Germany - Amrum Island

A mapcard of Amrum Island.

Sent by Claus, a postcrosser from Hamburg, Germany.

This is from Wikipedia :  Amrum (Öömrang North Frisian: Oomram) is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German North Sea coast, south of Sylt and west of Föhr. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. With the island being a refuge for many endangered species of plants and animals, its soil being largely unfavourable for agriculture and as a popular seaside resort in general, Amrum's population almost exclusively lives from the tourism industry.

Amrum's area measures 20.46 km², making it the tenth-largest island of Germany. It is one of three isles with a geestland core in Nordfriesland. To the east, it borders to the Wadden Sea mud flats of the North Sea. The east side is also where the island's ancient hamlets are situated: Norddorf, Nebel, Süddorf and Steenodde. On the geestland core one can find extended areas of heath and woodland which form a strip that runs along a north-south line on the axis. West of this woodland strip, the entire island is covered with dunes. The maximal width of this area amounts to more than a kilometre, its length measures about 12 km. Amrum's tallest dune near Norddorf, called a Siatler (the settling dune) reaches 32 m of height. Northward, the dune area extends into a small peninsula called Odde. In the south of Amrum, the newest settlement, Wittdün, is located. West of the dunes, the entire shore of Amrum is made up of the Kniepsand beach; it counts among northern Europe's largest sand beaches. North of Norddorf there is some marshland, another small marsh area can be found between Süddorf and Steenodde. Both of them are protected from the sea by dikes. During low tide it is possible to reach the neighbouring island of Föhr by mudflat hiking.

Amrum's population amounts to about 2,300 and the island is divided into three municipalities: Norddorf, Nebel and Wittdün. They adhere to the Amt Föhr-Amrum.

China - Beijing - Suzhou Street

Suzhou Street, The Summer Palace, Beijing

Sent by Jiani, a postcrosser from Shanghai, China.

"Over 60 stores extend from North Palace Gate entrance into a street about 300 meters (328.1 yards) in length. Along the Back Lake, the street design imitates the ancient style of shops on the banks of rivers in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, that is, taking the running water of Back Lake as the street and its banks as a market. The area served as an entertainment place where Emperors and concubines could feel as if they were strolling on a commercial street. When the royals went there, eunuchs and maids of honor would playact as peddlers, customers and shop assistants to mimic market activities.
Built during the reign of Qianlong (1711-1799), it was burned down by Anglo-French allied force in 1860. Until 1986, it was rebuilt and in 1990 it was opened to the public. Today's market includes stores such as dyers, souvenir shops, drugstores, banks, shoe stores, teashops, and hockshops, with clerks dressed in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) costumes."(Source)

Russia - Arms Victory 1945

Russian Arms Victory 1945 (World War II). Sent by Natalie, a postcrosser from Belgorod, Russia.

Chile - Selk'nam

SEK'NAM (ONAS) - TIERRA DEL FUEGO - CHILE
The Onas lived in Tiera del Fuego. The paintings are representation of different Divinities during the Hain initiation ceremony.

Sent by Arnold, a postcrosser from Santiago, Chile.

Chile - Roberto Matta : Attouchement, 1955

Roberto Matta : Attouchement, 1955

Sent by my great pal Hernán from Santiago, Chile.

This is from Wikipedia : Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren (November 11, 1911 – November 23, 2002), better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art.

Born in Santiago, he initially studied architecture at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, but became disillusioned with this occupation and left for Paris in 1933. His travels in Europe and the USA led him to meet artists such as Arshile Gorky, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, André Breton, and Le Corbusier. Matta was of Spanish, Basque and French descent.

It was Breton who provided the major spur to the Chilean's direction in art, encouraging his work and introducing him to the leading members of the Paris Surrealist movement. Matta produced illustrations and articles for Surrealist journals such as Minotaure. During this period he was introduced to the work of many prominent contemporary European artists, such as Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp.
 

Russia - Sverdlovsk Oblast - Verkhoturye

A view of Trinity Stone and Verkhoturye citadel from the Tura River.

Sent by Olga from Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia.

This is from Wikipedia : Verkhoturye (Russian: Верхоту́рье) is a historical town and the administrative center of Verkhotursky District of Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located in the middle Ural Mountains on the left bank of the Tura River 306 kilometers (190 mi) north of Yekaterinburg. Population: 8,815 (2010 Census preliminary results); 7,815 (2002 Census; 8,973 (1989 Census); 10,900 (1967).
Verkhoturye was founded in 1598 by Vasily Golovin and Ivan Voyeykov on the site of the Vogul settlement of Neromkar. There were major fires in 1674 and 1738. The railroad arrived in 1906. It lost town status in 1926 and regained it in 1947. Two oil pipelines pass through the area and there are plans to build an oil refinery.

In contrast to the surrounding mining towns, Verkhoturye has been relatively untouched by industrialization and much of its historic appearance has been preserved. Being one of the oldest Russian settlements east of the Urals, and with forty churches in the area, Verkhoturye is considered one of the centers of Russian Christianity. Famous churches include the Trinity Church (1703—1712), Nikolay Monastery (established in 1604) with the Cathedral of Exaltation of the Holy Cross (1905—1913), and Transfiguration Church (1821). In addition, the town houses the oldest female monastery beyond Urals (established in 1621).

Netherlands - Texel

A mapcard of Texel Island.

Sent by Anna, a postcrosser from Hoogezand in Netherlands.

This is from Wikipedia : Texel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the largest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark. The next island in the archipelago, to the north of Texel, is Vlieland.
The name Texel is Frisian, but because of historical sound-changes in Dutch, where all -x- sounds have been replaced with -s- sounds (compare for instance English Fox, Frisian Fokse, German Fuchs with Dutch Vos), the name is typically pronounced Tessel in Dutch.

Netherlands - Reiderland

Multiviews of Reiderland.

Sent by Sandra, a postcrosser from Netherlands.

This is from Wikipedia : Reiderland is a former municipality in the province Groningen in the northeastern Netherlands, which was founded in 1990 during a large municipal reorganization. The former municipalities Finsterwolde and Bad Nieuweschans were abolished and added to Beerta. In 1992, the new municipality was given its current name. In 2010 it joined in the municipality Oldambt.

Reiderland was one of the few municipalities in the Netherlands that still had communist councillors after the dissolution of the Communist Party of the Netherlands in 1989. (As of 2006, it was one of only four Dutch municipalities to have any, the other three being Heiloo, Scheemda and Lemsterland). The New Communist Party of the Netherlands was in fact the largest party in Reiderland from 1990 to 1998 and again from 2002 to 2006. Finsterwolde and Beerta, which was the only town in the Netherlands that ever had a communist mayor, had long been communist strongholds.

In the 1998 municipal elections, the New Communist Party of the Netherlands received 35.7% of the votes, behind the PvdA's 40.3%, but in 2002 it received 34.1%, ahead of the PvdA's 24.7%. It won five of the thirteen seats on the local council and formed the Court of Mayor and the Aldermen in alliance with local party Gemeentebelangen, although the two parties were traditionally foes. In the 2006 elections, however, the NCPN lost 3 of its 5 seats, getting only 18.3% of the vote, behind the PvdA's 38.1%, Gemeentebelangen's 20.4%, and the SP's 19.0%, and consequently lost its positions on the Court of Mayor and Aldermen. For the remaining years of the municipality's existence, the PvdA had 5 seats on the local council, the SP 3 seats, local party Gemeentebelangen 3 seats as well, and the NCPN 2 seats.

Reiderland also drew some attention in the 2002 General Elections, when the Pim Fortuyn List received 22.9% of the vote in the municipality, the party's best result in the province of Groningen.

Ukraine - Kiev: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

St. Trinity Gate Church and Great Bell Tower.
Main entrance to the Lavra area.

Sent by Ann, a postcrosser from Kiev, Ukraine.

This is from UNESCO : St Sophia, a Greek-cross church, is one of the major edifices representing the culture of Eastern Christianity in the 11th century, inspired by Byzantine models. the stylistic features of its decoration were spread throughout Kievan Russia in the 11th century by the icon painters working in Kiev. Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is of outstanding significance in the Ukrainian national heritage, and the ancient monastic foundation plays a very important role in the spiritual and intellectual life of the Russian world.

The construction of St Sophia Cathedral was begun in the first half of the 11th century, probably in 1037 by Yaroslav the Sage. It was meant to replace Kiev's very first church, the Dessiatinnaya (Our Lady of the Tithes), built by his great-grandmother Duchess Olga in 952. Conceived in opus mixtum, with 12 columns dividing the interior into five naves, the church represents a perfect fusion between symbolic image and architecture: the big central gilt cupola and twelve smaller cupolas which crown it evoke Christ and the 12 Apostles in a pyramidal composition so strongly expressed that it was not diminished in the restoration of the onion domes in the 18th century

A complex of monastic buildings surrounds the church. Built originally of wood in 1633, the buildings were destroyed by fire in 1697 and reconstructed in stone. The four-storey bell tower, overhung by a gilt onion cupola, the Metropolitan's house, the refectory, the west gate, the tower at the south entrance, the Brothers' building, and the seminary were built. A stone enceinte encircled these buildings, which are typical of Ukrainian Baroque style, the influence of which can also be seen in contemporary restoration work on the cathedral. Designated an 'Architectural and Historical Reserve of the State' in 1934, St Sophia was spared the widespread devastation of the Second World War. It is now administered as a monument museum.

In a wooded area on two hills overlooking the right bank of the Dnieper River is Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, a monastery complex consisting of numerous monuments and grottoes. Now the area is surrounded by the urban agglomeration of Greater Kiev, which has undergone rapid expansion since 1980.

The Lavra boasts very ancient origins and rapidly became the seat of a community governed by the abbot St Theodosius. With the support of the Princes of Kiev, the monastery immediately began to prosper. Devastated by the Mongols and the Tatars, Lavra was almost entirely rebuilt in the 17th century and afterward. A print shop was founded in 1615, mainly issuing devotional literature and history. The Lavra played a highly important intellectual role: these were times of great prosperity, when pilgrims flocked to the site, and the grounds were filled with numerous Baroque monuments. The Clock Tower and the Refectory Church are two of the main landmarks in a monastic landscape totally transformed by the construction or the renovation of numerous churches. Declared a 'Historical and Cultural Reserve' in 1926, the Lavra was very severely damaged in 1941 when its oldest edifice, the Dormition Cathedral, was almost fully destroyed.

Today the major elements of the very old historic heritage are Trinity Church, whose 12th-century structure is hidden by the extremely rich Baroque decor, and especially the catacombs, which include the Near Caves and the Far Caves, whose entrances are respectively at All Saints' Church and at the Church of the Conception of St Anna. Over the years the monks' cells became a necropolis where hundreds of their mummified bodies have been preserved.

Most of the monuments of the Lavra had new cultural functions in 1926: the Metropolitan's residence is now the State Museum of Ukrainian Decorative Folk Art, the printshop houses the Book and Bookbinding Museum, the Refectory Church is a museum of Christianity, and the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross is the museum of the history of the catacombs.

Portugal - The Cock of Barcelos

PORTUGAL
The famous legend of the Cockerel of Barcelos/14th Century.
This legend reminds us how the teruly innocent are never silenced and forever proclaim their innocence.

Sent by Vera, a postcrosser from Lisbon, Portugal.

Note : Click the postcard to read the written story.

This is from Wikipedia : The Rooster of Barcelos (Portuguese, "Galo de Barcelos") is one of the most common emblems of Portugal.

The legend of the Rooster of Barcelos tells the story of a dead rooster's miraculous intervention in proving the innocence of a man who had been falsely accused and sentenced to death. The story is associated with the 17th-century calvary that is part of the collection of the Archeological Museum located in Paço dos Condes, a gothic-style palace in Barcelos, a city in the Braga District of northwest Portugal.

According to the legend, silver had been stolen from a landowner in Barcelos, and the inhabitants of that city were looking for the criminal who had committed the crime. One day, a man from neighboring Galicia turned up and became suspect, despite his pleas of innocence. The Galician swore that he was merely passing through Barcelos on a Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela to complete a promise.

Nevertheless, the authorities arrested the Galician and condemned him to hang. The man asked them to take him in front of the judge who had condemned him. The authorities honored his request and took him to the house of the magistrate, who was holding a banquet with some friends. Affirming his innocence, the Galician pointed to a roasted rooster on top of the banquet table and exclaimed, "It is as certain that I am innocent as it is certain that this rooster will crow when they hang me." The judge pushed aside his plate because he decided to not eat the rooster. But still, the judge ignored the Galician's appeal.

However, while the pilgrim was being hanged, the roasted rooster stood up on the table and crowed as the Galician predicted. Understanding his error, the judge ran to the gallows, only to discover that the Galician had been saved from hanging thanks to a poorly made knot in the rope. The man was immediately freed and sent off in peace.

Some years later, the Galician returned to Barcelos to sculpt the Calvary (or Crucifix) to the Lord of the Rooster (Portuguese, "Cruzeiro do Senhor do Galo") in praise to the Virgin Mary and to Saint James. The monument is located in the Archeological Museum of Barcelos.

Germany - Historic Centres of Stralsund and Wismar

Historic Centres of Stralsund. Together with the town of Wismal, they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Mirko, a postcrosser from Germany.

This is from UNESCO : Wismar and Stralsund, leading centres of the Wendish section of the Hanseatic League from the 13th to the 15th centuries and major administrative and defence centres in the Swedish kingdom in the 17th and 18th centuries, contributed to the development and diffusion of brick construction techniques and building types, characteristic features of Hanseatic towns in the Baltic region, as well as the development of defence systems in the Swedish period.
The historic towns of Wismar and Stralsund are situated in north-eastern Germany on the Baltic Sea coast. The cities were founded as part of the German colonization of the Slav territories in the late 12th or early 13th centuries. Both cities emerged as important trading places in the 14th century as part of the Hanseatic League. After the Thirty Years' War, the towns came under Swedish rule from the 17th to the early 19th centuries. Under the subsequent changing political situations there was a period of stagnation, but from the second half of the 19th century a gradual economic improvement began. The historic centres survived the Second World War bombardments and were part of the German Democratic Republic until unification (read further)
 

USA - Wyoming - Yellowstone National Park (3)

Yellowstone National Park
Mammoth Hot Springs
Travertine Terraces are seen at Mammoth Hot Springs in the northwest corner of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Sent by  Brenda, a postcrosser from California, USA.

Portugal - Visen - Knight's Door

VISEU
Knight's Door

Sent by Miguel, a postcrosser from Viseu, Portugal.

USA - Texas - Mapcard (3)

TEXAS
THE LONE STAR STATE
STATE CAPITAL : Austin
STATE FLOWERS : Bluebonnet
RANK BY ENTRY : 28th
AREA (Sq. Miles) : 267,336
STATE SONG : Texas Our Texas
MOTTO : Friendship
HIGHEST ELEVATION : Guadalupe Park - 8,751 ft.
LOWEST ELEVATION : Gulf of Mexico - Sea level
STATE BIRD : Mockingbird
STATE TREE : Pecan
RANK BY SIZE : 2nd
ADMITTED TO STATEHOOD : 12-29-1845

Sent by Piper, a postcrosser from Spring, Texas, USA.

Taiwan - Taipei - Confucius Temple (2)

Taipei Confucius Temple
The Taipei Confucius Temple is located in the Datong District of Taipei. Parts of the temple building, including the Confucius' palace, the side door and the saint shrine were finished in 1881. Due to its solemn and dignified appearance, the temple has become one of city sightseeing spots in Taipei.

Sent by Reya, a postcrosser from Taiwan.

USA - Arkansas - Hot Springs National Park

HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, ARKANSAS
Cascade at Arlington Lawn
The thermal water tumbling over the hillsides is from several of the upper springs. Formerly, these springs issued naturally, creating a massive rock formation known as the Tufa Terrace. The restored flow is again regenerating the terrace rock and providing habitat for rare blue-green algae.

Sent by Dee, a postcrosser from Arkansas, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Established from Hot Springs Reservation, Hot Springs National Park is a United States National Park in central Arkansas adjacent to the city of Hot Springs. Hot Springs Reservation was initially created by an act of the United States Congress on April 20, 1832, and the area was made a national park on March 4, 1921. It is the smallest national park by area in the United States. Since Hot Springs National Park is the oldest federal reserve, it was the first to receive its own US quarter in April 2010 as part of the America the Beautiful Quarters series.

The hot springs flow from the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain, part of the Ouachita Mountain range. In the park, the hot springs have not been preserved in their unaltered state as natural surface phenomena. They have instead been managed to conserve the production of uncontaminated hot water for public use. The mountains within the park are also managed within this conservation philosophy in order to preserve the hydrological system that feeds the springs.

People have used the hot spring water in therapeutic baths for more than two hundred years to treat rheumatism and other ailments. While it was a reservation, the area developed into a well-known resort nicknamed The American Spa that attracted not only the wealthy but indigent health seekers from around the world as well.

The park includes portions of downtown Hot Springs, making it one of the most easily visited national parks. There are numerous hiking trails and camping areas. Bathing in spring water is available in approved facilities at extra cost. The entire Bathhouse Row area is a National Historic Landmark District that contains the grandest collection of bathhouses of its kind in North America, including many outstanding examples of Gilded Age architecture. The row's Fordyce Bathhouse serves as the park's visitor center; the Buckstaff and Quapaw are currently the only facilities still operating as bathhouses. Other buildings of the row are currently in various states of interior restoration or are used in other capacities.

The park has become increasingly popular in recent years, and recorded over 1.5 million visitors in 2003, as well as nearly 2.5 million non-recreational visitors.

Finland - Jyväskylä

Various sports in Jyväskylä.

Sent by Mirella, a postcrosser from Finland.

This is from Wikipedia : Jyväskylä (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈjyvæsˌkylæ]) is a city and municipality in Central Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is the largest city in central Finland and on the Finnish Lakeland. Jyväskylä is located on the northern coast of Lake Päijänne, 147 kilometres (91 mi) north-east of Tampere and 270 kilometres (170 mi) north of Helsinki. The hilly and forested terrain in Jyväskylä is surrounded by hundreds of lakes. The summers in Jyväskylä are warm and winters cold and snowy.

Elias Lönnrot, the compiler of the Finnish national epic Kalevala, gave the city a nickname "Athens of Finland". This nickname is used to describe the major role of Jyväskylä as an education centre and the first place in the world to provide education in Finnish.

The works of the most famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto can be seen throughout the city. The city hosts Neste Oil Rally Finland, which is part of the World Rally Championship. It is also home of the annual Jyväskylä Arts Festival.

As of 31 January 2012, Jyväskylä had a population of 131,997.[2] The city has been one of the most rapidly growing cities in Finland since World War II. The Jyväskylä sub-region includes Jyväskylä, Hankasalmi, Laukaa, Muurame, Petäjävesi, Toivakka and Uurainen.

Turkmenistan - Ashgabat - Palace Square

The Palace Square named in honour of Sapamyrat Turkmenbashy the Great. The tall structure is calle the Neautrality Arch.

Sent by Sonya and Travis who visited Ashgabat.

This is from Lonely Planet : Trips to the top of the Arch of Neutrality give commanding views of the enormous Independence Square, on which sits the golden-domed Palace of Turkmenbashi, the Ministry of Fairness, the Ministry of Defence and the Ruhyyet Palace, all of which were built by the French corporation Bouygues Construction, the court builder to Niyazov. Behind this is the Majlis (parliament).

Russia - Saint-Petersburg - The Catherine Park

The Catherine Park. The Cameron Gallery. 1782-86.

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

This is from Wikipedia : The Catherine Park (Russian: Екатерининский парк) is a park, located in the town of Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 25 km south-east of St. Petersburg, Russia. It is an integral part of the royal residence in Tsarskoye Selo.
Catherine Park, which received its name from the Catherine Palace, consists of two parts: a regular old garden and english garden.

Regular garden was laid in 1720 by Dutch masters of landscape gardening on three benches in front of Imperial Palace. At the same time reflecting pool was constructed on the third bench , and there were made two ponds on the river Vangazi flowing from the hill: Upper (Large) and Mill (later included in cascade of Lower ponds).
The main buildings in this garden are Upper bath, Lower bath, Hermitage, Cave, Hermitage Kitchen, Moreyskaya column, Gates, "To my dear colleagues".

The main installations in english park are: Dutch Admiralty, Hall on the Island, Chesme Column, Marble Bridge, Turkish bath, the Pyramid, Red Cascade, Gothic Gate, Ruin Tower, Orlovsky gate, Granite terrace, "Girl with a Jug" fountain, Concert Hall, Cuisine Ruin, Creaky arbor, Evening Hall, Kagul Obelisk, Private Garden.

Brazil - Espírito Santo - Vitória - Costa Pereira Square

View of the Costa Pereira Square in Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil

Sent by Borges, a postcrosser from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Spain - Works of Antoni Gaudí (4)

Partial view of  Casa Batlló.

Sent by Jordi, a postcrosser from Barcelona, Spain.

USA - Pennsylvania - Independence Hall

Independence Hall
Independence  Hall was built during the early 18th century as the Pennsylvania State House. The birthplace of the United States, Independence Hall, served as the meeting place for the Second Continental Congress. The Declaration of Independence was signed here on July 4th, 1776 and a nation was born. George Washington. who presided over the "Constitution debate", later became the first President of the United States. Immortalized in bronze, he now boldly welcomes visitors to Independence Hall.

Sent by Ashley, a postcrosser from Philadelphia, USA.

This is from UNESCO : Independence Hall in Philadelphia may be considered the birthplace of the United States of America: it was here that the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, the Articles of Confederation uniting the 13 colonies were ratified in 1781, and the Constitution setting out the nation's basic laws was adopted in 1787, after George Washington had presided over the debate, which ran from May to September.

The building was designed by Andrew Hamilton to house the Assembly of the Commonwealth (colony) of Pennsylvania. Finished in 1753, it is a modest brick structure with a steeple that was intended to hold a 2,080 lb (943 kg) bell. The bell, however, has cracked twice and stands silently on the ground in a special shelter (a reproduction now hangs in the steeple). Independence Hall is important not for its architectural design but for the documents of fundamental importance to American history drafted and debated here that formed the democracy of the United States.

The building has undergone many restorations, notably by Greek revival architect John Haviland in 1830, and by a committee from the National Park Service in 1950, returning it to its 1776 appearance. The universal principles of freedom and democracy have also had a profound impact on lawmakers around the world.

Independence National Historical Park, located in downtown Philadelphia ('Centre City'), interprets events and the lives of the diverse population during the years when the city was the capital of the United States, from 1790 to 1800. A section of the park where Benjamin Franklin's home once stood is dedicated to teaching about his life and accomplishments. Spanning approximately 18 ha, the park has about 20 buildings open to the public.

Germany - Unter den Linden

Pedestrian Traffic Light. Unter den Linden.

Sent by Manuela, a postcrosser from Germany.

This is from Wikipedia : Unter den Linden ("under the linden trees") is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden (lime in British English) trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways.

Unter den Linden runs east–west from the site of the former Stadtschloss royal palace at the Lustgarten park, where the demolished Palast der Republik used to be, to Pariser Platz and Brandenburg Gate. Eastward the boulevard crosses the Spree river at Berlin Cathedral and continues as Karl-Liebknecht-Straße. The western continuation behind Brandenburg Gate is Straße des 17. Juni. Major north–south streets crossing Unter den Linden are Friedrichstraße and Wilhelmstrasse.

Unter den Linden at the heart of the historic section of Berlin developed from a bridle path laid out by Elector John George of Brandenburg in the 16th century to reach his hunting grounds in the Tiergarten. It was replaced by a boulevard of linden trees planted in 1647, extending from the city palace to the gates of the city, by order of the “Great Elector” Frederick William. While the western part of the boulevard retained its character, the area around present-day Bebelplatz was integrated into the fortification of Berlin in the aftermath of the Thirty Years' War, visible until today as there are no trees.
By the 19th century, as Berlin grew and expanded to the west, Unter den Linden became the best-known and grandest street in Berlin. In 1851 the famous equestrian statue of King Frederick II of Prussia was erected on the centre strip, designed by Christian Daniel Rauch. In the course of the building of the Nord-Süd-Tunnel for the Berlin S-Bahn in 1934–35, most of the linden trees were cut down and during the last days of World War II the remaining trees were destroyed or cut down for firewood. The present-day linden were replanted in the 1950s; they are affected by air pollution as well as by soil contamination.

Slovenia - Mapcard (2)

Multiviews of Slovenia.

Sent by Jože, a postcrosser from Nova Gorica in Slovenia.

Turkmenistan - Ashgabat - "President" Hotel

"President" Hotel in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Sent by Sonya and Travis who visited Turkmenistan.

This is from Wikipedia : Prezident Myhmanhansy - or the «President Hotel» is a five star hotel located in the Ashgabat, Turkmenistan along the Archabil Freeway on 18 km far from Ashgabat Airport and 12 km far from Ashgabat Railway Station.  Ultra modern «President Hotel» was built in 2004 in the south part of the capital, 10 km from the center of the city. Hotel is located in the beautiful park zone. The building of the Hotel is buried in verdure. There are two cascades of the fountains around Hotel, pool with the beach, two tennis courts and guarded parking.
«President Hotel» is meant first of all for native and foreign delegations, but is always ready to accept Turkmenistan residents and foreign guests, traveling by themselves.

Hotel offers 152 rooms equipped with furniture from the best Europe trade houses. Prices include breakfast.

Hotel offers also conference halls for 120 places, banquet hall for 250 places, lobby-bar, fitness-club, pool, sauna, VIP-restaurant for 102 places.