Lavertezzo - Switzerland

Lavertezzo with its characteristic stone buildings is a typical picturesque village in the swiss canton of Ticino.

The first two cards were sent by Óscar and the other by Grace.

photoglob

On this card, besides the river, is still possible to see the 18th century Madonna degli Angeli Parish Church, the only baroque church in the valley.

 © photoglob Zürich

The old double-arched bridge Ponte dei Salti, which mistakenly is also known as "Roman Bridge", crosses the River Verzasca and was built in the 17th century. 

www.at-verlag.ch www.sondereggerfotos.ch 

The bridge is one of the main atractions of the village. 

FOTW Liechtenstein

The last time I got a card from Liechtenstein was in 2012. This shows that getting a card from there is not that easy, so I'm quite happy to have this flag written and stamped from there, thanks to Sarah. 

© concept by Postcardsmarket.com

Liechtenstein has an area of 160 km², a population of 37.340 and its capital is Vaduz. 

Unique: 

* Economy - the highest gross domestic product per person in the world when not adjusted by purchasing power parity;

* The unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the world at 1.5%;

Famous:

* A land of true neutrality - Liechtenstein backs up its stance of being 100% neutral by not having an actively serving military at any given time;

History:

* Independence as a principality: 12 July 1806, Treaty of Pressburg. 1866, separation from the German Confederation;

* Early history: neolithic farming settlements were founded in the valleys of Liechtenstein around 5300 BC.

Monthly Fav. Surprise RR - July' 21

Cards from Germany, Northern Ireland, Netherlands and Russia for the Monthly RR of last month. 

www.papersisters.de

When I got this card, my 1st thought was "oh, I already have this one." No, I've a different edition, the 3rd and I think this is the 1st. 

This one depicts a dachshund, a pretzel, the former german currency D-Mark and the Bradenburg Gate.  

The card was sent by Nadine.

www.NIgifts.com

All these cards are great but I've to confess that this one, sent by Rachel, is my favorite. 

Dunluce Castle, thought by many to be the most picturesque and romantic of Irish castles, was originally occupied by the MacQuillan family and later the MacDonnells. It was besieged by the British in the 16th Century.  An accord was eventually signed with the English monarch in the name of peace.

Part of the castle broke off and the kitchen plunged into the sea, during a storm one night in 1639, killing all the cooks and kitchen-hands. There remains a dark hollow where this part of the building stood.

Underlying the areas importance as one of the main historical sites in Northern Ireland, recent archaeological excavations have uncovered a well preserved merchant town surrounding the castle.  The portions excavated have been dated to the early 1600’s but they show that there was a street grid system and buildings had indoor toilets.

The castle is thought to be the inspiration for Cair Paravel in CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. - in: https://www.virtualvisittours.com

These are the white dunes of the Slufter, in the Duinen an Texel National Park. 

The main part of the Slufter is a wide dune valley which has an open connection to the North Sea through a hole in the outer dunes. At high tide seawater streams into the Slufter though creeks and at low tide it streams out again. The large Sluftercreek at the beach is where the water comes through most of the time. Over time the creek has moved in a northern direction. Because this creek was heavily damaging the dunes on the northern side in May 2004, intervention was needed. A new creek was constructed on the far most southern part of the Slufter, and the old creek was closed up a week later. On an average high tide the seawater only gets into the creeks and small lakes, on an extreme high tide the larger part of the Slufter is inundated.

The Slufter is separated from the North Sea by two long dune strips, this area is called De Lange Dam. In between the dune stripes there is a valley with fresh water, many orchids grow here. - in: wikipedia

Card sent by Annerie.

Yulia sent me a nice card of a snowy ribbon pine forest in Barnaul, one of Siberia’s major cities and the capital of Altai Krai.

Pergamon - Turkey

Another new UNESCO site in my collection and a few more will arrive in the coming weeks!! Óscar noticed that Pergamon was still missing in my collection and kindly sent me this card depicting the theater.

Ancient Pergamon settlement at the top of the Kale Hill, the capital of Hellenistic Attalid Dynasty, represents the outstanding example of urban planning of the Hellenistic period with its monumental architecture.

Temple of Athena, the steepest theatre of the Hellenistic period, library, Great Altar of Pergamon, Dionysus Temple, agora, gymnasiums and high pressured water pipeline system are the most outstanding examples of this period. The city has the most famous and well known sculpture school of Hellenistic period, which created the Great Altar that has been accepted as one of the wonders of the world since 2nd century BC. Great Altar of Pergamon and many other works produced by Pergamon School of Sculpture represent the climax in the art of sculpture in Hellenistic period.

The city, continuing its leading role in the cultural and scientific life in Roman period has become one of the most important metropolises of the ancient world. Outstanding masterpieces of the Roman Period, such as Sarapeion, Asclepius, Temple of Trajan, the theatre, amphitheatre and aqueduct are the representatives of the highest level in architecture, planning and engineering of the period. - in: https://www.goturkeytourism.com

The Hellenistic Theatre was built into the hillside to conserve space and take maximum advantage of the spectacular views. The design are not typical round and wide proportions, but instead dramatically higher, with a seating capacity of 10,000; the steepest theatre known in the ancient world. - in: https://www.alaturkaturkey.com

Lower German Limes - Netherlands

A couple of days ago we got to know the new UNESCO WHS and the Lower German Limes was one of them. This was a joint nomination by the Netherlands and the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Lower German Limes are the part of the limes running from the North Sea to Rheinbrohl.

The Roman period in the Netherlands began in the year 19 BC, when two or three legions established a camp in Nijmegen.

Nijmegen is by far the most important Roman site in the Netherlands. It is therefore no surprise that it is also home to an excellent museum presenting some of the city’s rich Roman heritage to the public. - in: https://www.romeinen.nl

The site on which the Valkhof Museum is built used to be a Roman military camp. At the time Noviomagus, as Nijmegen was called, was the most important Roman city in Holland. This silver plated riding mask is part of a large collection of archaeological Roman objects.

This card was sent by Jeroen. 

DE-10586956

Schwarzenberg Castle was based on a medieval fortification and together with St. George's Church dominates the scene of the large county town of Schwarzenberg in Saxony. 

Fotoverlag Harald Wunderlich

DE-10586956, sent by Daniela.

The castle was probably founded in the 12th century as a fort and was the original base for the settlement of Schwarzenberg and its vicinity. The former castle was given its present appearance by a conversion into a hunting lodge for the Electorate of Saxony. In 1851/52 its keep and south wing were raised and, later that century, an office building extension was added. - in: https://www.castlesworld.com

Penedono Castle - Portugal

I fell in love with this castle when I saw an image of it for the 1st time. That was long time ago and iIfinally had the opportunity to visit it in 2011. It's a very small and unique castle, really worth to visit. 

This week Oscar sent me a fantastic postcard from there and now I just feel like visiting it again.

I have more postcards from this castle but these are my favourites. The snowy postcard was sent by Margarida.

Penedono castle is located in the Portuguese district of Viseu, in the west central part of Portugal. 

Libório Manuel Silva

The oldest documentary reference dates back to 960. But it can be even earlier than that, once parallel rows were found the in the base structure, typical of Arabic constructions, showing a first construction.

It is a small castle with the features of polygonal a castellated house, forming an irregular hexagon. It is built about 930m high upon a lot of cyclopean granite outcrops; it circumference is about 70m and has turrets in the corners, fitted with boulders and flanking the single access in a broken arc. It still has the tank, a patrol path and typical benches called "conversadeiras" in its interior, which indicate the existence of an intermediate floor.

This unusual example of Gothic military architecture is associated with the mythical figure of the "Magriço", Álvaro Gonçalves Coutinho, born in Penedono, immortalized by Camões in his epic work "The Lusíadas", which narrates the feats and achievements of the Twelve of England. 

The castle was listed as a National Monument on June 16, 1910. - in: http://www.portoenorte.pt