Australia - Benalla

Images of Benalla in Victoria, Australia.

Sent by Sheree, a postcrosser from Victoria, Australia.

This is from Wikipedia : Benalla (pronounced /bəˈnælə/) is a city of just over 9,000 people located just off the Hume Freeway in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, about 40 kilometres (20 mi) south of Wangaratta. Its Local Government Area is the Rural City of Benalla.

The site was originally taken up as a pastoral run by the Reverend Joseph Docker in 1838 and called Benalta Run, from the Aboriginal word for Musk Duck. A town was laid out on the site in 1846. The Post Office opened on 1 December 1844 but named Broken River until 1 January 1854.

The Broken River can cause extensive flooding. There is a park and walking track along the river at Benalla, featuring a ceramic sculpture community that was created as part of an employment project for local artists some years ago.

Industries include agricultural support services, tourism, a medium density fibreboard factory, Thales Australia ammunition factory and aviation. The rose gardens and the annual Rose Festival dating from 1967 have contributed to tourism.

Benalla has a regional airport YBLA (BLN) which began life as a major RAAF training base during World War 2 and now also serves as the home of the Gliding Club of Victoria as well as a ballooning and ultralight centre.

The Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE has a campus in Benalla which includes the Benalla Performing Arts and Convention Centre opened in 2004 by Lynne Kosky MP, the then Minister of Education and Training.

Benalla is also the home of GRADA, a regional academy of dramatic art offering courses in Acting, Dance and Production. GRADA: GOTAFE Regional Academy of Dramatic Arts

Benalla is where champion cyclist Baden Cooke was born and the place of war hero Sir (Ernest) Edward "Weary" Dunlop's education.

Benalla railway station is on the North East railway line and is served by V/Line services between Melbourne and Albury as well as a twice daily Countrylink XPT service to and from Sydney.

Poland - White Stork

Bocian Biely or White Stork, the national bird of Poland.

Sent by Ewelina, a postcrosser from Poland.

This is from Wikipedia : The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average 100–115 cm (39–45 in) from beak tip to end of tail, with a 195–215 cm (77–85 in) wingspan. The two subspecies, which differ slightly in size, breed in Europe (north to Estonia), northwestern Africa, southwestern Asia (east to southern Kazakhstan), and southern Africa. The White Stork is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or on the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals on which it depends do not form over water.

A carnivore, the White Stork eats a wide range of animal prey, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground, among low vegetation, and from shallow water. It is a monogamous breeder, but does not pair for life. Both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. Each year the female can lay one clutch of usually four eggs, which hatch asynchronously 33–34 days after being laid. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and both feed the young. The young leave the nest 58–64 days after hatching, and continue to be fed by the parents for a further 7–20 days.

The White Stork has been rated as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It benefited from human activities during the Middle Ages as woodland was cleared, but changes in farming methods and industrialisation saw it decline and disappear from parts of Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Conservation and reintroduction programs across Europe have resulted in the White Stork resuming breeding in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden. It has few natural predators, but may harbour several types of parasite; the plumage is home to chewing lice and feather mites, while the large nests maintain a diverse range of mesostigmatic mites. This conspicuous bird has given rise to many legends across its range, of which the best known is the story of babies being brought by storks.

Jicarilla Cowboy

Jicarilla Cowboy
This photo, titled "Jicarilla Cowboy" by Curtis, shows a Jicarilla Apache man dressed in a combination of traditional tribal ornamentation and cowboy accessories. The Jicarilla, the most northern of all the Apache groups, are situated in New Mexico on and around the Continental Divide.

Seny by Cerridwen, a postcrosser from Arizona, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Jicarilla Apache refers to an Apache people currently living in New Mexico and speak a Southern Athabaskan language. The term jicarilla comes from Mexican Spanish meaning "little basket." Their autonym is Ndee or Dine'é, meaning "the People." To neighboring Apache bands like the Mescalero and Lipan they were known as Kinya-Inde ("People who live in fixed houses"). They are enrolled in the Jicarilla Apache Nation.

Canada Geese

Canada Geese/Bernaches du Canada.

Sent by Sarah, a postcrosser from Canada.

This is from Wikipedia : The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body.

Germany - Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburger Tor or Brandenburg Gate.

Sent by Kathrein, a postcrosser from Berlin, Germany.

This is from Wikipedia : The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city center at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which Berlin was once entered. One block to the north stands the Reichstag building. The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees which formerly led directly to the city palace of the Prussian monarchs. It was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and built by Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791. Having suffered considerable damage in World War II, the Brandenburg Gate was fully restored from 2000 to 2002 by the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin (Berlin Monument Conservation Foundation). Today, it is regarded as one of Europe's most famous landmarks.

USA - Montana - Blackfoot People

SHADOWCATHERS
Walter McClintock (1870-1949).
Wife of Mad Wolf, Blackfoot.
Blackfoot Reservation, Montana, 1896-1914.

Sent by Lenny, a postcrosser from Idaho, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi (meaning "original people"; c.f. Ojibwe: Anishinaabeg and Quinnipiac: Eansketambawg) is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana.

The Blackfoot Confederacy consists of the North Peigan (Aapátohsipikáni), the Piegan Blackfeet or South Piegan (Aamsskáápipikani), the Kainai Nation (Káínaa: "Blood"), and the Siksika Nation ("Blackfoot") or more correctly Siksikáwa ("Blackfoot people"). The South Peigan are located in Montana, and the other three are located in Alberta. Together they call themselves the Niitsítapi (the "Original People"). These groups shared a common dialect of the Algonquin language (also seen as "Algonkian") as well as a common culture. They also had treaties of mutual defense, and members of the groups freely intermarried.

New Zealand - Tongariro National Park (1)

MT NGAURUHOE
TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK
Mt. Ngauruhoe is the youngest volcano in Tongariro National Park. At 2290m, it has produced some spectacular eruptions.

Sent by Naiche, a Singaporean postcrosser from Auckland, New Zealand.

Tongariro lies at the south-western terminus of a Pacific chain of volcanoes aligned along a major tectonic plate boundary. The park's volcanoes, which are outstanding scenic features of the island, contain a complete range of volcanic features. The related ecological succession of plant communities is of special scientific interest. The site is directly associated with the living traditions, beliefs and artistic works of the Maori people, whcih are of outstanding universal significance.

Tongariro National Park is situated on the central North Island volcanic plateau. The boundary encircles the Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro mountain massif at an altitude of 500-1,550 m. An outlier, 3 km north of the main park area and separated from it by Lake Rotoaira, includes Lake Rotopounamu, Mount Pihanga and Mount Kakaramea. The park lies at the southern end of a discontinuous 2,500 km chain of volcanoes that extends north-east into the Pacific. The volcanoes in the park, which are predominantly andesitic in composition, fall into two groups on the basis of location, activity and size. Kakaramea, Tihia and Pihanga volcanoes and their associated vents, domes, cones and craters form the northern group. These lie on a 10 km north-west to south-east axis and have not been active for some 20,000-230,000 years. The active group extends for some 20 km along a south-west to north-east axis, with a width of some 10 km, and comprises Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu volcanoes. The Tongariro complex consists of recent cones, craters, explosion pits, lava flows and lakes superimposed on older volcanic features. In addition to these major features, the park contains other extinct volcanoes, lava and glacial deposits and a variety of springs. Extensive glaciation up to 14,700 years ago eroded both Tongariro and Ruapehu and glacial valleys with terminal and lateral moraine formations are present. Glaciers are currently restricted to Mount Ruapehu, although all are less than 1 km in length after several decades of retreat. Habitats are diverse, ranging from remnants of rainforest to practically barren ice fields. From the lowest altitudes to 1,000 m in the west and north, about 3,000 ha of once widespread mixed podocarp-broadleaf rainforest is present. At higher altitudes beech forest occurs.

Scrublands cover some 9,500 ha. Tussock shrubland and tussockland cover extensive areas in the north-west and around the mount Ruapehu massif at about 1,200-1,500 m. The highest altitudes in the park are dominated by gravelfields and stonefields. The vertebrate fauna is restricted mainly to birds although native mammals are represented by short-tailed and long-tailed bats. More than 56 bird species have been recorded in the park, including brown kiwi and North Island fern bird.

The area has been occupied by Maoris since they first arrived from Polynesia and ethnic mythology identifies the mountains in the park with tupuna (god-like ancestors). Until the land was given to the nation in 1887, it was occupied by the Tu Wharetoa tribe. (Source)

China - The Bund (1880)

The Bund in its early stage (1880)/Shanghai.

Sent by Roy, a postcrosser from Beijing, China.

This is from Wikipedia : The Bund (simplified Chinese: 外滩; traditional Chinese: 外灘; pinyin: Wàitān) is an area of Huangpu District in central Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The area centres on a section of Zhongshan Road (East-1 Zhongshan Road) within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River, facing Pudong, in the eastern part of Huangpu District. The Bund usually refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of the road, as well as some adjacent areas. The Bund is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai. Building heights are restricted in this area.

The word "bund" means an embankment or an embanked quay. The word comes from the Hindi-Urdu word band, which has Persian origins and meant an embankment, levee or dam (a cognate of English terms "bind", "bond" and "band", and the German word "bund", etc). In Chinese port cities, the English term came to mean, especially, the embanked quay along the shore. In English, "Bund" is pronounced to rhyme with "fund".

There are many "bands" to be found in Baghdad, even today. There are numerous sites in India, China, and Japan which are called "bunds" (e.g. the Yokohama Bund). However, "The Bund" as a proper noun almost invariably refers to this stretch of embanked riverfront in Shanghai.

USA - Washington D.C.

Fireworks on the east lawn sparkle in the night sky above George Washington's historic mansion at dusk.

Sent by Alicia, a postcrosser from Washington DC, USA.

Turkey - Historic Areas of Istanbul

ISTANBUL - TURKEY
The Mosque of Soliman the Magnificent and the Golden Horn.

Sent by Elisabeth, a postcrosser from Turkey.

Istanbul bears unique testimony to the Byzantine and Ottoman civilizations. Throughout history, the monuments in the centre of the city have exerted considerable influence on the development of architecture, monumental arts and the organization of space, in both Europe and Asia. Thus, the 6,650 m terrestrial wall of Theodosius II with its second line of defences, created in AD 447, was one of the leading references for military architecture even before St Sophia became a model for an entire family of churches and later mosques and before the mosaics of the palaces and churches of Constantinople influenced Eastern and Western Christian art.

Istanbul was built at the crossroads of two continents; it was successively the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire, and it has constantly been associated with major events in political history, religious history and art history in Europe and Asia for some 20 centuries.

At the same time, however, Istanbul is a large metropolis. With its population of some 3 million inhabitants, this historic city has undergone population growth in the past 30 years, which has profoundly changed its conservation conditions. The threat of pollution arising from industrialization and rapid and initially uncontrolled urbanization have jeopardized the historical and cultural heritage of the old town.

The World Heritage site covers four zones, illustrating the major phases of the city's history using its most prestigious monuments:

• the Archaeological Park, which in 1953 and 1956 was defined at the tip of the peninsula;
• the Süleymaniye quarter, protected in 1980 and 1981;
• the Zeyrek quarter, protected in 1979;
• the zone of the ramparts, protected in 1981.

The ancient city and the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire are both represented: by the hippodrome of Constantine (324) in the Archaeological Park, by the aqueduct of Valens (378) in the Süleymaniye quarter, and by the ramparts built starting in 413 upon the order of Theodosius II, located in the last of the four zones.

The capital of the Byzantine Empire is highlighted by several major monuments. In the Archaeological Park there are the churches of St Sophia and St Irene, which were built in the reign of Justinian (527-65); In the Zeyrek quarter there is the ancient Pantocrator Monastery which was founded under John II Comnenus (1118-43) by the Empress Irene; in the zone of the ramparts there is the old church of the Holy Saviour in Chora (now the Kariye Camii) with its marvellous mosaics and paintings from the 14th and 15th centuries. Moreover, the current layout of the walls results from modifications performed in the 7th and 12th centuries to include the quarter and the Palace of the Blachernes.

The capital of the Ottoman Empire is represented by its most important monuments: Topkapı Saray and the Blue Mosque in the archaeological zone; the Sehzade and Süleymaniye mosques, which are two of the architect Koça Sinan's major works, constructed under Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-66) in the Süleymaniye quarter; and the vernacular settlement vestiges of this quarter (525 wooden houses which are listed and protected). (Source)

Belarus - National Library & Monument of F. Skaryna

1. National Library of Belarus
2. Monument of F. Skaryna.

Sent by Dmitry, a postcrosser from Minsk, Belarus.

Ukraine - Kiev

Kiev. Memorable sign in honor of founders of Kiev - brothers Kyy, Shchek, Khoryv and their sister Lybid. 1982. Sculptor V. Boroday, architect M. Feshchenko.

Sent by my friend Ana from Russia.

Russia - Krasnodar

Images of Krasnodar.

Sent by Anastasia, a postcrosser from Kuban region, Russia.

This is from Wikipedia : Krasnodar (Russian: Краснода́р) is a city in Southern Russia on the Kuban River, located around 148 kilometers (92 mi) north-east of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai (also known as Kuban).

The city was founded on January 12, 1794 (Gregorian calendar) as Yekaterinodar (Екатеринода́р). The original name meant "Catherine's Gift" simultaneously in recognition of Catherine the Great's grant of land in the Kuban region to the Black Sea Cossacks (later the Kuban Cossacks) and in recognition of Saint Catherine, the Martyr, who is considered to be the patron of the city. After the October Revolution, Yekaterinodar was renamed Krasnodar (December 1920). There are two potential meanings for the new name of the city: Krasno- (Красно-), meaning either 'beautiful' (an older root) or 'red' (especially relevant considering the political atmosphere of the time); and -dar (-дар), meaning 'gift'. Thus, the city's name means either beautiful gift or red gift (i.e. 'gift of the reds')..

Australia - Brisbane

Images of Brisbane.

Send by someone from Brisbane Meet-up Saturday (March 26th 2011).

This is from Wikipedia : Brisbane (/ˈbrɪzbən/), is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has an approximate population of 2 million.

The Brisbane central business district stands on the original settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River approximately 23 kilometres from its mouth at Moreton Bay. The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the Brisbane River valley between the bay and the Great Dividing Range. While the city is governed by several municipalities, they are centred around the Brisbane City Council which has jurisdiction over the largest area and population in metropolitan Brisbane and is also Australia's largest Local Government Area by population.

Brisbane is named after the river on which it sits which, in turn, was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825. The first European settlement in Queensland was a penal colony at Redcliffe, 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of the Brisbane central business district, in 1824. That settlement was soon abandoned and moved to North Quay in 1825. Free settlers were permitted from 1842. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859.

The city played a central role in the Allied campaign during World War II as the South West Pacific headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur. Brisbane has hosted many large cultural and sporting events including the 1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo '88 and the final Goodwill Games in 2001. In 2008, Brisbane was classified as a gamma world city+ in the World Cities Study Group’s inventory by Loughborough University. It was also rated the 16th most livable city in the world in 2009 by The Economist.

Taiwan - Welcome to Kinmen

Welcome to Kinmen.

Sent by Wei-Chi, a postcrosser from Taiwan.

This is from Wikipedia : Kinmen (金門), also known as Quemoy, is a small archipelago of several islands administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan): Greater Kinmen (大金門), Lesser Kinmen, and some islets. Administratively, it is Kinmen County of Fukien Province, ROC. The county is claimed as part of Fujian's Quanzhou Prefecture by the People's Republic of China (PRC). Some islands of other counties, such as Wuchiu, were transferred to the jurisdiction of Kinmen County by the ROC government following its civil war defeat and retreat to Taiwan. Matsu is the other set of islands on the Fujian coast controlled by the ROC.

Many of the county's inhabitants speak Hokkien. Due to their previous political isolation, most residents will say they speak "Kinmenese", as opposed to "Taiwanese" as it is commonly called in Taiwan, though the two dialects are mutually intelligible. It is geographically very near Xiamen, no more than 2 kilometers. The residents of Wuchiu Township speak Puxian Min, as opposed to Hokkien for the rest of Kinmen.

Unlike the island of Taiwan and the Penghu islands, Kinmen was never ceded to Japan, because Kinmen was, and still is considered to be a part of Fujian province, both to the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, though Kinmen was occupied by Japan from 1937 to 1945.

The island was the site of extensive shelling between PRC and ROC forces during the first and Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, being also a major issue in the 1960 United States Presidential Election between Kennedy and Nixon. In the 1950s, the United States threatened to use nuclear weapons against the PRC if it attacked the island.

Kinmen was originally a military reserve. The island was returned to the civilian government in the mid-1990s, after which travel to and from it was allowed. Direct travel between mainland China and Kinmen was opened in 2002, and there has been extensive tourism development on the island in anticipation of mainland tourists. Direct travel was suspended in 2003 as a result of the SARS outbreak, but has since resumed.

Many Taiwanese businesspeople use the link through Kinmen to enter the Chinese Mainland as it is seen as cheaper and easier than entering through Hong Kong. However, this changed following the 2005 Pan-Blue visits to mainland China and the presidential and legislative victories of the KMT, that allowed easier Cross-Strait relations. Kinmen has experienced a considerable economic boom as businesspeople relocate to the island for easier access to the vast markets of the People's Republic of China.

USA - Texas - Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas Museum of Art
1717 North Harwood St, Dallas, TX 75201.

Sent by Lynn, a postcrosser from Dallas, Texas.

This is from Wikipedia : The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is a major art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, USA, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In 1984, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Arts District, Dallas, Texas. The new building was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, the 2007 winner of the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal.

The Dallas Museum of Art collection is made up of more than 24000 objects, dating from the third millennium BC to the present day. The museum is also defined by its dynamic exhibition policy and award-winning educational programs. The Mildred R. and Frederick M. Mayer Library (the museum’s non-circulating research library) contains over 50,000 volumes available to curators and the general public.

Euro Banknote

Sent by Heidi, a postcrosser from Germany.

Paraguay - Jesuit Missions of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangue

La Santisima Trinidad de Paraná, or the Holy Trinity of Paraná, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Ana from Asunción in Paraguay.

The Society of Jesus established itself in the region known as the Guayrá in 1588, by permission of Philip II. One of its objectives became the protection of the Indians against the abuses of the colonial encomienda system of tribute or labour, which reduced them to a condition of virtual slavery; at the same time they would be brought into the Christian Church and educated into a sedentary form of life. Following the granting of the frontier zone of Paraguay to the Jesuits in 1609 by the Spanish Crown, they moved into the lands of the Guaraní people in the Rio de la Plata basin, where they created reducciones (settlements), each with its mission. There were 30 in all, 8 in latter-day Paraguay, 15 in Argentina, and 7 in Brazil.

La Santísima Trinidad, the most ambitious of these missions and the capital of the Guayrá, was built in 1706, the work of the noted Jesuit architect Juan Bautista Primoli. It was constructed in stone with a fine dome and elaborated decoration.

The reducción of Jesús de Tavarangue was founded in 1685, but moved some years later to its present site, when the mission was built.

Santos Cosme y Damián, founded in 1632 on Brazilian territory, moved to its present site in 1740.

La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná has the best preserved urban structure: Plaza Mayor, main church (crypt), small church, college and cloister, cemeteries, kitchen gardens, belfry, native houses and workshops.

The ruined church of Jesús de Tavarangue retains much of its imposing appearance, but only one room of the college survives. There are significant remains of the urban structure, including the Plaza Mayor, native houses and cemeteries.

The church of Santos Cosme y Damián was never finished. However, it has continued to serve as a place of worship. Other remains also survive, including one of the wings of the college, the cemetery, and contemporary Indian houses.

All three are in essence archaeological sites, consisting of ruined building and occupation layers, and so their authenticity is not in question. The church of Santos Cosme y Damián, being in current use, has some more recent features, but restoration interventions have respected the ancient fabric and materials.

La Santísima Trinidad, the best preserved of the three, is of great symbolic importance, because its decoration reflects the spirit of its conception, with its fusion of Christian and native artistic elements. Santos Cosme y Damiàn is important because, in addition to its historical significance, it has retained its role as a centre of worship for the village and district in which it is located. (Source)

Netherlands - Den Haag/The Hague

Images of Den Haag or The Hague.

Sent by Ina, a postcrosser from the Netherlands.

This is from Wikipedia : The Hague (with capital T; Dutch: Den Haag, officially also 's-Gravenhage) is the third largest city in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 (as of May 31, 2009) and an area of approximately 100 km². It is located in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, of which it is also the provincial capital. The Hague is the centre of a conurbation called Haaglanden (population 1,011,459) and lies at the southwest corner of a larger conurbation called the Randstad.

The Hague is the seat of the Dutch parliament, government and Royal Court (but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands which is a role set aside in the Dutch constitution for Amsterdam). Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands lives and works in The Hague. All foreign embassies and government ministries are located in the city, as well as the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (Supreme Court), the Raad van State (Council of State) and many lobbying organisations.

The Hague is also the de facto judicial capital of the United Nations, being the location of its primary judicial institutions.

Russia/Lithuania - Curonian Spit (2)

Curonian Spit.

Sent by Olga, a postcrosser from Kaliningrad, Russia.

This is from UNESCO : The Curonian Spit is an outstanding example of a landscape of sand dunes that is under constant threat from natural forces (wind and tide). After disastrous human interventions that menaced its survival, the Spit was reclaimed by massive protection and stabilization works begun in the 19th century and still continuing to the present day.

The Spit is a peninsula that separates the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon in a slightly concave arc for 98 km from the Kaliningrad Peninsula to the town of Klaipeda. The largest settlements in the Lithuanian part are Smiltyne, Pervalka, Juodkrante, Preila and Nida. Dune valleys divide the ridge into separate dune massifs, and capes are generally formed in front of these valleys.

Formation of the Spit began some 5,000 years ago. Mesolithic people whose main source of food was from the sea settled there, working bone and stone brought from the mainland. In the 1st millennium CE West Baltic tribes (Curonians and Prussians) established seasonal settlements there, to collect fish, and perhaps also for ritual purposes. The centre of Kaup is the last unexcavated large proto-urban settlement of the Viking period. The invasion of Prussia by Teutonic Knights in the 13th century was gradually driven out, but armed conflict continued in the region until the 15th century. The Spit had great strategic importance, and in consequence the knights built castles at Memel (1252), Noihauz (1283) and Rossitten (1372). They also settled German farmers around the castles, building roads and clearing woodland for agriculture.

Baltic peoples set up settlements on the Spit and the population increased, however, as their main activities were fishing and beekeeping. In the 16th century a new process of dune formation began and settlements became buried in sand. The works took the form of the construction of a protective bank of sand to prevent further ingress of dunes (a process that took most of the century) and the stabilization of dunes by means of brushwood hurdles, accompanied by reforestation.

The most significant element of the Spit's cultural heritage is represented by the old fishing settlements. The earliest of these were buried in sand when the woodland cover was removed. Those that have survived are all along the coast of the lagoon. At the end of the 19th century more elaborate buildings - lighthouses, churches, schools and villas - began to be erected alongside the simpler vernacular houses. This was partly due to the fact that the Spit became a recreational centre: Juodkrante became famous as a health resort as early as 1840 and Nida, Preila and Pervalka were given official recognition in this category in 1933. In the centre, Nida, the largest settlement on the Spit, has a linear plan based on a single main street that runs parallel to the lagoon and which developed spontaneously in the 19th century.

The most northerly part of the Spit, Smiltyne, was not settled until the mid-19th century, when a health resort was created. It is the point where ferries from Klaipeda on the mainland arrive on the Spit. The surviving buildings of cultural significance are the houses of fishermen built during the 19th century. In their original form they were built from wood and thatched with reeds. A homestead consisted of two or three buildings: a dwelling house, a cattle shed, and a smokehouse for curing fish. These were located to one side of the long narrow plot, leaving space for a kitchen garden and for drying nets. The houses were constructed at right angles to the street. In the 20th century the fishermen's houses were enlarged and new ones built with their long sides to the street. As a result, the appearance of the settlements was radically altered.

Other buildings are the sturdy lighthouse at Pervalka and the neo-Gothic Evangelical Lutheran churches at Juodkrante and Nida, both built in the 1880s. The cemeteries of Nida, Preila, Pervalka and Juodkrante are of interest.

Martta Wendelin (11)

Another postcard of Martta Wendelin.

Sent by Marja, a postcrosser from Finland.

Martta Wendelin (10)

Another postcard of Martta Wendelin.

Sent by Kirsi, a postcrosser from Virrat in Finland.

China - Yueyang Tower

Yueyang Tower.

Sent by Peter, a postcrosser from China.

This is from Wikipedia : Yueyang Tower (simplified Chinese: 岳阳楼; traditional Chinese: 岳陽樓; pinyin: Yuèyáng Lóu) is an ancient Chinese tower in Yueyang, Hunan Province, on the shore of Lake Dongting. Alongside the Pavilion of Prince Teng and Yellow Crane Tower, it is one of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan.

The history of Yueyang Tower dates from the Three Kingdoms Period, when Lu Su, commander in chief of the forces of Wu, was sent to the area to fortify it and train the fleet there. To ease the inspection and command of ships he constructed a tower near the strategic location where Lake Dongting joins the Yangtze River, from which the whole of Lake Dongting was visible. This inspection tower, then called the Ba Ling Tower after the nearby city of Ba Ling, was the first incarnation of Yueyang Tower.

Like the other two great towers of Jiangnan, Yueyang Tower is famous partly due to its literary associations, namely the piece Yueyang Lou Ji (岳陽樓記), loosely translated as Memorial to Yueyang Tower, written by renowned Song poet Fan Zhongyan at the invitation of his friend Teng Zijing (滕子京), who in 1044 became local governor and rebuilt the tower, and subsequent play Yueyang Tower by one of the most renown Chinese dramatists Ma Zhiyuan in the Yuan Dynasty era.

Finland - Finland Proper - Turku (2)

Images of Turku.

Sent by Kati, a postcrosser from Finland.

This is from Wikipedia : Turku (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈturku]; Swedish: Åbo [ˈoːbu] is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River.It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland. Turku quickly became the most important city in Finland and retained that status for hundreds of years until Finland became part of the Russian Empire in 1809 and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland was transferred to Helsinki in 1812. After that Turku continued to be the most populous city in Finland until the end of the 1840s. Today Turku remains a regional capital and is an important location for business and culture.

Because of its long history it has been the site of many important historical events and has extensively influenced Finnish history. For the year 2011, Turku has been designated to be the European Capital of Culture together with Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. In 1996 it was declared the official Christmas City of Finland.

Due to its location, Turku is a notable commercial and passenger seaport city with over three million passengers travelling through Port of Turku each year to Stockholm and Mariehamn.

As of 31 January 2011, Turku’s population was 177,430, which makes it the fifth largest city in Finland by population. As of 31 August 2008 there were 303,492 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region, which makes it the third largest urban area in Finland after the Greater Helsinki area and Tampere sub-region. The city is officially bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify as speaking Swedish as a mother-tongue.

Transnistria - Rybnitsa

View of Rybnitsa city in Northern Transnistria.

Sent by Jaroslav from Rybnitsa, Transnistria.

This is from Wikipedia : Rîbniţa, also spelled Râbniţa (Romanian: Rîbniţa, Râbniţa, Ukrainian: Рибниця, Russian: Рыбница, Rybnitsa) is a city in Transnistria, Moldova. According to the 2004 Census in Transnistria, it has a population of 53,648. Rîbniţa is situated in the northern half of Transnistria, on the left bank of the Dniester, and separated from the river by a concrete dam. The city is the seat of the Rîbniţa sub-district.

Rîbniţa was founded in 1628 as a Moldavian village. As early as 1657, Rîbniţa was mentioned in documents as an important town, at the time part of the Kingdom of Poland. Strong Western European influences can be seen in this formerly Polish town. In 1793, Rîbniţa passed from Poland to Russia.

Rîbniţa is home to Transnistria's largest company, a steel plant which produces more than $500 million worth of exports a year and traditionally has accounted for between 40% to 50% of Transnistria's GDP. Other industries are also present in Rîbniţa, including the oldest sugar plant in Transnistria (founded in 1898), an alcohol distillery, and a cement factory. The city has a large railway station and a river port, as well as a supermarket, "Sheriff".