Taiwan - National Palace Museum

National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Sent by Kim, a postcrosser from Taiwan.

This is from Wikipedia : The National Palace Museum is an art museum in Taipei, Taiwan. It is the national museum of the Republic of China, and has a permanent collection of over 677,687 pieces of ancient Chinese artifacts and artworks, making it one of the largest in the world. The collection encompasses over 8,000 years of Chinese history from the Neolithic age to the late Qing Dynasty. Most of the collection are high quality pieces collected by China's ancient emperors.

The National Palace Museum and Palace Museum, located inside the Forbidden City in China, share the same original roots, which was split in two as a result of the Chinese Civil War.

Russia - Sky Fair of the Urals Festival

Night glow. Closing ceremony of the Sky Fair of the Urals Festival 2007.

Sent by Tatyana, a postcrosser from Russia.

Germany - Bridge Gate of Mayen

'Bridge Gate', one of the remaining city gates of Mayen.

Sent by Sabine, a WiP partner from Germany.

Kotka/Golden Eagle (Aquila Chrysaetos)

Kotka or Golden Eagle (Aquila Chrysaetos).

Sent by Sinikka, a postcrosser from Finland.

This is from Wikipedia : The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas. Despite being extirpated from some its former range or uncommon, the species is still fairly ubiquitous, being present in Eurasia, North America, and parts of Africa. The highest density of nesting Golden Eagles in the world lies in southern Alameda County, California. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their heads and necks.

Golden Eagles use their agility and speed combined with extremely powerful talons to snatch up prey including rabbits, marmots, ground squirrels, and large mammals such as foxes, wild and domestic cats, mountain goats, ibex, and young deer. They will also eat carrion if prey is scarce, as well as reptiles. Birds, including large species up to the size of swans and cranes as well as ravens and Greater Black-backed Gulls have all been recorded as prey. They have even been known to attack and kill fully grown roe deer. The Eurasian subspecies is used to hunt and kill wolves in many native communities, where their status is regarded with great mystic reverence.

Golden Eagles maintain territories that may be as large as 155 square kilometres (60 square miles). They are monogamous and may remain together for several years or possibly for life. Golden Eagles nest in high places including cliffs, trees, or human structures such as telephone poles. They build huge nests to which they may return for several breeding years. Females lay from one to four eggs, and both parents incubate them for 40 to 45 days. Typically, one or two young survive to fledge in about three months.

Martta Wendelin (15)

Martta Wendelin.

Sent by Hely, a postcrosser from Finland.

USA - Tennessee/North Carolina - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (5)

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
The Great Smoky Montains are named for the blue haze that often surrounds them.

Sent by John from Tenenessee who works in this national park. Thanks for the GSMNP postmark.

Poland - Górnośląski Park Etnograficzny

Górnośląski Park Etnograficzny or Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park.

Sent by Agnieszka, a postcrosser from Poland.

This is from Wikipedia : The Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park or Górnośląski Park Etnograficzny is an open-air museum in Chorzów, Poland. It is referred to as a skansen, stemming from the first open air museum of its kind, the Skansen in Stockholm, Sweden. The area of the park is 25 hectare.

The museum presents a range of agricultural buildings from all over Silesia. Amongst those are cottages from the Beskids, farmsteads from the Pszczyna region, a wooden church from Nieboczowy dating from the 18th century and a large number of buildings and artifacts from Istebna in Cieszyn Silesia.

USA - Massachusetts - U.S.S. Constitution ("Old Ironsides")

U.S.S. CONSTITUTION ("OLD IRONSIDES")
Boston Harbor, Massachusetts
Nicknamed when cannon balls bounced off her oak planking, Old Ironsides was undefeated in 40 historic battles. The ship, built in Boston in 1797, is still a U.S. Navy ship and a living museum of Naval History. Every year on the 4th of July, with decorative flags flying and her cannon booming, the Constitution is towed out into the harbor and turned around to permit even weathering at her permanent dock in Charlestown.

Sent by Dennis, a postcrosser from Los Angeles, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel. Launched in 1797, Constitution was one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. Joshua Humphreys designed the frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so Constitution and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. Built in Boston, Massachusetts at Edmund Hartt's shipyard, her first duties with the newly formed United States Navy were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War.

Constitution is most famous for her actions during the War of 1812 against Great Britain, when she captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships: HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane and Levant. The battle with Guerriere earned her the nickname of "Old Ironsides" and public adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping. She continued to actively serve the nation as flagship in the Mediterranean and African squadrons, and circled the world in the 1840s. During the American Civil War she served as a training ship for the United States Naval Academy and carried artwork and industrial displays to the Paris Exposition of 1878. Retired from active service in 1881, she served as a receiving ship until designated a museum ship in 1907. In 1931 she started a three year 90-port tour of the nation, and in 1997 she finally sailed again under her own power for her 200th birthday.

Constitution's mission today is to promote understanding of the Navy’s role in war and peace through educational outreach, historic demonstration, and active participation in public events. As a fully commissioned US Navy ship, her crew of 60 officers and sailors participate in ceremonies, educational programs and special events while keeping the ship open to visitors year-round and providing free tours. The officers and crew are all active-duty US Navy personnel and the assignment is considered special duty in the Navy. Traditionally, command of the vessel is assigned to a Navy Commander. She is berthed at Pier 1 of the former Charlestown Navy Yard, at one end of Boston's Freedom Trail.

Australia - Gentoo Penguin

MELBOURNE AQUARIUM
Gentoo Penguin
Pygoscelis papua

Gentoo Penguins are at home in the ocean. They use their flippers to propel themselves through the water, reaching speeds of 36 kilometres an hour in the hunt for prey. Adults build nests constructed of pebbles, sticks, grass and feathers to incubate their eggs. Arguments are common during the breeding season as neighbours often steals pebbles from surrounding nests.

Sent by Julie, a postcrosser from Melbourne, Australia.

This is from Wikipedia : The Gentoo Penguin ( /ˈdʒɛntuː/ jen-too), Pygoscelis papua, is easily recognized by the wide white stripe extending like a bonnet across the top of its head and its bright orange-red bill. The gentoo penguin has pale whitish-pink webbed feet and a fairly long tail - the most prominent tail of all penguins. Chicks have grey backs with white fronts. As the Gentoo penguin waddles along on land, its tail sticks out behind, sweeping from side to side, hence the scientific name Pygoscelis, which means ‘brush-tailed’ Adult Gentoos reach a height of 51 to 90 cm (20–36 in), making them the largest penguins outside of the two giant species, the Emperor Penguin and the King Penguin. The Gentoo penguin calls in a variety of ways, but the most frequently heard is a loud trumpeting which is emitted with its head thrown back.

The application of Gentoo to the penguin is unclear, according to the OED, which reports that Gentoo was an Anglo-Indian term, used as early as 1638 to distinguish Hindus in India from Muslims, the English term originating in Portuguese gentio (compare "gentile"); in the twentieth century the term came to be regarded as derogatory.

The Gentoo Penguin is one of three species in the genus Pygoscelis. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests the genus split from other penguins around 38 million years ago, about 2 million years after the ancestors of the genus Aptenodytes. In turn, the Adelie Penguins split off from the other members of the genus around 19 million years ago, and the Chinstrap and Gentoo finally diverging around 14 million years ago.

Two sub-species of this penguin are recognised: Pygoscelis papua papua and the smaller Pygoscelis papua ellsworthii'

Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

GREENFINCH (Carduelis chloris). The photograph was awarded 1st prize in the slides class in the photo competition arranged by the Postal Museum and the magazin P.S in connection with the exhibition "Birds and Stamps" in 1984. The picture was taken by Bo Hellberg, Sundbyberg.

Sent by Miki, a postcrosser from Sweden.

This is from Wikipedia : The European Greenfinch, or just Greenfinch, Carduelis chloris, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. The genus Carduelis might be split up and in this case, the greenfinches would be separated in their old genus Chloris again.

This bird is widespread throughout Europe, north Africa and south west Asia. It is mainly resident, but some northernmost populations migrate further south. The Greenfinch has also been introduced into both Australia and New Zealand.

Woodland edges, farmland hedges and gardens with relatively thick vegetation are favoured for breeding. It nests in trees or bushes, laying 3-8 eggs.

This species can form large flocks outside the breeding season, sometimes mixing with other finches and buntings. They feed largely on seeds, but also take berries and seeds.

The Greenfinch is 15 cm in length with a wing span of 24.5-27.5 cm and is similar in size and shape to a House Sparrow, but is mainly green, with yellow in the wings and tail. The female and young birds are duller and have brown tones on the back. The bill is thick and conical. The song contains wheezes and twitters, and the male has a "butterfly" display flight.

Nicaragua - Old Cathedral of Managua

Managua, NICARAGUA
Antigua catedral/Old cathedral.

Sent by Christhian from Nicaragua.

This is from Wikipedia : The Old Cathedral of Managua, known as the Catedral de Santiago in Spanish, is a cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua.

It was designed in, and shipped from Belgium in 1920 by architect Pablo Dambach. The cathedral survived the 1931 earthquake but was extremely damaged due to the 1972 earthquake and was condemned, which led to the construction of the new cathedral of Managua or "Catedral de la Concepcion", the newest constructed Roman Catholic cathedral. However, in recent years, the restoration of the old cathedral has appeared to be possible and it is currently awaiting its renovation.

Santiago's Cathedral old tower clock, which was damaged during the Contra Civil War of the 1980's, later removed during renovations to the cathedral in the late 1990s, is now at the National Palace of Culture.

Norway

Norway : Nordkapp, Lofoten, Trondheim, Geiranger, Preikestolen, Lindesnes.

Sent by Ingunn, a postcrosser from Tønsberg, the oldest town in Norway.

Netherlands - Traditional Costumes of Urk

Some costumes of the people of the small town of Urk.

Sent by Astrid, a postcrosser from the Netherlands.

This is from Wikipedia : Urk is a municipality and a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands.

Urk is first mentioned in historical records dating to the 10th century, when it was still an island in the Almere, a lake that would become part of the Zuiderzee in the 13th century after a series of incursions by the North Sea. In 1939, a dike from the mainland to Urk ended the town's island status, just as the Afsluitdijk project was changing the salt water Zuiderzee surrounding Urk to the less saline IJsselmeer. Later in the 20th century, seabed areas surrounding Urk were reclaimed from the sea and became the Noordoostpolder.

The mainstay of the town's economy has always been fishing, and the products of the sea coming in through Urk's harbor continue to be exported widely, although today Urk's fishing boats must travel greater distances to gather them than was required in most historical periods. Religious life has also traditionally been very important to Urk's inhabitants, with active, conservative congregations of the Dutch Reformed denominations playing key roles in the life of the community.

USA - North Dakota - State Flower (2)

WILD PRAIRIE ROSE
North Dakota State Flower
The Wild Prairie Rose was named the official state flower of North Dakota on March 7, 1907.

Sent by Hazel, a WiP partner from North Dakota, USA.

"North Dakota designated the wild prairie rose (Rosa blanda or Rosa arkansana) as the official state flower in 1907. Found growing along North Dakota roadsides, in pastures, and in native meadows, the wild prairie rose has five bright pink petals with a cluster of yellow stamens in the center. Iowa also recognizes the wild prairie rose as state flower.

The rose has been around for about 35 million years and grows naturally throughout North America. The petals and rose hips are edible and have been used in medicines since ancient times.

Rose hips (the fruit of the rose which forms at base of the flower) are a nutritional treasure chest - rich in vitamins (C, E, and K), pectin, beta-carotene, and bio-flavinoids. These elements produce a strong antioxidant effect which protects and enhances the immune system. Rose hips improve blood cholesterol and pressure, digestive efficiency, and weight management (and are also a special winter treat for birds and wild animals)." (Source)

USA - Oklahoma - Pow Wow

Each year many of the Native American tribes in Oklahoma host Pow Wow featuring traditional dress, customs and food.

Sent by KC, a postcrosser from Texas, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : pow-wow (also powwow or pow wow or pau wau) is a gathering of North America's Native people. The word derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning "spiritual leader". A modern pow-wow is a specific type of event where both Native American and non-Native American people meet to dance, sing, socialize, and honor American Indian culture. There is generally a dancing competition, often with significant prize money awarded. Pow-wows vary in length from one day session of 5 to 6 hours to three days. Major pow-wows or pow-wows called for a special occasion can be up to one week long.

The term also has been used to describe any gathering of Native Americans of any tribe, and as such is occasionally heard in older Western movies. The word has also been used to refer to a meeting, especially a meeting of powerful people such as officers in the military. However, such use can also be viewed as disrespectful to Native culture.

USA - Maryland - Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND
Each year, hundreds of thousands of vacationers flock to Ocean City, on the southern tip of Maryland's Eastern Shore. In 1933, a severe storm formed the prime real estate now referred to as the inlet, featuring 10 miles of the best shite-sand beaches on the East Coast. Proudly honored as an All-American City in 2001, Ocean City has long been called "The east Coast's Number One Family Resort."

Sent by Rose, a WiP partner from USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Ocean City, sometimes known as OC, or OCMD, is an Atlantic Ocean resort town in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Ocean City is widely known in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is a frequent destination for vacationers in that area. The population was 7,173 at the 2000 census, although during summer weekends the city hosts between 320,000 and 345,000 vacationers.

Germany - Lake Starnberg

The Lake Starnberg in the Bavarian Voralpenland.

Sent by Chloris, a postcrosser from Germany.

This is from Wikipedia : Lake Starnberg (German: Starnberger See), 25 kilometers southwest of Munich in southern Bavaria, is Germany's fifth largest freshwater lake and, due to its large average depth, the second richest in water. It is also a popular recreation area for the nearby city of Munich and since 1976, one of the wetlands of international importance protected by the Ramsar Convention.

The small town of Berg, Upper Bavaria near Starnberg, is famous as the site where King Ludwig II of Bavaria was found dead in the lake in 1886. The lake is also known as Royal Lake. The lake is also cited in T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land.

The lake, which was created by ice age glaciers from the Alps, extends 21 km (14 miles) from north to south and has a width of 3-5 km (2-3.5 miles) from east to west. It has a single, small island, the Roseninsel, and a single outlet, the Würm river (because of this river the lake was called the Würmsee until 1962). Its major inflow comes from a chain of small lakes in the south, Osterseen. This small river is called Ach or Ostersee-Ach. The lake's water is of excellent quality due to a circular sewerage system being introduced in the 1960s, collecting all wastewater from around the lake and transporting it to a treatment plant below the lake's outlet at Starnberg.

It is possible to circumnavigate the lake by cycle. Passenger services have operated on the lake since 1851. Today they are operated by the Bayerische Seenschifffahrt company, using modern motor ships.

Czech Republic - Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc (1)

Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc.

Sent by Radim, a postcrosser from Olomouc, Czech Republic.

This is from UNESCO : The Olomouc Holy Trinity Column is one of the most exceptional examples of the apogee of central European Baroque artistic expression. Columns of this type constituted a unique material demonstration of religious faith in central Europe during the Baroque period, and the Olomouc example represents its most outstanding expression.

In the reconstruction following the Thirty Years' War (1648-50) the city of Olomouc took on a new appearance. Many impressive public and private buildings were constructed in a local variant of the prevailing style, which became known as 'Olomouc Baroque'. The most characteristic expression of this style was a group of monuments (columns and fountains), of which the Holy Trinity Column is the crowning glory. Václav Render submitted the project to the City Council and work started in the spring of 1717. In this first stage, in the 1720s, the first part of the sculptural decoration was carried out by the Olomouc sculptor Filip Sattler. The remaining sculptural work was carried out in 1745-52 by the distinguished Moravian sculptor Ondrej Zahner (1709-52). The Column was ceremonially consecrated on 9 September 1754, in the presence of the Empress Maria Theresa.

In essence, the basic ground plan of the Holy Trinity Column is derived from a circle 17m in diameter. From the circular base, which has eighteen peripheral guard stones linked by a forged chain, a staircase of seven steps rises to the column's first level, the ground plan of which is hexagonal. The first level comprises a small chapel, again with a circular ground plan. At the points of the hexagon there are six conical balustrades. At the points of the hexagon, supported by six massive pedestals richly decorated on three sides with motifs such as scrolls and acanthus, are to be found the first six larger than life-size statues of saints (c. 220-240 cm) adjoining the body of the chapel on the first level. The first level is richly decorated with fluted pilasters, ribbon motifs, conches, relief cartouches with relief figures of apostles and other masonry details. The same pattern is consistently repeated in both the second and third levels. The second level retains the ground plan of the first, and is crowned by the second group of six statues of saints, placed on isolated pedestals. The third level tops the base of the column. It recedes slightly towards the centre, its periphery furnished again with six massive pedestals carrying the third row of six saints, another row of six relief figures of apostles and rich masonry decoration. This base of the third level supports a monolithic pillar 10 m high and richly decorated with fluting and acanthus motifs. The sculptural group of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is mounted on the first third of the monolith, the figure of the Virgin Mary supported by a pair of angels. Again, the group is executed on a larger-than-life-size scale, in gilded copper. On the top of the pillar-monolith itself, crowned by a capital featuring scroll and acanthus motifs, there is a group of God the Father giving a blessing and Christ with the cross, both placed on a globe, with the figure of the Archangel Michael below. The entire structure is completed by a radial target-star with a dove in the centre, to symbolize the Holy Spirit. Once more, the entire group is on a larger-than-life-size scale in wrought and gilded copper. The overall height of the column is 35 m.

The concept of the Holy Trinity involved the two principal elements of the essential hierarchy of values in the Baroque period. Faith and religious tradition are intermingled with the idea of the city - its traditions, protection and civil administration. The ideas of Christianity and of citizenship (allegiance to the city in the best meaning of the word) combine here as a triumphal statement in the form of a stone monument.

Russia - House of A.E. Borchaninov

The house of manufacture A.E. Borchaninov was decorated in baroque style at rebuilding in 1900s.

Sent by Katya, a postcrosser from Ekaterinburg in Russia.

San Marino (2)

REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO

Sent by San Marino Tourism.

This is from Wikipedia : San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino (i/sæn məˈriːnoʊ/ san-mə-ree-noh; Italian: Repubblica di San Marino, also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino), is a state situated on the Italian peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over 61 km2 (24 sq mi) with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino. San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe.

San Marino is the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, as the continuation of the monastic community founded on 3 September 301, by stonecutter Marinus of Rab. Legend has it that Marinus left Rab, then the Roman colony of Arba, in 257 when the future emperor, Diocletian, issued a decree calling for the reconstruction of the city walls of Rimini, which had been destroyed by Liburnian pirates.

The constitution of San Marino, enacted in 1600, is the world's oldest constitution still in effect. The country's economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and tourism. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (per capita), with a figure comparable to some of the more developed Italian regions, such as Lombardy and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. San Marino is considered to have a highly stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus.

San Marino (1)

REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO
Aerial view of the town.

Sent by San Marino Tourism.

San Marino - San Marino Historic Centre and Mount Titano

San Marino Historic Centre and Mount Titano.
First Tower and panorama.

Sent by San Marino Tourism.

San Marino Historic Centre and Mount Titano covers 55 ha, including Mount Titano and the historic centre of the city which dates back to the foundation of the republic as a city-state in the 13th century. San Marino is inscribed as a testimony to the continuity of a free republic since the Middle Ages. The inscribed city centre includes fortification towers, walls, gates and bastions, as well as a neo-classical basilica of the 19th century, 14th and 16th century convents, and the Palazzo Publico of the 19th century, as well as the 18th century Titano Theatre. The property represents an historical centre still inhabited and preserving all its institutional functions. Thanks to its position on top of Mount Titano, it was not affected by the urban transformations that have occurred from the advent of the industrial era to today. (Source)

Hungary

Multiviews of Hungary.

Sent by Lilla, a postcrosser from Hungary.

Austria - Hallstatt-Dachstein / Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape (2)

Gosausee(933m), the romantic mountain lake, with high roof stone (3,004m).

Sent by Julia, a postcrosser from Austria.

Russia - The Narva Triumphal Gate

The Narva Triumphal Gate. 1814; 1827 - 34.

Sent by Yelena, a postcrosser from St. Petersburg, Russia.

This is from Wikipedia : The Narva Triumphal Gate (Russian: На́рвские триумфа́льные воро́та) was erected in the vast Narva Square (known as the Stachek Square in Soviet years), Saint Petersburg, in 1814 to commemorate the Russian victory over Napoleon. The wooden structure was constructed on the Narva highway with the purpose of greeting the soldiers who were returning from abroad after their victory over Napoleon. The architect of the original Narva Gate was Giacomo Quarenghi. The program was meant to respond to the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris, originally erected to celebrate Napoleon's victory over the Allies at Austerlitz, but the material used was a weather-resistant plaster that was never intended to be permanent.

Between 1827 and 1834 Vasily Stasov redesigned and rebuilt the gate in stone. A similar gate, also by Stasov, was erected on the road leading to Moscow. A sculptor Vasily Demut-Malinovsky was responsible for the gate's sculptural decor. As has been conventional since Imperial Roman times, sculptures of Fame offering laurel wreaths fill the spandrels of the central arch. The main entablature breaks boldly forward over paired Composite columns that flank the opening and support colossal sculptures. Nike, the Goddess of Victory surmounts the arch, in a triumphal car drawn by six horses, sculpted by Peter Clodt von Jürgensburg, instead of the traditional Quadriga.

Neither the gate nor the Russian admiralty were protected from artillery bombardments during the Siege of Leningrad. A small military museum was opened in the upper part of the arch in 1989. At the beginning of 21st century the gate was capitally restored and according to experts, is in a fine condition as of August 2009.