Hundreds of royal palaces and castles have been preserved around the world as memorials to the history and sometimes the opulence of European royalty or Oriental rulers.

Austria is a small nation with a population of nine million residents, considerably less land area than some of its European neighbors, and few major cities.

During the Roman Empire, Rome had scattered settlements in Germania north of the Alps and at several places along the Danube and Rhine Rivers.

Munich has a long history as the center of Bavarian power and trade during the Middle Ages and is one of Germany’s most prominent cities today.