20th Year of Postcrossing #16 - Christchurch, New Zealand

Peacock Fountain, Christchurch Botanical Garden

Postcrossing's 20th Anniversary Meetup

Christchurch, New Zealand

12th July 2025.

Sent by Christine from Christchurch, New Zealand.

USA - Illinois - Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is a 200,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art complex in Springfield Illinois, complimented by a miraculously restored Union Station Visitor Center and park (completion scheduled 2006). The Library and Museum complex will not only preserve history - it will make history by enabling millions of visitors from around the world to experience the Lincoln story in its entirety, as nowhere else.

Sent by Nick from Chicago, USA.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum documents the life of the 16th U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln, and the course of the American Civil War. Combining traditional scholarship with 21st-century showmanship techniques, the museum ranks as one of the most visited presidential libraries. Its library, in addition to housing an extensive collection on Lincoln, also houses the collection of the Illinois State Historical Library, founded by the state in 1889. The library and museum is located in the state capital of Springfield, Illinois, and is overseen as an agency of the state’s government; unlike the fifteen other presidential libraries and museums, it is not currently affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration.

The museum contains life-size dioramas of Lincoln's boyhood home, areas of the White House, the presidential box at Ford's Theatre, and the settings of key events in Lincoln's life, as well as pictures, artifacts and other memorabilia. Original artifacts are changed from time to time, but the collection usually includes items such as the original hand written Gettysburg Address, Emancipation Proclamation, his glasses and shaving mirror, Mary Todd Lincoln's music box, items from her White House china, her wedding dress, and more. The permanent exhibits are divided into two stages of the president's life, called "Journey One: The Pre-Presidential Years", and "Journey Two: The Presidential Years", and a third, the "Treasures Gallery". Temporary exhibits are displayed in the "Illinois Gallery." Recent "Illinois Gallery" exhibits include "The Questioneers," a traveling exhibit inspired by Andrea Beaty's children's series on loan from the DuPage Children's Museum, as well as "Solidarity Now! The 1968 Poor People's Campaign," a traveling exhibit on loan from the Smithsonian Institution. Until April 20, 2025, the "Illinois Gallery" will contain the exhibit "Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt." This exhibit, which includes works that are mostly on loan from the Richard Hunt Trust, is the first in Illinois since Hunt's passing in December of 2023. It will be re-installed at the Loyola University of Art Museum in Chicago by July of 2025 (read more).

France - Aquitaine - Fort-Boyard

ATLANTIC COAST

Fort-Boyard

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

Fort Boyard (French pronunciation: [fɔʁ bwajaʁ]) is a fort built on Boyard bank, an ocean bank located between the Île-d'Aix and the Île d'Oléron in the Pertuis d'Antioche straits on the west coast of France. Though a fort on Boyard bank was suggested as early as the 17th century, it was not until the 1800s under Napoleon Bonaparte that work began. Building started in 1801 and was completed in 1857. In 1967, the final scene of the French film Les aventuriers was filmed at the remains of the fort. Since 1990, it is the filming location for the eponymous TV game show.

Fort Boyard is stadium-shaped, 68 metres (223 ft) long and 31 m (102 ft) wide. The walls were built 20 m (66 ft) high. At the centre is a yard, and the ground floor provided stores and quarters for the men and officers. The floor above contained casemates for the emplacements of guns and further quarters. Above that were facilities for barbette guns and mortars.

The construction of the fort was first considered during a build-up of the French armed forces undertaken by Louis XIV between 1661 and 1667. The Pertuis d'Antioche was a frequent site of naval engagements between the navies of France and England during this time, and France had already established fortifications on nearby islands and peninsulae to fend off incursions from the English Royal Navy. With the limited range of artillery in the 17th century, there was an unprotected gap between the fields of fire of the fortifications on the islands of Aix and Oléron; a fort on Boyard bank, roughly midway between the two, would have filled that gap. Fort Boyard was to form a line of fortifications with artillery stationed on Oléron (to the west), Fort de la Rade (on Île-d'Aix to the east), and Fort Énet (on a tidal island even further to the east) to protect the port and arsenal at Rochefort. In 1692 the French engineer Descombs began planning the construction of the fort; however, once it became clear how expensive it would be the scheme was abandoned. Vauban, Louis XIV's leading military engineer, famously advised against it, saying "Your Majesty, it would be easier to seize the moon with your teeth than to attempt such an undertaking in such a place".

After a British raid on Île-d'Aix in 1757, plans for a fort on Boyard bank were once again considered. Though plans were drawn up, it was abandoned again due to the logistical problems (read more).

Germany - Lower Saxony - Lüneburg Heath Map

Region map of Lüneburg Heath.

Sent by Katja from Munster in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Lüneburg Heath (German: Lüneburger Heide, pronounced [ˈlyːnəbʊʁɡɐ ˈhaɪdə]) is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen and is named after the town of Lüneburg. Most of the area is a nature reserve. Northern Low Saxon is still widely spoken in the region.

Lüneburg Heath has extensive areas, and the most yellow of heathland, typical of those that covered most of the North German countryside until about 1800, but which have almost completely disappeared in other areas. The heaths were formed after the Neolithic period by overgrazing of the once widespread forests on the poor sandy soils of the geest, as this slightly hilly and sandy terrain in northern Europe is called. Lüneburg Heath is therefore a historic cultural landscape. The remaining areas of heath are kept clear mainly through grazing, especially by a North German breed of moorland sheep called the Heidschnucke. Due to its unique landscape, Lüneburg Heath is a popular tourist destination in North Germany.

Lüneburg Heath covers an area which includes the districts (Landkreise) of Celle, Gifhorn, Heidekreis, Uelzen, Lüneburg, Lüchow-Dannenberg, southeast Rotenburg (the town of Visselhövede, Fintel, part of the municipality of Scheeßel and the eastern half of Bothel) and the rural district of Harburg. The easternmost fringes of the Stade Geest belonging to Landkreis Verden are called the Linteln Geest (Lintelner Geest) or Verden Heath (Verdener Heide) and form part of the municipality of Kirchlinteln (read more).

Germany - Lower Saxony - Mines of Rammelsberg, Historic Town of Goslar and Upper Harz Water Management System

Rammelsberg Ore Mine and the historic town of Goslar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Günter from Goslar, Germany.

The copper, lead and tin mines of Rammelsberg mountain, in the Harz region, were worked continuously from the 11th century until the 1980s. They bear outstanding testimony to mining installations and practices in Europe, both in terms of surface and underground remains, particularly from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period.

The remains of the Cistercian monastery of Walkenried and the mines of the Upper Harz bear testimony to the first attempts to systematically extract non-ferrous metal ores (including silver, lead, tin and copper) in Europe, and to develop water-management systems for this purpose.

Located close to the Rammelsberg mines, the town of Goslar played an important part in the Hanseatic League because of the richness of the Rammelsberg metal-ore veins. From the 10th to the 12th century it became one of the seats of the Holy Roman Empire. Its historic centre, which dates back to the Middle Ages, is perfectly preserved, and includes some 1,500 timber-framed houses from the 15th to 19th centuries. The Upper Harz water-management system, through its extensive surface area, including a large number of artificial ponds and ditches, together with drains and underground shafts, bears testimony to the importance of the management and use of water for mining purposes, from the Middle Ages until the end of the 20th century (read more).

Germany - Hesse - Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe

Hercules Monument and the cascading water features in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Kassel, Germany.

Sent by Romy from Hesse, Germany.

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

Germany - Lower Saxony - St. Jacobi Church in Göttingen

St. Jacobi Church in Göttingen.

Sent by Ingeborg from Göttingen, Germany.

Henry the Lion is probably the founder of the Jakobi church (around 1190). Todays Gothic hall-church, with a central nave and two aisles was built between 1341 - 1400. The choir room has the same height as the central nave, together with the tight standing pillars, this architecture generates a tremendous depth effect.

Inside the church, there is still the original, richly decorated winged altar from 1402, whose master is unknown. The closed altar (workday side) depicts scenes of the life of the holy Jacobus the Elder, once opened (Sunday side), the childhood and Christ's suffering and open completely (festive day side), Christ and Maria, apostles, saints as well as prophets on the plinth zone.

Remarkable Men - Bangladesh - Kazi Nazrul Islam

Kazi Nazrul Islam, renowned Bengali poet, writer, musician, and revolutionary who is considered the national poet of Bangladesh.

Sent by Shahadat from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Kazi Nazrul Islam (24 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a. Bangladeshi Bengali poet, short story writer, journalist, lyricist and musician. He is the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul produced a large body of poetry, music, messages, novels, and stories with themes, that included equality, justice, anti-imperialism, humanity, rebellion against oppression and religious devotion. Nazrul Islam's activism for political and social justice as well as writing a poem titled as "Bidrohī", meaning "the rebel" in Bengali, earned him the title of "Bidrohī Kôbi" (Rebel Poet). His compositions form the avant-garde music genre of Nazrul Gīti (Music of Nazrul).

Born in the British Raj period into a Bengali Muslim Kazi family from Churulia in Asansol,then in Burdwan district in Bengal Presidency (now in West Bengal, India), Nazrul Islam received religious education and as a young man worked as a muezzin at a local mosque. He learned about poetry, drama, and literature while working with the rural theatrical group Leṭor Dôl, Leṭo being a folk song genre of West Bengal usually performed by the people from Muslim community of the region. He joined the British Indian Army in 1917 and was posted in Karachi. Nazrul Islam established himself as a journalist in Calcutta after the war ended. He criticised the British Raj and called for revolution through his famous poetic works, such as "Bidrohī" ('The Rebel') and "Bhangar Gan" ('The Song of Destruction'), as well as in his publication Dhūmketu ('The Comet'). His nationalist activism in Indian independence movement led to his frequent imprisonment by the colonial British authorities. While in prison, Nazrul Islam wrote the "Rajbôndīr Jôbanbôndī" ('Deposition of a Political Prisoner'). His writings greatly inspired Bengalis of East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War (read more).

USA - Massachusetts - State Flag & Seal

Massachusetts State Flag and Seal

Sent by Erik from Massachusetts, USA.

The flag of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was adopted on March 18, 1908, and has only been changed once in 1971 with the removal of the reverse side. The flag features the state seal on a white field. The state currently has three official flags: a state flag, a governor's flag, and a "naval and maritime flag" (despite it no longer having its own naval militia).

With Florida, it is one of only two state flags to prominently feature a Native American in its heraldry. There was a third state flag, the flag of Minnesota, which used to feature a Native American until 2024 (read more).

The Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts contains the coat of arms of Massachusetts. The coat of arms is encircled by the Latin text "Sigillum Reipublicæ Massachusettensis" (literally, The Seal of the Republic of Massachusetts). The Massachusetts Constitution designates the form of government a "commonwealth", for which respublica is the correct Latin term. The seal uses the coat of arms of Massachusetts as its central element.

An official emblem of the state, the coat of arms was adopted by the Legislature in 1775 and then reaffirmed by Governor John Hancock and his Council in 1780. The present rendition of the seal was drawn by resident-artist Edmund H. Garrett and was adopted by the state in 1900. While the inscription around the seal is officially in Latin, a variant with "Commonwealth of Massachusetts" in English is also sometimes used (read more).

USA - North Carolina - Lake Norman

A mapcard of Lake Norman, North Carolina.

Sent by Sherri from North Carolina, USA.

Lake Norman is an artificial fresh water lake in southwest North Carolina. The largest lake in the state, it was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Dam by Duke Energy. Located in Iredell County, 15 miles north of Charlotte, Lake Norman State Park boasts the region's popular mountain biking trail system.

Lake Norman has 520 miles (840 km) of shoreline and a surface area of more than 50 square miles (130 km²). It is fed by the Catawba River, and drains into Mountain Island Lake to the south. Named after former Duke Power president Norman Atwater Cocke, the lake is sometimes referred to as the "inland sea" of North Carolina. Its normal full level is 760 feet (230 m) above mean sea level. Interstate 77 and North Carolina Highway 150 cross Lake Norman at different points.

Lake Norman provides electricity to the Piedmont region of the Carolinas. It powers the generators at the hydroelectric station at Cowans Ford Dam, is used by the coal-fired Marshall Steam Station, and by McGuire Nuclear Station to cool the reactors while generating the steam that drives their turbines. The lake supplies water to Lincoln County, Catawba County, Iredell County, Charlotte, and other towns in Mecklenburg County, particularly Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville (read more).

USA - Missouri - Branson

BRANSON LANDING

BRANSON, MISSOURI

Explore Branson Landing, where a beautiful open-air, waterfront setting is home to over 100 shops and restaurants, as well as the Hilton Promenade and a $7.5 million water and Fire Spectacular. Branson Landing Where Shopping Takes Center Stage.

Sent by Bingye from Branson, Missouri, USA.

Branson is a resort city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County. Branson is in the Ozark Mountains. The community was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s. The population was 12,638 at the 2020 census, and its population constitutes nearly one fourth of the Taney County population.

Branson has long been a popular destination for vacationers from Missouri and around the country. The collection of entertainment theaters along 76 Country Boulevard (and to a lesser extent along Shepherd of the Hills Expressway), including Dolly Parton's Stampede, has increased Branson's popularity as a tourist destination. Branson is the site of the Branson Cross, the largest cross monument in North America.

In 1882, Reuben Branson (born 1853) opened a general store and post office in the area. Branson was formally incorporated on April 1, 1912, and construction of the Powersite Dam nearby on the White River which would form Lake Taneycomo was completed (read more).

Kazakhstan - Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmad Yasawi

Model of Khoja Ahmad Yasawi Mosque and Mausoleum

14th century AD / 8th century AH, Kazakhstan.

Sent by Serg from Karaganda, Kazakhstan.

The mausoleum of Khoja Ahmad Yasawi, a renowned 12th-century Sufi master, is located in southern Kazakhstan, in the northeastern part of the city of Yasi (Turkestan). It was built between 1389 and 1405 on the orders of Timur (Tamerlane), then ruler of Central Asia, to replace a smaller 12th-century mausoleum. Construction of the mausoleum, interrupted in 1405 by the sovereign's death, was never completed. The property (0.55 ha) is limited to the mausoleum, situated within the ancient citadel and archaeological zone of the medieval city of Yasi. The latter (79.36 ha) serves as a buffer zone.

Rectangular in plan and 38.7 meters high, the mausoleum is one of the largest and best-preserved examples of Timurid architecture. Timur is said to have personally overseen its construction, which employed master Persian craftsmen. The innovations introduced in its spatial organization, vaults, domes, and decoration served as prototypes for other major buildings of the Timurid period, particularly in Samarkand. The unfinished sections provide insights into the construction techniques then in use, contributing to its unique architectural character (read more).

India - Karnataka - Bengaluru - Malleswaram

Malleswaram, one of the oldest planned neighborhoods in Bengaluru, was developed soon after the great plague of 1898. Like most areas of that time, it was built with conservancy lanes that run parallel to main roads. These were historically used for manual scavenging but now, many of these have now been encroached upon and used for parking vehicles.

Bengaluru Moving, a citizen's initiative collaborated with art collective Geechugalu to create murals spread across Malleswaram in an effort to make the lanes pedestrian-friendly.

Sent by Kanchana from Bengaluru in Karnataka State, India.

Malleshwaram is a northwest neighbourhood and one of the zones of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike in Bengaluru, India. It was planned in 1889  after the great plague of 1898, developed as a suburb in 1892 and handed over to the city municipality in 1895. As per the 1878 Survey of India map, the area came under the village of Ranganatha Palya and was later named after the Kadu Malleshwara Temple. The neighbourhood houses many offices, one them being World Trade Center Bengaluru. It has two shopping malls, Mantri Square and Orion Mall (at the two ends of the locality). As an education hub, it houses the education boards of the state KSEEB and PU boards, Mysore Education Society, Institute of Wood Science and Technology and Indian Institute of Science.

The earlier name of Malleshwaram was Mallapura as documented in the Ekoji Inscription of Malleshwaram dated to 1669 CE located in the precincts of the famous Kadu Malleshwara temple. It records the donation of the Maratha chief Ekoji, half brother of Shivaji who donated a village Medaraninganahalli for the upkeep of the Kadu Malleshwara temple. Medaraninganahalli was a village that was located around the IISc campus. Another undated Kannada inscription in Sampige road was documented in the supplementary Volume 9 of Epigraphia carnatica, it mentions that the inscription was found near Jakkarayanakere which corresponds to the area around Krishna Flour Mill in Sampige Road, Malleshwaram. Much of the text published is incomplete and is a possible donatory inscription. However, the existence of Jakkarayana kere (lake) near Sampige road documented more than a century ago is established (read more).

Nepal - Yaks in an Alpine Valley

The pasture turns autumn brown. A herd of yaks descends from high summer pastures to pass the winter in village barns. 

Sent by Boris of Ukraine from Kathmandu, Nepal. 

Germany - Saxony-Anhalt - Halle (Saale)

HALLE (SAALE)

First documented in 806.

The city center is dominated by the Market Church of Our Lady (1554), the monument (1859) to George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), and the Red Tower (1506), the only freestanding bell tower in Germany, erected as a symbol of power of the urban bourgeoisie against the archdiocese.

Sent by Susanne from Halle, Germany.

Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (German pronunciation: [ˈhalə]), is the second largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Magdeburg as well as the 31st-largest city of Germany.

With around 226,000 inhabitants, it is less populous than the state capital, Magdeburg. With Leipzig, the largest city of Saxony, Halle forms the polycentric Leipzig-Halle conurbation. Leipzig/Halle International Airport lies between the two cities, in Schkeuditz. The Leipzig-Halle conurbation is at the heart of the larger Central German Metropolitan Region.

Halle has been known by many names throughout its history. From the 15th to the 17th century: Hall in Sachsen. From then until the beginning of the 20th century, the name Halle an der Saale [ˈhalə ʔan deːɐ̯ ˈzaːlə] was used, and still remains a more formal reference for the city. Additionally, from 1965 to 1995 the city was referred to as Halle/Saale.

Halle lies in the south of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Leipzig Bay, the southernmost part of the North German Plain, and is the largest city on the River Saale (a tributary of the Elbe), which is the third-longest river flowing entirely in Germany after the Weser and the Main. The White Elster flows into the Saale in the southern borough of Silberhöhe. Halle is the fourth-largest city in the Thuringian-Upper Saxon dialect area after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz.

Halle is one of the main economic and educational centers of Central Germany. The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, with campuses in Halle and Wittenberg, is the largest university in Saxony-Anhalt and one of the oldest universities in Germany. The university hospital of Halle (Universitätsklinikum Halle (Saale)) is the largest hospital in the state. The German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina) has its seat in Halle. Halle is an important radio hub - Halle Radio Tower is Germany's second-tallest lattice tower, and at night many public German radio stations from all over the country switch to the broadcasting center of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk in Halle which is responsible for the night program (read more).