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). 

USA - Alaska - Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park was established in 1980, the 48th among America's National Parks. Located in southeastern Alaska, it looms over the Canadian Yukon border. Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest National Park with 13 million acres, the size of Yellowstone, Yosemite and Switzerland combined! Mt. St. Elias, at 18,008 feet, is the second highest peak in the U.S.  Mt. Wrangell, at 14,163 feet, is one of the largest active volcanoes in Nort America.

Sent by Margaret from Nevada, USA.

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve is a United States national park and preserve in south central Alaska. The park, the largest in the United States, covers the Wrangell Mountains and a large portion of the Saint Elias Mountains, which include most of the highest peaks in the United States and Canada, yet are within 10 miles (16 km) of tidewater, one of the highest reliefs in the world. The park's high point is Mount Saint Elias at 18,008 feet (5,489 m), the second tallest mountain in both the United States and Canada. The park has been shaped by the competing forces of volcanism and glaciation, with its tall mountains uplifted by plate tectonics. Mount Wrangell and Mount Churchill are among major volcanos in these ranges. The park's glacial features include Malaspina Glacier, the largest piedmont glacier in North America, Hubbard Glacier, the longest tidewater glacier in Alaska, and Nabesna Glacier, the world's longest valley glacier. The Bagley Icefield covers much of the park's interior, which includes 60% of the permanently ice-covered terrain in Alaska. At the center of the park and preserve, the boomtown of Kennecott exploited one of the world's richest deposits of copper from 1903 to 1938. The abandoned mine buildings and mills comprise a National Historic Landmark district (read more).

Germany - Lower Saxony - St Mary's Cathedral and St Michael's Church at Hildesheim

Historical landmarks in the German city of Hildesheim. Featured landmarks include;  

- the Knochenhauer-Amtshaus (Butchers' Guild Hall), a reconstructed half-timbered building,

- St. Michaelis Church and the Hildensheim Cathedral are both UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Sent by Holger from Hildesheim, Germany.

The ancient Benedictine abbey church of St Michael in Hildesheim, located in the north of Germany, is one of the key monuments of medieval art, built between 1010 and 1022 by Bernward, Bishop of Hildesheim. St Michael’s is one of the rare major constructions in Europe around the turn of the millennium which still conveys a unified impression of artistry, without having undergone any substantial mutilations or critical transformations in basic and detailed structures.

St Michael's Church was built on a symmetrical ground plan with two apses that was characteristic of Ottonian Romanesque art in Old Saxony. Its interior, in particular the wooden ceiling and painted stucco-work, together with the treasures of St Mary's Cathedral – in particular its famous bronze doors and the Bernward bronze column – make the property of exceptional interest as examples of the Romanesque churches of the Holy Roman Empire. The harmony of the interior structure of St Michael’s and its solid exterior is an exceptional achievement in architecture of the period. Of basilical layout with opposed apses, the church is characterised by its symmetrical design: the east and west choirs are each preceded by a transept which protrudes substantially from the side aisles; elegant circular turrets on the axis of the gable of both transept arms contrast with the silhouettes of the massive lantern towers located at the crossing. In the nave, the presence of square impost pillars alternating in an original rhythm with columns having cubic capitals creates a type of elevation which proved very successful in Ottonian and Romanesque art (read more).

Spain - Catalonia - Casa Milà (La Pedrera)

LA PEDRERA (1906 - 1912). ANTONI GAUDI.

Sent by Juan Carlos from Barcelona, Spain.

Casa Milà (Catalan: [ˈkazə miˈla], Spanish: [ˈkasa miˈla]), popularly known as La Pedrera (Catalan: [lə pəˈðɾeɾə], Spanish: [la peˈðɾeɾa]; "the stone quarry") in reference to its unconventional rough-hewn appearance, is a Modernista building in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was the last private residence designed by architect Antoni Gaudí and was built between 1906 and 1912.

The building was commissioned in 1906 by Pere Milà [ca; es] and his wife Roser Segimon. At the time, it was controversial because of its undulating stone facade, twisting wrought iron balconies, and design by Josep Maria Jujol. Several structural innovations include a self-supporting stone façade, and a free-plan floor, underground garage and the spectacular terrace on the roof.

In 1984, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Since 2013 it has been the headquarters of the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera, which manages visits to the building, exhibitions and other cultural and educational activities at Casa Milà (read more).

Bulgaria - Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari

Sboryanovo, Bulgaria

Municipality of Isperih, the historical-archaeological Reserve "Sboryanovo". A Thracian King's vault (4th-3rd B.C.). A monument of the world's cultural-historical heritage.

Sent by Nelly from Sofia, Bulgaria.

Discovered in 1982 near the village of Sveshtari, this 3rd-century BC Thracian tomb reflects the fundamental structural principles of Thracian cult buildings. The tomb has a unique architectural decor, with polychrome half-human, half-plant caryatids and painted murals. The 10 female figures carved in high relief on the walls of the central chamber and the decoration of the lunette in its vault are the only examples of this type found so far in the Thracian lands. It is a remarkable reminder of the culture of the Getes, a Thracian people who were in contact with the Hellenistic and Hyperborean worlds, according to ancient geographers.

The Thracian Tomb near Sveshtari is an extremely rare and very well preserved monument of the sepulchral architecture containing remarkable elements in terms of their quality and style sculpture and painting. The Tomb is also remarkable for the fact that it represents local art, inspired by Hellenism, a rare case of an interrupted creative process which possesses specific characteristics (read more).

Bulgaria - Boyana Church

BULGARIA - SOFIA

Boyana Church St. Nicholas and St. Panteleimon

1. Exterior of the church;

2. Tsaritsa Irina, wall painting, 1259; and

3. Interior of the church.

Sent Zenny from Sofia, Bulgaria.

Located on the outskirts of Sofia, Boyana Church consists of three buildings. The eastern church was built in the 10th century, then enlarged at the beginning of the 13th century by Sebastocrator Kaloyan, who ordered a second two storey building to be erected next to it. The frescoes in this second church, painted in 1259, make it one of the most important collections of medieval paintings. The ensemble is completed by a third church, built at the beginning of the 19th century. This site is one of the most complete and perfectly preserved monuments of east European medieval art.

There are several layers of wall paintings in the interior from the 11th, 13th, 15-17th and 19th centuries which testify to the high level of wall painting during the different periods. The paintings with the most outstanding artistic value are those from 13th century. Whilst they interpret the Byzantine canon, the images have a special spiritual expressiveness and vitality and are painted in harmonious proportions (read more).

Slovakia - Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the Carpathian Mountain Area

Ladomirová

The wooden church of St. Michael the Archangel with a bell tower from 1742 was built without a single nail. It has been a national cultural monument since 1968 and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 8 July 2008.

Sent by Julia from Hokovce, Slovakia.

The wooden churches of the Slovak part of Carpathian Mountain Area, illustrate the coexistence of different religious faiths within a small territory of central Europe. The series of eight properties includes Roman Catholic, Protestant and Greek Orthodox churches that were built between the 16th and 18th centuries, most of them in quite isolated villages, using wood as the main material and traditional construction techniques. Within the framework of their common features, the churches exhibit some typological variations, in accordance with the correspondent faith, expressed in their plans, interior spaces and external appearance. The churches also bear testimony to the development of major architectural and artistic trends during the period of construction and its interpretation and adaptation to a specific geographical and cultural context. Interiors are decorated with wall and ceiling paintings and works of art that enrich the cultural significance of the properties (read more).

China - Anhui Province - Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun

Qiankou Dwellings (Ming Dynasty) / Huangshan City

Anhui Dwellings

Sent by Ting from Shenyang, China.

Xidi and Hongcun are two outstanding traditional villages, located in Yi County, Huangshan City in south Anhui Province, with commercial activities as their primary source of income, family and clan-based social organization, and well known for their regional culture. The overall layout, landscape, architectural form, decoration, and construction techniques all retain the original features of Anhui villages between the 14th and 20th centuries.

Deeply influenced by the traditional culture of pre-modern Anhui Province, these two villages, Xidi and Hongcun, were built by successful officials or merchants returning home from official appointments and business, and gradually developed into models of conventional Chinese village construction. Xidi is surrounded by mountains and built along and between three streams running east-west, which converge at the Huiyuan Bridge to the south. Hongcun is located at the foot of a hill next to a stream which forms two pools, the Moon Pond in the centre of the village and the other to the south. Characterised by rhythmic space variation and tranquil alleyways; and with water originating from a picturesque garden, the whole reflects the pursuit of coexistence, unity and the harmony of man and nature. The unique and exquisite style of Anhui buildings is conveyed in plain and elegant colors, their gables decorated with delicate and elegant carvings, their interiors filled with tasteful furnishings. The rigid patriarchal system together with gentle and sincere folk customs reflects the cultural ideas of scholar-bureaucrats in feudal society who paid special respect to Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism. These surviving villages bear scientific, cultural and aesthetic values with their 600-plus-year history. They are rich sources for the study of regional histories and cultures (read more).

Egypt - Saint Catherine Area

EGYPT

The Monastery of Mount Sinai - St. Catherine

I bought this postcard during my trip to Egypt in early September 2025. Due to my tight programs, and the unavailability of stamps at some Post Offices, I did not mail any postcards from Egypt.

The Orthodox Monastery of Saint Catherine stands at the foot of Mount Horeb where, the Old Testament records, Moses received the Tablets of the Law. The mountain is known and revered by Muslims as Jebel Musa. The entire area is sacred to three Monotheistic religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The Monastery, founded in the 6th century, is the oldest Christian monastery still in use for its initial function. Its walls and buildings are of great significance to studies of Byzantine architecture and the Monastery houses outstanding collections of early Christian manuscripts and icons. The rugged mountainous landscape around, containing numerous archaeological and religious sites and monuments, forms a perfect backdrop for the Monastery. Along the Path of Moses (Sikket Sayidna Musa), leading to the summit of Mount Moses, there are two arches, the Gate of Stephen and the Gate of the Law and the remains of chapels, while the Holy Summit itself is an important archaeological site with a mosque and chapel.

Saint Catherine Area is of immense spiritual significance to three world monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Saint Catherine’s is one of the very early outstanding Christian monasteries in the world, and has retained its monastic function without a break from its foundation in the 6th century. The Byzantine walls protect a group of buildings of great importance both for the study of Byzantine architecture and in Christian spiritual terms. The complex also contains some exceptional examples of Byzantine art and houses outstanding collections of manuscripts and icons. Its siting demonstrates a deliberate attempt to establish an intimate bond between natural beauty and remoteness on the one hand and human spiritual commitment on the other (read more).

Egypt - Saint Catherine

EGYPT

Sinai : Saint Catherine

I bought this postcard during my trip to Egypt in early September 2025. Due to my tight programs, and the unavailability of stamps at some Post Offices, I did not mail any postcards from Egypt.

Saint Catherine (Egyptian Arabic: سانت كاترين, pronounced [ˈsænte kætˈɾiːn]; Greek: Αγία Αικατερίνη; also spelled Saint Katrine) is a town located in the South Sinai Governorate of Egypt, situated at the foot of Mount Sinai. The city is the site of Saint Catherine's Monastery.

The city is 1,586 metres (5,203 ft) above sea level and is 120 kilometres (75 mi) from Nuweiba. In 1994, its population was 4,603 people. In 2002, the Saint Catherine area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During Egypt’s Pharaonic Era (3200-323 BCE), although Saint Catherine was not yet established as a city, the area was part of the Egyptian Empire in the province of "Deshret Reithu."

In the 16th century BCE, the Egyptian pharaohs built the way of Shur across Sinai to Beersheba and on to Jerusalem. The region provided the Egyptian Empire with turquoise, gold, and copper. Well-preserved ruins of mines and temples are found not far from Saint Catherine at Serabit el-Khadim and Wadi Mukattab, the Valley of Inscription. They include temples from the 12th Dynasty, dedicated to Hathor, goddess of love, music, and beauty, and from the New Kingdom dedicated to Sopdu, the god of the Eastern Desert (read more).

Egypy - Smoking Chicha

Man smoking Chicha in Aswan, Egypt. Aswan, is a UNESCO World Heritage site named Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae.

I bought this postcard during my trip to Egypt in early September 2025. Due to my tight programs, and the unavailability of stamps at some Post Offices, I did not mail any postcards from Egypt.

The Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae lie in the Governorate of Aswan. It is a serial property of ten component parts covering 374.48 ha: Abu Simbel, Amada, Wadi Sebua, Kalabsha, Philae (Island of Agilkia), Old and Middle Kingdom Tombs, Ruins of town of Elephantine, Stone quarries and obelisk, Monastery of St. Simeon, and the Islamic Cemetery. The first five component parts contain temples moved during the UNESCO International Campaign from 1960 to 1980 to save them from flooding by the Nile and Lake Nasser because they were recognised as internationally significant by the international community. The remaining five cover antiquities of the Aswan area.

This stretch of the Nile from Aswan in the north to the Sudanese border in the south is an archaeological haven. Home to temples ranging from the New Kingdom to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, as well as early Coptic sites and villages, the region’s monuments represent the breadth of Nubian cultural articulations, and the various influences shaping the culture over time (read more).