Home Posts tagged "architecture" (Page 5)

Tag: architecture

Puzzle: St. John’s, Newfoundland

St. John's, Newfoundland, med

Size:  1000 pieces
Dimensions: 48 cm x 73 cm
Producer: Canada Games, 1993, #40605-10

Notes: This puzzle takes a bit of time, since there are almost no large solid regions, the boats, and the mountain-sky area being the exceptions. From that point on, the large beige-red building is probably the next logical step. Dark red and blue areas stand out the most, as well as orange diamonds, the cathedral, and dark tree areas. Good lighting is a bonus with this one.

St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador: St. John’s is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. Its name has been attributed to the feast day of John the Baptist, when John Cabot was believed to have sailed into the harbour in 1497, and also to a Basque fishing town with the same name. The architecture of St. John’s has a distinct style from that of the rest of Canada, and its major buildings are remnants of its history as one of the first British colonial capitals. Buildings took a variety of styles according to the means available to build the structures.

St. John’s was the starting point for the first non-stop transatlantic aircraft flight, by Alcock and Brown in a modified Vickers Vimy IV bomber, in June 1919, departing from Lester’s Field in St. John’s and ending in a bog near Clifden, Connemara, Ireland. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Wine Cellar Château Cantenac-Brown, France

Wine Cellar Chateau Cantenac-Brown, France, med

Size:  500 pieces
Dimensions: 46 cm x 61 cm
Producer: The Lafayette Puzzle Factory, Colorluxe, 2012, #3091

Notes: This puzzle is a pleasure to do – the most complicated area is the flowers, but having placed everything else, that only leaves about 2-3 rows of pieces. I have started with the sky and the building top, followed by the pillars, the trees, grass, gate and the ground in front of it, the building, and finished with the flowers. Sat down to puzzle for half an hour, got up about 2 hours later with the puzzle completed. This is a relaxing one.

Château Cantenac-Brown: Château Cantenac-Brown is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen Troisièmes Crus (Third Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. The Chateau has 104 acres (0.42 km2) planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The Chateau produces a second wine labeled as Brio de Cantenac-Brown. [Wiki]

Puzzle: White Dove by Kim Wiggins

Kim Wiggins - White Dove, med

Size:  500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26 cm x 35.56 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group, 2009, #44888PAL
Artist: Kim Wiggins – Growing up in Southern New Mexico, Kim Wiggins began his art career sculpting miniatures of the wildlife around him. In 1989, Wiggins deliberately leapt from an impressionist style to the dynamic, dramatic expressionist style for which he is known today, populating his canvases with ribbons of color, bulbous clouds, anthropomorphic mountains, sinewy trees and distorted houses. [Puzzle box]

Painting: http://www.greenwichworkshop.com/details/default.asp?p=2455&a=264&t=4&page=1&detailtype=artist

Notes: The Mission San Xavier del Bac, built circa 1783 south of Tucson, Arizona, is affectionately called “The White Dove of the Desert.” This most famous of the missions founded by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino still ministers to the Papago Indians. Wiggins says, “I tried to capture the spirit of the mission by representing Father Kino passing a dove to a Papago Indian boy. The dove represents the peaceful nature of this tribe. Storm clouds swirl above as a reminder of the struggles these gentle people faced. Not only did they battle nature, but the mission became their only refuge against the constant attacks by the fierce Apache Indians. The mission, home to statues draped in real clothing and brightly painted carvings, is open to the public every day as well as those on pilgrimage.” [Greenwich Workshop site]

Puzzle: Molly Malone, Dublin

Molly Malone, Dublin, med

Size:  550 pieces
Dimensions: 60.5 cm x 46 cm

Notes: I brought this puzzle with me from Ireland in 2008. I do not have a record of the producer of this puzzle as I do not have the box anymore. A clarification is welcome – if you have any clue as to the details regarding this puzzle, I would much appreciate that information.

Molly Malone: “Molly Malone” (also known as “Cockles and Mussels” or “In Dublin’s Fair City”) is a popular song, set in Dublin, Ireland, which has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin City. The Molly Malone statue in Grafton Street was unveiled by then Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alderman Ben Briscoe during the 1988 Dublin Millennium celebrations, declaring 13 June as Molly Malone Day.

In Dublin’s fair city,
Where the girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!”
“Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh”,
Crying “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh”.

She was a fishmonger,
But sure ’twas no wonder,
For so were her father and mother before,
And they each wheeled their barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!”
(chorus)

She died of a fever,
And no one could save her,
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone.
Now her ghost wheels her barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!”
(chorus)

[Wiki]

Puzzle: House of Parliament, Ottawa, Canada

House of Parliament, Ottawa, Canada, med

Size:  500 pieces
Dimensions: 43.5cm x 27cm

Notes: I do not have a record of the producer of this puzzle as I do not have the box anymore. A clarification is welcome – if you have any clue as to the details regarding this puzzle, I would much appreciate that information.

Canadian Parliament: The Parliament of Canada (French: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and organization. The governor general summons and appoints each of the 105 members of the upper house on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada, while the 308 members of the lower house are directly elected by eligible voters in the Canadian populace, with each Member of Parliament representing a single electoral district, commonly referred to as a riding.

By constitutional convention, the House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament, the Senate and Crown rarely opposing its will. The Senate thus reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint, and the monarch and viceroy provide the necessary Royal Assent to make bills into law and summon, prorogue, and dissolve parliament in order to call an election, as well as reading the Throne Speech. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Top of the Rock – Lunchtime on a crossbeam


Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.3cm x 35.5cm
Producer: Top of the Rock, design by SBH Marketing, Inc., 2006, #1310302
Puzzle: Despite being black-and-white, this puzzle is easy to do: grey hazy sky is of a shade sufficiently different from the buildings below, people on the crossbeam are darker than the background, and their shoes provide enough of a contrast with the skyscrapers to guide the completion of the bottom part.

Photo: An historic picture now in a great puzzle! The Top of the Rock Observation Deck opened to the public in the summer of 1933 with its unparalleled views of New York City. The amazing craftsmanship of the Observation Deck is owed to these brave construction workers who routinely ate their lunches 800 heart-stopping feet above the city below. [Puzzle box]

Puzzle: Chateau Chenonceaux, France


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 69.85cm x 54.61cm
Producer: Golden, Guild Puzzle, Tony Craddock / Tony Stone, ISBN: 0-307-04710-5
Notes: The Chateau de Chenonceau is a manor house near the small village of Chenonceaux, in the Indre-et-Loire departement of the Loire Valley in France. It was built on the site of an old mill on the River Cher, sometime before its first mention in writing in the 11th century. The current manor was designed by the French Renaissance architect Philibert Delorme.

An architectural mixture of late Gothic and early Renaissance, Chateau de Chenonceau and its gardens are open to the public. Other than the Royal Palace of Versailles, Chenonceau is the most visited chateau in France. [Wiki]

Puzzle: La Roche Courbon Castle, France


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 51.12cm x 66.52cm
Producer: Big Ben, MB Puzzles, Hasbro, 2007

Notes: Chateau de la Roche Courbon is a large chateau, developed from an earlier castle, in the Charente-Maritime departement of France. It is in the commune of Saint-Porchaire between Saintes and Rochefort.

A castle was built around 1475 by Jehan de Latour, on site which had been inhabited since prehistoric times. In the 17th century, the Courbon family, which had occupied the castle for two centuries, transformed it into a more comfortable residence. More alterations were made in the 18th century, but it was eventually sold in 1817 and then abandoned. It was purchased in 1920 by Paul Chenereau, who restored the chateau and its gardens. The chateau is still owned and inhabited by his descendants.

The gardens include orchard, flower garden, geometrical flower beds and lawns surrounding a small lake (‘mirror pool’). The River Bruant flows through the gardens, feeding the water features. Beyond that, an ornamental staircase leads to higher ground, on the far side of the river. [Wiki]

Puzzle: European Montage by Jim Zuckerman

European Montage, med
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73cm x 48.5cm
Producer: Sure-Lox
Artist: Jim Zuckerman
Notes: Photomontage is the process and result of making a composite photograph by cutting and joining a number of other photographs. The composite picture was sometimes photographed so that the final image is converted back into a seamless photographic print. A similar method, although one that does not use film, is realized today through image-editing software. [Wiki]

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Puzzle: Hôtel de Ville, Paris, France


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 80.65cm x 56.2cm
Producer:  The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, It’s Framed series, 2004, #80630

Notes: The Hotel de Ville in Paris, France, is the building housing the City of Paris’s administration.

In July 1357, Etienne Marcel, provost of the merchants (i.e. mayor) of Paris, bought the so-called maison aux piliers (“House of Pillars”) in the name of the municipality on the gently sloping shingle beach which served as a river port for unloading wheat and wood and later merged into a square, the Place de Greve, a place where Parisians often gathered, particularly for public executions. Ever since 1357, the City of Paris’s administration has been located on the same location where the Hotel de Ville stands today. Before 1357, the city administration was located in the so-called parloir aux bourgeois near the Chatelet.

Since the French Revolution, the building has been the scene of a number of historical events, notably the proclamation of the French Third Republic in 1870 and the famous speech by Charles de Gaulle on 25 August 1944 during the Liberation of Paris when he greeted the crowd from a front window. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Berner Oberland, Switzerland

Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 51.12cm x 66.52cm
Producer: Big Ben, MB Puzzles, 2008, #04962-U24
Notes: The Bernese Oberland (Bernese Highlands) is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the southern end of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps. [Wiki]

Beautiful photos of the region: http://www.berneroberland.be/

Puzzle: Istria, Pula, Croatia

Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 51.12cm x 66.52cm
Producer: Big Ben, MB Puzzles, 2008, #04962-Z11
Notes: Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula. Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing, shipbuilding, and tourism. Pula has also been Istria’s administrative center since ancient Roman times.

The Pula Arena is the name of the amphitheatre located in Pula, Croatia. The Arena is the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers and with all three Roman architectural orders entirely preserved. It was constructed in 27 BC – 68 AD and is among the six largest surviving Roman arenas in the World. A rare example among the 200 Roman surviving amphitheatres, it is also the best preserved ancient monument in Croatia.

The amphitheatre remained in use until the 5th century, when emperor Honorius prohibited gladiatorial combats. It was not until 681 that combat between convicts, particularly those sentenced to death, and wild animals was forbidden. In the Middle Ages the interior of the Arena was used for grazing, occasional tournaments by the Knights of Malta and medieval fairs. General Auguste de Marmont, as French governor of the Illyrian Provinces, started the restoration of the arena. This was continued in 1816 by the Ticinese architect Pietro Nobile, commissioned by the emperor Francis I of Austria.

In 1932, it was adapted for theatre productions, military ceremonies and public meetings. In its present state it still seats some 5,000 spectators. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Thatched Cottage

Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73cm x 48.5cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack, #42610-72
Notes: Once more, no location is indicated by the puzzle producer.

In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all. In the United Kingdom the term cottage also tends to denote rural dwellings of traditional build, although it can also be applied to dwellings of modern construction which are designed to resemble traditional ones (“mock cottages”).

In certain places (e.g. Eastern Canada, Scandinavia and Russia) the term “cottage” can refer to a vacation/summer home, often located near a body of water. However, in the USA generally this is more commonly called a “cabin”, “chalet”, or even “camp”. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Thatched Cottage

Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.7 cm x 39.4 cm
Producer:  The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack, #42510-57
Notes: The puzzle producer has not once again indicated the location of the cottage.

Although thatch is popular in Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Ireland, there are more thatched roofs in the United Kingdom than in any other European country. Good quality straw thatch can last for more than 45–50 years when applied by a skilled thatcher.

Over 250 roofs in Southern England have base coats of thatch that were applied over 500 years ago, providing direct evidence of the types of materials that were used for thatching in the medieval period.  Almost all of these roofs are thatched with wheat, rye, or a ‘maslin’ mixture of both. Medieval wheat grew to almost 1.8m tall in very poor soils and produced durable straw for the roof and grain for baking bread. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle 2, med

Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73cm x 48.5cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack, #40617-13
Notes: I have put together another puzzle of the Neuschwanstein Castle before, 500 pieces.

The inspiration for the construction of Neuschwanstein came from two journeys [of Ludwig II] in 1867: one in May to the reconstructed Wartburg near Eisenach, another in July to the Chateau de Pierrefonds, which Eugene Viollet-le-Duc was transforming from a ruined castle into a historistic palace.

The king saw both buildings as representatives of a romantic interpretation of the Middle Ages as well as the musical mythology of his friend Richard Wagner. Wagner’s operas Tannhauser and Lohengrin had made a lasting impression on him.

In February 1868, Ludwig’s grandfather Ludwig I died, freeing the considerable sums that were previously spent on the abdicated king’s appanage. This allowed him to start the architectural project of building a private refuge in the familiar landscape far from the capital Munich, so that he could live his idea of the Middle Ages. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Castle Mespelbrunn

Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.7 cm x 39.4 cm
Producer:  The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack, #43550-26
Notes: Mespelbrunn Castle is a medieval moated castle on the territory of the town of Mespelbrunn, between Frankfurt and Wurzburg, built in a remote tributary valley of the Elsava valley, within the Spessart forest. One of the most visited water castles in Germany, it is frequently featured in tourist books.

In 1957 Mespelbrunn Castle was one of the locations of the German film Das Wirtshaus im Spessart (The Spessart Inn, 1958), based on a fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Madrid, Spain

Size: 500 pieces, 1 missing
Dimensions: 37 cm x 52 cm
Producer:  GPC Puzzles, Regency Collection, #1550-08
Notes: The Plaza de Cibeles is a square with a neo-classical complex of marble sculptures with fountains that has become an iconic symbol for the city of Madrid. It sits at the intersection of Calle de Alcala (running from east to west), Paseo de Recoletos (to the North) and Paseo del Prado (to the south). Plaza de Cibeles was originally named Plaza de Madrid, but in 1900, the City Council named it Plaza de Castelar, which was eventually replaced by its current name.

The most prominent of the buildings at the Plaza de Cibeles is the Cibeles Palace (formerly named Communications Palace). The cathedral-like landmark was built in 1909 by Antonio Palacios as the headquarters of the postal service. This impressive building was home to the Postal and Telegraphic Museum until 2007 when the landmark building became the Madrid City Hall. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Windsor Castle, Britain

Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.7 cm x 39.4 cm
Producer:  The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack
Notes: Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and for its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it has been used by a succession of monarchs and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe. The castle’s lavish, early 19th-century State Apartments are architecturally significant, described by art historian Hugh Roberts as “a superb and unrivalled sequence of rooms widely regarded as the finest and most complete expression of later Georgian taste”. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Springtime at Chambord

Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 35.56cm
Producer:  The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack
Notes: I have previously put together another puzzle of Chamboard Château, 1000: http://fingeringzen.com/puzzles/puzzle-chambord-chateau.

Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley; it was built to serve as a hunting lodge for François I, who maintained his royal residences at Château de Blois and Château d’Amboise. The original design of the Château de Chambord is attributed, though with several doubts, to Domenico da Cortona. Some authors claim that the French Renaissance architect Philibert Delorme had a considerable role in the château’s design, and others have suggested that Leonardo da Vinci may have designed it.  [Wiki]

Puzzle: Butchart Gardens, Victoria

Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 35.56cm
Producer:  The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack
Notes: The Butchart Gardens is a group of floral display gardens in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, located near Victoria on Vancouver Island. The gardens receive more than a million visitors each year. The gardens have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada due to their international renown. [Wiki]

According to the official site, the Butchart Gardens also have “One of only two known [Wollemi Pine] specimens in Canada to be planted outdoors, and at 10 feet it is likely the largest.” Each year over 1,000,000 bedding plants in some 700 varieties are used throughout the Gardens to ensure uninterrupted bloom from March through October. [Official Butchard Gardens site]