Johannesburg is the capital of the province of Gauteng and the biggest city in South Africa. It covers an area of six hundred and thirty-five square miles and has a population of almost four million people. Though the city isn’t officially the capital of South Africa, it is home to the highest court in the country-the Constitutional Court. The city has a large gold and diamond trade, due to the surrounding area being rich in these particular minerals. Though the area on which Johannesburg is situated has been the home to many tribes for centuries, the city was only founded in the nineteenth century. In 1886, gold was discovered in Johannesburg, an event which caused a great immigration of people into the city. It is believed that two officials of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republijk, Johannes Meyer and Johannes Rissik, combined their common first names with the African word for fortified city, ‘burg’ to come up with the name for the city.

The city was first controlled from the capital of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republijk, who kept a tight reign on the area in order to control the resources in the area. Tensions continued to escalate between the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republijk and the foreign immigrants into the city, which resulted in the South African War. The British government used guerilla tactics on the residents and removed thousands of Africans into concentration camps. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republijk was annexed by the British Empire. The South African War left much of the country in ruins and left a good majority of the population poor, destitute and homeless. This paved the way of the exploitation of the population through labor and left the control of mining rights in the hands of foreigners. The Land Alienation Acts of 1910, caused many rural blacks to enter the mining hubs in search of employment.

Today, Johannesburg has become one of the leading financial centers in the world. It is also the financial and economic hub of South Africa and produce sixteen percent of the countries Gross Domestic Product. While mining activities used to be the primary economic activity of the city, its importance has gradually declined over the past few years. The service and manufacturing industries have begun to fill this void. These industries include steel, concrete production, banking, real estate, transportation and a consumer retail market. Tourism is also on the rise in the city, though its not traditionally a tourist destination. But, since the city is a transit hub for South Africa, many visitors pass through it.

The Johannesburg Art Gallery is a popular tourist attraction in the city. This gallery is situated in Joubert Park and was designed by Edward Lutyens in 1910. It has fifteen exhibition galleries and sculpture gardens. The work contained in this art gallery includes seventeenth century Dutch paintings, eighteenth century European art, nineteenth century South African works of art and a collection of twentieth century contemporary art. Artists represented in this collection include works by Auguste Rodin, Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Sydney Kumalo, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Maud Sumner, Batisse, Gerard Sekoto, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Claude Monet, Ezrom Legae, Alexis Preller and Pierneef.

Another popular attraction in the city is the Johannesburg Botanical Garden. This garden is located in a suburb of Johannesburg called Emmarentia and was founded in 1968. It covers an area of one hundred and twenty-five acres and one of its prominent features is its rose garden which contains over ten thousand roses. Other key features of the gardens include a Shakespeare Garden, Herb Garden, Bird Island, Succulent Garden, Cycad Garden, Floreum, Environmental Education Center, Herbarium, Wetlands , Dog walking section, Picnic area, Nursery and a restaurant. The Johannesburg Zoo is a zoo that was established in the city in 1904. It was originally owned by the city , but has since been given to a nonprofit organization. It is dedicated to the housing, husbandry and medical care of wild animals. Their are over three thousand different animal species taken from over three hundred and sixty-five species located here. The zoo covers an area of fifty-four hectares.

An important attraction just outside the city is the Cradle of Humankind. The Cradle of Humankind is a World Heritage Site listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 1999. It covers an area of one hundred and eighty-three square miles and contains a complex of limestone caves. Important discoveries have been made at these caves, including the discovery of a two million year old fossil, Australopithecus Africanus. In 1935, Robert Broom found the first ape fossils and worked extensively on the site. Key features of the Cradle of Humankind include Haasgat, Wonder Cave, Cooper’s Cave, Plovers Lake, Bolt’s Farm, Swartkrans, Minaars Cave, Kromdraai, Sterkfontein, Gondolin,
Motsetsi and Drimolen.

Other attractions in the city of Johannesburg include 7th Street, Bunny Park, Carlton Center, Constitution Hill, Delta Park, Gold Reef City, Emmarentia Dam, Huddle Park, Johannesburg Civic Theatre, Johannesburg Planetarium, Johannesburg Fort, Lesedi Cultural Village, Market Theatre, Lion Park, Melville Koppies, Zoo Lake, Oriental Plaza, Parkhurst, Nelson Mandela Square, Montecasino, Northcliff Hill, SAB World of Beer, Sterkfontein, South African Lipizzaners and the Mandela Museum. The city is also home to a number of popular restaurants and hotels. Restaurants in Johannesburg include the Koi Restaurant, Lien Wah Rosebank Hotel, Bull Run, Yamato Japanese Restaurant, Giles Restaurant, Wombles Steakhouse and La Cucina Di Curo. Hotels in the city include Lien Wah Rosebank Hotel, The Michelangelo Hotel, Palazzo hotel, African Pride Melrose Arch, Protea Hotel Wanderers, Hilton Sandton and the Protea Hotel Balalaika Sandton.

Reading is a city located in the county of Berkshire in the United Kingdom. It is located at the intersection of the Thames and Kennet Rivers about forty miles west of the city of London. The city covers an area of twenty-five miles and has a population of just over one hundred and forty-five thousand residents. Reading can trace its founding to the eighth century when it was an Anglo Saxon settlement. In the late ninth century, a Danish army invaded Wessex and erected their own settlement at the location of the Anglo Saxon settlement. It would remain a Danish settlement until the beginning of the tenth century when they retreated into the city of London. In the twelfth century, Henry I established the Reading Abbey. This led to the city becoming known as a place of pilgrimage.

In 1538, Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries and Reading Abbey was destroyed. By the sixteenth century, Reading was a thriving town with a population of over five thousand people and had a prosperous cloth trade. In the eighteenth century, an iron works was erected in the town and the city became known all over Europe for its brewing trade. The town continued to experience growth during the eighteenth century, and by the beginning of the nineteenth century the town had a population of almost ninety-five hundred people. Manfacturing increased in the town and the population continued to grow. By 1851, the population was over twenty-one thousand people. Throughout the twentieth century, the city continued to expand and eventually annexed Caversham. Today, Reading is an important city that is called the commercial capital of the Thames Valley. This city is home to several large corporations which are either based out of, or have a headquarters in Reading. These include Bang & Olufsen, Harris Corporation, Symbol Technologies, Agilent Technologies, Sage, Symantec, KPMG, Ernst and Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Nvidia.

Reading has had many prominent residents over the course of its history. Past residents of the city have included Henry Addington, David Gill, Natalie Dormer, Dick Poole, Kenneth Branagh, John Kendrick, Eliza Bennett, Lucy Benjamin, Dawn French, Solomon Joel, Ricky Gervais, Richard Burns, Mike Oldfield, Angela Browning, Deon Burton, Jane Griffiths, George Palmer, Michael Foot, Mary Russell Mitford, Rufus Isaacs, Lawrie Sanchez, Charles Simeon, Kathy Smallwood, Daniel Blagrave, Jeff Minter, Anna Winslet, Beth Winslet, Kate Winslet, Hugh Cook Faringdon, John Blagrave, Cormac Murphy O’Connor, David Lean, Sam Mendes, Ayrton Senna, John Madejski, David Byron, Louise Setara, Michael Sprott, Dennis Smith, Kevin Warwick, Joseph Huntley, Marianne Faithfull, Levi Stanley, Rudolph Walker and William Henry Fox Talbot.

A popular attraction in the city is the Museum of Reading. The Museum of Reading is in Reading’s Town Hall and contains galleries illustrating the history of the city and its industries. The museum has several sections which include the People and Place Gallery, the Silchester Gallery, Green Space, the Huntley and Palmers Gallery, the Windows Gallery and the John Madejski Art Gallery. The People and Place Gallery documents the city’s history from its beginnings as a Anglo Saxon settlement, all the way to the twentieth century. It features an extensive collection of presentations and interactive displays. The Silchester Gallery houses archeological artifact from around the area of Reading. The Green Space tells the story of the natural and geologic history of the area and contains a fair collection of specimens. The Huntley and Palmer Exhibit illustrates the history of the biscuit making industry in the city. The Windows Gallery displays a decorative art collection that spans from the twelfth century to the twentieth century.

Another popular attraction in Reading is the Beale Wildlife Park and Gardens. This wildlife park is located by the Thames River and has three sections; exotic and farm animals, gardens and a children’s area. Beale Wildlife Park and Gardens was started by Gilbert Beale in 1956 and was created to be used as his own private park. The park has been expanded throughout the years, and today has railway, wadding pools, sand pits and a petting zoo. One of the main features of the park is the Beale Center. The Beale Center is a venue that is used for craft shows, wedding receptions, art showcases and other special occasions. Located in the Beale Center is the Peacock Restaurant which offers many catering ideas and personalized menus that will fit any occasion. The Little Tikes Village is an area that is made just for the kids. It contains many play houses, sandpits, activity gyms and a play garage. This area also has kid driven vehicles that allow the children to scoot between the areas of the village. Other attractions in the park include the Education Room, Little Tikes Indoor Play Area, Thames Rivercruise, Deer Park, Mid Thames Model Boat Club, Fishing Areas and Play Areas. Wildlife in the park include Midas Tamarin, raccoons, Patagonian Cavy, marmoset, Black Tailed Prairie Dogs, meerkat, Red-necked Wallaby, British Giant & French Lop Rabbits, Berkshire Pigs and Dwarf Zebu.

The Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin is another popular attraction to visit in Reading. This site was originally a nunnery in the tenth century that was founded by the wife of King Edgar. But, the nunnery was destroyed in the eleventh century when the Danes sacked the city. In the eleventh century, the current church was founded by King Henry VIII. The church was severely damaged during the Protestant Reformation, but was extensively refurbished during the sixteenth and seventh century. After World War I, a war memorial named St. Edward’s Chapel was added to the church. A few yards away from the Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin is St. Mary’s of Castle Street.

Other attractions in Reading, Berkshire include Forbury Gardens, Basildon Park, Silchester, Mapledurham House, Madejski Stadium, Museum of English Rural Life, Reading Abbey Ruins, Marks and Spencer, The Oracle, UK Wolf Centre, Kennet & Avon Canal, Stratford Saye House, St. Laurence Church, Wellington Country Park, The Hexagon, St. Giles-in-Reading Church, St. William of York Church, St. James Church, Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology, The Reading Festival, Museum of Berkshire Aviation, Cole Museum of Zoology and Harris Botanic Gardens. Reading also has a number of pubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels.

Bavaria is a state in the southeast portion of Germany. It was originally called Freistaat Bayern or the Free State of Bavaria, but now is known simply as Bavaria. It covers an area of twenty-seven square miles and has an estimated population of twelve and a half million residents. Major cities in the state of Bavaria include Aschaffenburg, Straubing, Munich, Bayreuth, Schweinfurt, Freising, Regensburg, Rosenheim, Wurzburg, Hof, Nuremberg, Landshut, Furth, Ingolstadt, Augsburg, Bamberg, Erlangen, Kempten, Neu-Ulm and Passau. The administrative districts (The Regierungsbezirke) of Bavaria include Upper Franconia, Middle Franconia, Lower Franconia, Swabia, Upper Palatinate, Upper Bavaria and Lower Bavaria. The economy of Bavaria is one of the largest and robust economies in Europe. Its adjusted Gross Domestic Product exceeded four hundred and thirty-nine Euros in 2009. This makes its economy the eighteenth largest in the world and the largest in Europe. Major companies headquarted in the region include BMW, Grundig, Audi, Allianz, Puma, Adidas, Infineon, Bavaria Brewery, Siemens and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.

The history of Bavaria can be traced back to the Celts who occuppied the area before occupation by the Roman Empire which contributed greatly to the culture of the region. Cultural influences of the region also came from the Lombards, Goths, Bohemian Slavs, Alamanni and the Thuringians. Around the sixth century, Bavaria fell under the control of the Franks. The Franks acquired the region without much trouble and they used it as a source of manpower for their military. In 550, Garibald I was appointed as the first Frankish duke of the area. Garibald I was a member of the Agilolfing family, a family that would rule until the eighth century. By the mid-eighth century, law in Bavaria was put into writing. These laws stated that the duke must be chosen by popular election and confirmed by the Frankish King. The duties and powers of the duke were also outlined. These powers include summoning members of the nobility for deliberation, the adminstration of justice and the regulation of commerce. In 749, Tassilo III became the duke of Bavaria. He acknowledged the power of King Pippin the Short, but in 757 refused to give the king a contribution in the war in Aquitaine. He also refused to appear in Frankish assemblies and made political decisions in his own name. His disrespectful attitude and his position as an ally of the Avars caused him to be summoned to Ingelheim, where he was sentenced to death for treachery. He was pardoned by the King, however and had to renounce his duchy in 794. For the next five years, the brother-in-law of Charlemagne, Gerold ruled Bavari until he was killed in 799 during a battle with the Avars. Bavaria would then be assimilated into the Carolingian Empire. Bavaria would pass through a series of political and geographic changes until it became the Free State of Bavaria in 1918.

A popular attraction in Bavaria is located in the city of Munich and called St. Mary’s Square. In the middle of the square is a tower that is crowned with a statue of the Virgin Mary. This tower is called Mariensaule and was built in the seventeenth century to commemorate the end of the occupation by the Swedish. Another feature of St. Mary’s Square is the Neues Rathaus. This building was erected in the early twentieth century and was designed in the Gothic architectural style. This tower stands almost three hundred feet high. Also located here is the Viktualienmarkt, the Carillon, Altes Rathaus and the Fischbrunnen. Also located in Munich is the Deutsches Museum. This museum of science and technology was built in 1925 and has many fascinating exhibits that covers areas such as agriculture, chemistry, Marine technologies, aerospace, astronomy, mining and computer science.

Another popular Bavarian attraction is the Tiergarten Nurnberg Zoo. This zoo contains three hundred different animal species and covers and area of almost two hundred acres. It was originally built in 1912 In Nuremburg, but was extensively damaged during World War due to bombing campaigns launched by the Allies. It was then restored completely and is a favorite among visitors to the city of Nuremburg and the state of Bavaria. Other attractions in Nuremburg include Walburga Chapel, Nazi Party Rally Grounds, Saint Egidien Church, Our Lady’s Church, Doppelkapelle, Hotel Agneshof and Zeppelin Field.

Coburg is another frequent destination for visitors to Bavaria. This town is situated on the Itz River and contains a number of key attractions. Some of these attractions include Ehrenburg, Hofgarten, St. Moriz Church, Castle Rosenau, Coburg State Theater, Sea Star Aquarium, Naturkundemuseum, Veste Coburg Castle, Gymnasium Casimirianum, Coburg Doll Museum, Callenberg Palace, Casimirium and the Basilica of the Vierzehnheiligen. The Rothenburg ob der Taubern is a town in Bavaria that draws visitors from around the world. This is because the town has some of the most well preserved medieval buildings in the state. Key attractions in the town of Rothenburg ob der Taubern include Rothenburg Town Hall, Medieval Crime Museum, Rothenburg Historical Vaults, Kathe Wohlfahrt, Toppler Castle, St. Jacob’s Church, German Christmas Museum, Medieval Double Bridge, Galgengasse, Councillors’ Tavern and Siebers Tower.

Bamberg is a Bavarian town that was almost completely untouched by the Allied bombings during World War II. The town is home to over four thousand members of the United States Air Force and is itself a popular tourist destination. Attractions in the city include Kaiserdom, Neue Residenz, Bamberg Altstadt and Alte Hofhaltun. Aschaffenburg is another town to visit during any trip to Bavaria. This town is referred to as “Bavarian Nice” because of its generally mild climate. Key attractions in this town include Schloss Johannisburg mit Schlossanlagen, Stadttheater, Kabarett im Hofgarten, Zimmertheater, Stifts Museum, Stadtische Galerie, Kunstlerhaus Walter Helm, Automuseum Rosso Bianco Collection, Frohsinnstrasse, Naturwissenschaftlichen Museum Aschaffenburg, Schonbusch Park, Kleine Schönbuschallee and Kinopolis. Other towns and cities that are well worth visiting in Bavaria include Wurzburg, Augsburg, Berchtesgaden, Regensburg, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Iphofen, Hohenschwangau, Dachau, Kelheim, Freising, Kronach, Fraueninsel im Chiemsee, Oberstaufen, Oberammergau, Bad Reichenhall, Mittenwald and Bad Aibling.

Fort Lauderdale is an American city that is located in the state of Florida. It covers an area of thirty-six square miles and has a population of one hundred and eighty-three thousand residents. Fort Lauderdale is the seat of Broward County and has become a very popular tourist destination. Over ten million visitors come to the city each year, and Fort Lauderdale has been called the Venice of America because of its expansive system of canals. Fort Lauderdale is also a major center for yachting enthusiasts, with over forty-two thousand resident yachts and over one hundred marinas. As if all that wasn’t enough, the city is also known for its vibrant nightlife and the city contains over one hundred and twenty nightclubs and forty-one hundred restaurants.

Fort Lauderdale can trace its history to the nineteenth century. In the 1830s, the area on which Fort Lauderdale is located was known as the New River Settlement. It was during this time that there were approximately seventy settlers living in the region. The local Justice of the Peace, William Cooley was a farmer and salvage wrecker who traded extensively with the local Seminole Indian tribes. In Jan of 1836, William Cooley was salvaging a wrecked ship, when a band of Seminoles Indians attacked his settlement and killed his wife and children. None of the other white families were attacked, but it caused a panic that caused these residents to abandon the settlement. Two years later, the United States army erected Fort Lauderdale to secure the area against the Seminoles. In 1842, the fort was abandoned after the end of the Second Seminole War. The fort and the surrounding area would remain virtually desolate until the 1890s, when a ferry was opened up to traverse the New River. In 1896, Florida East Coast Railroad completed a route through the area and development began thereafter. In 1911, Fort Lauderdale was incorporated and four years later it became the county seat of Broward County.

During World War II, Fort Lauderdale became a major American military base and had facilities to train radar operators, fire control operators and pilots. There was also a Coast Guard base located here. After the war, there was a large influx of servicemen into the city. Between 1950 and 1960, the population of the city rose by over two hundred and thirty percent. During the next ten years, the population would double again. After the 1970s, development of the city began to grind to a halt and during the 1980s and 1990s, the population of the city shrank a little. Since then, the city has rebounded and the population is once again on the increase. Today, its a premier tourist attraction with many different attractions to lure visitors.

A popular attraction in Fort Lauderdale is the Museum of Art. It was founded in 1958 as the Fort Lauderdale art center. It is in a seventy-five thousand square foot building that was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes. The building in which the Museum of Art is currently located, was built in 1986 and a ten thousand square foot wing was added in 2001. The main gallery of the building has twenty-one thousand square feet and a twenty-eight hundred square foot sculpture terrace. The Fort Lauderdale has a collection of over sixty-two hundred works of art from over one hundred and twenty-five artist. Past and current exhibitions located here include “Photographs of Auschwitz by Susan May Tell”, “The High Style of Dorothy Draper”, “Matthew Schreiber: Platonic Solids” and “Pablo Picasso ceramics and Carlos Luna paintings”.

Another popular attraction in the city is the Bonnet House Museum and Gardens. This museum was founded in 1919, when the property was given as a wedding gift to Chicago artist Frederic Clay Bartlett. Bartlett and his wife began construction of a winter retreat the following year. Five years later, his wife died from breast cancer. Bartletts visits to the property became few and far between. In 1931, he married Evelyn Lilly and returned to rebuilding the site. In 1953, Frederic died, but his wife Evelyn continued on with the work. Fifty years later, Evelyn gave Bonnet House to the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. Today, the site is a museum that has full accreditation by the American Association of Museums. It made the National Register of Historic places in 1984 and the Fort Lauderdale’s Historic Registry in 2002.

The Museum of Discovery and Science is another prominent attraction in the city of Fort Lauderdale. It is one of the biggest museums of its kind in the state of Florida and attracts more visitors than any other museum in Florida. The museum has native Florida animal specimens, a simulated ride to mars and a sixty by eighty foot IMAX theater. The museum has over two hundred interactive exhibits in all. Permanent exhibits that are located here include Minerals Rock Exhibit, Great Gravity Clock, Gizmo City, Living in the Everglades, Runways to Rockets, Florida Ecoscapes, Sound Exhibit and the Discovery Center.

Other attractions in Fort Lauderdale include Spirit of Lauderdale Catamaran, Water Taxi, Sawgrass Recreation Park, Carrie B. Cruises, Tradewinds Park, Laffing Matterz, Anne Kolb Nature Center, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Stranahan House, Fort Lauderdale Stadium, International Swimming Hall of Fame, Las Olas Boulevard, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Fort Lauderdale Beachfront, The Africa Adventure Company, Grande Oaks Golf Resort, Everglades Holiday Park, Secret Woods Nature Center, Galleries of Seldom Seen, Old Dillard Art and Cultural Museum, Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Harrison’s Wine Gallery, Pompano Square, The Gallery at Beach Place, Broward Mall, Xtreme Indoor Karting, Las Olas Gondola Tours, 15th Street Fisheries, Davie Five Star Championship Rodeo, Fashion Avenue, Independence Brewery, Lord & Taylor’s Clearance Center, Dania Antique Row, Quiet Waters Park, Shades of the Past Antiques, Greater Fort Lauderdale & Broward County Convention Center, Pocock Fine Art & Antiques, Joe Picasso’s, Exit 66 and Grand Bahamas Scuba. Fort Lauderdale also has many fine hotels which include The Atlantic Hotel, Lago Mar Resort and Club, and the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel & Yacht Club.