International Day for Monuments and Sites

When I saw that April 18^th is the International Day for Monuments and Sites (also known as World Heritage Day) I thought it was a great topic for this month’s puzzle blog. There is such a huge variety of puzzles featuring famous sites from around the world in a such a variety of styles, I figured there were plenty of choices for my fellow dissectologists, no matter what your taste!

The International Day for Monuments and Sites has been celebrated around the world since 1983 to promote awareness of the diversity of cultural heritage, highlight the vulnerability of monuments and sites, and to promote their protection and conservation. You can participate by exploring a monument or site in your area, head to a museum or library to learn about a favorite World Heritage site, or of course, assemble a puzzle like any of the ones featured here 

No matter your puzzle piece-count preference, Puzzle Warehouse has a great design to learn about landmarks across the globe from two manufacturers! The 300 piece version World Landmarks Map is from Ravensburger. For a bigger challenge, Educa has the 1000 piece World Landmarks Globe or the same design for 2000 piece fans.

World Landmarks Globe by Educa

A fun choice to put together with the puzzling kids in your life is the 150 piece Monuments World Map, also from Educa. After assembling it, kids (and you!) can learn about all the sites featured in this colorful design!

Monuments World Map by Educa

If you’re planning a trip anywhere in the U.S. this year, there are countless monuments and sites you can add to your itinerary, including 25 World Heritage Sites--from the Statue of Liberty to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon. Great American Road Trip is the first puzzle I’ve done from Willow Creek Press and I was so impressed with this brand! Great fit, no dust and a 1000 piece collage design that I always enjoy.

Great American Road Trip  by Willow Creek Press

For a bird’s eye view of monuments around the world, check out Popular Landmarks, a challenging 2000 piece puzzle by Anatolian. It’s a quick trip from Stonehenge to the Taj Mahal to the Mayan Temple of Kukulcan to the Roman Colosseum in just a few afternoons! Or probably a few weeks, in my case!

Popular Landmarks by Anatolian

Artist Eric Dowdle is famous for depicting famous sites and cities from around the world with his unique style, so I had to add one of his designs to my list! The Taj Mahal was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1983 and attracts around 5 million visitors a year. The white marble mausoleum was commissioned in 1631 by Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal who had died that year (and later, Shah Jahan himself.)

Taj Mahal by Dowdle

I loved the bright colors in this 1000 piece Taj Mahal puzzle and with no particular strategy in place, more or less assembled it from the bottom up. I’ll admit, I struggled a bit with that signature Dowdle sky! Like all of Eric’s puzzles, the enclosed poster has a guide to identify the animals and people once it’s complete, in this case everything from peacocks to tigers and a snake charmer to Gandhi!

Taj Mahal by Dowdle

Another popular puzzle artist with a unique style is Michael Storrings. Before I got his Cuba puzzle from Galison, I didn’t realize Old Havana is another World Heritage Site. The central neighborhood is known for its narrow cobblestone streets that date back more than 500 years, and its Neoclassical and Art Deco buildings painted in Caribbean blues, pinks and yellows. Those bright blocks of color and the classic cars make this 1000 piece design easy to sort if that’s your puzzling style, and the crowds on the street provide some fun details!

Cuba by Galison

One last landmark puzzle in my to-do stack that I’m anxious to get to is Windows Open to the World from Buffalo Games. I don’t have a lot of room for 1500 piece puzzles, but I loved this design with the variety of views—and the animals on the window sills are an added bonus. If you’ve assembled this one, leave a note in the comments and tell me what you thought of it!

Windows Open to the World by Buffalo Games

Whether you see a landmark or monument in person or from your puzzle table on April 18^th, it’s a great opportunity to relax, appreciate the diversity of cultures around the world, and learn a few facts, too.

Enjoy!

Dawn @5wolves