Poland - Battle of Grunwald

Battle of Grunwald.

Sent by Zuzanna, a postcrosser from Warsaw, Poland.

This is from Wikipedia : The Battle of Grunwald or 1st Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410, during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Jogaila (Władysław Jagiełło) and Grand Duke Vytautas (Witold), decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen. Most of the Teutonic Knights' leadership were killed or taken prisoner. While defeated, the Teutonic Knights withstood the siege on their fortress in Marienburg (Malbork) and suffered only minimal territorial losses at the Peace of Thorn (1411) (Toruń). Territorial disputes continued until the Peace of Melno was concluded in 1422. However, the Knights never recovered their former power and the financial burden of war reparations caused internal conflicts and an economic downturn in their lands. The battle shifted the balance of power in Eastern Europe and marked the rise of the Polish–Lithuanian union as the dominant political and military force in the region.

The battle was one of the largest battles in Medieval Europe and is regarded as the most important victory in the history of Poland and Lithuania. It was surrounded by romantic legends and nationalistic propaganda, becoming a larger symbol of struggle against invaders and a source of national pride. During the 20th century, the battle was used in Nazi and Soviet propaganda campaigns. Only in recent decades have historians made progress towards a dispassionate, scholarly assessment of the battle reconciling the previous narratives, which differed widely by nation.

The battle was fought in the territory of the Monastic state of the Teutonic Order, on the plains between three villages: Grünfelde (Grunwald) to the west, Tannenberg (Stębark) to the northeast, and Ludwigsdorf (Łodwigowo, Ludwikowice) to the south. Jogaila referred to the site in Latin as in loco conflictus nostri, quem cum Cruciferis de Prusia habuimus, dicto Grunenvelt. Later Polish chroniclers interpreted the word Grunenvelt as Grünwald, meaning "green forest" in German. The Lithuanians followed suit and translated the name as Žalgiris. The Germans named the battle after Tannenberg ("fir" or "pine" "hill" in German). Thus there are three commonly used names for the battle: German: Schlacht bei Tannenberg, Polish: Bitwa pod Grunwaldem, Lithuanian: Žalgirio mūšis. Its names in the languages of other involved peoples include Belarusian: Дубровенская бітва, Ukrainian: Грюнвальдська битва, Russian: Грюнвальдская битва, Czech: Bitva u Grunvaldu, Romanian: Bătălia de la Grünwald.

United Kingdom - England - Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City (3)

Greetings From Liverpool

Sent by Dan from England.

USA - North Dakota - Theodore Roosevelt National Park

THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK
The Badlands of North Dakota invite the visitor to explore a myriad of outdoor options for fun and relaxation.

Sent by Jodi from South Dakota, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a United States National Park comprising three geographically separated areas of badlands in western North Dakota. The park was named for U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, in honor of his achievements in conservation as president and for the landscape's influence on his life. The park covers 110 square miles (285 km2) of land in three sections: the North Unit, the South Unit, and the Elkhorn Ranch Unit.

The park's larger South Unit lies alongside Interstate 94 near Medora, North Dakota. The smaller North Unit is situated about 80 mi (130 km) north of the South Unit, on U.S. Highway 85, just south of Watford City, North Dakota. Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch is located between the North and South units, approximately 20 mi (32 km) west of US 85 and Fairfield, North Dakota. The Little Missouri River flows through all three units of the park. The Maah Daah Hey Trail connects all three units.

Roosevelt first came to the North Dakota badlands to hunt bison in September 1883. In that first short trip he got his bison and fell in love with the rugged lifestyle and the "perfect freedom" of the West. He invested $14,000 in the Maltese Cross Ranch, which was already being managed by Sylvane Ferris and Bill Merrifield seven miles south of Medora. That winter, Ferris and Merrifield built the Maltese Cross Cabin. After the death of both his wife and mother on February 14, 1884, Roosevelt returned to his North Dakota ranch seeking solitude and time to heal. That summer, he started his second ranch, the Elkhorn Ranch, 35 miles north of Medora, which he hired two Maine woodsmen, Bill Sewall and Wilmot Dow, to operate. Roosevelt took great interest in his ranches and in hunting in the West, detailing his experiences in pieces published in eastern newspapers and magazines. He wrote three major works on his life in the West: "Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail," "Hunting Trips of a Ranchman," and "The Wilderness Hunter." His adventures in "the strenuous life" outdoors and the loss of his cattle in the starvation winter in 1886-1887 were influential in Theodore Roosevelt's pursuit of conservation policies as President of the United States (1901–1909).

USA - South Dakota - Badlands National Park (2)

BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK
South Dakota
Established in 1939 to preserve the unusual examples of erosion by wind and water as well as the remains of prehistoric animals.

Sent by Jodi from South Dakota, USA.

Bullfinch

Bullfinch.

Sent by Nadya, a postcrosser from Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

USA - Kentucky - Mammoth Cave National Park (2)

MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK
Frozen Niagara
A magnificent wall of flowstone, is the centerpiece of the cave's travertine 75 feet high and 50 feet wide.

Sent by Elena, a postrosser from Kentucky, USA.

The Bahamas (2)

THE BAHAMAS
Queen Conch (Strombus gigas Linne), Glass ball float, Bougainvillaea, Allamanda, Hibiscus, Coral, Sanddollar & sea biscuit.

Sent by Leanne from Grand Bahama, Bahamas. This is our first stamped postcard from the Bahamas.

This is from Wikipedia : The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets (rocks). It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States (nearest to the state of Florida). Its land area is 13,939 km2 (5,382 sq mi), with a population of 353,658. Its capital is Nassau. Geographically, The Bahamas lie in the same island chain as Cuba, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands; the designation of Bahamas refers normally to the Commonwealth and not the geographic chain.

Originally inhabited by the Lucayans, a branch of the Arawakan-speaking Taino people, The Bahamas were the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492. Although the Spanish never colonized The Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 to 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera.

The Bahamas became a Crown Colony in 1718 when the British clamped down on piracy. Following the American War of Independence, thousands of pro-British loyalists and enslaved Africans moved to The Bahamas and set up a plantation economy. The slave trade was abolished in the British Empire in 1807 and many Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy were settled in The Bahamas during the 19th century. Slavery itself was abolished in 1834 and the descendants of enslaved and liberated Africans form the bulk of The Bahamas's population today.

In terms of GDP, the Bahamas is one of the richest countries in the Americas, (following Bermuda, The United States, Cayman Islands, Canada, and The British Virgin Islands) and one of the richest in the world whose population is predominantly of African ancestry.

Czech Republic - Unesco World Heritage Sites

All the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Czech Republic

Top from left : Historic Centre of Prague, Historic Centre of Český Krumlov, Historic Centre of Telč, Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelená Hora, Kutná Hora: Historical Town Centre with the Church of St Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec, and Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape.

Bottom from left : Holašovice Historical Village Reservation, Gardens and Castle at Kroměříž, Litomyšl Castle, Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc, Tugendhat Villa in Brno, and Jewish Quarter and St Procopius' Basilica in Třebíč.

Sent by Standa, a postcrosser from Czech Republic.

Netherlands - Map of Limburg

NETHERLANDS
Map of Limburg

Sent by Christina, a postcrosser from the Netherlands.

This is from Wikipedia : Limburg (Dutch and Limburgish: (Nederlands-)Limburg) is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, and the Dutch province of North Brabant partly to the west. Its capital is Maastricht.

Limburg has a highly distinct character. The social and economic trends which affected the province in recent decades generated a process of change and renewal which has enabled Limburg to transform its national peripheral location into a highly globalized regional nexus, linking the Netherlands to the Ruhr metro area and the southern part of the Benelux region. A less appreciated consequence of this international gateway location is rising international crime, often drugs-related, especially in the southernmost part of the province.

Azerbaijan - Azerbaijan Miniatures

Azerbaijan Miniatures by Tebriz School.

Sent by Tural from Baku, Azerbaijan.

Colombia - Medellín

Estadio Atanasio Girardot in Medellin, Colombia. It is currently used mostly for football matches by two local teams, Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín.

Sent by Jesus from Quibdó in Colombia.

This is from Wikipedia : Medellín (Spanish pronunciation: [meðeˈʝin]), officially the Municipio de Medellín (Spanish) or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million. With its surrounding area, the metropolitan area of Medellín (Area Metropolitana de Medellín), it is the second largest city in Colombia in terms of population and economy, with more than 3.3 million people, and ranks in population as the 91st of the world's largest urban agglomerations.

Medellín was founded in 1616 by the Spaniard Francisco Herrera Y Campuzano as Poblado de San Lorenzo (Saint Lawrence Town) in present-day El Poblado. In 1675 the queen consort Mariana of Austria created the Villa de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria (Town of Our Lady at Candelaria).

In 1826 the city was named the capital of the Department of Antioquia by the National Congress of the young Republic of Greater Colombia, comprised by present day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. In 1803 the University of Antioquia, one of the most prestigious in Colombia, was founded. After Colombia won its independence from Spain, Medellín became the capital of the Federal State of Antioquia until 1888, with the proclamation of the Colombian Constitution of 1886. During the 19th century, Medellín was a dynamic commercial center, first exporting gold, then producing and exporting coffee. After the Thousand Days War (1899 — 1902), Medellín was the first Colombian city to take part in the Industrial Revolution with the opening of textile companies, and transport projects such as railways that allowed its export business to develop. In addition, its people founded several universities and vocational training institutions.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the city has regained industrial dynamism, with the construction of the Metro de Medellín railway, and liberalized development policies, improved security, and improved education. Researchers at the Overseas Development Institute have lauded the city as a pioneer of a post-Washington consensus 'local development state' model of economic development. The city is promoted internationally as a tourist destination.

The Medellín Metropolitan Area produces 67% of the Department of Antioquia's GDP and 11% of the economy of Colombia. Medellín is important to the region for its universities, academies, commerce, industry, science, health services, flower-growing, festivals and nightlife.

Colombia - The Joaquin Antonio Uribe Botanical Garden's Orquideorama

The Joaquin Antonio Uribe Botanical Garden's Orquideorama puts on its best dress to welcome hundreds of local and international visitors.

Sent by Jesus from Quibdó in Colombia.

Mauritius - Le Morne (3)

Ile Maurice / Mauritius
Le Morne (The Mountain).

Sent by Tasneem from Mauritius.

USA - Washington - Seattle Waterfront

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Unique shops and specialty stores, as well as many renowned seafood restaurants, line the Seattle waterfront.

Sent by Olga from Seattle, USA.

Slovenia - Ljubljana (2)

LJUBLJANA SLOVENIA
Belltowers of the Franciscan church and the cathedral.

Sent by anasie, a postcrosser from Slovenia.

Canada - Ontario - Belleville

Belleville, Ontario
Belleville is located on the north shore of Lake Ontario at the mouth of Moira River, with the Bay of Quinte at its doors. Belleville's excellent location makes it a perfect destination spot for many travellers.

Sent by Liz, a postcrosser from Canada.

This is from Wikipedia : Belleville (Canada 2006 Census population 48,821; census agglomeration population 91,518) is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern (Southeastern) Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region. The current mayor of Belleville is Neil Ellis.

Originally the site of a Native settlement known as Asukhknosk, the future location of the city was settled by United Empire Loyalists in 1789, after which it became known as Meyer's Creek after prominent settler and industrialist John Walden Meyers. It was renamed Belleville in honour of Lady Arabella Gore in 1816, after a visit to the settlement by Sir Francis Gore and his wife. Belleville became an important railway junction with the completion of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1855. In 1858 the iron bridge over the Moira at Bridge Street became the first iron bridge in Hastings County. Belleville's strikingly beautiful High Victorian Gothic city hall was constructed in 1872 to house the public market and administrative offices. The City Hall tower stands some 185 feet above street level.

In 1998, the city was amalgamated with the surrounding Township of Thurlow to form an expanded City of Belleville as part of Ontario-wide municipal restructuring. The city also annexed portions of Quinte West to the west.

Ireland - Clonmacnoise Monastic Site

Clonmacnoise is an Early Christian site founded by St. Ciarán in the mid 6th century on the eastern bank of River Shannon. The site includes the ruins of a cathedral, seven churches (10th - 13th century), two round towers, three high crosses and the largest collection of Early Christian graveslabs in Western Europe.

Sent by Claudia, a postcrosser from Ireland.

This is from Wikipedia : The monastery of Clonmacnoise (Cluain Mhic Nóis in Irish, meaning "Meadow of the Sons of Nós", or perhaps, albeit less likely, Cluain Muccu Nóis "Meadow of the Pigs of Nós") is situated in County Offaly, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone.

Clonmacnoise was founded sometime between 545 and 548 by Ciarán Mac a tSaor, a young man from Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon. Until the 9th century it had close associations with the kings of Connacht. The strategic location of the monastery helped it become a major centre of religion, learning, craftsmanship and trade by the 9th century and together with Clonard it was the most famous in Ireland, visited by scholars from all over Europe. From the ninth until the eleventh century it was allied with the kings of Meath. Many of the high kings of Tara and Connacht were buried here.

Shortly after his arrival with seven companions - at the point where the major east-west land route through the bogs of central Ireland along the Eiscir Riada, an esker left by the receding glaciers of the last ice age crossed the River Shannon - Saint Ciarán met Diarmait Uí Cerbaill who helped him build the first church at the site. This was a small wooden structure and the first of many small churches to be clustered on the site. Diarmuid was to be the first man to be crowned High King of Ireland while a practising Christian. Ciarán died less than one year later of the yellow fever (Justinian Plague) and was reportedly buried under the original wooden church, now the site of the 9th century stone oratory, Temple Ciarán. Annals record that he died at the age of 33, one of the many coincidences recorded between Ciarán's life and that of Jesus Christ.

Clonmacnoise's period of greatest growth came between the 8th and 12th centuries. It was attacked frequently during these four centuries, mostly by the Irish (at least 27 times), the Vikings (at least 7 times) and Anglo-Normans (at least 6 times). The early wooden buildings began to be replaced by more durable stone structures in the 9th century, and the original population of fewer than ten men grew to perhaps 1,500 to 2,000 by the 11th century. Artisans associated with the site created some of the most beautiful and enduring artworks in metal and stone ever seen in Ireland, with the Clonmacnoise Crozier (on display in the National Museum of Ireland) and the Cross of the Scriptures representing the apex of their efforts.

In the 12th century Clonmacnoise began to decline. The reasons were varied, but without doubt the most debilitating factor was the growth of the town of Athlone to the north of the site from the late-12th century. Athlone became the main trading town for the midlands of Ireland, the most popular route for crossing the Shannon, as well as the best-defended settlement in the region. People migrated north from Clonmacnoise to Athlone, and with the fall in population went much of the support that the site needed to survive, and former allies began to recognise the decline in the site's influence. The influx of continental religious orders such as the Franciscans, Augustinians, Bendictines, Cluniacs, etc. around the same time fed into this decline as numerous additional competitor sites began to crop up. Ireland's move from a monastic framework to diocesan in the twelfth century similarly disimproved the site's religious standing, as it was designated the seat of a small and impoverished diocese.

It was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1979. The site can be visited for a fee, via an O.P.W.-managed interpretative centre (see heritageireland.ie for prices and contact info.). The site is accessible from the River Shannon, with trips from Shannonbridge and Athlone regular features during the summer season. Some private operators also offer bus connections from Athlone, but the most common way to visit the site by road, if a visitor does not have their own car, is by taxi from Athlone (€40-50 ret.).

Belarus - Zamechak

Ancient town "Zamechak".
Reconstruction by Yaugen Kulik using the materials of archaeologist Yury Zayats.

Sent by Alena, a postcrosser from Belarus.

South Korea - Gwanghwamun

Sent by Rob, a postcrosser from South Korea.

Norway - West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord (2)

NORWAY
Geirangerfjord.

Sent by Jörg, a postcrosser from Norway.

Germany - Map of Weimar

A map of Weimar.

Sent by Alex, a postcrosser from Switzerland.

This is from Wikipedia : Weimar (German pronunciation: [ˈvaɪma]) is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia (German: Thüringen), north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899. Weimar was the capital of the Duchy (after 1815 the Grand Duchy) of Saxe-Weimar (German Sachsen-Weimar).

Weimar's cultural heritage is vast. It is most often recognised as the place where Germany's first democratic constitution was signed after the First World War, giving its name to the Weimar Republic period in German politics, of 1918–1933. However, the city was also the focal point of the German Enlightenment and home of the leading characters of the literary genre of Weimar Classicism, the writers Goethe and Schiller. The city was also the birthplace of the Bauhaus movement, founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius, with artists Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Oskar Schlemmer, and Lyonel Feininger teaching in Weimar's Bauhaus School. Many places in the city centre have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

USA - Oregon - State Bird & State Flower

OREGON
State Symbols
The Western Meadowlark was chosen as Oregon's state bird by Oregon's school children, who were polled by the Oregon Audubon Society in 1927. The Oregon Grape was designated as Oregon's state flower by the Oregon Legislature in 1899.

Sent by Nancy, a postcrosser from Oregon, USA.

Germany - Loreley Rock

The Loreley Rock In The Middle Rhine Vally Near St. Goar.

Sent by Daniela, a postcrosser from Germany.

This is from Wikipedia : The Lorelei (also spelled Loreley) (German pronunciation: [loːʁəˈlaɪ]) is a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, Germany, which soars some 120 metres above the waterline. It marks the narrowest part of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea. A very strong current and rocks below the waterline have caused many boat accidents there. Since 1395, the vineyards of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen have been located here.

The name comes from the old German words "lureln" (Rhine dialect for "murmuring") and the Celtic term "ley" (rock). The translation of the name would therefore be: "murmur rock" or "murmuring rock". The heavy currents, and a small waterfall in the area (still visible in the early 19th century) created a murmuring sound, and this combined with the special echo the rock produces which acted as a sort of amplifier, giving the rock its name. The murmuring is hard to hear today owing to the urbanization of the area. Other theories attribute the name to the many accidents, by combining the German verb "lauern" (to lurk, lie in wait) with the same "ley" ending, with the translation "lurking rock".

Russia - The Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin

Moscow - The Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin.

Sent by Maria, a postcrosser from Mosocw, Russia.

This is from Wikipedia : The Spasskaya Tower (Russian: Спасская башня, translated as "Savior Tower") is the main tower with a through-passage on the eastern wall of the Moscow Kremlin, which overlooks the Red Square.

The Spasskaya Tower was built in 1491 by an Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari. Initially, it was named the Frolovskaya Tower after the Church of Frol and Lavr in the Kremlin (it is no longer there). The tower's modern name comes from the icon of Spas Nerukotvorny (Divine Savior), which was placed above the gates on the inside wall in 1658 (no longer there since 1917) and the wall-painted icon of Spas Smolensky (Smolensky Savior), which was created in the 16th century on the outside wall of tower (plastered in 1937, reopened and restored in 2010). The Spasskaya Tower was the first one to be crowned with the hipped roof in 1624–1625 by architects Bazhen Ogurtsov and Christopher Galloway (a Scottish architect and clockmaker). According to a number of historical accounts, the clock on the Spasskaya Tower appeared between 1491 and 1585. It is usually referred to as the Kremlin clock (Кремлёвские куранты).

On top of the gates of the tower there was inscribed the following inscription: IOANNES VASILII DEI GRATIA MAGNUS DUX VOLODIMERIAE, MOSCOVIAE, NOVOGARDIAE, TFERIAE, PLESCOVIAE, VETICIAE, ONGARIAE, PERMIAE, BUOLGARIAE ET ALIAS TOTIUSQ(UE) RAXIE D(OMI)NUS, A(N)NO 30 IMPERII SUI HAS TURRES CO(N)DERE F(ECIT) ET STATUIT PETRUS ANTONIUS SOLARIUS MEDIOLANENSIS A(N)NO N(ATIVIT) A(TIS) D(OM)INI 1491 K(ALENDIS) M(ARTIIS) I(USSIT) P(ONERE).

In 1935, the Soviets installed a red star instead of a two-headed eagle on top of the Spasskaya Tower. The height of the tower with the star is 71 m. In August 2010 above the gate the icon of Savior Smolensky was restored.

Finland - Fortress of Suomenlinna (4)

Helsinki, Suomenlinna.

Sent by Anne, a postcrosser from Finland.