Wiki Love Monuments: Winners of 2016

Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM) is an annual international photographic competition held during the month of September, organised worldwide by Wikipedia community members with the help of local Wikimedia affiliates across the globe. Participants take pictures of local historical monuments and heritage sites in their region, and upload them to Wikimedia Commons. The aim of event is to highlight the heritage sites of the participating countries with the goal to encourage people to capture pictures of these monuments, and to put them under a free licence which can then be re-used not only in Wikipedia but everywhere by everyone.
The first Wiki Loves Monuments competition was held in 2010 in the Netherlands as pilot project. The next year it spread to other countries in Europe and according to the Guinness Book of Records, the 2011 edition of the Wiki Loves Monuments broke the world record for the largest photography competition.
In 2012, the competition was extended beyond Europe, with a total of 35 participating countries.
During Wiki Loves Monuments 2012, more than 350,000 photographs of historic monuments were uploaded by more than 15,000 participants. In 2013, the Wiki Loves Monuments competition was held across six continents including Antarctica and had official participation from more than fifty countries around the world. The 2016 edition of WLM was supported by UNESCO and saw 10,700 contestants from 43 countries who submitted 277,000 photos

First place. The entrance hall and the windy staircases of the district court of Berlin, Germany, are experienced by thousands of people every year. Ansgar Koreng, a lawyer deeply familiar with this monument, got permission to take a photo and share a glimpse of inside this building.  (Ansgar Koreng, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Second place. The interior of the Royal Albert Hall, United Kingdom, was missing a good quality photo on Wikipedia. Colin decided to change this during an Open House London annual weekend event, when taking photos of the hall was allowed.  (Colin, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Third place. Richard, an amateur photographer, went back to the same spot where he started his photographic hobby to get this shot of Perch Rock Lighthouse, United Kingdom. (Richard J Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Fourth place. The hills of Emilia-Romagna in Italy are the home of the Castle of Torrechiara, seen here at sunset. (Lara Zanarini, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Fifth place. The two mythical giant demons Thotsakan (left) and Sahatsadecha (right) guard the Buddhist Wat Arun temple in Thailand. The photographer journeyed to the temple waited for hours to take this shot of the temple at twilight after a journey via the Chaopraya River. (Janepop Atirattanachai, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sixth place. The blooming flower of the Pakistan Monument is seen here during the blue hour. The photographer traveled from Lahore to Islamabad to share this view of Pakistan’s symbol of unity with the world. (Muhammad Ashar, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Seventh place. “At the right place, at the right moment” and many years of experience culminated in this illuminated Planalto Palace at sunset, where the photographer was able to capture the contrast between Brazil’s presidential palace and its surroundings. (Gastão Guedes, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Eighth place. The octagonal three-tiered shrine of Bibi Jawindi, located in the historical city of Uch, Pakistan, was built in 1493 for the great-granddaughter of a Sufi saint. (User:Usamashahid433, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Ninth place. Fog, golden leaves, and the winter atmosphere engulf the fourteenth century Saint Lawrence church in Zliechov, Slovakia. (User:Volodka22, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Tenth place. Two friends traveled 500 kilometers to capture the elements of romance, decaying glory, and another set of travelers in Darawar Fort, Pakistan. (Tahsin Shah, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Eleventh place. A beautiful day in September at Crystal Mill just before sunset. The Mill is an old power generation plant that supplied hydroelectricity to the mining town of Crystal, Colorado in the United States. The road to Crystal Mill is a tricky one to drive; the photographer had to negotiate a narrow road with steep drop-offs to capture this shot. (Joe Sparks, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Twelfth place. Gravensteen castle in the center of Ghent, Belgium, has been a witness to history since the Middle Ages. The photographer waited for days for this moment, as it depended on sunset rays that would give the building a warm glow. (David Horvath, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Thirteenth place. Čachtice Castle, Čachtice, Slovakia, was captured by a twenty-three-year-old photographer who hikes the mountains of Slovakia and spends nights under the sky to explore nature and monuments in his country. He took this photo while on his way to meet an old classmate. (Vladimír Ruček, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Fourteenth place. The so-called “Devil’s Bridge” in Gablenz, Germany, was captured by the photographer while on a family trip to rediscover his family’s roots. (Albrecht Landgraf, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Fifteenth place. The photographer, a long-time Wikimedian, was traveling in Panama on a rainy day with dim lighting conditions. He decided to take a shot of the Panama Canal Railway, an instrumental component in constructing the canal. (Ivo Kruusamägi, CC BY-SA 4.0)