Philippines - Historic City of Vigan

VIGAN

The City of Vigan [ spanish : La ciudad de Vigan / ilocano : La ciudad ti Vigan] is a 3rd class city in the provvince of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. It is the capital city of Ilocos Sur. The city, located on the western coast of the large island of Luzon, facing the West Philippines Sea.

Sent by Roxanne from Manila, Philippines.

Vigan is the most intact example in Asia of a planned Spanish colonial town, established in the 16th century. Its architecture reflects the coming together of cultural elements from elsewhere in the Philippines and from China with those of Europe and Mexico to create a unique culture and townscape without parallels anywhere in East and South-East Asia. An important trading post before the colonial era, Vigan is located at the river delta of Abra River, along the northwestern coastline of the main island of Luzon, in the Province of Ilocos Sur, Philippine Archipelago. The total area of the inscribed property is 17.25 hectares. The traditional Hispanic checkerboard street plan opens up into two adjacent plazas. The Plaza Salcedo is the longer arm of an L-shaped open space, with the Plaza Burgos as the shorter. The two plazas are dominated by the St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Archbishop’s Palace, the City Hall and the Provincial Capitol Building . The urban plan of the town closely conforms with the Renaissance grid plan specified in the Ley de la Indias for all new towns in the Spanish Empire. There is, however, a noticeable difference between Vigan and contemporary Spanish colonial towns in Latin America in the Historic Core (known as the Mestizo district), where the Latin tradition is tempered by strong Chinese, Ilocano, and Filipino influences. As its name implies, this district was settled by affluent families of mixed Chinese-Ilocano origin. The area contains the historic footprint of the entire town and consists of a total of 233historic buildings tightly strung along a grid of 25 streets.

The two storey structures are built of brick and wood, with a steeply pitched roof reminiscent of traditional Chinese architecture. The exterior walls of the upper storey are enclosed by window panels of kapis shells framed in wood which can be slid back for better ventilation. Most of the existing buildings were probably built in the mid 18th to late 19th centuries. Due to the economic decline of Vigan as an economic center after the World War II, only a few of the historic buildings had internal reorganization for alternative use. The Chinese merchants and traders conducted their business from shops, offices and storerooms on the ground floors of their houses, with the living quarters above. In addition to the domestic and commercial architecture, Vigan possesses a number of significant public buildings, which also show multi-cultural influences (read more).

Czechia - Gardens and Castle at Kroměříž

Archbishop's Chateau and the Chateau Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Kroměříž, Czechia.

Sent by Emil from Kroměříž, Czechia.

The ensemble formed by the archiepiscopal castle, an adjacent garden (Podzámecká zahrada) and a pleasure garden (Květná zahrada) situated nearby, is located in the historic centre of the town of Kroměříž, in the Zlín region of the Czech Republic.

The “Gardens and Castle at Kroměříž” illustrate a type of early Baroque architectural ensemble which introduced to central Europe, ravaged by war, high architectural values of Italian origin, linked with high-quality sculpture, paintings, and applied arts and enhanced by the acme of garden design in which the technological potential of the use of water was developed with virtuosity. The Castle Garden demonstrates, in an extraordinary way, the creative affinity between the garden art of central Europe and broader European trends in the design of landscape parks. The Pleasure Garden influenced Moravian garden design, whilst the influence of the Castle spread further, to the Danube region.

The “Gardens and Castle at Kroměříž” constitute a remarkably well preserved and basically unchanged example of a Baroque aristocratic ensemble (in this case the seat of an influential ecclesiastic) of residence and pleasure garden, with a larger park that reflects the Romanticism of the 19th century (read more).

USA - Wisconsin - The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright

Taliesin® Garden Court

Spring Green, Wisconsin

Taliesin, the Spring Garden, Wisconsin, home of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, was built in 1911 and served as the architect's residence and studio for nearly 50 years. Robert Campbell, Pulitzer-Prize-winning architecture critic, called Taliesin the "greatest single building in America." Wright had tea here every day at 4.00 p.m. with his apprentices.

Sent by Hannah from Georgia, USA.

The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright focusses upon the influence that the work of this architect had, not only in his country, the United States of America, but more importantly, on architecture of the 20th century and upon the recognized masters of the Modern Movement in architecture in Europe. The qualities of what is known as ‘Organic Architecture’ developed by Wright, including the open plan, the blurring between exterior and interior, the new uses of materials and technologies and the explicit responses to the suburban and natural settings of the various buildings, have been acknowledged as pivotal in the development of modern architectural design in the 20th century.

The property includes a series of eight buildings designed and built over the first half of the 20th century; each component has specific characteristics, representing new solutions to the needs for housing, worship, work, education and leisure. The diversity of functions, scale and setting of the components of the series fully illustrate the architectural principles of “organic architecture” (read more).

Germany - Bavaria - Old Town Of Regensburg With Stadtamhof

Regensburg Cathedral (Dom St. Peter) and 12th-century ancient Stone Bridge, a masterpiece of medieval engineering.

Sent by Sandy who grew up in Regensburg, Germany.

Located on the Danube River, the Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof is an exceptional example of a central-European medieval trading centre, which illustrates an interchange of cultural and architectural influences. The property encompasses the city centre on the south side of the river, two long islands in the Danube, the so-called Wöhrde (from the old German word: waird, meaning island or peninsula), and the area of the former charity hospital St Katharina in Stadtamhof, a district incorporated into the city of Regensburg only in 1924. A navigable canal, part of the European waterway of the Rhine-Main-Danube canal, forms the northern boundary of Stadtamhof.

A notable number of buildings of outstanding quality testify to its political, religious, and economic significance from the 9th century. The historic fabric reflects some two millennia of structural continuity and includes ancient Roman, Romanesque, and Gothic buildings. Regensburg's 11th to 13th century architecture still defines the character of the town marked by tall buildings, dark and narrow lanes, and strong fortifications. The buildings include medieval Patrician houses and towers, a large number of churches and monastic ensembles as well as the 12th century Stone Bridge (read more).

Germany - Mecklenburg-Vorpommern - Schwerin Residence Ensemble

Schwerin - State Capital of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Schwerin Castle is located on an island in Lake Schwerin. A Slavic princely castle was mentioned at this location as early as 1018. The current building was constructed between 1843 and 1857 in the Historicist style accordng to plans by the Schwerin master builder Demmer.

Sent by Andy from Rostock, a district in the North Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.

Established on the shores of Lake Schwerin, the Schwerin Residence Ensemble is an architectural and landscape ensemble which fits very precisely within the context of the emergence and development of the historicist style in Europe, in the second half of the 19th century, and particularly in the German kingdoms and principalities. The establishment of the seat of Grand Ducal power in the 19th century led to the implementation in the city of Schwerin of an architectural and landscape programme that illustrates all the civil and religious functions of a capital city that was the seat of a monarch.

As result of the diversity of the architectural programmes, the ensemble provides a wide spectrum of buildings, which reflect the 19th-century historicist style, and in certain cases refer to the more regional “Johann-Albrecht” style, connecting the programmes even more closely to the history of the Grand Duchy. The choice made to establish the seat next to lakes and ponds, creating a landscape in which the architecture and gardens are reflected in the water, is a perfect illustration of the romantic taste in 19th-century Europe (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey

Aerial view of Princely Abbey of Corvey, located in North Rhine-Westphalia, near the town of Höxter.

Sent by Hans from Bonn in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Surrounded by a still largely preserved rural setting and revealed from a distance by the pointed roofs and the bare-stone towers of the westwork, the Carolingian Westwork and the Civitas Corvey lie along the western side of the river Weser in the east of the town of Höxter, in North Rhine-Westphalia, close to the border of Lower Saxony. The Westwork of Corvey in Höxter on the River Weser is one of the few Carolingian structures of which the main parts have been preserved, and the only example of a westwork building from that time still standing. It combines innovation and references to ancient models at a high level. As a building type it has considerably influenced western ecclesiastical Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Corvey was one of the most influential monasteries of the Frankish Empire. Its missionary task was highly important with regard to politico-religious processes in many parts of Europe. As an imperial abbey, Corvey not only had intellectual and religious functions with regard to the conversion of Saxony and adjacent areas but was also of political and economic importance as an outpost of the Frankish Empire on the edge of the Christian world at that time. The original preserved vaulted hall with columns and pillars on the ground floor and the main room encircled by galleries on three sides on the upper floor make Corvey one of the most striking examples of the “Carolingian Renaissance”. This applies to the documented original artistic decoration of the elements which still exist on the ground and on the upper floors, including life-size stucco figures and mythological friezes presenting the only known example of wall paintings of ancient mythology with Christian interpretation in Carolingian times. The structure and the decoration refer to the world of ideas of Carolingian times which has become an essential part of western history. Corvey is linked with cultural centres in Europe through historical tradition as well as through the preserved design of the building and archaeological evidence from beyond the former Carolingian empire. An inscription tablet originating from the time of the foundation of the monastery names the Civitas Corvey which can be identified with the area of the monastery by archaeological evidence. The deserted town close to the Westwork and the monastic compound preserves archaeological evidence of a quite important settlement of the Early and the Late Middle Ages (read more).

Germany - Lower Saxony - Goslar Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market)

Goslar Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) in Goslar in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is in the Historic Town of Goslar, A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Günter from Goslar, Germany.

The Goslar Christmas Market & Christmas Forest is one of the most beautiful in Europe. Around 70 stalls offer regional delicacies, artisan crafts, and gift ideas. Surrounded by 160,000 lights and 60 trees, the Christmas Forest creates a magical atmosphere in the heart of the historic old town (read more).

Belarus - Architectural, Residential and Cultural Complex of the Radziwill Family at Nesvizh (3)

Nesvizh Castle

Sent by Lena from Grodno, Belarus.

Nesvizh Castle or Nyasvizh Castle is a residential castle of the Radziwiłł family in Nyasvizh (Nesvizh), Belarus. It is 183 metres (600 ft) above sea level^] Built originally in the 16th and 17th centuries, throughout its history the site has been sacked, damaged and abandoned repeatedly, and has seen multiple different uses including as a storehouse. Finally it has been extensively rebuilt and restored from 2004–2012. In 2005, the castle, church, and surrounding environment were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The castle and the nearby Corpus Christi Church were instrumental in the development of Central European and Russian architecture (read more).

Netherlands - North Holland - Brouwersgracht

City poet Gershwin Bonevacia wrote the poem "Klein Koninkrijk" (Little Kingdom) about Amsterdam's canal district. This Brouwersgracht Canal area has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site under Seventeenth-Century Canal RingArea of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht since 2010. The poem is on display as light art at the Amsterdam World Heritage Visitor Center.

Sent by Mar from Zwolle, Netherlands.

The Brouwersgracht is a canal in Amsterdam that connects the Singel with the Singelgracht. The canal marks the northwestern border of the Grachtengordel (canal belt). Between the Prinsengracht and the Singelgracht the Brouwersgracht forms the northern border of the Jordaan neighborhood.

The house numbers of the Lijnbaansgracht, the Prinsengracht, the Keizersgracht, the Herengracht and the Singel start to count from the Brouwersgracht. The Herenmarkt is located between Brouwersgracht no. 62 and no. 68, near the West-Indisch Huis (West Indies House).

In 2007 Brouwersgracht was voted the most beautiful street in Amsterdam by readers of Het Parool out of 150 nominations (read more).

Japan - Nara Prefecture - Todaiji Temple

The hall for the great image of Buddha at night of New Year's eve, Todaiji Temple. Todaiji Temple is one of many sites under Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara, a UNESCO World Heritage site, inscribed in 1998.

Sent by Megumi from Nara, Japan.

Tōdai-ji (東大寺, Todaiji temple; "Eastern Great Temple") is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. The construction of the temple was an attempt to imitate Chinese temples from the much-admired Tang dynasty. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The temple has undergone several reconstructions, including one initiated by Minamoto Yoritomo in 1181 (entrusted to Chogen, a monk of the Jodo sect) which included the standardization of existing buildings and the strengthening of visible pillars. Since then, one of the most significant reconstruction (that of the Great Buddha Hall) took place in 1709. However, it was on the verge of collapse in the late 19th century due to the weight of its huge roof. The collapse was prevented through a first restoration (1904–1913), and its current appearance was completed using steel framing between 1974 and 1980. Its Great Buddha Hall (大仏殿 Daibutsuden) houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese as Daibutsu (大仏). The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon school of Buddhism. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", together with seven other sites (including temples, shrines and places) in the city of Nara (read more).

Poland - Cracow's Historic Centre (4)

Historical buildings and scenes in Krakow, Poland, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Jacek from Krakow, Poland. 

My other thress postcards of Cracow's Historic Centre are here, here, and here.

China - Mutianyu Section of The Great Wall of China

Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall.

Sent by Francoise from Beijing, China.

Mutianyu (Chinese: 慕田峪; pinyin: Mùtiányù) is a section of the Great Wall of China located in Huairou District within the city limits of Beijing 70 kilometers (43 mi) northeast of the center of the city. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is connected with Jiankou in the west and Lianhuachi in the east. As one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall, the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall used to serve as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs.

First built in the mid-6th century during the Northern Qi, the Mutianyu section is older than the better known Badaling section of the Great Wall. During the Ming dynasty, under the supervision of general Xu Da, construction of the present wall began, building over the previous wall. In 1404, a pass was built in the wall. In 1569, the Mutianyu Great Wall was rebuilt and still today most parts of it are well preserved. The Mutianyu Great Wall has the largest construction scale and best quality among all sections of Great Wall (read more).

China - Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Sent by Moki from Hangzhou, China.

The Great Wall was continuously built from the 3rd century BC to the 17th century AD on the northern border of the country as the great military defence project of successive Chinese Empires, with a total length of more than 20,000 kilometers. The Great Wall begins in the east at Shanhaiguan in Hebei province and ends at Jiayuguan in Gansu province to the west. Its main body consists of walls, horse tracks, watch towers, and shelters on the wall, and includes fortresses and passes along the Wall.

The Great Wall reflects collision and exchanges between agricultural civilizations and nomadic civilizations in ancient China. It provides significant physical evidence of the far-sighted political strategic thinking and mighty military and national defence forces of central empires in ancient China, and is an outstanding example of the superb military architecture, technology and art of ancient China. It embodies unparalleled significance as the national symbol for safeguarding the security of the country and its people (read more).

Australia - New South Wales - Sydney Opera House (3)

NEW SOUTH WALES

Sydney Opera House at sunset.

Sent by Maria from Australia.

My other two postcards of Sydney Opera House are here, and here.

Australia - Western Australia - Bungle Bungle Range

Bungle Bungle Range, Western Australia.

The range remained largely unknown except by local Aboriginal people and stockmen until 1982 when film-makers arrived and produced a documentary about the Kimberley. The area was gazetted as a National Park in 1987 and was also inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site of Purnululu National Park in 2003.

Sent by Krystiina from NSW, Australia.

The Bungle Bungle Range is a major landform and the main feature of the Purnululu National Park, situated in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The distinctive beehive-shaped towers are made up of sandstones and conglomerates (rocks composed mainly of pebbles and boulders and cemented together by finer material). These sedimentary formations were deposited into the Red Basin 275 to 250 million years ago, when active faults altered the landscape. The combined effects of wind from the Tanami Desert and rainfall over millions of years shaped the domes.

The range is found on the plains fringing the eastern Kimberley region. The ranges consist of stacks of ancient seabeds with layers of dolomite contained throughout them. A 7-kilometre (4.3 mi) diameter circular topographic feature is clearly visible on satellite images of the Bungle Bungle Range. It is believed that this feature is the eroded remnant of a very ancient meteorite impact crater and is known as the Piccaninny crater (read more).

Australia - Northern Territory - Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (2)

Uluru.

Sent by Ros from Tasmania, Australia.

Uluru (/ˌuːləˈruː/; Pitjantjatjara: Uluṟu [ˈʊlʊɻʊ]), also known as Ayers Rock (/ˈɛərz/ AIRS) and officially gazetted as Uluru / Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, 335 km (208 mi) south-west of Alice Springs.

Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area, known as the Aṉangu. The area around the formation is home to an abundance of springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Uluru and Kata Tjuta (also known as the Olgas) are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park.

Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural landmarks and has been a popular destination for tourists since the late 1930s. It is also one of the most important indigenous sites in Australia (read more).

South Africa - Robben Island (3)

ROBBEN ISLAND - CAPE TOWN - SOUTH AFRICA

Robben Island lies 9.678 km from Table Bay Harbour and 7.03 km from Bloubergstrand. This island has attracted enormous interest especially since the release of its famous inmate, Nelson Mandela in 1990. Today the Prison is a National Monument and a World Heritage Site housing a museum showcasing material that recorded the lives and times of those who fought against apartheid.

This is one of the three postcards sent to my daughter, by The Branch Manager of The Post Office at Robben Island Museum in 2014. It reached our address during our busy days of moving house. The other two are here and here.

Robben Island was used at various times between the 17th century and the 20th century as a prison, a hospital for socially unacceptable groups, and a military base. Its buildings, and in particular those of the late 20th century maximum security prison for political prisoners, testify to the way in which democracy and freedom triumphed over oppression and racism.

What survives from its episodic history are 17th century quarries, the tomb of Hadije Kramat who died in 1755, 19th century ‘village’ administrative buildings including a chapel and parsonage, small lighthouse, the lepers’ church, the only remains of a leper colony, derelict World War II military structures around the harbour and the stark and functional maximum security prison of the Apartheid period began in the 1960s.

The symbolic value of Robben Island lies in its somber history, as a prison and a hospital for unfortunates who were sequestered as being socially undesirable. This came to an end in the 1990s when the inhuman Apartheid regime was rejected by the South African people and the political prisoners who had been incarcerated on the Island received their freedom after many years (read more).

South Africa - Robben Island (2)

ROBBEN ISLAND - SOUTH AFRICA

Robben Island lies 9.678 km from Table Bay Harbour and 7.03 km from Bloubergstrand. It was here that Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years with many of his comrades. Today the island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This is one of the three postcards sent to my daughter, by The Branch Manager of The Post Office at Robben Island Museum in 2014. It reached our address during our busy days of moving house.

South Africa - Robben Island (1)

ROBBEN ISLAND - CAPE TOWN - SOUTH AFRICA

Prison in sight of paradise. From here Nelson Mandela and his fellow prisoners once looked out on the city from where they would one day rule South Africa.

This is one of the three postcards sent to my daughter, by The Branch Manager of The Post Office at Robben Island Museum in 2014. It reached our address during our busy days of moving house.

Brazil - Minas Gerais - Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas

Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The top image shows the exterior of a small chapel, identified as the "Passo da Crucificação (Step of the Crucifixion). The bottom image depicts a dramatic religious sculpture scene inside the chapel likely part of the "Steps of the Passion" series created by the celebrated sculptor Aleijadinho and his workshop in the late 18th century.

Sent by Denise from Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Standing high on a platform reached by a slightly  curved, divided staircase carrying on its parapets statues of the twelve prophets in soapstone (pedra sabão), the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Congonhas is approached via a ramped forecourt between six chapels marking Stations of the Cross (the Passos). Dating from the second half of the 18th century, the church with its magnificent Italian rococo interior is a masterpiece of the Baroque style reflecting in its architecture and ornamentation the transition period in which it was built. The soapstone statues together with the polychrome wooden sculptures depicting scenes of Christ’s Passion housed in the chapels stand as a crowning achievement of the creative genius of Francisco Antônio Lisboa, Aleijadinho, who bequeathed to humanity a truly impressive body of work (read more).