Nirmal Menon

Coyly set just off Gran Vía, the most famous promenade in Madrid, is the Church of San José, an ancient church with a pink façade, a classical pediment, a coat of Spanish Baroque expression, and a central niche portraying the image of Nuestra Señora del Carmen created by the leading French sculptor Roberto Michel. Constructed in 1730 in its present shape, the original structure dates back to 1586, when King Felipe II founded the Convent of San Hermenegildo, home to the Order of the Discalced Carmelites, at the same place. Besides being a unique place of worship, the church also holds a rare honor of ordaining the worthy contemporary of William Shakespeare and the outstanding dramatist of the Spanish Golden Era, Lope De Vega (1562-1635), as a priest.

Situated at a small park between Friedberger Landstraße and Mercatorstraße, Hessendenkmal is a war memorial that marks the liberation of Frankfurt from the six-week occupation by the French revolutionary army. It was installedby Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II in 1793 in the honour of 82 valiant Hessen soldiers who fought against the French coalition forces and sacrificed their lives at a nearby spot on 2nd December, 1792 to keep the Prussian flag flying over Frankfurt.
The stone memorial features a bronze statue depicting a battering ram, a helmet, and a shield on the side facing Mercatorstraße. On the other side, one can spot the mythical club of Hercules and the skinned coat of the Nemean lion with its heading dropping out of the pedestal.
What makes the monument special is that it immortalizes not just the decorated officers but also the foot soldiers and grenadiers who laid their lives in the conflict, making it one of the foremost fallen soldiers’ memorials in the region. The northern side of the memorial bears all the 82 names.
The Western side of the monument also bears an inscription in Latin. Loosely translated in English, it says: “The comrades in arms of the Hessian regiments, who found an honourable death in the reconquest of Mainfurt on December 2: Frederick William II, King of Prussia, erects an admirable witness to their bravery and steadfastness." Hessendenkmal is a shining example of how legends of valiant people live on long after they are gone.

Marbachweg 307 is the place where Anne Frank lived with her sister Margot Frank and her parents Edith and Otto Frank between 1929 to 1931. This was her first home ever, where she spent the first two years of her life, probably her happiest years of life. She died at the age of 15. She died in a concentration camp. She was an ordinary girl who fancied being a journalist someday. That day never came. Instead, she became the voice of six million Jews who were systematically murdered between 1941 and 1945. Her book The Diary of a Young Girl was translated into 67 languages and sold more than 30 million copies.

According to the official Prague Tourism website, these unique group of sculptures not far from the Faculty of Philosophy is dedicated to its student Jan Palach, who burned himself on 16 January 1969 in protest against the Soviet occupation. The pair of sculptures called "The House of the Son" and "The House of the Mother" is a work of art by the American sculptor and architect of Czech origin John Hejduk. "The House of the Son," in light color, represents Jan Palach himself. "The Mother's House" is darker, as if it were rusty, and points to Palack's desperate mother. A plaque with the poem "The Burial of Jan Palach" by the American writer David Shapiro complements the installation with the symbolic flames.