Wednesday 29 January 2014

Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Białowieża Forest, Poland (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/33

Situated on the watershed of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, this immense forest range, consisting of evergreens and broad-leaved trees, is home to some remarkable animal life, including rare mammals such as the wolf, the lynx and the otter, as well as some 300 European Bison, a species which has been reintroduced into the park.

Sender: Bodexs, Sent on: 13 Jan, 2014, Received on: 20 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 7 days

Baroque Churches of the Philippines (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/677

These four churches, the first of which was built by the Spanish in the late 16th century, are located in Manila, Santa Maria, Paoay and Miag-ao. Their unique architectural style is a reinterpretation of European Baroque by Chinese and Philippine craftsmen.

The Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva stands on the highest point of Miag-ao, its towers serving as lookouts against Muslim raids. It is the finest surviving example of 'Fortress Baroque'. The sumptuous facade epitomizes the Filipino transfiguration of western decorative elements, with the figure of St Christopher on the pediment dressed in native clothes, carrying the Christ Child on his back, and holding on to a coconut palm for support. The entire riotously decorated facade is flanked by massive tapering bell towers of unequal heights.

Sender: Jonaks, Sent on: 12 Dec, 2013, Received on: 14 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 33 days

Defence Line of Amsterdam, Netherlands (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/759

Extending 135 km around the city of Amsterdam, this defence line (built between 1883 and 1920) is the only example of a fortification based on the principle of controlling the waters. Since the 16th century, the people of the Netherlands have used their expert knowledge of hydraulic engineering for defence purposes. The centre of the country was protected by a network of 45 armed forts, acting in concert with temporary flooding from polders and an intricate system of canals and locks.

Sender: Brandybuck, Sent on: 7 Dec, 2013, Received on: 13 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 34 days

Kinabalu Park, Malaysia (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1012

Kinabalu Park, in the State of Sabah on the northern end of the island of Borneo, is dominated by Mount Kinabalu (4,095 m), the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea. It has a very wide range of habitats, from rich tropical lowland and hill rainforest to tropical mountain forest, sub-alpine forest and scrub on the higher elevations. It has been designated as a Centre of Plant Diversity for Southeast Asia and is exceptionally rich in species with examples of flora from the Himalayas, China, Australia, Malaysia, as well as pan-tropical flora.

Sender: SLLiew, Sent on: 10 Dec, 2013, Received on: 23 Dec, 2013, Travel time: 13 days

Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca, Malaysia (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1223

Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.

Sender: SLLiew, Sent on: 7 Jan, 2013, Received on: 20 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 13 days

Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca, Malaysia (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1223

Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.

Sender: SLLiew, Sent on: 7 Jan, 2013, Received on: 20 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 13 days

Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley, Malaysia (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1396

Situated in the lush Lenggong Valley, the property includes four archaeological sites in two clusters which span close to 2 million years, one of the longest records of early man in a single locality, and the oldest outside the African continent. It features open-air and cave sites with Palaeolithic tool workshops, evidence of early technology. The number of sites found in the relatively contained area suggests the presence of a fairly large, semi-sedentary population with cultural remains from the Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Metal ages.

Sender: SLLiew, Sent on: 10 Dec, 2013, Received on: 26 Dec, 2013, Travel time: 16 days

Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region, Macedonia (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/99

I sent to myself from Ohrid
Sent on: 10 Jan, 2014, Received on: 23 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 13 days

Prambanan Temple Compounds, Indonesia (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/642

Built in the 10th century, this is the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. Rising above the centre of the last of these concentric squares are three temples decorated with reliefs illustrating the epic of the Ramayana, dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) and three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them.

Sender: raihan0612, Sent on: 25 Dec, 2013, Received on: 23 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 29 days

Borobudur Temple Compounds, Indonesia (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/592

This famous Buddhist temple, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, is located in central Java. It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 m2. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The monument was restored with UNESCO's help in the 1970s.

Sender: raihan0612, Sent on: 25 Dec, 2013, Received on: 23 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 29 days

Flag of Greece

My first postcard from Greece   :)

Nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; a blue square bearing a white cross appears in the upper hoist-side corner; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country; there is no agreed upon meaning for the nine stripes or for the colors; the exact shade of blue has never been set by law and has varied from a light to a dark blue over time.

Sender: elena944, Sent on: 17 Dec, 2013, Received on: 13 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 27 days

Kaiserslautern, Germany


Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland (State) of Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) at the edge of the Palatinate Forest (Pfälzer Wald). The historic centre dates to the 9th century.

Sender: AnkeMaus, Sent on: 26 Nov, 2013, Received on: 22 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 56 days

Stuttgart TV Tower, Germany

Sender: white_elephant11, Sent on: 19 Dec, 2013, Received on: 4 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 16 days

Town of Bamberg, Germany (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/624

From the 10th century onwards, this town became an important link with the Slav peoples, especially those of Poland and Pomerania. During its period of greatest prosperity, from the 12th century onwards, the architecture of Bamberg strongly influenced northern Germany and Hungary. In the late 18th century it was the centre of the Enlightenment in southern Germany, with eminent philosophers and writers such as Hegel and Hoffmann living there.

Sender: Nordseekrabbe, Sent on: 28 Dec, 2013, Received on: 6 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 9 days

Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of Bremen, Germany (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1087

The Town Hall and the statue of Roland on the marketplace of Bremen in north-west Germany are outstanding representations of civic autonomy and sovereignty, as these developed in the Holy Roman Empire in Europe. The old town hall was built in the Gothic style in the early 15th century, after Bremen joined the Hanseatic League. The building was renovated in the so-called Weser Renaissance style in the early 17th century. A new town hall was built next to the old one in the early 20th century as part of an ensemble that survived bombardment during the Second World War. The statue stands 5.5 m tall and dates back to 1404.

Sender: Strubbellena73, Sent on: 20 Dec, 2013, Received on: 6 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 17 days

Pilgrimage Church of Wies, Germany (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/271

Miraculously preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, the Church of Wies (1745–54), the work of architect Dominikus Zimmermann, is a masterpiece of Bavarian Rococo – exuberant, colourful and joyful.

Sender: Xiaoi, Sent on: 8 Dec, 2013, Received on: 6 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 28 days

Mines of Rammelsberg, Historic Town of Goslar and Upper Harz Water Management System, Germany (UNESCO)

 
The Upper Harz mining water management system, which lies south of the Rammelsberg mines and the town of Goslar, has been developed over a period of some 800 years to assist in the process of extracting ore for the production of non-ferrous metals. Its construction was first undertaken in the Middle Ages by Cistercian monks, and it was then developed on a vast scale from the end of the 16th century until the 19th century. It is made up of an extremely complex but perfectly coherent system of artificial ponds, small channels, tunnels and underground drains. It enabled the development of water power for use in mining and metallurgical processes. It is a major site for mining innovation in the western world.
 
Postcard 1 : Upper Harz Water Management System
 
 
Sender: Crazy_Cooper, Sent on: 7 Apr, 2014, Received on: 16 Apr, 2014, Travel time: 9 days
 
 
Postcard 2 : Historic Town of Goslar
 
 
Sender: Strubbellena73, Sent on: 20 Dec, 2013, Received on: 6 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 17 days

Maulbronn Monastery Complex, Germany (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/546

Founded in 1147, the Cistercian Maulbronn Monastery is considered the most complete and best-preserved medieval monastic complex north of the Alps. Surrounded by fortified walls, the main buildings were constructed between the 12th and 16th centuries. The monastery's church, mainly in Transitional Gothic style, had a major influence in the spread of Gothic architecture over much of northern and central Europe. The water-management system at Maulbronn, with its elaborate network of drains, irrigation canals and reservoirs, is of exceptional interest.

Sender: schoolbag, Sent on: 3 Jan, 2014, Received on: 13 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 10 days

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, Germany (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1413

Descending a long hill dominated by a giant statue of Hercules, the monumental water displays of Wilhelmshöhe were begun by Landgrave Carl of Hesse-Kassel in 1689 around an east-west axis and were developed further into the 19th century. Reservoirs and channels behind the Hercules Monument supply water to a complex system of hydro-pneumatic devices that supply the site’s large Baroque water theatre, grotto, fountains and 350-metre long Grand Cascade. Beyond this, channels and waterways wind across the axis, feeding a series of dramatic waterfalls and wild rapids, the geyser-like Grand Fountain which leaps 50m high, the lake and secluded ponds that enliven the Romantic garden created in the 18th century by Carl’s great-grandson, Elector Wilhelm I. The great size of the park and its waterworks along with the towering Hercules statue constitute an expression of the ideals of absolutist Monarchy while the ensemble is a remarkable testimony to the aesthetics of the Baroque and Romantic periods.

Sender: famalubel, Sent on: 14 Dec, 2013, Received on: 6 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 22 days

Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/868

Santiago de Compostela was the supreme goal for countless thousands of pious pilgrims who converged there from all over Europe throughout the Middle Ages. To reach Spain pilgrims had to pass through France, and the group of important historical monuments included in this inscription marks out the four routes by which they did so.

Sender: famalubel, Sent on: 6 Jan, 2014, Received on: 14 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 8 days

Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay, France (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/80

Sender: cache71, Sent on: 6 Jan, 2014, Received on: 22 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 16 days

Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge, France (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/228

In the 14th century, this city in the South of France was the seat of the papacy. The Palais des Papes, an austere-looking fortress lavishly decorated by Simone Martini and Matteo Giovanetti, dominates the city, the surrounding ramparts and the remains of a 12th-century bridge over the Rhone. Beneath this outstanding example of Gothic architecture, the Petit Palais and the Romanesque Cathedral of Notre-Dame-des-Doms complete an exceptional group of monuments that testify to the leading role played by Avignon in 14th-century Christian Europe.

Sender: famalubel, Sent on: 6 Jan, 2014, Received on: 14 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 8 days

Bourges Cathedral, France (UNESCO)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/635

The Cathedral of St Etienne of Bourges, built between the late 12th and late 13th centuries, is one of the great masterpieces of Gothic art and is admired for its proportions and the unity of its design. The tympanum, sculptures and stained-glass windows are particularly striking. Apart from the beauty of the architecture, it attests to the power of Christianity in medieval France.

Sender: famalubel, Sent on: 6 Jan, 2014, Received on: 14 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 8 days

Lapland, Finland

Lapland is the largest and northernmost of the regions of Finland.

Sender: eevaanneli, Sent on: 22 Dec, 2013, Received on: 14 Jan, 2014, Travel time: 23 days