France - Bordeaux, Port of the Moon

"The Port of the Moon, port city of Bordeaux in south-west France, is inscribed as an inhabited historic city, an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble, created in the age of the Enlightenment, whose values continued up to the first half of the 20th century, with more protected buildings than any other French city except Paris. It is also recognized for its historic role as a place of exchange of cultural values over more than 2,000 years, particularly since the 12th century due to commercial links with Britain and the Low Lands. Urban plans and architectural ensembles of the early 18th century onwards place the city as an outstanding example of innovative classical and neoclassical trends and give it an exceptional urban and architectural unity and coherence. Its urban form represents the success of philosophers who wanted to make towns into melting pots of humanism, universality and culture." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

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Church of St. Pierre, Bordeaux, France. Thanks to Michael of Luxembourg.

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Famous for 18th century architecture.




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Multi-view of Bordeaux, France. Port of Moon, Bordeaux is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Thanks to Jean-Pierre of France.

USA - Independence Hall

"The Declaration of Independence (1776) and the Constitution of the United States (1787) were both signed in this building in Philadelphia. The universal principles of freedom and democracy set forth in these documents are of fundamental importance to American history and have also had a profound impact on law-makers around the world." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

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Liberty Bell at Independence Hall, Philadelphia. Thanks to Fitch of USA.

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I visted the historic building in Philadelphia considered the birth place of United States of America. I also saw the Liberty Bell. Nice night view postcard.

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Liberty Bell with Independence Hall seen behind the glass wall of the building housing the Liberty Bell. I visited this location in June 2019 and mailed this postcard from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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Wow.. the famous Liberty Bell at Philadelphia. Identical to a postcard that I have mailed to myself before but it always nice to receive another postcard that is  written and mailed by another person. Thanks to Ing who visited and mailed this postcard from Philadelphia.

 

France - Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley

"The Vézère valley contains 147 prehistoric sites dating from the Palaeolithic and 25 decorated caves. It is particularly interesting from an ethnological and anthropological, as well as an aesthetic point of view because of its cave paintings, especially those of the Lascaux Cave, whose discovery in 1940 was of great importance for the history of prehistoric art. The hunting scenes show some 100 animal figures, which are remarkable for their detail, rich colours and lifelike quality." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

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Lascaux II (Montignac) - Dordogne Perigord - Rotonde. Thanks to Jean-Pierre of France.

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Rock paintings of Grotte de Font-de-Gaume, Dordogne, France. Thanks to Marie of France.

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Lascaux - multi-view of drawings in cave. Thanks to Jean-Pierre of Frnace. Received in July 2019.

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Lascaux Grotto is one of the Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley, France - a UNESCO World Heritage site. Thanks to Jean-Pierre of France.

Belgium - France - Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front)

"This transnational serial property encompasses sites along the First World War Western Front, where war was fought between the German and the Allied forces between 1914 and 1918. Located between the north of Belgium and the east of France, the component parts of the property vary in scale from large necropolises, holding the remains of tens of thousands of soldiers of several nationalities, to tiny and simpler cemeteries, and single memorials. The sites include different military cemeteries, battlefield burial grounds, and hospital cemeteries, often combined with memorials."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site

France - Le Linge Cimetiere du Wettstein is one of the serial cemetries in France. Thanks to Marie who visited this location and mailed from France.

Rwanda - Nyungwe National Park

"This serial property represents an important area for rainforest conservation in Central Africa. The property is home to intact forests and peat bogs, moors, thickets and grasslands, providing habitats to a highly diverse flora and fauna. The Park also contains the most significant natural habitats for a number of species found nowhere else in the world, including the globally threatened Eastern Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), Golden Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis ssp. kandti) and the Critically Endangered Hills Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hillorum). There are also 12 mammal and seven bird species that are globally threatened, and with 317 species of birds recorded, Nyungwe National Park is one of the most important sites for bird conservation in Africa."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Nyungwe Forest has more than 200 species of trees and the forest floor is characterized by moss and fungi growths. Mailed on February 16, 2013 and arrived in Penang island on March 20, 2013. Thanks to Sionnan of Canada who visited Rwanda.

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Waterfalls at Nyungwe National Park of Rwanda - the largest montane forest and home of chimpanzees. Thanks to Michael of South Africa who visiting Rwanda.

France - The Maison Carrée of Nîmes

"Erected in the 1st century CE in the Roman colony of Nemausus – today’s Nîmes in France – the Maison Carrée is an early example of a Roman temple associated with imperial worship in the provinces of Rome. Dedicated to the prematurely deceased heirs of Augustus, the Princes of Youth, this edifice fostered Rome’s control over its conquered territory while symbolically announcing the allegiance of the population of the city of Nemausus to the dynastic line of Augustus. The architecture and elaborate decoration symbolically communicated the ideological programme of Augustus, who transitioned Ancient Rome from republic to empire, opening a new golden age known as Pax Romana."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site

La Maison Carree de Nimes. Thanks to Marie of France for mailing and Thibault of Switzerland for arranging this send.

Indonesia - The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks

"The central axis of Yogyakarta was established in the 18th century by Sultan Mangkubumi, and has continued from that time as a centre of government and Javanese cultural traditions. The six kilometre north-south axis is positioned to link Mount Merapi and the Indian Ocean, with the Kraton (palace) at its centre, and key cultural monuments lining the axis to the north and south that are connected through rituals. It embodies key beliefs about the cosmos in Javanese culture, including the marking of the cycles of life."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Known as Karaton, the Yogyakarta Palace Complex is located in the center of the city of Yogyakarta or just Yogya as the local Javanese call it. I saw it from the outside as it was after closing time. It was built by Sultan Hamengkubuwono who was also the architect. Postcard shows "Bangsal Sitihinggil Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat. Beautiful stamps used. Thanks to Shinta of Indonesia.

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The colonial style Central Post Office in the royal Javanese city of Yogyakarta in Java, Indonesia with traditional becak or trishaw. I visited this nice Javanese city. Thanks to Shinta of Java, Indonesia. Beautiful traditional costume stamps used.

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Yogkyakarta, Indonesia. I bought this postcard in Medan, Indonesia.

India - Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas

"This serial property encompasses the three most representative examples of Hoysala-style temple complexes in southern India, dating from the 12th to 13th centuries. The Hoysala style was created through careful selection of contemporary temple features and those from the past to create a different identity from neighbouring kingdoms. The shrines are characterized by hyper-real sculptures and stone carvings that cover the entire architectural surface, a circumambulatory platform, a large-scale sculptural gallery, a multi-tiered frieze, and sculptures of the Sala legend. The excellence of the sculptural art underpins the artistic achievement of these temple complexes, which represent a significant stage in the historical development of Hindu temple architecture."


Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Chennakesava Temple, Belur, Karnataka, India. Thanks to Nagi of India.

USA - Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks

"This property is a series of eight monumental earthen enclosure complexes built between 2,000 and 1,600 years ago along the central tributaries of the Ohio River. They are the most representative surviving expressions of the Indigenous tradition now referred to as the Hopewell culture. Their scale and complexity are evidenced in precise geometric figures as well as hilltops sculpted to enclose vast, level plazas. There are alignments with the cycles of the Sun and the far more complex cycles of the Moon. These earthworks served as ceremonial centres and the sites have yielded finely crafted ritual objects fashioned from exotic raw materials obtained from distant places."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Moon rising at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. Thanks to Debbie of USA.

Netherlands - Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker

"Built between 1774 and 1781, this property is a moving mechanical scale model of the solar system as it was known at the time. Conceived and built by an ordinary citizen – the wool manufacturer Eise Eisinga – the model is built into the ceiling and south wall of the former living room/bedroom of its creator. Powered by one single pendulum clock, it provides a realistic image of the positions of the Sun, the Moon, the Earth and five other planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn). The planets revolve around the Sun in real time and the distance between the planets are at scale. The model fills the entire ceiling of the room, making it one of the earliest predecessors of the ceiling and projection planetariums of the 20th and 21st centuries."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Vintage postcard of Planetarium Eise Eisinga. Thanks to Peter of Netherlands.

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Telescopic mechanism of Eise Esiginga Planetarium. Thanks to Ruyi of Netherlands for mailing using matching Eise Esiginga stamp set. Posted in November 11, 2019 and arrived in Penang island on November 23, 2019.

Czechia - Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops

"This cultural landscape has been shaped for centuries by the living tradition of cultivating and trading the world’s most renowned hop variety, used in beer production around the globe. The property includes particularly fertile hop fields near the river Ohře that have been farmed continuously for hundreds of years, as well as historic villages and buildings used for processing hops. Urban elements of the property include the medieval centre of Žatec and its 19th to 20th century industrial extension, known as the “Prague Suburb” (Pražské předměstí). Together, these illustrate the evolution of the agro-industrial processes and socio-economic system of growing, drying, certifying and trading hops from the Late Middle Ages to the present."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Zatec Chmelarske Muzeum is the Hop Museum in Zatec, Czechia. Thanks to Ondrej of Czechia.

Lithuania - Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919-1939

"This property testifies to the rapid urbanization that transformed the provincial town of Kaunas into a modern city that became Lithuania’s provisional capital between the First and Second World Wars. Its community-driven transformation of an urban landscape was adapted from an earlier town layout. The quality of modern Kaunas was manifested through the spatial organization of the Naujamiestis (New Town) and Žaliakalnis (Green Hill) areas, and in public buildings, urban spaces and residences constructed during the interwar period that demonstrate a variety of styles in which the Modern Movement found architectural expression in the city."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site

A modernistic building of Kaunas. Thanks to Ieva of Lithuania.