This post contains very special moments during summer hiking at castle called “Ľubovniansky hrad/ castle”.

Ľubovňa Castle is a castle in northern Slovakia, towering above the town of Stará Ľubovňa. The origin of the Ľubovňa Castle is dated to the second half of the 13th century, or rather the beginning of the 14th century. The castle was built as a border guard castle, protecting trade routes to Poland. According to some sources (Menclová, Slivka, Čaplovič, Chalupecký), it was probably built around 1280 by the Polish prince Boleslav, who was the husband of Kunigunda, daughter of the Hungarian king Bela IV. At this time, a round tower and a Gothic palace were built. At the beginning of the 14th century, the castle was expanded with another palace located to the east, and further construction of the castle was accelerated by changes in state law after 1299, as well as the internal political struggles of the oligarchs against the central royal power. In the years 1308–1312, the castle belonged to the Omodej family and from 1315 to the Drugeth family. According to other sources (Beňko, Fügedi, Števík), the castle was built at the beginning of the 14th century on the initiative of King Charles Robert (the first written mention is from 1311, when it is mentioned under the name “Liblou”).

And according to other sources, preserved among people rather than a legend, the castle was founded by the nobleman Ľubovenský, who liked the place where the castle stands. The first administrators were the Omodej family, not Matúš Čák, as literature states, who was only an ally of the Omodej family against the monarch when they wanted to appropriate the castle, which they did not succeed in, because Charles Robert defeated the Omodej family in 1312. It is further stated that the castle became the property of the Drugeth family in 1323. The determination of the castle’s origin – at the end of the 13th century or the beginning of the 14th century – has no influence on its layout or construction methods, so most likely the castle looked as shown in the drawings of J. Česla.

In 1772, the pledged Spiš towns returned to Hungary. The castle ceased to be the seat of the mayor of the pledged towns and its importance declined. It was used as a barracks, later it served as a warehouse and finally in 1819 the state sold it to J. F. Raisz, whose family, however, released the castle to the city after 55 years due to expensive maintenance. The city could not even manage to maintain the castle, so it was sold in 1883. The new owner was the Polish Count Zamoyski, who had the chapel and the residential wing on the southern terrace repaired in 1930. He owned the castle until 1945. Shortly after this year, the reconstructed building was used as a school in the spirit of the time. Archaeological and architectural research began in the castle in 1971, which briefly stopped after 1989, but the castle is currently being repaired again. The latest addition is the roofing of the main tower and its gradual repair.

Please, dont forget to make one click at following URL link which contains very special moments for your deep interest as follows:

https://imageban.ru/a/ZZXcCoH

Time: July 2025

Location: Stará Ľubovňa County

This post contains very special moments during my summer hiking in national park Poloniny, with rafting of river called Dunajec as well.

The Pieniny Mountains are a mountain range and a geomorphological unit of the Eastern Beskydy region. Geologically, they are an independent unit and the only independent mountain range formed by a ridge belt. The Dunajec River flows through them.

The territory is located in the northern part of Spiš, also called Zamagurie. The Pieniny Mountains are bordered by the Polish border to the north, the Ľubovnianska vrchovina to the east, the Spišsko-Šarišské medzihorie to the south, and the Spišská Magura to the west. In the past, this territory was inhabited mainly by Slovaks, Gorals, Ruthenians, Poles, but also Jews, Germans, and Roma.

Part of the Pieniny area is designated as a national park. In Poland, it is the Pieninski Park Narodowy (PPN) and in Slovakia, the Pieniny National Park (PIENAP). In the west, in Poland, the national park begins at Zeleny skalky above the water surface of the Čorštýn dam and continues along the Čorštýn castle ridge further east, through Macelová hora, Nová hora, Tri koruny, Sokolica and ends at the Bystrík cliff, on the right side of the Dunajec, at the beginning of the Malé Pieniny. On the Slovak side, the national park begins at Hôrka and continues along the Lipník stream valley, along the route of road 543 through Stráňanské sedlo and further through Fakľovka to Vrchriečky, where it joins the border ridge. The park border runs along it to the Dunajec river.

Please, dont forget to make one click at following URL link which contains very special moments for your deep interest as follows:

https://imageban.ru/a/RLcDhBt

Time: July 2025

Location: Spiš, Zamagurie.

This post contains very special moments during my summer hiking ideas, especially on Vihorlat.

Vihorlat (1,075.5 m above sea level) is the highest peak of the Vihorlatské vrchy volcanic mountain range, its dominant feature. The mountain range itself was named after the peak. Vihorlat is also the highest point of the Humenné district.

Vihorlat is a dormant extinct volcano. When viewed from a distance, it is relatively easily recognizable by its seemingly “truncated” peak. Despite being the highest peak in the Vihorlat Mountains, it is not a popular tourist destination due to its location in a military district and the lack of a marked hiking trail to its summit.

The mountain is part of the Vihorlat Protected Landscape Area. The mentioned PLA was declared in 1973 and is the smallest protected landscape area in Slovakia.

The top parts of the mountain are occupied by the Vihorlat National Nature Reserve, declared in 1986 on an area of 50.89 ha, with the highest level of protection of 5. The reserve was created for the purpose of preserving and protecting the top and sub-top parts of the mountain. The subject of protection are natural forest and non-forest communities with the occurrence of thermophilic and important mountain plant species, important from a scientific, research, educational and cultural-educational point of view. The top parts also belong to the Vihorlat site (SKUEV0025), which is an area of European importance of the Natura 2000 system.

Please, dont forget to make one click at following URL link which contains very special moments for your deep interest as follows:

https://imageban.ru/a/au1pBF7

Time: July 2025

Location: Vihorlat, Vlaskovce-Humenne County

This post contains very special moments during my summer solo trip accross of French Riviera, especially exploring Monaco City.

Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a semi-enclave bordered by France to the north, east and west. The principality is home to nearly 39,000 residents as of the 2020s, of whom about 9,883 are Monégasque nationals. It is recognised as one of the wealthiest and most expensive places in the world. The official language of Monaco is French. Monégasque, English and Italian are also spoken and understood by many residents.

In 1191, the Holy Roman Empire granted Monaco to the Genoese in return for cracking down on pirates. By the early 1200s, the Genoese had built a castle on the rock and were utilizing the port. An ousted branch of a Genoese family, the Grimaldis, captured it in 1297 by posing as monks, but then had to contest it for a century before gaining official control. Though the Republic of Genoa would last until the 19th century, it allowed the Grimaldi family to keep Monaco. Likewise, both France and Spain left it alone for hundreds of years due to agreements with either of them, especially for defense. France annexed it in the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century, but after the defeat of Napoleon it was put under the care of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

The principality is governed under a form of semi-constitutional monarchy, with Prince Albert II as head of state, who holds substantial political powers. The prime minister, who is the head of government, can be either a Monégasque or French citizen; the monarch consults with the Government of France before an appointment. Key members of the judiciary are detached French magistrates. The House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco, with brief interruptions, since 1297. The state’s sovereignty was officially recognised by the Franco-Monégasque Treaty of 1861, with Monaco becoming a full United Nations voting member in 1993. Despite Monaco’s independence and separate foreign policy, its defence is the responsibility of France, besides maintenance of two small military units.

Monaco’s economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with the opening of the state’s first casino, the Monte Carlo Casino, and a rail connection to Paris. Monaco’s mild climate, scenery, and gambling facilities have contributed to its status as a tourist destination and recreation centre for the rich. Monaco has become a major banking centre and sought to diversify into the services sector and small, high-value-added, non-polluting industries. Monaco is a tax haven; it has no personal income tax (except for French citizens) and low business taxes. Over 30% of residents are millionaires, with real estate prices reaching €100,000 ($116,374) per square metre in 2018. Monaco is a global hub of money laundering, and in June 2024 the Financial Action Task Force placed Monaco under increased monitoring to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

On 31 March 2005, Rainier III, who was too ill to exercise his duties, relinquished them to his only son and heir, Albert.[53] He died six days later, after a reign of 56 years, with his son succeeding him as Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Following a period of official mourning, Prince Albert II formally assumed the princely crown on 12 July 2005, in a celebration that began with a solemn Mass at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, where his father had been buried three months earlier. His accession to the Monégasque throne was a two-step event with a further ceremony, drawing heads of state for an elaborate reception, held on 18 November 2005, at the historic Prince’s Palace in Monaco-Ville. On 27 August 2015, Albert II apologised for Monaco’s role during World War II in facilitating the deportation of a total of 90 Jews and resistance fighters, of whom only nine survived. “We committed the irreparable in handing over to the neighbouring authorities women, men and a child who had taken refuge with us to escape the persecutions they had suffered in France,” Albert said at a ceremony in which a monument to the victims was unveiled at the Monaco cemetery. “In distress, they came specifically to take shelter with us, thinking they would find neutrality.”

Please, dont forget to make one click at following URL link which contains very special moments for your deep interest as follows:

https://imageban.ru/a/AMuYPV0

https://imageban.ru/a/reWvW4L

Time: June 2025

Location: Monaco (out of European Union)

This post contains very special moments during my summer solo trip in Provence.

Marseille is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, near the mouth of the Rhône river. Marseille is the second-most populous city proper in France, after Paris, with 877,215 inhabitants in 2022 (Jan. census) over a municipal territory of 241 km2 (93 sq mi). Together with its suburbs and exurbs, the Marseille metropolitan area, which extends over 3,972 km2 (1,534 sq mi), had a population of 1,900,957 at the Jan. 2022 census, the third most populated in France after those of Paris and Lyon. The cities of Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, and 90 suburban municipalities have formed since 2016 the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, an indirectly elected metropolitan authority now in charge of wider metropolitan issues, with a population of 1,922,626 at the Jan. 2022 census.

Founded c. 600 BC by Greek settlers from Phocaea, Marseille is the oldest city in France, as well as one of Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited settlements. It was known to the ancient Greeks as Massalia and to Romans as Massilia. Marseille has been a trading port since ancient times. In particular, it experienced a considerable commercial boom during the colonial period and especially during the 19th century, becoming a prosperous industrial and trading city. Nowadays the Old Port still lies at the heart of the city, where the manufacture of Marseille soap began some six centuries ago. Overlooking the port is the Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde or “Bonne-mère” for the people of Marseille, a Romano-Byzantine church and the symbol of the city. Inherited from this past, the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (GPMM) and the maritime economy are major poles of regional and national activity and Marseille remains the first French port, the second Mediterranean port and the fifth European port. Since its origins, Marseille’s openness to the Mediterranean Sea has made it a cosmopolitan city marked by cultural and economic exchanges with Southern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. In Europe, the city has the third largest Jewish community after London and Paris.

Calanques National Park is a French national park located on the Mediterranean coast in Bouches-du-Rhône, Southern France. Established in 2012, it extends over 520 km2 (201 sq mi), of which 85 km2 (33 sq mi) is land, while the remaining is marine area. It includes parts of the Massif des Calanques stretching between Marseille’s southern arrondissements, Cassis and La Ciotat. Some of the park’s best known features include the calanques of Sormiou, Morgiou, Port-Miou, Sugiton, En-Vau, as well as the Cosquer Cave. In 1923, the Comité de défense des Calanques was established with the aim of preventing industrial development at En-Vau. In 1999, the groupement d’intérêt public (GIP) des Calanques was founded to prepare the creation of a national park. Eleven years later, the GIP presented its first draft for a national park; the third draft was approved in 2011. On 18 April 2012, Prime Minister François Fillon signed the decree establishing Calanques National Park.

Please, dont hesitate to make one click at following URL link which contains very special moments for your deep interest as follows:

https://imageban.ru/a/xJR5jhU

https://imageban.ru/a/HjRz8jt

Time: June 2025

Location: Provence, French Riviera, France

This post contains very special moments during my summer solo trip in Provence.

Grasse is a city of 51.000 people, ideally situated between the sea and the mountains in that marvellous inland country of the « Côte d’Azur », only 17 kilometres from Cannes and 34 kilometres from Nice.
In regard to its principal business, the French author Francis de Croisset, when speaking of Grasse, said that “Grasse is the only city in the world where the word factory (« usine ») is poetic”.

Galimard is a French perfume manufacture based in Grasse founded by Joseph Roux in 1950. The name of the manufacture is a tribute to Jean de Galimard. In 1747 Jean de Galimard, Lord of Seranon was a perfumer in Grasse. Galimard was the purveyor to the court of the King of France Louis XV.

Avignon is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had a population of 93,671 as of the census results of 2017, with about 16,000 (estimate from Avignon’s municipal services) living in the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval walls. It is France’s 35th-largest metropolitan area according to INSEE with 337,039 inhabitants (2020), and France’s 13th-largest urban unit with 459,533 inhabitants (2020). Its urban area was the fastest-growing in France from 1999 until 2010 with an increase of 76% of its population and an area increase of 136%. The Communauté d’agglomération du Grand Avignon, a cooperation structure of 16 communes, had 197,102 inhabitants in 2022.

The historic centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral and the Pont d’Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 because of its architecture and importance during the 14th and 15th centuries. The medieval monuments and the annual Festival d’Avignon – one of the world’s largest festivals for performing arts – have helped to make the town a major centre for tourism.

The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge built in the first century AD to carry water over 50 km (31 mi) to the Roman colony of Nemausus (Nîmes). It crosses the river Gardon near the town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard in southern France. The Pont du Gard is one of the best preserved Roman aqueduct bridges. It was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites in 1985 because of its exceptional preservation, historical importance, and architectural ingenuity. The bridge has three tiers of arches made from Shelly limestone and stands 48.8 m (160 ft) high. The aqueduct formerly carried an estimated 40,000 m3 (8,800,000 imp gal; 11,000,000 US gal) of water a day over 50 km (31 mi) to the fountains, baths and homes of the citizens of Nîmes. The structure’s precise construction allowed an average gradient of 1 cm (0.39 in) in 182.4 m (598 ft). It may have been in use as late as the 6th century, with some parts used for significantly longer, but lack of maintenance after the 4th century led to clogging by mineral deposits and debris that eventually stopped the flow of water.

Nîmes is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes had an estimated population of 148,561 in 2019. Dubbed the most Roman city outside Italy, Nîmes has a rich history dating back to the Roman Empire when the city had a population of 50,000–60,000 and was the regional capital. Several famous monuments are in Nîmes, such as the Arena of Nîmes and the Maison Carrée. Because of this, Nîmes is often referred to as the “French Rome”.

Please, dont forget to make one click at following URL link which contains very special moments for your deep interest as follows:

https://imageban.ru/a/wF4FGci

https://imageban.ru/a/G0svzbM

Time: June 2025

Location: Provence, French Riviera, France

This post contains very special moments during my summer solo trip in Provence.

Nice is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million on an area of 744 km2 (287 sq mi). Located on the French Riviera, the southeastern coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of the French Alps, Nice is the second-largest French city on the Mediterranean coast and second-largest city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region after Marseille. Nice is approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) from the principality of Monaco and 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the French–Italian border. Nice’s airport serves as a gateway to the region.

The natural environment of the Nice area and its mild Mediterranean climate came to the attention of the English upper classes in the second half of the 18th century, when an increasing number of aristocratic families began spending their winters there. In 1931, following its refurbishment, the city’s main seaside promenade, the Promenade des Anglais (“Walkway of the English”), was inaugurated by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught; it owes its name to visitors to the resort.[6] These included Queen Victoria along with her son Edward VII who spent winters there, as well as Henry Cavendish, born in Nice, who discovered hydrogen.

Because of its historical importance as a winter resort town for the European aristocracy and the resulting mix of cultures found in the city, UNESCO proclaimed Nice a World Heritage Site in 2021. The city has the second largest hotel capacity in the country, and it is the second most visited metropolis in Metropolitan France, receiving four million tourists every year. It also has the third busiest airport in France, after the two main Parisian ones. It is the historical capital city of the County of Nice (French: Comté de Nice, Niçard: Countèa de Nissa). Nice will be the main venue for the 2030 Winter Olympics.

Please, dont forget to make one click at following URL link which contains very special moments for your deep interest as follows:

https://imageban.ru/a/oKU2Fa3

https://imageban.ru/a/XPuIYlK

Time: June 2025

Location: French Riviera, Provence, France

This post conrains special moments during my summer hiking in national park Poloniny, especially during their event so called: “Deň otvorených dverí” .

Ruské was a village in Slovakia in the Snina District. The village belonged to the Zemplín Region. The first written mention is from 1567, it belonged to the Humenský estate. The inhabitants worked in the forests and raised cattle. During the years 1939-1944, the village was annexed to Hungary.

Today, the cadastral territory of Ruské is part of the municipality of Stakčín. In 1980, it was displaced due to the construction of the Starinská dam. The first mention is from 1567. Originally, it belonged to the Humenský estate, later to several families. The village has preserved a municipal cemetery, a chapel on the site of a demolished church from 1789, a military cemetery from the First World War and three houses. In the center of the village, below the cemetery, there is a roadside cross from 1955. From the end of the former village to the Ruský saddle, a preserved stone road from 1861, called Porta Rusica, leads. Below the Ruský saddle is the Monument to the Liberators.

In the cadastral territory of the former village, there is the Pľaša National Nature Reserve, part of the Poloniny National Park.

Ruské sedlo (801.0 m above sea level) is a pass in the Bukovské vrchy ridge, between the peaks of Rypy (1,002.7 m above sea level) and Kruhliak (1,100.6 m above sea level), on the Slovak-Polish border.

Ruské sedlo is the source area of the Cirocha River, whose waters are collected by the Starina Water Reservoir. For this reason, several Ruthenian villages disappeared in the valley below the saddle: Dara, Ostrožnica, Ruské, Smolník, Starina, Veľká Poľana, Zvala. This made access to the saddle from the southern, Slovak side more difficult, and while an asphalt road leads to the border from the Polish side, a forest tourist path has been preserved in the Slovak part. In the past, the connection between Hungary and Galicia, the so-called Porta Rusica from 1861, ran through the saddle. The stone path “Porta Rusica” is a cultural monument. Below the Ruské sedlo is the Monument to the Liberators.

Please, dont hesitate to make one click at following URL link, which contains special moments for your deep interest as follows:

https://imageban.ru/a/ttFgbUf

Time: June 2025

Location: Slowak National Park Poloniny, County of Snina

This post contains very special moments during my summer hiking accross area of Pavlovce.

Tajch Pavlovce is the name of a forest nature trail and mineral spring in the Slanské vrchy Mountains, near the village of Pavlovce. The trail focuses on forestry, fauna and flora of the area and has two circuits for hikers. The mineral spring, after which the trail is named, is located at the beginning of the trail.

Pavlovce. A foothill village at the northern foot of the Slanské vrchy Mountains east of Prešov. It was established on the basis of a purchase right in the first half of the 14th century. It was first mentioned in 1359 in a dispute over the border of the Kapušany and Solivar estates. The inhabitants were farmers, they wove hemp cloth, raised cattle, and burned lime. On the western edge of the village is the Breziny Ranch. It includes a farmer’s house with accommodation for 20 people, where schools in nature are also organized. There is a riding school providing riding training, hippotherapy, and carriage rides. There is also a sheep farm in the village, known in the wider area for its high-quality sheep’s milk products (fresh and smoked cheese, oštiepky, parenice, korbáčiky, žinčica, bryndza).

There are 2 routes on the Tajch nature trail:

In the first part, the nature trail focuses on the forest and its functions, the genetic value of existing seed resources, sustainable forest management – close-to-nature management (PRO SILVA facility), forest establishment, forestry activities, a school in nature – a school without classes with a focus on forest pedagogy will appeal mainly to younger generations with the possibility of visits by groups and entire school classes. The second unit is a continuation of the first, its focus in the complex of exhibitions is for all generations, including the younger and youngest. In other exhibitions it tells about the categories of forest, protected areas, rocks. In the next one, water tajchy, historical features of the area, a quarry for stone extraction and forestry activities are presented.

Please, dont forget to make one click at following URL link which contains very special moments for your deep interest as follows:

https://imageban.ru/a/H5ofR6t

Time: June 2025

Location: Pavlovce, Slanské vrchy, Vranov n/ Topľou County, Prešov District