Kenya - Lake Turkana National Parks

"The most saline of Africa's large lakes, Turkana is an outstanding laboratory for the study of plant and animal communities. The three National Parks serve as a stopover for migrant waterfowl and are major breeding grounds for the Nile crocodile, hippopotamus and a variety of venomous snakes. The Koobi Fora deposits, rich in mammalian, molluscan and other fossil remains, have contributed more to the understanding of paleo-environments than any other site on the continent." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Lake Turkana National Parks, Kenya mailed from USA. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Thanks to Judi of Connecticut, USA. Postmarked Dec 2021 and arrived on January 17, 2022.

Czech Republic - Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelená Hora

"This pilgrimage church, built in honour of St John of Nepomuk, stands at Zelená Hora, not far from Ždár nad Sázavou in Moravia. Constructed at the beginning of the 18th century on a star-shaped plan, it is the most unusual work by the great architect Jan Blazej Santini, whose highly original style falls between neo-Gothic and Baroque." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Beautiful aerial view of Zelena Hora. Thanks to Radek of Czech Republic.

Czech Republic - Holašovice Historical Village Reservation

"Holašovice is an exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a traditional central European village. It has a large number of outstanding 18th- and 19th-century vernacular buildings in a style known as 'South Bohemian folk Baroque', and preserves a ground plan dating from the Middle Ages." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

A nice reflecting pool view of Holasovice with UNESCO World Heritage logo. Thanks to Linda of USA.

Czech Republic - Jewish Quarter and St Procopius' Basilica in Třebíč

"The ensemble of the Jewish Quarter, the old Jewish cemetery and the Basilica of St Procopius in Trebíc are reminders of the co-existence of Jewish and Christian cultures from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. The Jewish Quarter bears outstanding testimony to the different aspects of the life of this community. St Procopius Basilica, built as part of the Benedictine monastery in the early 13th century, is a remarkable example of the influence of Western European architectural heritage in this region." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Rear Synagogue of the Jewish Quarters of Trebic, Czech Republic. Thanks to Nicole of Germany.

Belgium - Stoclet House

"When banker and art collector Adolphe Stoclet commissioned this house from one of the leading architects of the Vienna Secession movement, Josef Hoffmann, in 1905, he imposed neither aesthetic nor financial restrictions on the project. The house and garden were completed in 1911 and their austere geometry marked a turning point in Art Nouveau, foreshadowing Art Deco and the Modern Movement in architecture. Stoclet House is one of the most accomplished and homogenous buildings of the Vienna Secession, and features works by Koloman Moser and Gustav Klimt, embodying the aspiration of creating a ‘total work of art' (Gesamtkunstwerk). Bearing testimony to artistic renewal in European architecture, the house retains a high level of integrity, both externally and internally as it retains most of its original fixtures and furnishings." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Stoclet House, Belgium. Thanks to Inigo of Spain.

Belgium - Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai

"The Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Tournai was built in the first half of the 12th century. It is especially distinguished by a Romanesque nave of extraordinary dimensions, a wealth of sculpture on its capitals and a transept topped by five towers, all precursors of the Gothic style. The choir, rebuilt in the 13th century, is in the pure Gothic style." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage.

Another Belgium UNESCO World Heritage site - Cathedrale Notre-Dame in Tourni. A beautiful nightview card with the UNESCO logo. Thanks to Gilles of Belgium.

Italy - Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century

"The industrial city of Ivrea is located in the Piedmont region and developed as the testing ground for Olivetti, manufacturer of typewriters, mechanical calculators and office computers. It comprises a large factory and buildings designed to serve the administration and social services, as well as residential units. Designed by leading Italian urban planners and architects, mostly between 1930 and the 1960s, this architectural ensemble reflects the ideas of the Community Movement (Movimento Comunità). A model social project, Ivrea expresses a modern vision of the relationship between industrial production and architecture."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Ivrea plant at night mailed from Belgium. Thanks to Chiara of Italy. I am still looking for another postcard of Ivrea plant that is mailed from Italy. Please contact me if you can help.

Italy - Historic Centre of San Gimignano

"San Gimignano delle belle Torri is in Tuscany, 56 km south of Florence. It served as an important relay point for pilgrims travelling to or from Rome on the Via Francigena. The patrician families who controlled the town built around 72 tower-houses (some as high as 50 m) as symbols of their wealth and power. Although only 14 have survived, San Gimignano has retained its feudal atmosphere and appearance. The town also has several masterpieces of 14th- and 15th-century Italian art." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

A majestic aerial view of the towers of San Gimignano, Italy. Thanks to Pazzolina of France.

Italy - Villa Adriana (Tivoli)

"The Villa Adriana (at Tivoli, near Rome) is an exceptional complex of classical buildings created in the 2nd century A.D. by the Roman emperor Hadrian. It combines the best elements of the architectural heritage of Egypt, Greece and Rome in the form of an 'ideal city'." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Teatro marittimo - Villa Adriana of Tivoli. Thanks to Pazzolina of France.

United Kingdom - Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey

"A striking landscape was created around the ruins of the Cistercian Fountains Abbey and Fountains Hall Castle, in Yorkshire. The 18th-century landscaping, gardens and canal, the 19th-century plantations and vistas, and the neo-Gothic castle of Studley Royal Park, make this an outstanding site." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Night view of Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire. Thanks to Ingo of Germany.

United Kingdom - Derwent Valley Mills

"The Derwent Valley in central England contains a series of 18th- and 19th- century cotton mills and an industrial landscape of high historical and technological interest. The modern factory owes its origins to the mills at Cromford, where Richard Arkwright's inventions were first put into industrial-scale production. The workers' housing associated with this and the other mills remains intact and illustrate the socio-economic development of the area." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Postcard 1 - Silk Mill, Derby
The Silk Mill, Derby. Lombe's Silk Mill opened in 1721 with English technology developed in Italy which enabled silk to be thrown on machines driven by water power. Rebuilt after a 1910 fire, the Silk Mill now houses Derby's Museum of Industry and History. Thanks to Ivan of Czech Republic.






Postcard 2 - Sir Richard Arkwright's Cromford Mill
I received these following wonderful postcards of Derwent Valley Mills from Adrian of United Kingdom. Thanks so much. Sir Richard Arkwright built the world's first successful water-powered cotton mill in Cromford in 1771.




Postcard 3 - Darley Abbey Mills
The Darley Abbey Mills is a water-powered cotton factory site.




Postcard 4 -Strutt's North Mill, Bleger
The North Mill is the last remaining Strutt-built cottom mill in Belper, built in 1804 and now housing the Visitor's Center and exhibition on town's industrial heritage.




Postcard 5 - Masson Mills
The Masson Mill of 1783 proclaimed Sir Richard Arkwright's increasing wealth and self-confidence. Red brick was used in place of stone and the projecting section was topped by a bell cupola.




Postcard 6 - Milford
The dyehouse chimney at Milford.

China - Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains

"The palaces and temples which form the nucleus of this group of secular and religious buildings exemplify the architectural and artistic achievements of China's Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Situated in the scenic valleys and on the slopes of the Wudang mountains in Hubei Province, the site, which was built as an organized complex during the Ming dynasty (14th–17th centuries), contains Taoist buildings from as early as the 7th century. It represents the highest standards of Chinese art and architecture over a period of nearly 1,000 years." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage


Postcard 1
Aerial view of Mount Wudang. I bought this postcard.

Postcard 2

I bought this postcard.

Postcard 3

Mount Wudang has been made famous by Chinese martial arts movies.

Postcard 4

Snow scenery of Wudang Mountain. I bought this postcard in China.

Postcard 5

This postcard of Wudang Mountain from a postcard set of Scenery of Shanxi that I bought in China.

China - Mount Wutai

"With its five flat peaks, Mount Wutai is a sacred Buddhist mountain. The cultural landscape numbers 53 monasteries and includes the East Main Hall of Foguang Temple, the highest surviving timber Building of the Tang Dynasty with life size clay sculptures. It also features the Ming Dynasty Shuxiang Temple with a huge complex of 500 statues representing Buddhist stories woven into three dimensional pictures of mountains and water.

Overall, the buildings on the site present a catalogue of the way Buddhist architecture developed and influenced palace building in China over more than one millennium. Mount Wutai, literally, the five terrace mountain, is the highest mountain in northern China and is remarkable for its morphology characterized by precipitous sides with five open treeless peaks. Temples have been built on the site since the 1st century AD to the early 20th century." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

A very green view of Mount Wutai, China. Thanks to DJK of China.

Croatia - Stari Grad Plain

"Stari Grad Plain on the Adriatic island of Hvar is a cultural landscape that has remained practically intact since it was first colonized by Ionian Greeks from Paros in the 4th century BC. The original agricultural activity of this fertile plain, mainly centring on grapes and olives, has been maintained since Greek times to the present. The site is also a natural reserve. The landscape features ancient stone walls and trims, or small stone shelters, and bears testimony to the ancient geometrical system of land division used by the ancient Greeks, the chora which has remained virtually intact over 24 centuries." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Aerial view of Stari Grad town with surrounding agricultural activity done sicne early Greek era. Thanks to Jacek of Poland.

Greece - Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae

"This famous temple to the god of healing and the sun was built towards the middle of the 5th century B.C. in the lonely heights of the Arcadian mountains. The temple, which has the oldest Corinthian capital yet found, combines the Archaic style and the serenity of the Doric style with some daring architectural features." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Bassae, Greece. Thanks to Elena for mailing this postcard inside an envelope from Greece.

France - Jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion

"Viticulture was introduced to this fertile region of Aquitaine by the Romans, and intensified in the Middle Ages. The Saint-Emilion area benefited from its location on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela and many churches, monasteries and hospices were built there from the 11th century onwards. It was granted the special status of a 'jurisdiction' during the period of English rule in the 12th century. It is an exceptional landscape devoted entirely to wine-growing, with many fine historic monuments in its towns and villages." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Town view of Saint Emilion of Gironde, France. Thanks to Nancy of France.

France - Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay

"This stark Burgundian monastery was founded by St Bernard in 1119. With its church, cloister, refectory, sleeping quarters, bakery and ironworks, it is an excellent illustration of the ideal of self-sufficiency as practised by the earliest communities of Cistercian monks." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay, France. Thanks to Violet of Germany.

Georgia - Gelati Monastery

"Bagrati Cathedral has been removed from the list. The Gelati Monastery, whose main buildings were erected between the 12th and 17th centuries, is a well-preserved complex, with wonderful mosaics and wall paintings. The cathedral and monastery represent the flowering of medieval architecture in Georgia." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Gelati Monastery

Greece - Archaeological Site of Philippi

"The remains of this walled city lie at the foot of an acropolis in the present-day region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, on the ancient route linking Europe and Asia, the Via Egnatia. Founded in 356 BC by the Macedonian King Philip II, the city developed as a “small Rome” with the establishment of the Roman Empire in the decades following the Battle of Philippi, in 42 BCE. The Hellenistic theatre and funerary heroon (temple) were supplemented with Roman buildings such as the forum. Later the city became a centre of the Christian faith following the visit of the Apostle Paul in 49-50 CE. The remains of its basilicas constitute an exceptional testimony to the early establishment of Christianity."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage


Philippi, Egnatia Odhos mailed inside envelope from Austria. Thanks to Goros of Austria.

Malta - Hal Saflieni Hypogeum

"The Hypogeum is an enormous subterranean structure excavated c. 2500 B.C., using cyclopean rigging to lift huge blocks of coralline limestone. Perhaps originally a sanctuary, it became a necropolis in prehistoric times." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

View of the Hypogeum, c.3000 B.C. of Malta. Thanks to Violet of Germany.