Germany - Hohenzollern Castle

Burg Hohenzollern or Hohenzollern Castle.

Sent by Sabine, a postcrosser from Germany.

Hohenzollern Castle is a castle about 50 kilometers (31 mi) south of Stuttgart, Germany. It is considered the ancestral seat of the Hohenzollern family, which emerged in the Middle Ages and eventually became German Emperors.

The castle is located on top of Berg (Mount) Hohenzollern at an elevation of 855 meters (2,805 ft) above sea level, 234 m (768 ft) above surrounding Hechingen and nearby Bisingen to the south, both located at the foothills of the Schwäbische Alb. It was first constructed in the first part of the 11th century.

When the family split into two branches, the castle remained the property of the Swabian branch, the dynastic seniors of the Franconian/Brandenburg branch which later acquired an imperial throne. The castle was completely destroyed after a 10-month siege in 1423 by the imperial cities of Swabia. A second, larger and more sturdy castle was constructed from 1454 to 1461 and served as a refuge for the Catholic Swabian Hohenzollerns during wartime, including during the Thirty Years' War. By the end of the 18th century, however, the castle was thought to have lost its strategic importance and gradually fell into disrepair, leading to the demolition of several dilapidated buildings. Today, only the chapel remains from the medieval castle.

The third version of the castle, which stands today, was constructed for Frederick William IV of Prussia between 1846 and 1867, under the direction of Friedrich August Stüler, who based his design on English Neo-Gothic style as well as the castles of the Loire Valley. Because the castle was built as a family memorial, no member of the Hohenzollern family took residence in this third castle until 1945, when it became home to the last Prussian Crown Prince Wilhelm who is buried there with his wife, Crown Princess Cecilie.

Among the historical artifacts of Prussian history contained in the castle today are the Crown of Wilhelm II and some of the personal effects of Frederick the Great and a letter from US President George Washington thanking Baron von Steuben, a scion of the House of Hohenzollern, for his service in the American Revolutionary War. The castle is today a popular tourist destination. (Source)

Philippines - Boracay

BORACAY
In Aklan has powdery-white sand and crystal-clear waters. It is one of the world's best beaches.

Sent by Jose from Quezon City,Philippines.

Boracay is a small island in the Philippines located approximately 315 km (196 mi) south of Manila and 2 km off the northwest tip of Panay Island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Boracay Island and its beaches have received awards from numerous travel publications and agencies. The island comprises the barangays of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak municipality of Malay, province of Aklan. The island is administered by the Philippine Tourism Authority and the provincial government of Aklan. Apart from its white sand beaches, Boracay is also famous for being one of the world's top destinations for relaxation. It is also emerging among the top destinations for tranquility and nightlife.

In 2012, Boracay was awarded as the best island in the world from the international travel magazine Travel + Leisure.

Boracay was originally home to the Ati tribe. Boracay is part of Aklan Province, which became an independent province on April 25, 1956.

Sofia Gonzales Tirol and her husband Lamberto Hontiveros Tirol, a town judge on nearby Panay island, took ownership of substantial properties on the island around 1900 and planted coconuts, fruit trees, and greenery on the island. Others followed the Tirols, and cultivation and development of the island gradually spread from this initial beginning.

Tourism came to the island beginning in about the 1970s. The movie Too Late the Hero was filmed in 1970 on locations in Boracay and Caticlan. In the 1980s, the island became popular as a budget destination for backpackers, By the 1990s, Boracay's beaches were being acclaimed as the best in the world.

In 2012, the Philippine Department of Tourism reported that Boracay had been named the world's second best beach after Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The name Boracay is attributed to different origins. One story says that it is derived from the local word "borac" which means white cotton with characteristics close to the color and texture of Boracay's white sugary and powdery sand. Another credits the name to local words "bora," meaning bubbles, and "bocay," meaning white. Yet another version dating back to the Spanish era says the name is derived from "sagay," the word for shell, and "boray," the word for seed. (Source)

Liechtenstein - Vaduz Castle

LIECHTENSTEIN
Vaduz Castle

Sent by Ruedi and Sirinya of Switzerland who visited Liechtenstein in May.

Vaduz Castle (German Schloß Vaduz) is the palace and official residence of the Prince of Liechtenstein. The castle gave its name to the town of Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, which it overlooks from an adjacent hilltop.

The earliest mention of the castle can be found in the deed of Count Rudolf von Werdenberg-Sargans for a sale to Ulrich von Matsch. The erstwhile owners - presumably also the builders - were the Counts of Werdenberg-Sargans. The Bergfried (keep, 12th century) and parts of the eastern side are the oldest. The tower stands on a piece of ground some 12 x 13 metres and has a wall thickness on the ground floor of up to 4 m. The original entrance lay at the courtyard side at a height of 11 metres. The chapel of St. Anna was presumably built in the Middle Ages as well. The main altar is late-Gothic. In the Swabian War of 1499, the castle was burned by theSwiss Confederacy. The western side was expanded by Count Kaspar von Hohenems (1613–1640).

The Princely Family of Liechtenstein acquired Vaduz Castle in 1712 when it purchased the countship of Vaduz. At this time, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, combined the countship with the Lordship of Schellenberg, purchased by the Liechtensteins in 1699, to form the present Principality of Liechtenstein.

The castle underwent a major restoration between 1905 and 1920, then again in the early 1920s during the reign of Prince Johann II, and was expanded during the early 1930s by Prince Franz Joseph II. Since 1938, the castle has been the primary residence of Liechtenstein's Princely Family. The castle is not open to the public as the princely family still lives in the castle. (Source)

Australia - Shark Bay, Western Australia

Shark Bay, Western Australia

Sent by Heather, a postcrosser from Perth, Australia.

At the most westerly point of the Australian continent, Shark Bay, with its remarkable coastal scenery and islands, has three exceptional natural features: its vast seagrass beds, which are the largest (4,800 km2) and most species-rich in the world; its dugong population (estimated at 11,000); and its stromatolites (colonies of algae that form hard, dome-shaped deposits and are among the oldest forms of life on Earth).

The inland terrestrial landscape of Shark Bay is predominantly one of low rolling hills interspersed with birridasinland saltpans. Shark Bay itself is a large shallow embayment, approximately 13,000 km2 in area with an average depth of 9m, enclosed by a series of islands. Influx of oceanic water is through channels: Naturaliste Channel in the north and South Passage in the south.

The outstanding feature of the bay is the steep gradient in salinities. It ranges from oceanic in the northern and western parts of the bay through metahaline to hypersaline. The salinity gradient has created three biotic zones that have a marked influence on the distribution of marine organisms within the bay.

For almost 3,000 million years (i.e. 85% of the history of life) only microbes populated the Earth. The only macroscopic evidence of their activities is preserved by stromatolites, which reached their greatest diversity 850 million years ago. The stromatolites encrypt evidence of the biology of the microbial communities that created them and the nature of the environments in which they grew. They dominated the shallow seas and formed extensive reef tracts rivaling those of modern coral reefs.

Although microbes have not declined in importance, their activity in building organo-sedimentary structures has, it being more efficient to occupy niches in reefs constructed by faster growing organisms, or indeed to occupy positions within the organisms themselves. Consequently stromatolites and other microbialites have declined in importance over this period, although they have remained locally significant in environments such as Hamelin Pool in Shark bay , where biotic diversity has been limited for one reason or another. The stromatolites and microbial mats of Hamelin Pool were the first modern, living examples to be recognized as comparable to those that inhabited the early seas.

Modern day analogues such as occur in great diversity and abundance in Hamelin Pool

greatly assist in the understanding of the nature and evolution of the Earth's biosphere until the early Cambrian. The Hamelin Pool stromatolites are considered to be a 'classic site' for the study and classification of stromatolitic microbiolites, as the morphology and biology of diverse living types can be studied through a range of environments.

The Shark Bay region is an area of major zoological importance, primarily due to the isolation habitats on peninsulas and islands being isolated from the disturbance that has occurred elsewhere. Of the 26 species of endangered Australian mammals, five are found on Bernier and Dorre Islands. These are the boodie (burrowing bettong), rufous hare-wallaby, banded hare-wallaby, the Shark Bay mouse and the western barred bandicoot. The Shark Bay region has a rich avifauna with over 230 species, or 35%, of Australia's bird species having been recorded. The site is renowned for its marine fauna, the population of about 11,000 dugong, for example, is one of the largest in the world. Humpback and southern right whales use the bay as a migratory staging post. Bottlenose dolphin occur in the bay, and green turtle and loggerhead turtle nest on the beaches. Large numbers of sharks including bay whaler, tiger shark and hammerhead are readily observed. There is also an abundant population of rays, including the manta ray.

The record of aboriginal occupation of Shark Bay extends to 22,000 years BP. At that time most of the area was dry land, rising sea levels flooding Shark Bay between 8000 BP and 6000 BP. A considerable number of aboriginal midden sites have been found, especially on Peron Peninsula and Dirk Hartog Island which provide evidence of some of the foods gathered from the waters and nearby land areas. Shark Bay was named by the English buccaneer William Dampier in the late 17th century. It is the site of the first recorded European landing in Western Australia, with the visit of Dirk Hartog in 1616, followed by William Dampier in 1699. (Source)

Spain - Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida

Mérida
Roman Amphitheater, Puente Lusitania, Milagros Aqueduct and ruins of the Citadel

Sent by Marzar from Mérida, Spain.

Mérida is symbolic of the process of Romanization in a land that had hitherto not been influenced by the urban phenomenon. It contains the substantial remains of a number of important elements of Roman town design, considered to be one of the finest surviving examples of its type; the aqueducts and other elements of Roman water management are also especially well preserved and complete.

Emerita was founded by Augustus in 25 BC at the end of his Spanish campaign. Its first inhabitants were time-expired veterans of the legions that made up his army. Three years later it became the capital of the new Roman province of Lusitania, and played an important role as the base for the conquest of the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. Its site was a classic one, where a major road crossed an important river (the Quadiana), and it became a very important administrative, commercial, and communications centre. Emerita benefited from the rule of the Spanish Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Diocletian who endowed it with splendid public buildings. Christianity was established there in the 3rd century, and it was quickly to become the seat of an archbishop. With the pacification of the peninsula by the Visigoths from 457 onwards it flourished as the capital of one of the six provinces, and enjoyed a special role as cultural centre. In 711, the remains of the Visigothic army took refuge in Mérida. The town was always a centre of opposition to Moorish rule, so in 834 Abderrahman II ordered to be built a fortress (Alcazaba) to guard the Guadiana bridge (25 BC). Mérida was recaptured by a Christian army in 1230. A brief revival under Los Reyes Catolicos in the late 15th century saw the town drained of resources, both human and material, during the Portuguese and Catalan rebellions against Philip II.

The main monuments in the World Heritage site are the Guadiana bridge (two sections of arches linked by a large pier with massive cutwaters, built from granite and concrete); the amphitheatre, for 15,000 spectators, part of the original layout of the town, which occupies two insulae and was inaugurated in 8 BC; the classic Vitruvian theatre, set into a low hill and inaugurated under M. Agrippa; the peripteral and hexastyle Temple of Diana ,probably from the early years of the 1st century AD and converted into a private residence in the 16th century; the alleged 'Arch of Trajan,' which may have been an entrance gate to the original town or, more likely, to the enceinte of the Temple of Diana; and the Circus, one of the largest in the Roman world, probably contemporaneous with the foundation of the colonia..

Other sites include two columbarii (family tombs); the water supply system to Emerita, including three dams, well-preserved stretches of underground water channels and substantial remains of aqueducts (the Proserpina and Cornalvo dams, both still functioning, are the most remarkable surviving examples of Roman water management systems; the Basilica de Casa Herrera, a palaeo-Christian basilica with a double-apsidal nave and side aisles of a well known North African type; the Martyr Church of Santa Eulalia (substantial traces of the original church dedicated to Santa Eulalia, martyred under Diocletian; and the Alcazaba, which exhibits some characteristic Byzantine features.

The massive walls, with their 25 bastions, enclose an almost square area. There are no permanent and contemporary buildings in the interior, but there are abundant traces of the Roman houses and streets that were removed to allow its construction. (Source)

U.S.A. - Colorado - State Capitol Building

Capitol Building
Denver, Colorado

Sent by Debbie from Hugo, Colorado, U.S.A.

The Colorado State Capitol Building, located at 200 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado, is the home of the Colorado General Assembly and the offices of the Governor of Colorado and Lieutenant Governor of Colorado. The building is intentionally reminiscent of theUnited States Capitol. Designed by Elijah E. Myers, it was constructed in the 1890s from Colorado white granite, and opened for use in November 1894. The distinctive gold dome consists of real gold plate, first added in 1908, commemorating the Colorado Gold Rush. The building is part of Denver's Civic Center area.

Serving as the beginning of the Capitol Hill district, the historic building sits slightly higher than the rest of downtown Denver. The main entrance hall is open 180 feet (55 m) to the top of the dome, about the height of an 18-story building. Additionally, the official elevation of Denver is measured outside the west entrance to the building, where the fifteenth step is engraved with the words "One Mile Above Sea Level." From this step, at 5,280 feet (1,609 m), the sun can be seen setting behind the Rocky Mountains. A second mile high marker was set in the 18th step in 1969 when Colorado State University students resurveyed the elevation. In 2003, a more accurate measurement was made with modern means, and the 13th step was identified as being one mile (1.6 km) high, where a 3rd marker was installed.

The interior of the building uses copious amounts of Colorado Rose Onyx, a rare rose marble from a quarry near Beulah, Colorado. The amount used in the building consumed the entire known supply. White Yule Marble from the quarries near Marble, Colorado was also used throughout the capitol for the floors. Many designs have been found in the marble including an image resembling George Washington and another of Molly Brown. 

A major safety upgrade project, funded by the Colorado State Historical Fund, was started in 2001 and completed in 2009.  The design by Fentress Architects added modern safety features, like enclosed stair towers, that blend in with the original architecture. 

Many of the windows are stained glass, depicting people or events related to the history of Colorado. The halls are decorated with portraits of every president of the United States. One of the contractors for the construction of the Colorado State Capitol building was Illinois building contractor William Douglas Richardson, who was the president of the W. D. Richardson Construction Company. Richardson had participated in numerous major building contracts throughout the United States, and was interconnected with the Jacob Bunn and John Whitfield Bunn network of corporations.(Source)

Norway - Ålesund

NORWAY
Ålesund

Sent by Galya, a TravBuddy friend from Ålesund, Norway.

Ålesund is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveauarchitecture.

Ålesund town is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the principal shipping town of the Sunnmøre district. Ålesund municipality has a population of 42,982 as of 2010, while the greater Ålesund area has a population of 47,772 (this also includes most of neighboring Sula as well). (read further)

Germany - Leipzig (2)

Leipzig.

Sent by Ina, a postcrosser from Gräfenhainichen, Germany.

United Kingdom - Wales - Cardiff Castle

Cardiff Castle, Wales.

Sent by Eluned from Cardiff, Wales.

Cardiff Castle (Welsh: Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top of a 3rd-century Roman fort. The castle was commissioned by either William the Conqueror or by Robert Fitzhamon, and formed the heart of the medieval town of Cardiff and the Marcher Lord territory of Glamorgan. In the 12th century, the castle began to be rebuilt in stone, probably by Robert of Gloucester, with a shell keep and substantial defensive walls being erected. Further work was conducted by Richard de Clare in the second half of the 13th century. Cardiff Castle was repeatedly involved in the conflicts between the Anglo-Normans and the Welsh, being attacked several times in the 12th century, and stormed in 1404 during the Owain Glyndŵr rebellion. (read further)

Malaysia - Johor - Johor Bahru

Dataran Bandaraya Johor Bahru (Johor Bahru City Square)
The square with the clock tower was built on January 1994 in conjunction with a declaration of Johor Bahru as a city.

We sent this postcard from Kg. Melayu Majidee Post Office last weekend (2nd June) during our holiday.

Note : It's hard to find postcards of Johor. This one was bought at Senai International Airport.

Johor Bahru (also spelled Johor Baharu, Johor Baru, or Johore Bahru; abbreviated as JB) is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia, north of Singapore. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland. Pasir Pelangi, the royal village, is located within Johor Bahru.

The city in itself has a population of 1,334,188 as of 2010, while the metropolitan Johor Bahru, also known as Iskandar Malaysia, has a population of 1,730,000.

The city council administers the highly developed southern central coast of the metropolitan area, with a total area of 185 square kilometres (71 sq mi). It is situated on the Straits of Johor (also known as the Straits of Tebrau), which separate Malaysia and Singapore. Metropolitan Johor Bahru occupies extensive coastal land, consisting of ecologically rich swamp lands and important river systems such as Sungai Johor, Sungai Pulai and Sungai Tebrau. (read further)

Spain - Balearic Islands - Mallorca (9)

Mallorca

Sent by Antonia, a postcrosser from Menorca in Balearic Islands, Spain.

Oman (2)

I have no idea what is the name of this ruined fort as there is no description on the postcard. Anyone can help?

Sent by Fayiz, a TravBuddy friend from Muscat, Oman.

USA - Alaska - Juneau

JUNEAU
Alaska
Composite view of the Capitol Building, Governor's Mansion and replica of the Liberty Bell.

Sent by Corinne from Juneau, Alaska.

The City and Borough of Juneau /ˈdʒuːnoʊ/ is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in thepanhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska and the 2nd largest city in the United States by area. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900. The municipality unified on July 1, 1970, when the city of Juneau merged with the city of Douglas and the surrounding Greater Juneau Borough to form the current home rule municipality.

The area of Juneau is larger than that of Rhode Island and Delaware individually and almost as large as the two states combined. Downtown Juneau 58°18′07″N 134°25′11″W is nestled at the base of Mount Juneau and across the channel from Douglas Island. As of the 2010 census, the City and Borough had a population of 31,275. As of July 2011 the population estimate from the United States Census Bureau is 32,164.

Juneau is named after gold prospector Joe Juneau, though the place was for a time called Rockwell and then Harrisburg(after Juneau's co-prospector, Richard Harris). The Tlingit name of the town is Dzántik'i Héeni ("Base of the Flounder’s River", dzánti ‘flounder’, –kʼi ‘base’, héen ‘river’), and Auke Bay just north of Juneau proper is called Áak'w ("Little lake", áa‘lake’, -kʼ ‘diminutive’) in Tlingit. The Taku River, just south of Juneau, was named after the cold t'aakh wind, which occasionally blows down from the mountains.

Downtown Juneau sits at sea level, with tides averaging 16 feet (5 m), below steep mountains about 3,500 feet (1,100 m) to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) high. Atop these mountains is the Juneau Icefield, a large ice mass from which about 30 glaciers flow; two of these, the Mendenhall Glacier and the Lemon Creek Glacier, are visible from the local road system; the Mendenhall glacier has been generally retreating; its front face is declining both in width and height. (read further)

Moomin #4

Sent by Terhi, a postcrosser from Finland.