Monuments Dedicated to Love

by Nour Younis

ome people say that love conquers all. That it’s the most mesmerizing thing in the world, and that once you have a taste of it, you can never go back. It’s amazing really, because we live our whole S lives searching for it. Love is everywhere; it’s in the music we listen to and in the movies we watch. Love is literally the center of our lives. A famous author once said that we learn from history more than we learn from anything in the world, so I hereby bring you a list of monuments that were built for the sole purpose of love.

1Mirabell Palace and Gardens based in the city of Salzburg in Austria, was originally built in 1606 by the Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Von Raitenau for his beloved Princess Salome Alt. The royal couple were said to have lived a happy blissful life where they had 15 children right upon the completion of the palace.

2Kodai-Ji Temple located in the Valley of Higashiyama Ryozen Mountains in Kyoto, was built in 1606 by Kita-no-Mandokoro for her husband Toyotomi Hideyoshi who was known as the second great unifier of Japan. It is said that Kita had built the temple for her husband while he was gone for the war.

3Thornewood Castle based in Lakewood city in Washington in an area of no less than 4 acres, is a result to what people call the pure love which occurred between the millionaire Chester Thorne and his beautiful wife Anna. It is said that in 1907 Anna had told Chester that she wished to build a castle, so Chester a short time after, decided to purchase for her the 400 year old Elizabethan manor from England.

Coral Castle or sculpture garden in stone is found in the city of Miami in Florida. It’s the perfect manifestation of what true love really is. Edward LeedsKalnin got engaged to Agnes Scuffs when he was only 26 and she was only 16 years old, only to be broken hearted when the wedding gets cancelled just one day before. He decides to build a monument for his lost love that ends up taking him an approximate of 28 years of handiwork to build.

5Boldt Castle till this day is regarded as a perfect monument of love. It’s located in Heart Island, having a beautiful shape of a heart in New York City. It was built by the well known millionaire George Boldt who decided that it was the perfect place to build huge masonry structures for his family and intended for it to be one of the largest, if not the largest, home in the whole country of USA.

6Taj Mahal is the most well known symbol of love in the world. Located in the city of Agra in UP India, it was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his beautiful wife Mumtas. The Taj Mahal is one of the beautiful monuments listed within the world heritage sites. It’s a major attraction site in India and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, admired by people from all over the globe.

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