Let's get to know each other - part three - EUROPEAN CAPITALS

Let’s Get to Know Each Other

Let’s Get to Know Each Other Part I - Introduce Yourself Part II - Introduce Your Country and School Part III - Our European Capitals Part IV - Let Me Show You Our Beautiful Nature Part V - Un Unique Tradition in My Country Part VI - My Country is Famous with Part VII – Traditional Dishes in My Country Exchange of Recipes

Part III Our European Capitals

HOW ATHENS GOT ITS NAME

Athens has its name from Athina, a godess.In Greek mythology Athina and Posidon compete for the name of the city.Athina has the victory and the town is now Athens.

GO SIGHTSEEING •

Everybody can visit the centre and can buy ancient things from the beautiful shops in Athens

• Tourists can visit a lot of places in Athens.

•

They can go sightseeing around the town or enjoy its nightlife.

• They can visit the Acropolis Or • The National Gardens

The ancient theatre of Herodes Atticus

and a little

further along the Ancient Theatre of Dionyssus And the Temple of Olympian Zeus

The Greek Parliament

Anafiotika,an island in the city

When you come in Athens you must see the Coin Museum, the Ancient Greek Art Museum and, of course, the Acropolis Museum.

There are a lot of bars and clubs with hip hop, house, jazz and rock music. You can go to bouzoukia and listen to Greek music.

You can go around by car, bus or underground.

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 15th largest city in the European Union with a population of around 1.2 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.

The earliest known inhabitants of the Sofia's plain are the Thracian people of Serdi. One of the main settlements of the Serdi was located at the northern slopes of Vitosha Mountain, around the warm mineral springs in the centre of present-day Sofia. The centre of Sofia reminds us about the glorious past of the Bulgarian capital – a proud successor of the large and

important antique Thracian and Roman city of Serdica. Sofia has had several names in the different periods of its existence(Serdika or Serdica, Triaditsa, Sofia).

The coat of arms of Sofia. consists of a shield divided into four. The image of the Church of St

Sophia which gave the name to the city takes up the upper left field (as seen from behind the shield) and a humanized picture of the ancient town of Serdica taken from an antique coin is

located to the right (again, heraldry reverses right and left as it is from the point of view of the crest). Down left is a golden baldachin and a statue of Apollo Medicus representing the mineral

springs around the city, while the lower right field is reserved for Vitosha, the mountain at the foot of which Sofia is located.

In the middle is another, smaller shield, where the image of a lion leaping, a traditional Bulgarian symbol, is located. A crown of walls and towers tops the larger shield, an element typically

reserved for city coat of arms. At the bottom is the city motto, "Расте, но не старее" – Raste,

It is the Statue of St. Sofia that was erected in 2000. The 24 meter high bronze statue was designed by the local sculptor George Chapkanov.

It’s a symbol of the city because St.Sofia is city’s patron. Sofia means wisdom in greek –that’s why she hold a an owl in her left hand, a symbol of wisdom. In her right hand she holds a laurel wreath (symbol of many things for greeks and romans: peace, success, reputation etc.)

The National Assembly is the unicameral parliament and body of the legislative of Bulgaria.

The National Assembly consists of 240 members(258 if the ministers are included) elected for a four-year term.

The National Palace of Culture (abbreviated as NDK), located in Sofia, is the largest multifunctional congress, conference, convention and exhibition centre in Southeastern Europe. It was opened in 1981.

In July 2005, the National Palace of Culture was proclaimed the best congress centre in the world for the year by the International Organization of Congress Centres.

Sofia Film Fest, an annual film festival held in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia takes place in NDK.

The Monument to Vasil Levski in the centre of Sofia is one of the first monuments to be built in the then newly-liberated Principality of Bulgaria. It commemorates the hanging of Bulgarian national hero and major revolutionary figure Vasil Levski in the city on 18 February 1873.

The monument is 13 m high, made of grey Balkan granite and designed by Czech architect AntonĂ­n KolĂĄĹ™.

The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia.

Built in Neo-Byzantine style, it serves as the cathedral church of the Patriarch

of Bulgaria and is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world, as well as one of Sofia's symbols and primary tourist attractions.

The St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia or Sofia University is the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888. The university's edifice was constructed between 1924 and 1934 with the financial support of the brothers Evlogi Georgiev and Hristo Georgiev, whose sculptures are now featured on its façade, and has an area of 18,624 m² and a total of 324 premises.

Slaveykov Square is one of the most popular squares in Sofia. It is named after

Bulgarian writers Petko and Pencho Slaveykov, a father and a son. A sculpture of the two sitting on a bench is one of its main landmarks. Slaveykov Square is famous for its many book stalls.

The Ivan Vazov National Theatre is Bulgaria's national theatre, as well as the oldest and most authoritative theatre in the country and one of the important landmarks of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It is located in the centre of the city, with the facade facing the City Garden.

The SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library is the national library of Bulgaria, situated in the capital city of Sofia. Founded on 4 April 1878, the library received the status of Bulgarian National Library three years later and the Bulgarian National Revival.Archive was merged into it in 1924.

It is named after "SS. Cyril and Methodius". They are the founders of the Cyrillic alphabet.

The present building of the library is among the landmarks of Sofia. It was designed by the famous Bulgarian architectural team Vasilyov-Tsolov and completed in the period 1940-1953

Lions' Bridge is a bridge over the Vladaya River in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, built 1889-1891 by Czech architect Václav Prošek, his brother Jozef and his cousins Bohdan and Jiří. It gives the name to the important and busy juncture of Marie Louise Boulevard and Slivnitsa Boulevard at which it is located, connecting the Central Railway Station with the city centre and marking its northern border.

Eagles' Bridge is a bridge over the Perlovska River in the centre of

Sofia. It gives the name to the important and busy juncture at which it is located. The name of the bridge itself comes from the four

statues of eagles on it, which are, symbolically, its protectors and patrons.

Sofia Through the Eyes of Children

It is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly 260 kilometres (160 mi) from the Baltic Sea and 300 kilometres (190 mi) from the Carpathian Mountains.

warsaw

Royal castle

Zygmunt column

PALACE ON WATER DAY

NIGHT

NIGHT

Chopin memorial

Presidential palace

GRAVE OF THE UNKOWN SOLIDER CHANGE GUARDS

GRAVE

Fountain in garden saski

By Veronika Bratislava is the capital city of Slovakia. About 450,000 people live there. It used to be called Pressburg (German) or Pozsony (Hungarian) and by some other names. Bratislava is the seat of national government, the presidency, and the parliament. It has several museums, galleries and of other educational, cultural and economic institutions. Â

There is a small Old Town, and a castle called BratislavskĂ˝ Hrad. The Danube river goes through.

Bratislava is in the extreme southwest of Slovakia, on the borders with Austria and Hungary, and not far from the Czech Republic border. It is on the Morava and Danube rivers. People have lived here since the Neolithic age.

The Celts inhabited this area from 400 BC-50 BC. The Roman Empire set up border military camps near Bratislava from the

1st century until the 5th century, for example " Gerulata". The

Slavs started moving here from the 6th century. Bratislava was part of the Slavic empire called Great Moravia in the 9th century. From the second half of the 10th century until 1918, it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, with some exceptions

It was even capital of the Kingdom between 1524 and

1830/1848. After the World War I ended in 1918, it was part of newly founded Czechoslovakia until 1939, when it became capital of World War II Slovak Republic until 1945. After 1945, it was

part of Czechoslovakia again, becoming capital of Slovak Socialist Republic (which was still part of Czechoslovakia) in 1968. After

the event called Velvet Divorce, when the Czechoslovakia broke up, Bratislava became capital of Slovakia.

By Lenka

By Pato

Reykjavík

Reykjavik is Iceland's capital, the most populous municipality and a city. Ingolf Foundation, regarded as the first settler of Iceland, settled in Iceland in 870, it is believed, and lived a shirt and called smoked (r) inlet, where the city now stands. Recent archaeological meetings in city center, especially in Aðalstræti, Suðurgata and Kirkjustræti suggest the same thing, and have found human remains save from the 870th The story says Ingolf gave the town its name smoke that rushed from the hot springs nearby.

Reykjavík er höfuðborg Íslands, fjölmennasta sveitarfélag þess og eina borgin. Ingólfur Arnarson, sem talinn er fyrsti landnámsmaður Íslands, settist að á Íslandi árið 870, að því talið er, og bjó sér ból og nefndi Reykja(r)vík, þar sem borgin stendur nú.

Nýlegir fornleifafundir í miðborg Reykjavíkur, einkum í Aðalstræti, Suðurgötu og Kirkjustræti benda til þess sama, og hafa fundist mannvistaleifar allt frá um 870. Sagan segir að Ingólfur hafi gefið bæ sínum nafnið vegna reykjarstróka sem ruku úr hverum í grenndinni.

The capital of the Republic of Macedonia Skopje ( Скопје) is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic center. Skopje is located on the upper course of the Vardar River.

According to the last official count from 2002, Skopje has a population of 506 926 inhabitants; according to two unofficial estimates for more recent period, the city has a population of 668 518.

The city has several universities. The largest and the oldest is the St. Cyril and Methodius University. This public university was founded in 1949 with three faculties. Since then, it has expanded to 23 faculties, 10 institutes, and over 36,000 students. The European University was established in 2001, FON University was founded in 2003, The American University Collge was opened in 2005 ,The Yahya Kemal College, named after the Turkish poet Yahya Kemal Bevali who was born in Skopje, opened in 1996. In 2008, Skopje had 21 colleges.

Flag and coat of arms

The flag of Skopje is a red vertical banner in proportions 1:2 with a goldcoloured coat of arms of the city positioned in the upper-left corner.

The coat of arms of the city was adopted in the 1950s. It has the form of a shield whose upper side is an arch turned inwards. The left and right uppercorners of the shield are formed by two italic lines, whereas the bottom sides are rounded arches that end with a peak in the middle at the bottom. Shown on the shield are the Stone Bridge with the Vardar River, the Kale Fortress and the snow-capped peaks of the Vodno Mountain.

Skopje Fortress and Stone Bridge The present Skopje Fortress was originally built by the Byzantines in the 6th century. After the 1963 Skopje earthquake, the fortress's circular, rectangular and square towers were conserved and restored. It is today one of the most popular tourist spots in the city.

The Stone Bridge was built under the patronage of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror between 1451 and 1469. This bridge represents the connection between Skopje's past and present, and is featured in the Coat of arms of Skopje. The bridge connects Skopje's main square, Macedonia Square, to the city's Old Bazaar.

The Stone Bridge in the night

Symbol of the earthquake: The Old Railway Station. The clock stopped at 5.17 on July 26, 1963. Today the building is used by the Museum of the City if Skopje

The Skopje earthquake was a 6.1 moment magnitude earthquake which occurred on July 26, 1963 which killed over 1,070 people, injured between 3,000 and 4,000 and left more than 200,000 people homeless. About 80 percent of the city was destroyed.

Within days after the earthquake took place, 35 nations requested that the United Nations General Assembly place relief for Skopje on their list of agendas. Relief, in the form of money, medical, engineering and building teams and supplies was offered from 78 countries.

Being rebuilt from ruins thanks to the relief from all around the world, Skopje is often referred to as "The City of International Solidarity", which is its motto

Entrance to the Old Town Kurshumli An

Strength, Glory and Victory Monument at Skopje Fortress

The Millennium Cross

Millennium Cross was built on the highest point of the Vodno Mountain .

It was built to celebrate 2000 years of the existence of Christianity.

The city is spreading in all directions and is experiencing a number of new developments. In 2010, the government launched the "Skopje 2014" project which aims to give a more monumental appearance to the capital. [ It made plans to erect a lot of statues, fountains, bridges and museums. Here are some photos of some of the new monuments in our capital.

Porta Macedonia

Warrior on a Horse and Fountain at Macedonia Square

Skopje’s square

Samuil monument

The Museum of the Macedonian Struggle

The Museum of the Macedonian Struggle in the night

The Art Bridge and the National Theatre

The National Theatre in the night

The museum of archeology