Luxembourg - City of Luxembourg: its Old Quarters and Fortifications

"Because of its strategic position, Luxembourg was, from the 16th century until 1867, when its walls were dismantled, one of Europe's greatest fortified sites. It was repeatedly reinforced as it passed from one great European power to another: the Holy Roman Emperors, the House of Burgundy, the Habsburgs, the French and Spanish kings, and finally the Prussians. Until their partial demolition, the fortifications were a fine example of military architecture spanning several centuries." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Postcard 1
Nice view of the Luxembourg city and the ramparts. Different stamps used too.






Postcard 2
Beautiful postcard of the Palace of Luxembourg. Thanks to Cliffe of Luxembourg.






Postcard 3
A nice mult-view postcard of Luxembourg. Thanks to Patti for this card of her country - LUX.





Postcard 4
The fortification of Casemates is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Luxembourg. Mailed with a Luxembourg Postcrossing stamp. Thanks to Simone of Luxembourg.

France - Te Henua Enata – The Marquesas Islands

"Located in the South Pacific Ocean, this mixed serial property bears an exceptional testimony to the territorial occupation of the Marquesas archipelago by a human civilisation that arrived by sea around the year 1000 CE and developed on these isolated islands between the 10th and the 19th centuries. It is also a hotspot of biodiversity that combines irreplaceable and exceptionally well conserved marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Marked by sharp ridges, impressive peaks and cliffs rising abruptly above the ocean, the landscapes of the archipelago are unparalleled in these tropical latitudes. The archipelago is a major centre of endemism, home to rare and diverse flora, a diversity of emblematic marine species, and one of the most diverse seabird assemblages in the South Pacific. Virtually free from human exploitation, Marquesan waters are among the world’s last marine wilderness areas. The property also includes archaeological sites ranging from monumental dry-stone structures to lithic sculptures and engravings."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Multi-view of Nuku Hiva, Archipel des Marquises, French Polynesia. Thanks to Nadia of France.

Germany - ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz

"Located in the former Imperial cathedral cities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz, in the Upper Rhine Valley, the serial site of Speyer, Worms and Mainz comprise the Speyer Jewry-Court, with the structures of the synagogue and women’s shul (Yiddish for synagogue), the archaeological vestiges of the yeshiva (religious school), the courtyard and the still intact underground mikveh (ritual bath), which has retained its high architectural and building quality. The property also comprises the Worms Synagogue Compound, with its in situ post-war reconstruction of the 12th century synagogue and 13th century women’s shul, the community hall (Rashi House), and the monumental 12th-century mikveh. The series also includes the Old Jewish Cemetery in Worms and the Old Jewish Cemetery in Mainz. The four component sites tangibly reflect the early emergence of distinctive Ashkenaz customs and the development and settlement pattern of the ShUM communities, particularly between the 11th and the 14th centuries. The buildings that constitute the property served as prototypes for later Jewish community and religious buildings as well as cemeteries in Europe. The acronym ShUM stands for the Hebrew initials of Speyer, Worms and Mainz."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Postcard 1 - Speyer
ShUM site of Speyer. I visited Speyer, Germany and bought this postcard showing the Ritual Bath and remaining wall of the Synagoque at the Speyer Jewish museum in May 2015.

Postcard 2 - Worms
Postcard of Worms, Germany showing newly inscribed UNESCO World Heritage of ShUM. Thanks Svenja of Germany. Postmarked August 9, 2021 and arrived on September 13, 2021.

Postcard 3 - Mainz
The Jewish Cemetry in Mainz is part of Germany UNESCO World Heritage of ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz. ShUM is a traditional Hebrew acronym for the league of prominent qehillot of Ashkenazi Jews in Speyer, Worms and Mainz, made up from the initial letters of their Hebrew city names. Thanks to Dustin of Germany.

Postcard 4 - Speyer, Worms and Mainz
Jewish cemetries of Speyer, Worms and Mainz in Germany - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Thanks to Achim of Germany.

Postcard 5- Mainz
Jewish sites of Mainz, Germany - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nice postcard with matching SchUM stamp. Thanks to Dustin of Germany.

Germany - Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt

"Located in the medieval historic centre of Erfurt, the capital city of Thuringia, the property comprises three monuments: the Old Synagogue, the Mikveh, and the Stone House. They illustrate the life of the local Jewish community and its coexistence with a Christian majority in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, between the end of the 11th and the mid-14th century."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Erfurt Mikveh is a Jewish ritual bath of medieval origin in the old town of Erfurt, Germany. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Thanks to Marcel of Germany for resending a replacement postcard as the first postcard never arrived. Appreciate it.

Lebanon - Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab)

"The Qadisha valley is one of the most important early Christian monastic settlements in the world. Its monasteries, many of which are of a great age, stand in dramatic positions in a rugged landscape. Nearby are the remains of the great forest of cedars of Lebanon, highly prized in antiquity for the construction of great religious buildings." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Postcard 1
The feeling of coolness and tranquility of the Cedars of Lebanon. Thanks again to Steve and Maick.

Postcard 2

The Cedars of Lebanon. Thanks to Steve and Maick.

Postcard 3
Aerial view of Bcharre, Lebanon - location of Cedars of God which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Thanks to Nassib. Not sure why there is Lebanon stamps used but there a USA Texas postal cancellation.

 

Brazil - Sítio Roberto Burle Marx

"Situated west of Rio de Janeiro, the site embodies a successful project developed over more than 40 years by landscape architect and artist Roberto Burle Marx (1909-1994) to create a “living work of art” and a “landscape laboratory” using native plants and drawing on Modernist ideas. Began in 1949, the garden features the key characteristics that came to define Burle Marx’s landscape gardens and influenced the development of modern gardens internationally. The garden is characterized by sinuous forms, exuberant mass planting, architectural plant arrangements, dramatic colour contrasts, use of tropical plants, and the incorporation of elements of traditional folk culture. By the end of the 1960s, the site housed the most representative collection of Brazilian plants, alongside other rare tropical species. In the site, 3,500 cultivated species of tropical and subtropical flora grow in harmony with the native vegetation of the region, notably mangrove swamp, restinga (a distinct type of coastal tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest) and the Atlantic Forest. Sítio Roberto Burle Marx exhibits an ecological conception of form as a process, including social collaboration which is the basis for environmental and cultural preservation. It is the first modern tropical garden to be inscribed on the World Heritage List."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Sitio Roberto Burle Marx is a famous landscape in Rio de Janeiro that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Thanks to Eliza of Brazil.

Brazil - Lençóis Maranhenses National Park

"The property is located in northeastern Brazil, on the east coast of Maranhão, in a transition zone between three Brazilian biomes: Cerrado, Caatinga and Amazon. More than half of its area consists of a white coastal dune field with temporary and permanent lagoons. Beyond its important role in biodiversity conservation, the park boasts globally significant aesthetic and geological/geomorphological values. Along an 80 km coastline, with beaches followed by plains, the prevailing winds shape the dunes into long chains of barchans, filled in the rainy season to create lagoons of various colours, shapes, sizes and depths. The property reveals its best scenery when the lagoons reach their maximum volume, creating rare beauty. The vast expanse of both stable and shifting dunes, the largest in South America, presents remarkable evidence of the evolutionary progression of coastal dunes throughout the Quaternary period."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Lencois Maranhenses National Park in Maranhao state in Northeastern Brazil. Thanks to Rute of Brazil.

Germany - Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey

"Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey are located along the Weser River on the outskirts of Höxter where they were erected between 822 and 885 A.D. in a largely preserved rural setting. The Westwork is the only standing structure that dates back to the Carolingian era, while the original imperial abbey complex is preserved as archaeological remains which are only partially excavated. The Westwork of Corvey uniquely illustrates one of the most important Carolingian architectural expressions. It is a genuine creation of this period, and its architectural articulation and decoration clearly illustrate the role played within the Frankish empire by imperial monasteries in securing territorial control, administration, as well as the propagation of Christianity and of the Carolingian cultural and political order throughout Europe."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage


Postcard 1
Aerial view of Weserbergland Kloster Corvey. Thanks to Anke of Germany.

Postcard 2

Postcard 3

The Carolingian Wall Painting of Corvey which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Thanks to Dustin of Germany for this nice addition to my UNESCO WHS postcard collection.

Russia - Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea

 "The site contains 4,500 petroglyphs carved in the rocks during the Neolithic period dated 6 to 7 thousand years ago and located in the Republic of Karelia in the Russian Federation. It is one of the largest such sites in Europe with petroglyphs that document Neolithic culture in Fennoscandia. The serial property encompasses 33 sites in two component parts 300km apart: 22 petroglyph sites at Lake Onega in the District of Pudozhsky featuring a total of over 1,200 figures and 3,411 figures in 11 sites by the White Sea in the District of Belomorsky. The rock art figures at Lake Onega mostly represents birds, animals, half human and half animal figures as well as geometric shapes that may be symbols of the moon and the sun. The petroglyphs of the White Sea are mostly composed of carvings depicting hunting and sailing scenes including their related equipment as well as animal and human footprints. They show significant artistic qualities and testify to the creativity of the Stone Age. The petroglyphs are associated with sites including settlements and burial grounds."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Petroglyphs of the White Sea. Thanks to Zubov of Russia.

United Kingdom - The Flow Country

"The serial property, located in the Highland Region of Scotland, is considered the most outstanding example of an actively accumulating blanket bog landscape. This peatland ecosystem, which has been accumulating for the past 9,000 years, provides a diversity of habitats home to a distinct combination of bird species and displays a remarkable diversity of features not found anywhere else on Earth. Peatlands play an important role in storing carbon and the property’s ongoing peat-forming ecological processes continue to sequester carbon on a very large scale, representing a significant research and educational resource." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Sites

The Flow Country in Highland Region of Scotland, UK is a new UNESCO World Heritage inscribed in 2024. Thanks to Stella of Scotland, UK.

Ghana - Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions

"The remains of fortified trading-posts, erected between 1482 and 1786, can still be seen along the coast of Ghana between Keta and Beyin. They were links in the trade routes established by the Portuguese in many areas of the world during their era of great maritime exploration." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Postcard 1
Elmina Castle started as a Portuguese fort, later Dutch, then English trading center. It was a center for ivory, gold and later slaves. Thanks to James for sending this wonderful card from his travels in Ghana.

Postcard 2

Cape Coast Castle - the slave trade was administered through castles, forts and lodges all along the west and east coasts of Africa. Thanks to Leeli of Ghana.

Postcard 3
Cape Coast Castle, near Accra. Thanks to Karolyn of USA.

Ghana - Asante Traditional Buildings

"Near Kumasi, a group of traditional buildings are the last remaining testimony of the great Asante civilization, which reached its peak in the 18th century. The buildings include ten shrines/fetish houses (Abirim, Asawase, Asenemaso, Bodwease, Ejisu Besease, Adarko Jachie, Edwenase, Kentinkrono, Patakro and Saaman). Most are to the north-east of Kumasi, and Patakro, to the south.

Arranged around courtyards, the buildings are constructed of timber, bamboo and mud plaster and originally had thatched roofs. The unique decorative bas-reliefs that adorn the walls are bold and depict a wide variety of motifs. Common forms include spiral and arabesque details with representations of animals, birds and plants, linked to traditional “Adinkra” symbols. As with other traditional art forms of the Asante, these designs are not merely ornamental, they also have symbolic meanings, associated with the ideas and beliefs of the Asante people, and have been handed down from generation to generation...."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Postcard 1
Multi-view of traditional buildings of Ghana with the top right corner picture showing Asante Traditional Buildings. Thanks to Mike of Netherlands for arrangement for mailing from Ghana.

Postcard 2A

Asante Traditional Buildings is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Thanks to Karolyn of USA. By mistake, I received two same postcards with different stamps used - double delight.

Postcard 2B