Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Mönchengladbach

A collage of landmarks from Mönchengladbach, Germany.

Sent by Birgit from Mönchengladbach, Germany.

Mönchengladbach (German: [mœnçn̩ˈɡlatbax]; Limburgish: Jlabbach [jəˈlɑbɑx]) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany, west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border.

The original name of the city was Gladbach, by which it is still often known today. To distinguish it from another town of the same name (the present Bergisch Gladbach), it took the name München-Gladbach ('Monks’ Gladbach', in reference to the abbey) in 1888. Between 1933 and 1950, it was written München Gladbach' (short: M. Gladbach), without a hyphen. This spelling was seen as potentially misleading, as it could imply that Gladbach was a borough of Munich (German: München), so consequently the name was changed to Mönchen-Gladbach in 1950 (and subsequently Mönchengladbach in 1960) to avoid confusion (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 - North Rhine-Westphalia - Blancken Windmill

Blancken Windmill (Blancken-Mühle) in Erkelenz, Germany.

Sent by Mirjam from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Nationwide, land-use targets apply to the expansion of onshore wind energy. These are based on the so-called Wind Energy Land-Use Requirements Act (WindBG). The law sets expansion targets for each federal state; for North Rhine-Westphalia, this means that 1.8 percent of the state's land area should be designated for wind energy by 2032. Which areas—including parts of the Erkelenz urban area—are now designated for wind energy was a key component of the revision of the Renewable Energy Sectoral Plan within the regional plans, which are part of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Development Plan (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Aachen Cathedral (4)

Aachen Cathedral, view from the north side.

Sent by Monika from Würselen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

My other three postcards of Aachen Cathedral are here, here, and here.

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Wuppertal Suspension Railway

Wuppertal Suspension Railway (Schwebebahn) in Wuppertal, Germany.

Sent by Ralf from Remscheid, Germany.

The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn (English: Wuppertal's Suspension Railway) is a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. The line was originally called in German: Einschienige Hängebahn System Eugen Langen (English: Single-Rail Hanging Railway, System of Eugen Langen) named after its inventor, Eugen Langen. It is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars in the world. Being grade-separated, it is considered rapid transit.

Langen first offered the technology to the cities of Berlin, Munich, and Breslau which all turned it down. However, the towns of Barmen, Elberfeld, and Vohwinkel along the banks of the river Wupper were intrigued by the technology’s ability to connect their communities. The elevated tracks and stations were built between 1897 and 1903; the first track opened in 1901. The railway line is credited with growth of the original cities and their eventual merger into Wuppertal. The Schwebebahn is still in use as a local public transport line, moving 25 million passengers annually, per the 2008 annual report. New rail cars were ordered in 2015, called Generation 15, and the first new car went into service in December 2016.

The Schwebebahn runs along a route of 13.3 kilometres (8.3 mi), at a height of about 12 metres (39 ft) above the river Wupper between Oberbarmen and Sonnborner Straße (10 kilometres or 6.2 miles) and about 8 metres (26 ft) above the valley road between Sonnborner Straße and Vohwinkel (3.3 kilometres or 2.1 miles). At one point the railway crosses the A46 motorway. The entire trip takes about 30 minutes. The Schwebebahn operates within the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) and accepts tickets issued by the VRR companies including the Deutschlandticket (read more).

Germany - Saarland / Rhineland-Palatinate / North Rhine-Westphalia - Red Moselle Vineyard Peach

"Red Moselle Vineyard Peach" (Der Rote Mosel- Weinbergpfirsich), a fruit deeply rooted in the Moselle region of Germany. The fruit is  a "typical Moselle fruit" and includes images of the peaches, their blossoms, and scenes from Cochem, a town in the area known for celebrating this fruit.

Sent by Rainer from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

A fruit that is deeply rooted in the region thrives along the Moselle: the Moselle vineyard peach. With its rich, red flesh and distinctive aroma, it delights locals and visitors alike.

The fruit, which originated in China, reached the Moselle via Persia as early as Roman times, where it was successfully cultivated. Today, around 10,000 vineyard peach trees grow here—most of them in the district of Cochem-Zell, along the picturesque river bends between Cochem and Reil.

The Moselle region offers a very special natural spectacle in spring when the vineyard peach trees are in bloom. From late March to early April, the bright pink blossoms transform the steep vineyard slopes into a colorful sea of flowers. This time of year attracts nature lovers, photographers, and hikers alike, who explore the slopes and admire the magnificent blossoms (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia / Hesse - Romantic Rhine Region

Various places in the "Romantic Rhine" region in Germany.

Sent by Jennifer from Kaiserslautern, Germany.

The eminent 18th century German writer and naturalist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe knew all about the beauty of the Rhine Valley and travelled throughout its unique cultural landscape. The Rhine was one of Germany’s first tourist destinations. Today it offers an enormous variety of cultural attractions, leisure pursuits and recreational activities.

Even under the current exceptional circumstances, a holiday on the Romantic Rhine is still worthwhile: Hike along the Rheinsteig and RheinBurgenWeg trails, cycle along the Rhine Cycle Route or relax and watch the world go by on one of the riverboats. There are more than 60 castles, fortresses and palaces just waiting to be discovered. And you can round off your day with a glass of Riesling and a view of the Rhine (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Düsseldorf - Media Harbour

The Gehry Buildings in the Media Harbour and the Rheinturm (Rhine Tower) in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Sent by Jürgen from Düsseldorf, Germany.

Neuer Zollhof or Der Neue Zollhof (The New Zollhof, named after a former customs facility), located at Neuer Zollhof 2-6, Unterbilk, is a prominent landmark of Düsseldorf-Hafen, part of the redeveloped port of Düsseldorf, Germany.

The building complex consisting of three separate buildings, was designed by Canadian-American architect Frank O. Gehry and completed in 1998. Floorplans and facades of all three buildings curve and lean, reason for them being likened to leaning towers. The tallest building is 14 stories high and just under 50 m tall. Each building has a different facade cladding - the outer two in white plaster and red brick respectively; the central building's stainless steel facade reflects material and shapes of its two neighbour buildings.

The buildings have a total gross floor area of 29,000 square metres. A previous architectural design competition for the site was won by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid during the early 1990s, however never commissioned.

The buildings are also popular with tourists who visit the region (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Sauerland

Sauerland, a a mountain region known for its forests, resrvoirs, and rolling hills.

Sent by Tina from Sauerland, Germany.

The Sauerland (German: [ˈzaʊɐlant]) is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited.

The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in North Rhine-Westphalia, in particular for mountain biking and cycling, water sports and scenic recreation. The town and Skiliftkarussell of Winterberg in the Hochsauerlandkreis is a major winter sport resort.

The name Sauerland is first mentioned as Suderland in an official document from 1266. After 1400 the letter 'd' started to disappear. Therefore, Sauerland = southern country is the most convincing meaning, opposed to the theory that Sauer is from the German word sauer meaning sour (poor "sour" soil). Linguistically, "suder-“ is similar to the Old Saxon sûðar (southbound) (read more).

Germany - Middle Rhein Valley (Mittelrhein)

Various scenic locations in Middle Rhein Valley (Mittelrhein) in Germany. 

Sent by Katrin from Potsdam in Brandenburg, Germany.

Middle Rhine (German: Mittelrhein, pronounced [ˈmɪtl̩ˌʁaɪn]; kilometres 529 to 660 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn in Germany. It flows through the Rhine Gorge (Oberes Mittelrheintal), a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at about its original level, and the surrounding lands raised. This gorge is quite deep, about 130 metres (430 ft) from the top of the rocks down to the average water-line.

The Middle Rhine is one of four sections of the Rhine between Lake Constance and the North Sea (the others being the High Rhine, Upper Rhine and Lower Rhine). The upper half of the Middle Rhine (Rhine Gorge) from Bingen (Rhine-kilometer 526) to Koblenz (Rhine-kilometer 593) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a striking cultural landscape with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the Middle Ages, unique terraced vineyards, and many wine villages. The lower half, from Koblenz (Rhine-kilometer 593) to Bonn (Rhine-kilometer 655), is famous for the formerly volcanic Siebengebirge, with the Drachenfels volcano. Both parts together are known as "the romantic Rhine" (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Issum

Issum - Forecourt of the Catholic Parish.

Sent by Ingo from Krefeld in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Issum is a municipality in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of Geldern (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Essen (3)

Greetings From Essen.

Sent by Michaela from Essen, Germany.

This is my third postcard of Essen. My other two are here, and here.

Germany - North Rhine Westphalia - Cologne (2)

Greetings From Cologne.

Rhine boat trip against the backdrop of Cologne's old town.

Sent by Katharina from Hilden, Germany.

My oher Greetings from Cologne postcard is here.

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Cologne's Flora Botanical Garden

Flora Botanical Garden.

Sent by Jacqueline from Cologne, Germany.

The Flora und Botanischer Garten Köln (11.5 hectares) is a municipal formal park and botanical garden located adjacent to Cologne Zoological Garden at Amsterdamer Straße 34, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is open daily without charge.

The garden dates to 1863 when a private company was organized to create Flora park (5.5 hectares) as a replacement for the city's older botanical garden near the Cologne Cathedral, which in 1857 was destroyed for construction of the central railway station. This new park was designed by Peter Joseph Lenné in 1864 in a mixed German style, incorporating French Baroque, Italian Renaissance, and English landscape garden elements. In its center is a glass palace (orangery) structure of cast iron and glass patterned upon the Crystal Palace (London) and Jardin d'hiver (Paris), which served as an exhibition site through the late 19th century, including horticultural exhibitions in 1875 and 1888, and an industrial exhibition in 1889. Frauen-Rosenhof, an Art Nouveau garden, was added in 1906 (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Gasometer Oberhausen

Gasometer at Night.

Sent by Markus from Oelde in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

The Gasometer Oberhausen is a former gas holder in Oberhausen, Germany, which has been converted into an exhibition space. It has hosted several large scale exhibitions, including two by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The Gasometer is an industrial landmark, and an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage and the Industrial Heritage Trail. It was built in the 1920s, and reconstructed after World War II.

n the 1920s the coal and steel industry in the Ruhrgebiet produced blast furnace gas and coal gas as a by-product of iron production and coking. The steel industry and coking processes used large amounts of these gasses or alternative fuels. As supply and demand of gas varied independently, sometimes excess gas had to be flared off, while at other times additional fuel had to be purchased. The Gasometer was built as a buffer: storing excess gas and releasing it again when demand exceeded production (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Müngsten Bridge

Müngsten Bridge.

Sent by Ralf from Remscheid, Germany.

The Müngsten Bridge is the highest railway bridge in Germany. The bridge is 107 metres (351 ft) high and spans the valley of the river Wupper, carrying the Wuppertal-Oberbarmen–Solingen railway between the cities of Remscheid and Solingen. It is used by line S7 of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn and the RE47 Regional-Express service, although the RE47 service is being operated by a replacement bus service until 2026.

Originally the bridge was named the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke (Emperor Wilhelm Bridge) to honour Emperor Wilhelm I. After the end of the monarchy the bridge was renamed after the nearby settlement of Müngsten, which is close to the city limits of Solingen, Remscheid and Wuppertal. Today, the settlement no longer exists, so Müngsten is simply a landmark (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Wuppertal

Greetings from Wuppertal.

Sent by Lily from Wuppertal, Germany.

Wuppertal (German pronunciation: [ˈvʊpɐtaːl] ; lit. 'Wupper Dale') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and 17th-largest in Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of Elberfeld, Barmen, Ronsdorf, Cronenberg and Vohwinkel, and was initially called "Barmen-Elberfeld" before adopting its present name in 1930. It is the capital and largest city of the Bergisches Land (read more).

Thanks for the stamp of Freddie Mercury

Germany - North-Rhine Westphalia - Gruiten

Gruiten Village - Vullage Green and Haus am Quall

Sent by Heiner from Haan, Germany.

The historic centre of Gruiten-Dorf, a district of Haan in neanderland, impresses with its well-preserved half-timbered and slate houses from the 17th and 18th centuries. The cobbled streets and the idyllic location in the valley of th.e Düssel give the village a special charm. Sights such as the Evangelical Reformed Church from 1721 and the Romanesque church tower of the old St. Nicholas Church from the 12th century bear witness to the long history of the place. Surrounded by hiking trails such as the NeanderlandSTEIG and the Kalkroute, Gruiten-Dorf is a popular destination for culture and nature lovers (read more).

Germany - Cologne Cathedral (3)

Cologne Cathedral on the Rhine.The cathedral towers over the cosmopolitan Rhine metropolis of Cologne with its countless cultural and historical treasures, its world-faous museums, and its active art scene.
The Cologne Carnival and the beer Kölsch served in many typical pubsand breweries are famous.

Sent by Dirk from Cologne, Germany.

My other two of Cologne Cathedral postcards are here and here.

Germany - Ehrenfeld

43 GERHARD-WILCZEK-PLATZ / EHRENFELD

Sent by Anni from Cologne, Germany.

Ehrenfeld (German: Köln-Ehrenfeld [kœln ˈʔeːʁənfɛlt]; Kölsch: Ihrefäld [ˈi²ʁəfɛlt]) is a borough (Stadtbezirk) of the City of Cologne in Germany. It includes the seven quarters Bickendorf, Bocklemünd, Mengenich, Ehrenfeld, Neuehrenfeld, Ossendorf and Vogelsang. It has about 109,500 inhabitants (as of December 2020) and covers an area of 23.98 square kilometres. The district borders with the Cologne districts of Chorweiler to the North, Nippes and Innenstadt to the East and Lindenthal to the South-West (read further).