India - Tamil Nadu - Our Lady of Lourdes Church

Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Tiruchirappalli.

A famous church constructed during 1895-1903, the main tower of which is 220 feet in height and small tower is 120 feet in height, is an important landmark of the city.

Sent by kapish from Tamil Nadu, India.

The Our Lady of Lourdes Church is located in the city of Tiruchirapalli in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Built in the Gallo-Catholic design, the Church is devoted to Our Lady of Lourdes. The church is considered one of oldest of the 22 churches in the city which are older than 100 years. The church is located in the premises of St. Joseph's College Higher Secondary School, Trichy. The church is one of the major landmarks in the city.

The foundation was laid during 1895 and the construction completed by 1903 when it was thrown open to public. The images of St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier, Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Peter, and St. John de Britto on the middle of the spire is the most notable feature of the church. The renovated church was dedicated on 10 February 1998 and the Way of cross was blessed and erected during 1999. The church presents a case study of a Gothic style church built fully with indigenous material and craftsmen.

Our Lady of Angels Church is a working church with hourly prayer and daily services and follows Roman Catholic sect of Christianity. The church has various religious practices from 5:15 am to 8 pm. There are four annual feasts in the church with the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes held annually on 11 February being the most prominent among them. The church is associated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tiruchirapalli, while it is maintained and administered by the Fathers of Society of Jesus (The Jesuits) (read more).

USA - Utah - Tibber Fork Reservoir

Tibble Fork Reservoir is one of many hidden gems located up American Fork Canyon. Nestled in the scenic Wasatch Mountains, Tibble Fork offers breathtaking views of Mount Timpanogos and a variety of outdoor activities.

Sent by Paula from Utah, USA.

Tibble Fork and Silver Lake Flat Reservoir are beautiful fresh water lakes located up American Fork Canyon. These popular outdoor recreation areas offer a wide variety of activities and trails perfect for hiking, mountain biking, fishing, camping, ATV’s and horseback riding. Nestled in the scenic Wasatch Mountains, Tibble Fork and Silver Lake offer spectacular views and are a frequented for their photographic opportunities. Note: Tibble Fork and Silver Lake are managed by the U.S. Forest Service and require a small day use fee to access. Accessibility: To get to these Reservoirs, take the Alpine-Highland exit 284. Stay on Hwy 92 and turn left at North Fork junction in American Fork Canyon. Silver Lake Flat is just past Tibble Fork Reservoir (read more).

Italy - Marche - Historic Centre of Urbino

Architechtural view of the interior courtyard of the Ducal Palace of Urbino in Italy. Historic Centre of Urbino, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Luca from Marche, Italy.

The small hill town of Urbino, in the Marche, experienced a great cultural flowering in the 15th century, attracting artists and scholars from all over Italy and beyond, and influencing cultural developments elsewhere in Europe. Owing to its economic and cultural stagnation from the 16th century onwards, it has preserved its Renaissance appearance to a remarkable extent.

The small Italian hill town of Urbino became, for a short time during the Renaissance era, one of the major cultural centres of Europe. Today, the historic centre is defined by its Renaissance walls that survive virtually intact, complete with bastions. Within these walls, several buildings of extraordinary quality have been retained such as the Ducal Palace, the cathedral, the Monastery of Santa Chiara and a complex system of oratories.

The initial nucleus of the city evolved from a fortified Roman settlement dating from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. The Romans built on the top of the hill where the Ducal Palace now stands and until the 11th century, the city remained within these limits. At the end of that century, its urban expansion required the construction of a new system of defensive walls. In the mid 15th century, Federico da Montefeltro undertook a radical rebuilding campaign within these original walls without disturbing the overall urban structure. The city was later further expanded to a second hill lying to the north, giving the area, now enclosed by the Renaissance walls an elongated outline.

Urbino is a small city in the hills that experienced an astonishing cultural flowering in the 15th century. During this period, it attracted artists and scholars from all over Italy and beyond which, in turn, influenced cultural developments elsewhere in Europe. Between 1444 and 1482, Federico da Montefeltro ruled in Urbino and his court brought together some of the era’s leaders: foremost humanists of the time such as Leone Battista Alberti, Marsilio Ficino, and Giovanni Bessarione; mathematicians like Paul van Middelburg; and artists such as Luciano Laurana, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Paolo Uccello, Piero della Francesca and Ambrogio Barocci. These men created and implemented outstanding cultural and urban projects. This cultural climate made it possible for Raffaello, Donato Bramante and the mathematician Luca Pacioli to flourish in their own art and science (read more).

Germany - Brandenburg - Rathenow

Rathenow - Stadt der Optik (City of Optics)

Various landmarks and scenes from the German town of Rathenow; 

1. Stadtpanorama

2. Bismarkturm

3. Weinbergbrücke

4. „Der abtragejunge“ (Karl Mertens)

Sent by Annelt from Rathenow, Germany.

Rathenow (German: [ˈʁaːtənoː]) is a town in the district of Havelland in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, with a population of 24,063 (2020).

The Protestant church of St. Marien Andreas, originally a basilica, and transformed to the Gothic style in 1517-1589, and the Roman Catholic Church of St. George, are noteworthy.

Rathenow is known for being the former capital of eyewear manufacturing in East Germany. It is also known for its stones, called Rathenow stones.

In 1675, during the Scanian War, it was the site of a battle between Swedish and Brandenburgian forces.

During World War II, Rathenow was the location of a forced labour subcamp of the Nazi prison for women and juveniles in Berlin-Lichtenberg and a subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Prisoners of the latter were mostly Dutch, Belgian and French (read more).

Germany - Schleswig-Holstein - Hanseatic City of Lübeck

An aerial view of the German city of Lübeck, a Hanseatic city known for its Brick Gothic architecture and historic center, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stadt der Lübeck sieben türme is "City of the Seven Towers".

Sent by Jasmin from Hessen, Germany.

Lübeck – the former capital and Queen City of the Hanseatic League – was founded in the 12th century and prospered until the 16th century as the major trading centre for northern Europe. It has remained a centre for maritime commerce to this day, particularly with the Nordic countries. Despite the damage it suffered during the Second World War, the basic structure of the old city, consisting mainly of 15th- and 16th-century patrician residences, public monuments (the famous Holstentor brick gate), churches and salt storehouses, remains unaltered.

Founded in 1143 on the Baltic coast of northern Germany, Lübeck was from 1230 to 1535 one of the principal cities of the Hanseatic League, a league of merchant cities which came to hold a monopoly over the trade of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. The plan of the Old Town island of Lübeck, with its blade-like outline determined by two parallel routes of traffic running along the crest of the island, dates back to the beginnings of the city and attests to its expansion as a commercial centre of Northern Europe. To the west, the richest quarters with the trading houses and the homes of the rich merchants are located, and to the east, small commerces and artisans. The very strict socio-economic organization emerges through the singular disposition of the Buden, small workshops set in the back courtyards of the rich hares, to which access was provided through a narrow network of alleyways (Gänge).

Lübeck has remained an urban monument characteristic of a significant historical structure even though the city was severely damaged during the Second World War. Almost 20% of it were destroyed, including the most famous monumental complexes- the Cathedral of Lübeck, the churches of St Peter and St Mary and especially the Gründungsviertel, the hilltop quarter where the gabled houses of the rich merchants clustered. Selective reconstruction has permitted the replacement of the most important churches and monuments (read more).

Belgium - Ghent

Collage of buildings in the city of Ghent, Belgium.

Sent by Jean from Ghent, Belgium.

Ghent (Dutch: Gent [ɣɛnt]; French: Gand [ɡɑ̃]; historically known as Gaunt in English) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the province of East Flanders, and the third largest in the country, after Brussels and Antwerp. It is a port and university city.

The city originally started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie. In the Late Middle Ages Ghent became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe, with some 50,000 people in 1300. After the late 16th century Ghent became a less important city, resulting in an extremely well-preserved historic centre, making Ghent a popular tourist destination.

The municipality comprises the city of Ghent proper and the surrounding suburbs of Afsnee, Desteldonk, Drongen, Gentbrugge, Ledeberg, Mariakerke, Mendonk, Oostakker, Sint-Amandsberg, Sint-Denijs-Westrem, Sint-Kruis-Winkel, Wondelgem and Zwijnaarde. With 270,473 inhabitants at the end of 2024, Ghent is Belgium's second largest municipality by number of inhabitants. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1,205 km² (465 sq mi) and had a total population of 560,522 as of 1 January 2018, which ranks it as the fourth most populous in Belgium. The current mayor of Ghent is Mathias De Clercq (Open Vld).

The ten-day-long Ghent Festival (Gentse Feesten) is held every year and attended by about 1–1.5 million visitors (read more).

USA - New York - Rochester

ROCHESTER AT NIGHT

Rochester, New York

Sent by Beta from Rochester, USA.

Rochester is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in New York, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 census. The Rochester metropolitan area in Western New York has an estimated 1.06 million residents and is the 54th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Throughout its history, Rochester has acquired several nicknames based on local industries; it has been known as "the Flour City" and "the Flower City" for its dual role in flour production and floriculture, and as the "World's Image Center" for its association with film, optics, and photography.

The city was one of the United States' first boomtowns, initially due to the fertile Genesee River valley which gave rise to numerous flour mills, and then as a manufacturing center, which spurred further rapid population growth. Rochester has also played a key part in US history as a hub for social and political movements, especially abolitionism, and the women's rights movement.

Rochester is the birthplace and/or home of many notable companies including Eastman Kodak, Xerox, Bausch & Lomb, Wegmans, Constellation Brands, Gannett, Paychex, and Western Union. In part due to their influence, the region became a global center for science, technology, and research and development. This has been aided by the presence of several internationally renowned universities, notably the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), and their research programs; these schools, along with many other smaller colleges, have played an increasingly large role in its economy. The city experienced significant population decline due to deindustrialization in the late 20th century, although less severely than its Rust Belt peers. The Rochester metropolitan area is the third-largest regional economy in New York, after New York City and Buffalo–Niagara Falls.

Rochester is also known for its culture; in particular, the Eastman School of Music, one of the most prestigious conservatories in the world, and the Rochester International Jazz Festival anchor a vibrant music industry. It is the site of several museums such as The Strong National Museum of Play and the George Eastman Museum, which houses the oldest photography collection in the world (read more).

Swimwear #15

Original 50s-60s Italian Risque Pinup Postcard - Blond Stipped Bikini.

Sent by Thomas from Luzern, Switzerland.

20th Year of Postcrossing #17 - Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

Goat cart.

Postcrossing's 20th Anniversary Meetup.

Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

12th July 2025.

Sent by Marianne from Los Baños, Philippines.

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.