As NPR reports, twenty-six new sites from all over the world have been inscribed into the UNESCO list of World Heritage for 2025, including many we’d have thought would have already been among them like the ensemble of castles commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, Jamaica’s Port Royal, the memorials of the Cambodian genocide and the coasts of Morbihan with the megaliths of Carnac, necropolises in China and Sardinia and Minoan archeological sites in Crete. Click through at the link above for a full list of the new additions with extensive information about each location.
Friday, 18 July 2025
patrimoine mondial (11. 590)
Saturday, 28 June 2025
logis seigneurial (12.558)
Outside of Vannes (Gwened, the de facto capital of the region) near the village of Sarzeau (Sarzhav), we visited Chรขteau de Suscinio, built in the thirteenth century as residence and retreat for the dukes of Brittany and fortified over the next two years until Breton was fully aligned with France as a summer home between the seaside and a well-stocked forest for hunting, this uniquely preserved castle retains the representational elements of the high Middle Ages of the casement, moat and towered gatehouse after the introduction of gunpowder and the canon made such structures obsolete and most were scaled back as estates if not falling into complete disrepair.
Part of the preservation was owing to its role in the War of the Roses, housing a contingent of exiled Lancastrian including Jasper Tudor and his nephew, future King Henry VII, safeguarding the potential heirs from kidnapping and execution by Plantagenet usurpers. Having lent support to the Lancastrian rebellion—in exchange for guarantees of independence from France, the duchy eventually transferred their wards, rebuffing the counter-offer and double-cross of Yorkist king Richard III for the surrender of the Tudors after eleven years in absentia. Following the death of duke Francis II and the end of the Tudor line, the duchy was ruled by Anne of Brittany, twice Queen of France, before finally being annexed upon her dearh without issue in 1514. Quarried for stone after it was abandoned by the ducal dynasty, Jรฉrรดme du Camboult, the cousin of Cardinal Richelieu aspired to convert the Reviere into a tading company but attempts failed and presently the surrounding marshes are used as evaporation pools for salt extraction.synchronoptica
one year ago: a visit to the Borromean islands (with synchronopticรฆ)
twelve years ago: nuclear waste in our backyard plus Anglicisms on the train
thirteen years ago: throwing good money after bad
fourteen years ago: defining the meme plus the cost of fuel shipments in America’s forever wars
fifteen years ago: preoccupation with the undead
catagories: ๐ซ๐ท, ๐ฐ, ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ
Friday, 20 June 2025
chรขteau de chinon (12. 546)
For the second leg of our journey, we returned to the Loire valley traveling in the direction of south Bretagne through Sens and Tours, bypassing most of the ensemble of chรขteaux but found a picturesque campsite on the opposite bank of Vienne with a direct view of the town‘s fortified castle, the last one of its kind in the region. Built on the foundations of a fifth century Gallo-Roman fort, the castle‘s present form dates from the late tenth century when the dukes of Anjou, aligned with the House of the Plantagenets—thus, England, took the town and its defensive bulwark from the king of France, and was expanded under Henry II, securing his favoured residence from his rebellious brother, Geoffrey, the Count of Nantes.
England held this region only util the early thirteen century when Phillip II took back Chinon after a month-long siege and was thereafter, with some intervening periods of neglect—infamously as a detention facility for the Knight Templar while awaiting judgment and sentencing once they had become too powerful, particularly in the eyes of the French aristocracy—used as the French royal court through the sixteen hundreds. Joan of Arc (previously) was granted an audience with King Charles V during the Hundred Years War over the line of succession and legitimate heir to the throne and presented her vision from God for intervention in the Battle Orlรฉans to expel English influence and political meddling once and for all. After cross examining her sanity and sincerity, Joan was granted command of the army.synchronoptica
one year ago: Ursula K Le Guin’s webpages (with synchronopticรฆ) plus assorted links to revisit
ten years ago: the Queen and consort visit Germany plus more links to enjoy
twelve years ago: Western expectations of Tรผrkiye
thirteen years ago: allowable letters on vehicle registration plates
fourteen years ago: Chinese copies of European destinations
catagories: ๐ซ๐ท, ๐️, ๐ฐ, ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ
Friday, 30 May 2025
hohenwartetalsperre iii (12.497)

one year ago: a US supreme court justice flies provocative flags (with synchronoptica), a WWII battle for an Aleutian island, the anatomy of a limerick plus Trump found guilty of falsifying business records
seven years ago: all about Ostheim
nine year ago: a wearable, in-ear translator plus giving Tumblr a try
ten years ago: Swiss cheese goes blind plus Alf’s hip-hop album
eleven years ago: mourning a ruined laptop, semi-conducting cement plus getting ready to travel to Lake Como
catagories: ๐️, ๐ฐ, ๐บ, Thรผringen
Saturday, 3 May 2025
taubertal: rundweg (12. 428)
synchronoptica
one year ago: foreign movie titles in Norway (with synchronoptica), an AI beauty contest from 1964, steaming footage from the International Space Station, wistful nostalgia for a a time and place one has never known plus a banger from Robert Palmer
seven years ago: transit fare-strikes plus the Swiss cheese cartel
eight years ago: an executive order to protect bigotry, crossing paracosms plus the unacknowledged privilege of not having to sit to pee
nine years ago: US-EU trade accords plus bursts of activity
twelve years ago: the European Space Agency explores Jupiter’s moons
Friday, 2 May 2025
taubertal: rothenburg ob der tauber (12. 427)
synchronoptica
one year ago: the beautifully dissociative nature of the Japanese language (with synchronoptica), Saturation 70 plus the US National Day Reason
seven years ago: commemorating the Berlin Airlift, humorist Grant Snider plus animated sketching lessons
eight years ago: the origins of the .mp3 format, disaster capitalism, the matte paintings of Star Wars plus the geographic centre of the EU shifts
nine years ago: an animated filmography plus food colouring’s unqualified reputation
ten years ago: an avatar-making app, Fearbook! plus divided America/divided Germany
Thursday, 1 May 2025
taubertal: detwang (12. 426)
synchronoptica
one year ago: Carl Linnaeus’ binomial nomenclature (with synchronoptica), the BASIC programming language (1964) plus assorted links worth revisiting
seven years ago: ancient debt-forgiveness, a roasting in the press, more links to enjoy plus Witchcraft through the Ages
eight years ago: no lapse in appropriations, five decades of IKEA catalogues, more Brexit omnishambles, an animated version of the Rex Factor plus Trump’s Diet Coke buzzer
nine years ago: film set crossovers, strategic cheese stockpiles, a weasel sabotages CERN, WiFi rustico, letter-carriers lend a helping hand in Finland plus a history of trademark applications
ten years ago: comment is free, a stationary bike for washing up plus universal