France - Île-de-France - Palace and Park of Versailles

VERSAILLES

Château de Versailles (Palace of Versailles), specifically highlighting Grille d'honneur (Gate of Honour).

Sent by Eric from Centre-Val de Loire, France.

Located in the Île-de-France region, south-west of Paris, privileged place both of residence and the exercise of power of the French monarchy from Louis XIV to Louis XVI, the Palace and Park of Versailles, built and embellished by several generations of architects, sculptors, painters, ornamentalists and landscape artists, represented for Europe for more than a century, the perfect model of a royal residence. The architectural planning and the majestic composition of the landscape form a close symbiosis, serving as a setting for the magnificence of the interior decorations of the apartments.

The inscribed property includes the zone enclosing the prestigious ensemble of the Palace, the Trianon châteaux and their gardens, as well as a narrow band of land offering the perspective from the extremity of the Grand Canal. It is the result of a century and a half of work commanded by the kings of France and entrusted to its greatest artists.

The strongest imprint has been left by Louis XIV, who started by enlarging the small brick and stone château built by his father, Louis XIII, in 1624. A first addition occurred after 1661 under the direction of Le Vau, in a still strongly italianite style. After 1678, Versailles was once again considerably enlarged and radically modified by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, who successfully introduced a sober, colossal, homogenous and majestic architecture, now inseparable from the memory of the Sun King. The famous Galerie des Glaces, between the Salon de la Guerre and that of the Paix, is the masterpiece of the Neo-classical and typically French style, called Louis XIV. The Orangerie and the Grand Trianon are also the work of Mansart, who was assisted by Robert de Cotte in the construction of the Royal Chapel (read more).

France - Normandy - Le Havre, the City Rebuilt by Auguste Perret

Various landmarks and scenes from Le Havre, France, which is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Samra from Normandy, France.

Located on the English Channel in Normandy, the city of Le Havre was severely bombed during the Second World War. The destroyed area was rebuilt between 1945 and 1964 according to the plan of a team of architects and town planners headed by Auguste Perret. The site forms the administrative, commercial and cultural centre of Le Havre. Among the many reconstructed cities, Le Havre is exceptional for its unity and integrity, associating a reflection of the earlier pattern of the city and its extant historic structures with the new ideas of town planning and construction technology. It is an outstanding post-war example of urban planning and architecture, based on the unity of methodology and the use of prefabrication, the systematic utilization of a modular grid and the innovative exploitation of the potential of concrete.

The inscribed property, an urban area of 133 ha, represents a homogenous architectural and urban ensemble. It comprises large areas (principal axes, squares, buildings and significant groups of buildings of the École du Classicisme Structurel), but also the ordinary residential fabric (streets, passages, inner city blocks) created from 1945 to 1964 within the reconstruction framework. It integrates the île Saint-François (rebuilt at the same time by regional architects, not part of the Perret team), fragments of ancient urban fabric and isolated buildings spared from destruction (around which the grid of the city is reconstructed) and buildings constructed after 1964, the presence of which appears indissociable to the rebuilt fabric (notably the Maison de la Culture, the Résidence de France, the extension of the Town Hall) (read more).

Czechia - Kutná Hora: Historical Town Centre with the Church of St Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec

Kutná Hora

Originally a mining settlement, it was founded in the 13th century during the reign of Wenceslas II. The name Mons Kuthna first appeared in 1289. In 1300, Wenceslas II issued a new mining law and Prague groschen began to be minted in Kutná Hora. In 1318, Kutná Hora was promoted to a city. From the 1380s, the yield from the mines declined, and during theHussite Wars, the city was burned down twice. In 1471, Vladislav II Jagiellon was elected King of Bohemia and silver mining increased again thanks to new technologies. After 1530, production began to decline again and in 1727, the mine was closed.

Sent by Vlad'ka from Neratovice in Czechia.

The historic town centre of Kutná Hora with the Church of St Barbara and the Church of Our Lady at Sedlec are located in Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Kutná Hora has developed as a result of the discovery and exploitation of the rich veins of silver ore since the end of the 13th century. In the 14th century, it became a royal city endowed with buildings that symbolized its enormous prosperity. The Church of St Barbara and the former Cistercian monastery church of Our Lady and St. John the Baptist in Sedlec, located at a distance of approximately 1.5 km to the north-east of the historic centre, were to influence considerably the architecture of Central Europe. Today, these masterpieces, representing cathedral architecture, form the dominants of a well-preserved medieval town-planning structure filled with Gothic and Baroque urban fabric.

The most striking of Kutná Hora is the church of Saint Barbara, the Gothic jewel whose interior is decorated with frescoes depicting the secular life of the medieval mining town of Kutná Hora. This piece of art had a major influence on the architecture of central Europe. The former Cistercian cathedral, Our Lady of Sedlec, which is at a distance of 1.5 km northeast of the historic centre, was restored in the Baroque style in the early 18th century by Jan Blazej Santini. For the first time, he used his conception of the Baroque Gothic style which strongly influenced the history of architecture.

The oldest neighbourhoods Vlassky dvur (Italian courtyard which includes the southeast tower) are dating back to the early 14th century. The royal chapel is Gothic and boasts a remarkable interior design. Attached to the Italian court, we find the church of St Jacob from the 14th century whose furniture date back mostly to the end of the Gothic period. The Hradek (little castle) is an interesting example of Gothic palazzetto of Central Europe which has kept both inside and outside in its original condition (read more).

Malaysia - Penang - Kek Lok Si Temple

Georgetown's Kek Lok Si consists of temples, pagodas, monasteries, prayer halls, and stunning landscaped gardens.

Sent by Angie from Penang.

The Kek Lok Si Temple (simplified Chinese: 极乐寺; traditional Chinese: 極樂寺; pinyin: jílè sì) is a Buddhist temple in George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located at Ayer Itam, it is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia and an important pilgrimage centre for Buddhists from Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia. The entire complex of temples was built over a period from 1890 to 1930, an inspirational initiative of Beow Lean, the abbot. The main feature of the complex is the seven-story Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda commissioned by the late Thai king Rama VI, featuring 10,000 alabaster and bronze statues of Buddha and the 36.57-metre-tall (120 ft) bronze statue of Guanyin (Kuan Yin), the Goddess of Mercy. The 10,000 Buddhas concept belongs to the Chinese Mahāyāna school of Buddhism while Rama VI was king over a Theravāda country and Buddhist tradition.

Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism, and traditional Chinese rituals blend into a harmonious whole, both in the temple architecture and artwork as well as in the daily activities of worshippers.

Kek Lok Si means "Sukhāvatī temple". In Hokkien (a southern Chinese language), kek-lok literally means "supreme joy", itself a translation of the Sanskrit Sukhāvatī, a Pure Land. si means "temple".

Kek Lok Si has also been translated as "heavenly temple", "Pure Land Temple", "temple of supreme bliss", and "temple of paradise" (read more).

Sweden - Mining Area of the Great Copper Mountain in Falun

Falu Gruva (Falun Mine) in Falun, Sweden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Maria from Älvhyttan, Sweden.

The Mining Area of the Great Copper Mountain in Falun is one of the most outstanding industrial monuments in the world. The cultural landscape graphically illustrates the activities of copper production in the Dalarna region of central Sweden since at least the 9th century. Over many centuries, until production ceased in the late 20th century, the region was one of the most significant areas of mining and metals production. This culminated in the 17th century in the dominance of Sweden as the major producer of copper and exerting a strong influence on the technological, economic, social, and political development of Sweden and Europe.

The history of the mining industry can be seen in the abundant industrial and domestic remains characteristic of this industry that still survive in the natural landscape around Falun, which has been moulded and transformed by human ingenuity and resourcefulness. The enormous mining excavation known as the Great Pit (Stora Stöten) at Falun is the most striking feature of this landscape. Associated with the enormous open-cast mine and its galleries, shafts and visitors’ mine are hoisting gear, head frames, wheelhouses, winch houses, pivot and administrative buildings, housing for workers and ancillary facilities (read more).

the matching stamp

France - Occitania - Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne

Carcassonne (Aude)

Medieval city listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

Sent by Pascal from Carcassonne, France.

The city of Carcassonne is located in the Occitanie region, in the department of Aude, on a rocky outcrop dominating the course of the Aude and on the historic axis of communication linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Since the pre-Roman period, fortifications have been erected on the hill where Carcassonne is located today. In its present form, it is an outstanding example of a fortified medieval city with an enormous defensive system developed mainly in the 13th century. This system consists of two enclosures separated by barriers surrounding the houses, the streets and the superb Gothic cathedral, as well as the castle and the main buildings associated with it.

The inner ramparts comprise twenty-six circular towers and largely overlap the clearly visible Roman defenses for two-thirds of their length. The outer ramparts have nineteen round towers, three of which are barbicans. The enclosure is surrounded by moats and the two main entrances to the fortified city, the Porte Narbonnaise and the Porte de l'Aude, are particularly elaborate. The 12th century count's castle and the main buildings associated with it were built on the western part of the Roman ramparts. The basilica dedicated to Saints Nazaire and Celse has no flying buttresses, stability being ensured by the internal vaulted structure (read more).

Russia - Karelia Republic - Kizhi Pogost (4)

Kizhi. Church of the Transfiguration.

Sent by Stanislav from Saint Petersburg, Russia.

This is my fourth Kizhi Pogost postcard. My other three are here, here, and here.

Germany - Hamburg - Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus (2)

Hamburg.

Speicherstadt, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Ulrike from Syke, Germany.

This is my second postcard of Speicherstadt. My other one is here.

Italy - The Dolomites

Dolomiti - Dolomites

UNESCO WORLD NATURAL HERITAGE

Sent by Chiara and family from Bolzano, Italy.

The site of the Dolomites comprises a mountain range in the northern Italian Alps, numbering 18 peaks which rise to above 3,000 metres and cover 141,903 ha. It features some of the most beautiful mountain landscapes anywhere, with vertical walls, sheer cliffs and a high density of narrow, deep and long valleys. A serial property of nine areas that present a diversity of spectacular landscapes of international significance for geomorphology marked by steeples, pinnacles and rock walls, the site also contains glacial landforms and karst systems. It is characterized by dynamic processes with frequent landslides, floods and avalanches. The property also features one of the best examples of the preservation of Mesozoic carbonate platform systems, with fossil records (read more).

Japan - Himeji-jo (2)

Himeji Castle (World Cultural Heritage) in Spring / Hyogo / Japan.

Seny by Yukino from Ōta, Japan.

Himeji-jo is the finest surviving example of early 17th-century Japanese castle architecture. It is located in Himeji City, in the Hyogo Prefecture, an area that has been an important transportation hub in West Japan since ancient times. The castle property, situated on a hill summit in the central part of the Harima Plain, covers 107 hectares and comprises eighty-two buildings. It is centred on the Tenshu-gun, a complex made up of the donjon, keeps and connecting structures that are part of a highly developed system of defence and ingenious protection devices dating from the beginning of the Shogun period. The castle functioned continuously as the centre of a feudal domain for almost three centuries, until 1868 when the Shogun fell and a new national government was created.

The principal complex　of these structures is a masterpiece of construction in wood, combining function with aesthetic appeal, both in its elegant appearance unified by the white plastered earthen walls – that has earned it the name Shirasagi-jo (White Heron Castle) – and in the subtlety of the relationships between the building masses and the multiple roof layers visible from almost any point in the city read more).

Japan - Mount Fuji (5)

Bright autumn leaves will begin to change color in the lake of Mount Fuji near fall. Of autumn leaves Mount Fuji in the superb view, many people visit to guide this landscape.

Sent by Kevin from Saga, a small city in South Japan.

My other postcards of Mount Fuji are here, here, here, and here.

Japan - Mount Fuji (4)

Majestic image of the snow-capped Mount Fuji, a prominent symbol of Japan and a UNESCO World Heritage site, with a postal stamp and a special postmark. Last eruption was in 1707.

Sent by Yuko who mentioned that she can see the Mount Fuji from her house.

My other postcards of Mount Fuji are here, here, and here.

New Zealand - South Island - Mitre Peak

Mitre Peak reflected in Milford Sound is certainly one of the most well-known scenes in New Zealand. Mitre Peak rises almost sheer to its height of 1695m from the waters of Milford Sound.

Send by Darci from Christchurch, New Zealand. Thanks for nice stamp of Eid.

Mitre Peak (Māori: Rahotu) is a mountain in the South Island of New Zealand; it is located on the shore of Milford Sound.

The mountain was named by Captain John Lort Stokes of HMS Acheron, who found its shape reminiscent of the mitre headwear of Christian bishops. The Māori name for the peak is Rahotu.

Mitre Peak is close to the shore of Milford Sound, in the Fiordland National Park in the southwestern South Island. It rises to 1,690 metres (5,560 ft) with almost sheer drops to the water. The peak is actually a closely grouped set of five peaks, although from most easily accessible viewpoints, it appears as a single point. Milford Sound is part of Te Wahipounamu, a World Heritage Site as declared by UNESCO. The imposing setting makes the peak a favourite object for painters. A painting by Charles Decimus Barraud is held by the Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui (read more).

China - Xinjiang - Kizil Buddhist Caves

Kizil Buddhist Caves

The Kizil Caves were inscribed in 2014 on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor.

Sent by Jingtairan from Shenyang, China.

The Kizil Caves (also romanized as Qizil or Qyzyl; Uyghur: قىزىل مىڭ ئۆي, lit. 'The Thousand Red Houses'; Chinese: 克孜尔千佛洞; lit. 'Kizil Caves of the Thousand Buddhas') are a set of Buddhist rock-cut caves located near Kizil Township (克孜尔乡; Kèzī'ěr Xiāng) in Baicheng County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. The site is located on the northern bank of the Muzat River 65 kilometres (75 km by road) west of Kucha. This area was a commercial hub of the Silk Road. The caves have an important role in Central Asian art and in the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism, and are said to be the earliest major Buddhist cave complex in China, with development occurring between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE. The caves of Kizil are the earlier of their type in China, and their model was later adopted in the construction of Buddhist caves further east. Another name for the site has been Ming-oi (明屋), although this term is now mainly used for the site of Shorchuk to the east (read more).

the matching stamp

Germany - Lower Saxony - Historic Town of Goslar

Historic Town of Goslar, highlighting the market square and surrounding buildings, including the Imperial Palace of Goslar.

Sent by Günther from Goslar, Germany.

Goslar (German pronunciation: [ˈɡɔslaʁ]; Eastphalian: Goslär) is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar with over 1.500 timber houses and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites for their millennium-long testimony to the history of ore mining and their political importance for the Holy Roman Empire and Hanseatic League. Each year Goslar awards the Kaiserring to an international artist, called the "Nobel Prize" of the art world.

Goslar is situated in the middle of the upper half of Germany, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Brunswick and about 70 km (43 mi) southeast of the state capital, Hanover. The Schalke mountain is the highest elevation within the municipal boundaries at 762 metres (2,500 feet). The lowest point of 175 m (574 ft) is near the Oker river. Geographically, Goslar forms the boundary between the Hildesheim Börde which is part of the Northern German Plain, and the Harz range, which is the highest, northernmost extension of Germany's Central Uplands. The Hildesheim Börde is characterised by plains with rich clay soils – used agriculturally for sugar beet farming – interlaced with several hill ranges commonly known as the Hildesheim Forest and Salzgitter Hills. In the northeast the Harly Forest stretches down to the River Oker, in the east, Goslar borders on the German state of Saxony-Anhalt (read more).

Switzerland - Old City of Bern

Switzerland - Old City of Bern.

Sent by asega from Ashmitten, Switzerland.

The Old City of Berne, federal city of Switzerland and capital of the canton of Berne, is located on the Swiss plateau between the Jura and the Alps. Founded in the 12th century according to an innovative foundation plan, and located on a hill surrounded by the River Aar, Berne has experienced an expansion in several stages since its foundation. This development remains visible in its urban structure, mainly tributary to the medieval establishment and its clearly defined elements: well-defined wide streets, used for the market, a regular division of built sections, subdivided into narrow and deep parcels, an advanced infrastructure for water transportation, impressive buildings for the most part dating from the 18th century mainly built from sandy limestone, with their system of arcades and the facades of the houses supported by arches. Public buildings for secular and religious authorities were always located at the periphery, a principle also respected in the 19th century during the construction of the large public monuments confirming the function of Berne as the federal city from 1848 (read more).

Germany - Saxony-Anhalt - Meisterhouse

Greetings from Dessau-Roßlau

View of one of the famous Masters' House.

Sent by Lene and Diemo from Düsseldorf, Germany.

Between 1919 and 1933 the Bauhaus movement revolutionized architectural and aesthetic thinking and practice in the 20th century. The Bauhaus buildings in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau are fundamental representatives of Classical Modernism, directed towards a radical renewal of architecture and design. This property, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996, originally comprised buildings located in Weimar (Former Art School, the Applied Art School and the Haus Am Horn) and Dessau (Bauhaus Building, the group of seven Masters' Houses). The 2017 extension includes the Houses with Balcony Access in Dessau and the ADGB Trade Union School in Bernau as important contributions to the Bauhaus ideas of austere design, functionalism and social reform (read more).

Japan - "Double Diamond Fuji"

"Double Diamond Fuji" is a phenomenon wherethe morning sun overlaps the summit of Mt. Fuji and its reflection is cast on the surface of the lake.

Sent by Eriko from Kanagawa, Japan.

As a spiritual symbol of Japan, Mt. Fuji is one of only three sacred mountains of the country and its tallest at 3,776 meters. Its designation as a UNESCO world heritage site further exemplifies its importance to not only the people of Japan but to the world as well.

When my wife and I went to Japan in the Spring of 2017, I had the opportunity to capture a widely known event called diamond Fuji — the time when the sun rises behind the apex of Mt. Fuji, creating a sparkle on top, much like a diamond would on top of a ring.

The term double diamond Fuji refers to this event and its reflection caught in a body of water in the foreground. This happens around April 20 and August 20 of every year (give or take a few days) at Lake Tanuki (read more).

Finland - Verla Groundwood and Board Mill

The World Heritage Verla.

Sent by Anu from Kouvola, Finland.

The Verla groundwood and board mill and its associated residential area is an outstanding, remarkably well-preserved example of the small-scale rural industrial settlements associated with pulp, paper and board production that flourished in northern Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Only a handful of such settlements survive to the present day (read more).

Malaysia - Malacca - Dutch Square

Tourists gathered around the Dutch Square where the major Malacca landmarks are located; the Christ Church, the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Fountain, the Malacca Art Gallery and the biggest of them all, the Stadthuys.

Sent by myself during my recent trip to Malacca City.

The focal point of the Unesco Heritage zone, this attractive and elegant square is surrounded by Dutch-era buildings that have been painted crimson, shady trees and a mass of kitschly decorated trishaws waiting for customers. Take a moment to admire the pretty fountain erected in 1904 in memory of Queen Victoria and decorated with four bas-relief images of the monarch (read more).