Audrey Hepburn, actress and humanitarian, was born Edda van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston in Brussels, Belgium. Her father, Joseph Hepburn-Ruston, was a banker, and her mother, Ella Van Heemstra, was a Dutch baroness. Her parents divorced when she was young after her father was suspected of embezzling some of her mother's wealth. Hepburn and her mother later suffered from malnutrition and oppression during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II. Following the war, Hepburn moved with her mother to London and began studying dance there. When she was twenty-one, she was working as a model. She got her break into show business when she was noticed by the French novelist, Collette, who cast her in her new play, GIGI.

Hepburn's career as an actress had a tremendous start when she won an Academy Award for her film debut in the movie ROMAN HOLIDAY. Throughout her career she received four more Academy Award nominations for her roles in SABRINA, THE NUN'S STORY, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S and WAIT UNTIL DARK. Hepburn had an illustrious film career and became known for her grace and beauty. She married twice and had a son, Luca. In 1988, she became a special ambassador to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and spent the rest of her life working to improve the conditions of needy children. She died of colon cancer at the age of 63. She was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award posthumously for her work with UNICEF.

Data taken from : nene.essortment.com

Near the Olympiapark are the headquarters of Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), the largest company in the north of Munich. Initially, the company started in 1916 building airplane engines. In 1923, BMW started building motorbikes and eventually in 1928 they started building cars.

The main attraction for the hundreds of thousands of visitors that visit BMW yearly is the four-cilinder BMW-tower and the bowl-shaped BMW-museum next to it. The museum displays the technical development of the car and motorcycles, together with the history of BMW itself. Many old cars and motorcycles are on display and there are also films and videos on display in English. The highlight is the spectacular cinemascope show on automobile history.

The main building itself, officially called the BMW-verwaltungsgeb�ude (BMW administrative building), was designed by the Viennese architect K. Schwarzer after a four-cylinder engine and was completed in 1972, just before the olympics took place in Munich.

Data taken from : A view on Cities Website

The portrait full of mystery and secrets is painted on a 77x53 cm large poplar-wood. It is the most famous work of Leonardo da Vinci. Originally the painting was larger than today, because two columns, one on the left the other one on the right side of Mona Lisa, have been cut. That is the reason why it is not easy to recognize that Mona Lisa is sitting on a terrace. It is also mentionable that many details are not visible today, because they are partially damaged and some parts of Mona Lisa are painted over. However the characteristic of the famous painting is still existing. The characteristic consists in the detailed background which disappears in the misty atmosphere (this is called "sfumato" technique), the perfect portrayed Mona Lisa and of course her hypnotically smile.

It is supposed, that Francesco di Bartolommeo di Zanobi del Giocondo, one of the noblest citizen of Florence, ordered from Leonardo a portrait of his third wife Lisa di Antonio Maria di Noldo Gherardini.Leonardo started to work at this painting in 1503. At this time Mona Lisa was twenty-four year old. He worked at the portrait for the next four years. When Leonardo left Florence in 1507 he did not sell the painting to the orderer but he kept it for himself. Several believe, that Leonardo did not hand over the painting, because he did not finish the work, other believe that Leonardo loved the painting to much.

Leonardo da Vinci arrived with the painting in his baggage in France in the year 1516. Leonardo sold the painting in France to King Francis I., who bought it for the castle in Amboise. In the following time Mona Lisa came to Fontainbleau, Paris, Versailles and then to the collection of Ludwig XIV. After the revolution in France the painting got a new home in the Louvre. Napoleon took it away from there and hung it up in his bedroom. When Napoleon was banished Mona Lisa returned into the great Louvre in Paris.

On 21 August 1911 Mona Lisa was stolen by an italian thief, who brought the painting to Italy, where it emerged two years later in Florence. After some exhibitions Mona Lisa returned again to Paris.An acid attempt damaged the lower half of the painting in 1956. The restoration took several years. In the 60�s and 70�s Mona Lisa was exposed in New York, Tokyo and Moscow. Today the painting is behind bullet-proof glass in Paris in the Louvre and international terms are prohibiting any journey.

Data taken from : Martin Kausal's website