Experiencing History up close and personal

Wars and economic boom – one can find traces of the past of the harbors of the Atlantic Alliance which are exemplary for all of Europe. A building, a museum or simply the atmosphere of the cities can tell a story. The sea breeze mixes with the aura of history.

 
Lisbon (Portugal)
The Castelo de Sao Jorge stands upon the top of the fortified hill of the city upon which the Phoenicians had once settled and which was always the centerpoint of Lisbon’s development. There was already a fortress during Roman times and Visigoths and Moors used the fortress. The Portuguese kings lived there into the 16th century.  In Belem, one should visit the tower in Tejo – a masterful example of Manueline architecture – as well as also the Seafarers’ Monument and the Hieronymus Monastery. And Queluz, near Lisbon, offers a royal palace from the 18th century which was modeled after the French Versailles and lies in the middle of French gardens designed with mathematical precision and a park in the Italian style with arbors, fishponds and cascades.
The Portuguese kings had their summer residence for centuries in Sintra. Two palaces can be visited here, the Paco Real from the 14th century and the Palacio da Pena from the 19th century – a mishmash of diverse elements of style.

Santander (Spain)
The old town of Santander burned down in 1941. Only the cathedral still stands. The Iglesia Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción has only then been considered to have been a cathedral since the 18th century. It was an abbey in the 8th century and was an abbey church beginning in the 13th century. Extraordinarily: It is not decorated. Furthermore, Santander offers an archaeological museum and a maritime museum with an aquarium. Furthermore, an excursion is offered to the caves of Tito Bustillo and Cuevas de Boxu. They are adorned with prehistoric mural art.

Vigo (Spain)
In the old town of Vigo, there stands the Santa María Abbey Church from the 19th century in which the likeness of Cristo de la Victoria is revered and is worth a visit. Vigo is the ideal starting point for a visit to Santiago de Compostela, Spain’s most famous pilgrimage site, and one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Christianity, a must-see. The construction of the Early Romanesque-Baroque cathedral was already begun in 1072. You should likewise visit the village of Ribadavia. It is a protected cultural heritage site and the bridge was already built in the 7th century.
A side trip from Vigo to northern Portugal is worthwhile, such as to the village of ruins called Citania de Briteiros near Caldas das Taipas. It originated from the Iron Age in the first millennium B.C. The foundation walls of approximately 150 huts which are enclosed by a threefold ring wall are a must-see. The religious center of Portugal lies in Braga where the Archbishop of Primas, Portugal resides.

Bordeaux (France)
The largest square in the city, the Place des Quinconces, is, at 12 ha, also the largest square in Europe. From there, it is not far to the Grand-Théatre, one of the most beautiful in France. It was built at the end of the 18th century by Victor Louis. Also plan to visit the Saint Seurin Church, the oldest sections of which are from the 11th century. However, the crypt still houses sarcophagi from the 6th century and fragments of sculptures from the Merovingian and Carolingian Periods. Of the city’s many tourist sites, we also recommend to you the Cathédrale Saint-André, the most important holy building in Bordeaux which was built in the 11th and 12th centuries in the Romanesque style and later reconstructed in the Gothic style.

La Rochelle (France)
Various towers characterize the old town. Particularly noteworthy is the Town Hall which was built at the end of the 15th century. Before you can visit the Town Hall, you must first deal with a barricade from a rather colorless Gothic fortification wall with a defensive corridor and overhanging machicolations which is also fortified on the left corner with a belfry. In the courtyard, the main façade of the magnificent Renaissance palace rises upwards. The ground floor is encompassed on the courtyard side by an arcade gallery with grooved columns.

Nantes (France)
This half-Medieval, half-Baroque city on the Loire with a large cathedral offers a must-see castle with three museums: One for Breton folk art, one for decorative art and one for everything which is related to the navy.  
Angers is located near the Loire and lies on the Maine. First and foremost, it offers one thing: The castle of the Dukes of Anjoy from the 13th century which is flanked by 17 round towers – a particularly good example of the architectural style of this time period. Likewise worth seeing: The St. Maurice Cathedral. You can visit other beautiful castles around Angers in Brissac, le Plessis-Bourré, Le Plessis-Macé and Serrant.

Cherbourg (France)
The Cotentin Peninsula was, in fact, the first territory conquered by the men from the North, the Vikings. The city evolved in relation to the Anglo-French conflicts before becoming a Channel stronghold and, in 1944, the world's most important harbor. In the city, there is the Museum La Cité de la Mer, in which, among other things, the largest publicly accessible nuclear submarine “Le Redoutable” is displayed. Despite the disappearance of its medieval fortress, the town is rich in historical monuments, the most impressive of which is the great sea wall. Both from land and sea, the town is dominated by the Montagne du Roule.

Le Havre (France)

Le Havre is the largest harbour along the English Channel and was founded in 1517 by King François 1er after the siltation of the harbours along the mouth of the Seine. The financial boom created by the trade with overseas colonies in the 18th century as well as the waves of emigrants to America in the 19th century led to the financial boom in the city. The industrialization of the 1920s put Le Havre at the top of the cities in Normandy.

Portland Port (Great Britain)
The picturesque landscape and coast of southwestern England provides the perfect backdrop for the Portland Castle which Henry VIII had built in 1540 in order to better defend the coast. In the Second World War, there were approximately half a million American soldiers upon Portland in order to prepare for the invasion of Normandy.
In Dorchester, you should walk along The Walks which leads you around the city and follows the course of the old Roman city wall. In addition to a Roman villa, the remnants of a Roman aqueduct and a Roman amphitheatre for 10,000 are still intact. The Maiden Castle is the best-preserved encampment in Europe that is fortified with earth walls from approx. 5000 years ago, an 800-m-long Celtic hilltop fortress. In the former abbey church of the market village of Wimborne Minster, there is, among other things, one of the oldest public libraries in the country from 1686.

Dover (Great Britain)
No other English county has more fortresses and historic manors than Kent. Leeds Castle and the imposing Knole are the most well-known among them. Dover was already known to the Romans under the name Dubris. Dover Castle is one of the most imposing medieval fortresses in all of Europe. Begun under Henry II, the Norman keep, with its six-meter-thick walls, stands in the center of the fortress. It houses several exhibits about English history. In addition, upon the grounds, there stands a lighthouse from Roman times. Another attraction of the fortress grounds is the Secret Wartime Tunnel which was, for the most part, built during the Napoleonic Wars and reactivated during the Second World War.
The high point with regards to art history is a visit to the venerable episcopal city of Canterbury with its cathedral. Since the canonization of Thomas Becket, Canterbury has been the most important pilgrimage site in England. Canterbury’s West Gate has been called the most beautiful medieval city gate in the country (1381). The cathedral was built in 597 by Saint Augustine and has already burned down three times. Its current form is from the 15th century and its crypt and choir are from the 12th century. Besides the diverse stone figures, frescos, paintings and choir walls, the greatest treasures are the glass windows created by the French artists in the 12th and 13th centuries.
In 1066, the Norman invasion of England began near Hastings. The ruins of the fortress of William the Conqueror, which was built immediately thereafter, stands upon a steep cliff, the West Hill. Upon the hill, there is also the entrance to the St. Clement Caves with an exhibit about bootleggers. The city center has largely preserved the character of a harbor city of the 16th century. The Shipwreck Heritage Center documents 3000 years of maritime history. In the Town Hall, one can admire a 74-m-long, hand-knitted carpet depicting important events in British history from 1066 to 1966.

Antwerp (Belgium)
Antwerp has a charming and well-preserved historical center which originates from the 16th and 17th centuries. You can discover and admire 23 city sites which are subject to cultural heritage protection and almost 1000 monuments. Included among them are five churches. Gothic and Baroque are the keywords for the magnificent quintet. Antwerp is a city on the Scheldt River, an international harbor, a city with a rich past, an international diamond district and a well-known fashion metropolis. Whether by bike, boat, or on foot: Make it a point to discover this city!

Vlissingen (The Netherlands)
Vlissingen received its town charter in 1315. The prosperity of the city was attributable to the herring trade and salt mining, but also privateering and the slave trade of the shipping companies. In the 19th century, Vlissingen was an important naval port and suffered a lot of damage during the Second World War so that almost nothing historical remains. Fort Rammekens – situated east of Vlissingen upon the Walcheren Peninsula – originates from the 16th century and is the oldest sea fort in western Europe. It was supposed to protect the ships of the United East Indian Company. The Zoutelande Bunker Museum focuses upon more recent history which documents the life in a bunker and the importance of the Atlantic Wall.
A small side trip leads one to the city of Sluis. Here, one can take a walk through the generally quite well-preserved fortresses. The Town Hall (built in 1390, restored in 1951) has a belfry which is the only one of its kind in the Netherlands.
Bergen op Zoom is also worth a visit with its Markiezenhof Palace (the sole building of this type in the Netherlands) from the 15th and 16th centuries which houses a cultural museum and a museum with, among others, regional art. Saint Gertrudis’ Church from the 14th century, the city gate of Gevangenpoort and the white Town Hall complex, which was built in 1633 by means of the reconstruction of three old houses along the Great Market, complement the image with other old houses in the city center.

Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
Rotterdam must constantly be drained with pumps because the natural groundwater level would otherwise be above the level of the city’s streets. Accordingly, water engineering and harbors dominate – and a particularly modern city center with many high-rise buildings that can otherwise be found in Europe only in Frankfurt, Paris and Warsaw. The importance of modern architecture is also correspondingly high.

IJmuiden (The Netherlands)
Ijmuiden and Velsen form a community with a rich history. Between the dunes and the polders, there lie many cultural history sites such as the ruins of the medieval fortress Brederode, the country estates of Beeckestijn, Waterland and Velserbeek and the old village of Velsen. Fort Ijmuiden was built at the end of the 19th century in order to defend the floodgates and the position of Amsterdam. The position consisted of a ring of 42 forts with a length of 135 km. Originally, the fort was situated along the north bank of the canal, but, through the construction of the north floodgate, the fort was separated from the bank and the fort island was created. During the Second World War, this fort and the German bunkers were key components of the Ijmuiden stronghold to the Atlantic Wall of Nazi Germany.
The various mills have again and again formed a beautiful part of Dutch history; for example, there is the grain mill “De Zandhaas” from 1779 near Ijmuiden. After comprehensive restorations, the mill is now operational again and is wind-powered.

Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
According to the legend, Amsterdam is supposed to have been founded by two fishermen and this is seen for the first time in records in 1275. In 1323, the city receives the right to trade beer. In the 17th century, Amsterdam establishes its pre-eminent position, above all in overseas trade. The United East and West Indian Companies are founded and trade to Asia is expanded. In the 19th century, the North Sea Canal is built which ensures a direct connection to the sea and the diamond industry experiences an economic boom. The Second World War symbolizes probably the darkest hour for Amsterdam: In only five years, 80,000 Jews are deported from the city. Today, Amsterdam is the largest city in the Netherlands, functions as the main residence of the Dutch royal family and is better known than the seat of government, The Hague.
The Koninklijk Paleis, which previously served as the Town Hall, can be visited and the Historical Museum illuminates the history of the founding and development of Amsterdam in more detail. The Rembrandt House is the restored house in which Rembrandt lived from 1639 to 1658. The Anne Frank House tells the story of a Jewish family on the original site where the family hid in Amsterdam. The historical Jewish museums in the interior of several synagogues celebrates the Jewish culture and presents numerous works of Jewish artists and religious documents.

Bremerhaven (Germany)
In 1827, founded as a sea harbor for Bremen, Bremerhaven is still characterized by shipbuilding and fish processing and is known, above all, as one of the largest European harbors for emigrants. These histories are reflected by three cultural institutions which are only a few minutes away from each other by foot. The Bremerhaven City and Regional History Museum, the German Emigrants’ Museum and the German Maritime Museum in which the oldest cog in the world is anchored in addition to other originals. In the summer of 2009, a scientific and experience world that will be unique worldwide is being opened called the “Bremerhaven Climate House 8° East”. In a spectacular and novel way, scientific data and facts about climate and climate protection will be presented and will be able to be experienced here in an exciting way.

Hamburg (Germany)
From the remnants of Hammaburg from 825 to the five main churches with the Michel, the historical district, Speicherstadt [warehouse city] and brick work architecture – Hamburg’s history can best be explained to you by the Hamburg Museum. The history of emigrants can be experienced in BallinStadt and maritime history can be experienced in the International Maritime Museum. And thereafter, you should discover the city on your own and, for example, climb into the Old Elbe Tunnel. In the Miniature Wonderland, the largest model train system on Earth, the world is also being built. A section has already been completed and is quite popular.