometimes cited as an example of a meek wife and caring mother who lives only in the interests of the household and the household. Moreover, this is usually attributed to tradition. But the modern ideal Japanese wife is a product of the Meiji era (XIX century), when everything European was introduced in Japan. Traditionally, girls and women felt much freer
Stories about how people accidentally find messages from unfamiliar well-wishers always sound exciting. And if in an adventure novel such a letter usually sails by sea in a sealed bottle, then nowadays it is more prosaic - a letter can be found in a book, under the wallpaper, on a chair in a public building, or just on a closet. But a family from Brisbane (Australia) found a "message to an unknown destination" in a recently purchased trailer. True, the author of the letter introduced himself
Wood is a traditional building material, which, alas, is not as strong and durable as stone. Undoubtedly, wooden architecture is a cultural heritage and pride of Russia, and on the territory of our country you can find many old wooden churches. However, residents of other countries also managed to preserve wooden buildings of bygone times
Even in Ancient Egypt and India, they knew about the completely unique properties of pearls. In ancient times, it was believed that this gem improves health, preserves youth and beauty. Today, pearl jewelry is a symbol of sophistication, elegance and charm. Natural pearls are very rare these days, but a hundred years ago they were the only type of pearls from which jewelry was made. It was incredibly expensive and the places where it was fortunate to find it began to shake the real
How the Indians were treated and what diseases they did not know before the arrival of the Europeans
It is not easy to survive in the prairies and forests of North America. Before the arrival of Europeans, local peoples did not know the flu, smallpox and chickenpox, but they faced bacterial infections, wounds and the need to help women in labor. So they had to develop their medicine, despite the fact that they did not have too many opportunities for this
Modern architects increasingly began to blindly chase fashion. Some are carried away by horizontal lines, others by waves, and still others are attracted by the idea of shapeless, abstract buildings. According to the Pritzker Prize laureate, the world famous Japanese architect Shigeru Bana, the only way for an architect not to succumb to the banal influence of fashion is to look for new approaches to the design of structures and … new materials. Ban makes his unique houses out of cardboard
Analysts predict that in thirty years, 80% of the world's population will live in cities. Fantastically beautiful and, importantly, environmentally friendly "Rainbow Tree" is a great idea to live in the city and at the same time be constantly in nature. After all, this skyscraper is essentially a vertical rainforest. Yes, and it is made of wood … Moreover, this project is not at all a fantasy: the building will be built in the near future
The Chapel of San Severo di Sangro, in the past the tomb for a noble princely family, is today a famous Italian museum. This chapel contains extraordinary masterpieces of art created by famous Italian masters of the 18th century. The chapel and its treasures are shrouded in mystery. There are a lot of legends and myths about the creator of the chapel. All of these masterpieces are said to contain encrypted messages
Sometimes, watching films with an exciting plot, viewers are surprised at the fantasies of the scriptwriters. They often "force" the heroes to die by an incredible coincidence. However, this is not what happens in real life. This review contains the most ridiculous deaths of famous people
From the moment the USSR officially declared its existence in general, the whole world considered it, among other things, as a place where giant experiments take place. On the one hand, they seemed extremely insane … On the other hand, much of what was originally introduced in the USSR, in the end we see in the news, like grimaces of Western tolerance or hipster fashion
There is a common phrase: "If you want to get a million - come up with a new religion." It is money that has become the driving force, thanks to which about 20 thousand religious organizations are registered in our country alone. According to rough estimates, several dozen of them can be considered totalitarian sects - that is, dangerous not only for financial and personal well-being, but capable of bringing their followers to crime or self-destruction
Nowadays, her name is known all over the world thanks to the cosmetic empire that she founded. But few know that Mary Kay Ash decided to start her own business only at the age of 45, having behind her only a bitter experience of resentment and disappointment. After the divorce from her husband, the mother of three children had to start from scratch, without anyone's help and support, but her business was so successful that in 2000 Mary Kay Ash was named the most outstanding businesswoman of the 20th century
They were first published together at a time when Emmanuel Macron served as Minister of Economy of France. Their romance began much earlier, when the future president was still a 16-year-old teenager, and Brigitte Ozier was his school teacher. She was married, had three children and was 24 years older. How did the mature woman win the heart of the future president? Or did he have to get her attention?
Many round-shaped houses have been built in the world, but Guangzhou-Yuan is the most incredible and unique. It is the tallest round building on Earth. The height of the giant donut house is 138 meters, and the diameter of its "hole" is 48 meters. In Chinese, this skyscraper is called Guangzhou-Yuan, which translates simply: "Ring of Guangzhou"
Pregnant women sometimes blame their other half for not understanding their plight. However, the modern world finds a solution even for this situation - it may be non-trivial and far from our understanding, but quite effective. Two women from Los Angeles, who have been living together for several years, decided to become mothers at the same time. They succeeded, and now there are two mothers and two babies in a same-sex family, who have one biological father. Interestingly, there is exactly the same happy couple in Novaya
You probably haven't heard of Chuck Feeney, the billionaire, one of the richest people in the world. But you probably know what Duty Free is. The founder of this company is Fini. Despite the fact that he amassed a fabulous fortune, this was never his main goal. The American businessman decided to spend all his fortune on charity. The amazing story of a wealthy philanthropist who goes bankrupt to change the lives of people who don't even know his name
There are legends about the mysterious Russian soul in the world. Foreigners often dream of traveling to Russia in order to try to solve this very riddle, and after that citizens from other countries either fall in love with this huge country forever, or refuse to even hear about Russia. Nevertheless, almost all tourists agree that Russian traditions are like some kind of magic that enthralls them
There is an opinion in society that the Freemasons are supposedly behind all world events. The members of this mysterious brotherhood include world celebrities, famous politicians, owners of business empires. In society, they know just enough about them to suspect something more. There are simply things that are doomed to remain surrounded by the most exciting rumors. The need for secrecy is much greater than the need for revealing it. No matter how many boring truths are told about Freemasonry
When it comes to Leo Tolstoy or Sergei Yesenin, the genius of these men and their invaluable contribution to Russian and world literature immediately comes to mind. Nobody thinks about what kind of personalities they were, and what is even more interesting, family men. This review contains the most famous Russian writers and poets who turned out to be intolerable husbands who made their wives unhappy
At the mention of a ladybug, a children's counting rhyme immediately comes to mind: "Ladybug, fly to heaven …" Perhaps everyone at least once wondered, why exactly "ladybug", and besides, "lady"? Let's try to understand this childish issue that interests even adults
In the middle of the XIV century, a plague came to Europe from the territory of modern Mongolia. In two centuries, it has claimed the lives of 80 million people. The creepy costumes of the plague doctors became one of the symbols of horror, poverty and grief of that time. After all, if people saw healers with a mask-beak on the streets of their cities, this meant only one thing - misfortunes came to them
Twice Olympic champion in figure skating, 83-year-old Oleg Protopopov and 79-year-old Lyudmila Belousova showed amazing shape for their age, skating a 3-minute program at one of the charity shows
Perhaps you will not meet in the post-Soviet space a person who would not have heard of Mikhail Zadornov. This talented satirist has appeared on the stage for more than 30 years, and his sparkling jokes were taken away for quotes. On November 10, 2017, Mikhail Nikolaevich died at the age of 70, after battling a serious cancer
Francesco Petrarca called the Middle Ages "Dark Ages" for a reason. It was this period of history that became famous not only for the regression of culture, art, science, the "witch hunt", but also for the general spiritual decline. It is no wonder that it was at this time that an incident occurred that gave history, perhaps, one of the most exotic saints. Who and why canonized the hunting greyhound, what gave rise to truly demonic practices among the people?
In England, the house of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was put up for sale. The writer lived there from 1930 to 1947. It was there that he wrote his most famous works, including The Hobbit, or There and Back again and The Lord of the Rings. Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) and Bilbo (Martin Freeman) supported crowdfunding campaign to create a cultural pilgrimage site for fans of the world of Middle-earth in the house
Bill and Melinda Gates lived together for more than a quarter of a century and to many seemed the personification of a harmonious strong union of two equal people. The announcement of the separation of the spouses came as a shock to many people, the tabloids immediately suggested that this divorce could become one of the most expensive in the world. Bill and Melinda Gates try to remain calm and not comment on what is happening, and the public is discussing the reasons that led to the collapse of the famous family
Reading is a great luxury that humanity has. As much as contemporary visual art strives to fill the entire living space, there is simply no alternative for books. An immense world of fantasy and a deep world of knowledge - this is what the book gives to each of us. Erasmus of Rotterdam said: "My homeland is where my library is." Literally echoing the thoughts of the great scientist, the British-Iraqi construction company AMBS announced a project to build a public library, equal to
Francisco Nguema Ndonge Macias came to power in 1968, after Equatorial Guinea was declared not a Spanish colony, but an independent state. Perhaps this was one of those cases when life under the leadership of the outside was better than under the "native" government. During his reign, the president destroyed everything that was associated with the concept of a developed country, and after a coup d'état he ate the entire state treasury
The story of the Annenkov couple is one of the touching and tragic pages of Russia's past. Frenchwoman Pauline Gebl became one of the wives of the Decembrists who followed their husbands into exile. 30 difficult years in Siberia - such a price a foreigner paid to be close to the person whom she truly loved. In memory of the years of torment, she had a bracelet cast from her husband's shackles
He was called the father of the Soviet state of workers and peasants, the leader of the October Revolution, the leader of the Communist Party and the entire world proletariat. The personality of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) was idealized, praised and exalted in every possible way. Of course, it was with his personality that the overthrow of the hateful "rotten" tsarism and the accession of the light workers 'and peasants' system, where everything belonged to the people, was associated. We will not discuss the topic, fortunately or unfortunately, all of Lenin's theories are not in
Since Soviet times, the installation of monuments during life was rather an exception to the rule. However, numerous sculptural images of Comrade Stalin stood in almost every city. In addition to him, this honor was awarded twice to Heroes of Socialist Labor and the Soviet Union. But times have changed and today more and more often you can see lifetime monuments to famous actors, singers and athletes. Sometimes even the stars themselves want to immortalize themselves in bronze
Usually, when planning a vacation, ideas come to mind to lie on the beach or go with a backpack to the mountains. Some people prefer to visit other countries to see local attractions. At the same time, they usually try to visit museums or art galleries, see famous buildings or natural objects, etc. The program of such trips is quite standard, and most fans of trips abroad do not even suspect that there are many creepy tourists around the world
Many of the most famous landmarks around the world are iconic symbols of bygone times and it seems that everything is already known about them. However, for all their popularity, there are some unique yet little-known facts about these world-famous landmarks that attract tourists from all over the world
If the residents of Sydney were asked about what one word they can describe their city, this word with a high degree of probability would be … Eternity, which in English means eternity. This is not surprising: in the period from 1930 to 1956. the townspeople faced the phenomenon. Every night the word "eternity" appeared written on various streets, an unknown author put graffiti on roads, fences, buildings, but for many years he was never caught
Holidays in Turkey are not only all-inclusive hotels and the azure sea. In this country with a rich history, lovers of antiquities will also find something to see. One of the most popular excursions among tourists is a visit to the city of Kaunos, where you can see the Lycian tombs high in the mountains
The Fugger Quarter in Augsburg today attracts tourists as it looks more like a dollhouse or open-air museum than a regular residential area. And all because it was originally built on the initiative of the Fugger family, patrons of the arts who created one of the world's first social housing projects
Models who walk the catwalk at fashion shows or beauty pageants give the impression of carefree beauties who are naturally given a lean physique and a pretty face. In fact, the story of each girl is unique, and some of them have to spend a lot of time and effort to build a career. For example, the Malaysian model Joanna Joseph, until the age of 16, was overweight and endured the ridicule of others, and her success today is the result of titanic work on herself
There are many villages in the world that are hard to believe in existence. And all because the people in them have some characteristic features. Our today's review contains five unusual settlements. The inhabitants of one of them discovered the secret of longevity, in the second almost every newborn couple is twins, and in the third - a real kingdom of dwarfs. Read more about these and other villages below