What do such different objects as bridges, walls, temples and squares have in common? In exceptional cases they still can have one common feature, which is the worldwide fame. AirPano has gathered 20 most recognised creations of the humankind — landmarks of different countries in one virtual tour.

The Eiffel tower or the Taj Mahal, the Colosseum or the Empire State Building, the Charles Bridge or the Statue of Liberty — hearing these names, no one would ever ask "Where is it?" But sometimes, the location of the sight is not that apparent by its name. For example, there are a lot of outstanding opera houses in the world, but nothing can be compared to the one in Sydney, Australia. This centre of arts was opened in 1973 and it is the true symbol of the biggest city of country. The shell-like constructions forming the roof became the revolution in the world's architecture allowing the opera house to be featured as the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In ancient Russia the world "Kremlin" was referred to any fortress-town surrounded by a fortifying wall with arrow loopholes and towers. Nowadays there are many well-preserved kremlins in Russian cities with rich historical heritage, such as Izborsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Pskov, Rostov. But the Moscow Kremlin is the most recognised example of this kind of architecture.

There are a lot of squares in the world bearing the name of Saint Mark, but none of them can compare to Piazza San Marco in Venice. The same can be said about the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. There are a lot of Jesus statues in the world (for example, the largest one is in Poland, having the height of around 52 meters). Still, the most known statue of Christ is the Brazilian one: it has the total height of 39,6 meters with the pedestal. It is a genuine symbol of the whole city and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

The names of some landmarks already have geographical identification: The Great Wall of China, for example, or the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The art of engineering was revealed in the creation of the Golden Gate Bridge which connects the coasts of the Golden Gate strait. As for the Egyptian pyramids, their fame can exceed many other great constructions left by other ancient civilisations.

There are around 25,000 castles, palaces and fortresses in Germany and many of them are the truly recognised monuments of history and architecture. There is no point trying to determine the most beautiful one. For the virtual tour representing the most outstanding landmarks of the world, AirPano chose Neuschwanstein Castle in southwest Bavaria. It was a source of inspiration for the Russian composer Tchaikovsky for the creation of the ballet Swan Lake; it also served as a prototype for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Asia is represented here by several more breathtaking sights. The Burj Khalifa is an 828 meters high building in the UAE that was finally constructed in the beginning of 2010. Created in a form of a stalagmite, this construction is now the world's highest building. One more relatively new monument is Akshardham in Delhi — the world's largest comprehensive Hindu temple. It measures 42 meters high, 94 meters wide and 106 meters long. It has a capacity for several thousand people indoors and over 20,000 people outdoors.

The Buddhist stupas of Borobudur on Java Island and Shwedagon in Myanmar are rather ancient, by contrast with the previously mentioned monuments. The Indonesian temple complex created not later than in the 9th century had been hidden for centuries under volcanic ashes and jungles. Now it is restored and can be seen in the AirPano panoramas. The Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar (11th century) is famous not only for being covered with gold and its immense look, but also for being one of the most sacred Buddhist sites: it contains sacred relics, such as a tooth and strands of hair from the head of Buddha and a stick and other items related to his predecessors. It is the only temple in the world containing so many sacred Buddhist relics of such a high level, and it is definitely the most significant pilgrimage sites of one of the world's greatest religions.

It is true that people do not always leave a decent impact on Earth, but these monuments are the most outstanding contribution to the cultural heritage, the pride of many generations and a genuine example of beauty at all times.

20 March 2017