There is a deep, unhealed historical wound in the UK’s relations with China – a wound that most British people know nothing about, but which causes China great pain. It stems from the destruction in 1860 of the country’s most beautiful palace. It’s been described as China’s ground zero – a place that tells a…
Seventieth Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz
Today marks an important and symbolic anniversary in European and global history: 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet army. Death, war and destruction have been a constant of human history; but the attempt to exterminate an entire people systematically demonstrated new levels of human-orchestrated horrors in the 20th century. The message…
Italy celebrates as 5,000 plundered artefacts worth €50m are returned
Italy is celebrating the greatest single recovery of its looted cultural patrimony after 5,361 ancient artifacts stolen by Italian and Swiss criminals were displayed by authorities in Rome, following a complex, 14-year criminal investigation. The precious haul, said to be worth more than €50m (£38m), contains objects dating from the eighth century BC to the…
Incredible discovery of the oldest depiction of the universe
The design on the Bronze Age disc might look like a six-year-old’s scribbles, but in reality, it’s one of the most sophisticated and influential artifacts of the Bronze Age. And it might never have been discovered if not for a couple of illegal treasure hunters who dug it up and sold it on the black market….
Rewriting history? Polish FM says Ukrainians liberated Auschwitz, Russia puzzled
The Polish FM’s statement that it was the Ukrainians who liberated the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp has puzzled Moscow. Russia’s UN envoy remarked that the Soviet Army, which liberated the camp, was actually multinational. “The 1st Ukrainian front and Ukrainians liberated [the concentration camp], as on that January day there were Ukrainian soldiers, so they opened…
Hungarian space-age piano will enrich instrument’s history
In the 19th century, piano makers competed to make special instruments for Hungarian virtuoso Franz Liszt, the world’s first piano superstar. Now Hungary is returning the favour with a space-age piano named for its creator, pianist Gergely Boganyi. “The Boganyi,” unveiled on Tuesday, has two legs, uses carbon composite as well as wood and employs wild curves…
Saving Bosnia’s past from the ashes
The interior of Sarajevo’s Presidency building would make any historian wince. Not the decor itself – but the charred papers, piled against the walls. This display of damaged documents stretches away down the ground floor corridors of the building, leaving dark smears on the white paint, leading to a heap of burned books, boxes and manuscripts…
Bicentennial of Sir John A. Macdonald – Canada’s First Prime Minister
2015 marks the bicentennial of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s iconic first Prime Minister and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Sir. John A Macdonald was instrumental in building and uniting Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, in what would become the beautiful country it is today. A man of controversy – and…
Would you be beautiful in the ancient world?
In ancient Greece the rules of beauty were all important. Things were good for men who were buff and glossy. And for women, fuller-figured redheads were in favour – but they had to contend with an ominous undercurrent, historian Bettany Hughes explains. A full-lipped, cheek-chiselled man in Ancient Greece knew two things – that his…
Vast Underground City Found in Turkey May Be One of the World’s Largest
Officials in Turkey have announced the discovery of a massive underground city in the historic Cappadocia region of central Anatolia. The complex of carved rooms and tunnels was unearthed as civil workers began excavating for an urban renovation project in 2013, but its discovery was not made public until recently. Experts estimate the still-unnamed find…
History Today’s Best of 2014
A collection of the most popular and interesting things History Today has published over the past 12 months. See more at: http://www.historytoday.com/blog/2014/12/best-history-today-2014#sthash.0U5k6n24.dpuf
Hitler’s old house gives Austria a headache
What do you do with the house Hitler was born in? For years the building in the Austrian town of Braunau am Inn has been rented by the Austrian interior ministry to prevent misuse by neo-Nazis. It was once a day-care centre for the disabled. Now it is empty, as the owner has not agreed to…
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