Still on the Quest

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/republican-lamppost-at-the-royal-palace

In March 1939, Spain was in turmoil. After almost three years, the country's vicious Civil War was coming to an end, and, on April 1, 1939, the fascist dictator Francisco Franco declared victory over the Republican forces backing the country's democratically elected government, known as the Second Spanish Republic.

Franco's new government set out to erase all of the symbols of the previous republican government. Some, however, managed to survive in plain sight, such as an unassuming lamppost at a corner of the Royal Palace in Madrid.

Nearly all of the lampposts in this area of the capital are adorned with royal crowns representing Spain's constitutional monarchy. This lamppost, however, has a small mural crown on top, an emblem of the Second Spanish Republic. 

A mural crown symbolizes a city's walls or towers. In ancient Greece, the coronet represented how the gods watched over a city.

After Spain's 1868 Glorious Revolution deposed Queen Isabella II, the new government stopped using the Spanish royal crown as an architectural motif and instead looked to find a new symbol. The Spanish Academy of History eventually advised using the mural crown because it was less ornamental. 

Starting in the late 19th century, the mural crown was in use, decades before the Second Spanish Republic, which lasted from 1931 to 1936. There's no way to verify whether this lamppost is truly a surviving symbol of the defeated republic, though many like to believe it is, or if it's even older.

Regardless, the lamppost has withstood the passage of time, maintaining an air of mystery that continues to intrigue both locals and visitors.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/republican-lamppost-at-the-royal-palace

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/raschpetzer-qanat

Just north of Luxembourg City, where the river Alzette meanders its way out of the capital, lies Walferdange. The town is best known for the Raschpëtzer Qanat: a Roman water tunnel, or qanat, that still functions 2,000 years after its construction.

Locals have known about a series of holes in the forest northeast of Walferdange for ages. A legend dating back at least the beginning of the 19th century mentions four wichtelchers-lächer, or goblin holes, in the forest. Another folk tale claims that if you fell into one of the holes, you would come out near the Steinsel mill, a mill which no longer exists that was located downstream from Walferdange on the Alzette river.

The first excavations of the qanat began in 1913 before being interrupted by World War I. Between 1965 and 1970, the excavations were taken up again by members of the Groupe Spéléologique Luxembourg (G.S.L.). But due to a lack of resources and technical difficulties, it wasn’t until October 1986 that the bottom of well N°5 (P5) was reached some 114 feet (35 meters) down. On October 3rd, 1986, archaeologists uncovered a horizontal gallery and confirmed that the well was indeed a Roman qanat.

Today, around 1,000 feet (310 meters) of galleries have been explored. The qanat’s total length is estimated to be around half a mile long (650 to 720 meters). There are 13 known shafts, though some estimate there may be as many as 18. The qanat still produces about 47,500 gallons (180 cubic meters) of water daily, around 2 liters per second. This is probably slightly less than its original Roman output since the area wasn’t covered with vegetation then.

The qanat follows a chaotic course and was likely dug by two groups trying to reach each other. At the bottom of P8, a piece of wood with traces of rope wear—possibly from the construction of the qanat—has been dated to around 140, confirming the qanat was built during the Roman period between the 1st and 2nd centuries. A well-preserved shovel made of beech wood was also found in well P9.

Well P-4 (a negative number because several wells were discovered downstream of P1, which was thought to be the first well in the original numbering system) has a low dam or weir that controls the flow of water into a drainage canal. However, just before the P-5 well, the water disappears into the rock. Excavations show that this occurred when Romans operated the qanat and that their attempts at a solution were unsuccessful.

The biggest mystery remains why and for whom the qanat was built. A nearby archaeological site surrounded by a square wall was discovered along the Rue des Vergers, next to an electricity substation, but the site was never excavated due to lack of resources.

Given its size and the effort required to supply the qanat’s water, it could well have been a Roman military camp. The other ten Roman qanats in Luxembourg all supplied villas. The exceptional length and depth of the Walferdange qanat, however, make it stand out.

The other known Roman villas on the same slope were all connected to a spring. Likely a small natural spring, the Dauwebur, also supplied the camp. It provided only 5,000 gallons (20 cubic meters) of water per day, not enough to meet daily needs, so the qanat was likely added to provide more water.

The qanat is underground. However, many features are visible on the surface. Visitors can see the 10 excavated shafts, which have all been covered with metal lids. Two are windowed: P5 to see its 114 feet (35 meter) depth and P-4 to see the overflow bifurcation. The water outlet from the bifurcation was rebuilt in 2000. It now shows a cross-section of the pipeline. Finally, there is a gallery at well P-5. Here you can see where the water disappears underground. The walls of the access corridor are lined with explanatory panels. Few other Roman qanat sites have as many ruins and allow partial access to the water conduit.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/raschpetzer-qanat

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kofuku-train-station

In a sparsely populated area of Obihiro, a city in northern Japan, an abandoned train station has been attracting visitors for decades. Known as Kofuku Station, which means "happiness" in Japanese, the station closed in 1987. Yet, each year, around 100,000 people—especially couples—visit the site in search of some happiness of their own.

The station's name combines two Japanese words: Kōshin, the original name for the area, and Fukui, the name of a prefecture in southern Japan. Many Fukui farmers settled in Obihiro after the southern prefecture flooded in 1902.

To create the station's name, the prefix Kō was combined with Fuku (Kō + Fuku = Kōfuku). For the settlers, the name's double meaning was not a coincidence. They wanted to honor where they had come from and also wished for happiness in their new home.

Kofuku Station opened in 1956, originally designed as a temporary stop on the Hiroo Line between Obihiro and suburban Tokyo.

Serving a rural area, the station was humble, comprised of a small wooden structure with a waiting room, shop, and ticket stand.

It wasn't until it was featured on a 1973 Japanese travel program that tourists started visiting. Visitors came from all over to ride the Hiroo Line between Kofuku and Aikoku Stations (aikoku means “land of love” in Japanese).

In 1972, only seven people made the journey between the two stations. In the following year, a staggering 3 million did.  

Although tourism persisted, making up 80% of the Hiroo Line's sales in 1981, it was not enough to save the line when the Japanese National Railways were privatized in 1987. Despite this, the local government preserved Kofuku Station, and anime mascots were created to promote it.

Kofuku Station was rebuilt in 2013 after the original had badly deteriorated. At the station, visitors can tour two diesel locomotives that sit on the unused tracks. Inside the locomotives, tourists can purchase a replica Hiroo Line ticket that can be attached to the station's walls to attract more happiness.

Just outside the station, visitors can ring the so-called "Bell of Happiness." Couples can also participate in a "happy ceremony," a mock wedding, and the post office down the street offers a special commemorative stamp too.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kofuku-train-station