Ralf Regele Profile
Recent Reviews Ralf Regele
Dzongs: the centre of temporal and religious authorities (Punakha Dzong, Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, Paro Dzong, Trongsa Dzong and Dagana Dzong) (T)
Ralf Regele Germany - 09-Nov-19

Now these sites are really screaming to be a WHS. The dzongs of Bhutan are iconic buildings, they are of critical importance for the history of Bhutan, they are a blueprint for the whole bhutanese architecture and they are also just really beautiful buildings ! They are impressive from the outside, all with quite picturesque locations, and they are impressive from the inside, as they are full of decorated courtyards and colorful temples. And all are still actively used as religious and administrative centers, with wonderful festivals inside of them. Now that's how to be a worthy WHS site, you hunting grounds and vineyards !
I visited three of the Dzongs, had a look at the forth and didn't found out much about the fifth. Here are my thoughts on the individual locations:
Tamzhing Monastery (T)
Ralf Regele Germany - 08-Nov-19

Tamzhing monastery is a rather small temple in the Bumthang region of central Bhutan - a region that contains a lot of other temples, monasteries and holy places. Its claim to fame are the association with the buddhist saint Pema Lingpa, and the wall paintings, which seem to be the original ones from the building period of the temple (around 1500 CE).The visiting experience is rather unremarkable. The temple is quite small. It is neither the biggest temple, nor the most beautiful or important one of the area, not to mention of the whole country of Bhutan. It is also not a particular old temple, as the much older Jambay Lhakhang temple is just a few kilometers away
Read OnThe historic ensemble of Orchha (T)
Ralf Regele Germany - 08-Oct-19

When making travel plans, Orchha might seem to be one of the lesser sightseeing spots of northern India - more temples and another palace of a dubious princely state. However, the lesser interest is actually the strongest point of Orchha - this is a place that is not yet overrun by tourist hordes, and still exhibits some of the old charm of India. The settlement at Orchha is more of a village than a city, despite the size of the ancient buildings. You can still rent a shaky bike and drive around the village streets, climb around in crumbling ruins of giant palaces, and watch the villagers wash their clothes in the river (and yes, probably your clothes, too, if you gave them away for washing at the hotel)
Read OnVictoria Lines Fortifications (T)
Ralf Regele Germany - 02-May-19

To make it clear from the start: I think the Victoria Lines are a bad idea for a WHS. For my visit, I drove up to the Targa Batteries (which are signposted). It is the only part where some conservation efforts have been done by private enthusiasts. A friendly guy had me have a look around, but the gun positions are still just an overgrown pile of stones. This is private ground and not really open for tourists. The three main forts of the line all seem to be completely closed to tourists, so this is still the best possibility to see some of the fortification works up close. There is a path going along the fortification wall in the direction of Fort Bingemma, which actually makes for a nice hike
Read OnMaltese Catacomb Complexes (T)
Ralf Regele Germany - 30-Apr-19

The catacombs in Malta have everything a true catacomb should have: A proud roman/christian origin,an underground labyrinth and a slightly creepy athmosphere. I have visited the St Pauls and the St Agatha catacombs in Rabat. They are in walking distance to Mdina, but can be a bit difficult to find. Especially tricky is the fact that the St Pauls church offers visits to the St Pauls grotto (and catacombs - but not THAT catacombs). In fact, all these catacombs might have been connected in ancient times, and the different names and access methods originate from more modern times. The difference between the St Pauls and St Agatha catacombs is mainly in the operation method. St Pauls catacombs are operated by Heritage Malta and accept the Malta multipass
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Ralf Regele
- Country
- Germany
- Most Impressive
- Angkor
- Proposal
- Empire State & Chrysler Building
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 16.11.19
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Visited WHS
Rating StatsChavin 5Masada 5Rome 5Seville 5Aachen Cathedral 4.5Acropolis 4.5Angkor 4.5Ayutthaya 4.5Chan Chan 4.5Cordoba 4.5Cuzco 4.5Istanbul 4.5Mesa Verde 4.5Oporto 4.5Qhapaq Ñan 4.5Qutb Minar 4.5Rani-ki-Vav 4.5Taj Mahal 4.5Teotihuacan 4.5Lübeck 4Nikko 4Redwood 4Uxmal 4Valletta 4Vienna 4Albi 3.5Budapest 3.5Calakmul 3.5Chichen-Itza 3.5Genbaku Dome 3.5Granada 3.5Grand Canyon 3.5Guimarães 3.5Gwynedd Castles 3.5Horyu-ji Area 3.5Humayun's Tomb 3.5Iguacu 3.5Imperial Tombs 3.5Jantar Mantar 3.5Jelling 3.5Lima 3.5Luther Memorials 3.5Meknes 3.5New Lanark 3.5Palenque 3.5Red Fort 3.5Speyer Cathedral 3.5Stevns Klint 3.5Strasbourg 3.5Summer Palace 3.5Thingvellir 3.5Verona 3.5Villa d'Este 3.5Wadi Rum 3.5Arequipa 3Belfries 3Brugge 3Corvey 3Pantanal 3Riga 3Saltaire 3Split 3Tallinn 3Bauhaus Sites 2.5Biblical Tells 2.5Campeche 2.5Christiansfeld 2.5Fagus Factory 2.5Forth Bridge 2.5Graz 2.5Old City of Acre 2.5Puebla 2.5Quseir Amra 2.5Trogir 2.5Brasilia 2Reviewed WHS
Visited TWHS
- Al Qastal (Settlement) (T)
- Amalienborg and its district (T)
- Archaeological Site of Nikopolis (T)
- Auckland Volcanic Fields (T)
- Bahá'í House of Worship at New Delhi (T)
- Caesarea (T)
- Chatham Dockyard and its Defences (T)
- Cittadella (Victoria - Gozo) (T)
- Coastal Cliffs (T)
- Darmstadt Artists' Colony Mathildenhöhe (T)
- Delhi - A Heritage City (T)
- Dreams in Stone - the palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee (T)
- Dzongs: the centre of temporal and religious authorities (Punakha Dzong, Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, Paro Dzong, Trongsa Dzong and Dagana Dzong) (T)
- Francke Foundation Buildings (T)
- Great Spas of Europe (UK) (T)
- Historic Center of the City of Trujillo (T)
- Jerash Archaeological City (Ancient Meeting Place of East and West) (T)
- Khor Dubai (T)
- Knights Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta (T)
- Lake Titicaca (T)
- Le Palais de Justice de Bruxelles (T)
- Maltese Catacomb Complexes (T)
- Mdina (Citta Vecchia) (T)
- Monuments, Sites and Cultural Landscape of Chiang Mai, Capital of Lanna (T)
- Moulay Idriss Zerhoun (T)
- Mývatn and Laxá (T)
- Petrified Forest National Park (T)
- Qasr Al-Mushatta (T)
- Qawra/Dwejra (T)
- Residence Ensemble Schwerin - Cultural Landscape of Romantic Historicism (T)
- Ring of cenotes of Chicxulub Crater, Yucatan (T)
- Sacred Sites associated with Phajo Drugom Zhigpo and his descendants (T)
- Seoul City Wall (T)
- Shaubak Castle (Montreal) (T)
- Sites funéraires et mémoriels de la Première Guerre mondiale (Front Ouest) (T)
- Sites mégalithiques de Carnac (T)
- Sites of Saytagrah, India's non-violent freedom movement (T)
- Tamzhing Monastery (T)
- Temples, Shrines and other structures of Ancient Kamakura (T)
- The Aniene valley and Villa Gregoriana in Tivoli (T)
- The city of Bergamo (T)
- The historic ensemble of Orchha (T)
- The historic town of Korcula (T)
- The Jewish Cemetery of Altona Königstrasse. Sephardic Sepulchral Culture of the 17th and 18th century between Europe and the Caribbean (T)
- The Turf House Tradition (T)
- Victoria Lines Fortifications (T)
- Yangtze Gorges Scenic Spot (T)
Reviewed TWHS
- Dzongs: the centre of temporal and religious authorities (Punakha Dzong, Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, Paro Dzong, Trongsa Dzong and Dagana Dzong) (T)
- Tamzhing Monastery (T)
- The historic ensemble of Orchha (T)
- Victoria Lines Fortifications (T)
- Maltese Catacomb Complexes (T)
- Cittadella (Victoria - Gozo) (T)
- Coastal Cliffs (T)
- Qawra/Dwejra (T)
- Knights Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta (T)
- Al Qastal (Settlement) (T)
- The Turf House Tradition (T)
- Mývatn and Laxá (T)
- The Aniene valley and Villa Gregoriana in Tivoli (T)
- Archaeological Site of Nikopolis (T)
- Bahá'í House of Worship at New Delhi (T)
- Residence Ensemble Schwerin - Cultural Landscape of Romantic Historicism (T)
- Monuments, Sites and Cultural Landscape of Chiang Mai, Capital of Lanna (T)
- Sites of Saytagrah, India's non-violent freedom movement (T)