The Village of St Silvester, Switzerland

The day of Saint Sylvester is the 31st of December, New Year’s Eve. In French and in German usage, the saint's name is synonymous with New Year’s Eve, party, booze, and fireworks. The village of St Silvester in Switzerland was named after the church dedicated to him. There, his day starts off with an old tradition dating back more than 400 years. 

If Short on Facts, Then Invent: Marketing of Chateau Talbot

The Chateau Talbot winery in the Saint Julien region of Bordeaux prides itself on its wines. It is also  proud of its long history and purported link to Sir John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, and Constable of France under King Henry VI of England and (at least in Henry's exalted opinion) of France. 

Evacuation From Yalta 1919

In 1919, the Dowager Empress of Russia, Maria Feodorovna, was evacuated on a British ship from the Crimea peninsula. A new book tells the story of this evacuation based on the diaries of passengers and crew on that ship. The book captures one of those time capsules created by extraordinary events and presents them in a microcosm contained on one ship.

Prince Valdemar of Denmark and Too Many Thrones

Prince Valdemar of Denmark was three times in the running for the crowns and thrones of two European countries. Instead of becoming a ruling monarch like his two brothers and his two nephews, he remained with the Danish navy. What had happened? 

Royal Correspondence in the Curiosity Cabinet

The Leibniz Library in Hanover has published the results of three years’ research into a golden letter held in the library’s strong room for 250 years. It had been sent by King Alaungpaya of Burma to King George II of the United Kingdom in 1756. Instead of answering it, the latter put it in his curiosity cabinet in Hanover.