Croatia + Belgium whs

This was a great envelope with new unesco whs from my collection, 1 from Croatia and the other 2 from Belgium. I got these thanks to Anne "nanou".

"Trogir is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The historic city of Trogir is situated on a small island between the Croatian mainland and the island of Čiovo. It lies 27 kilometres west of the city of Split.
Trogir has a fascinating 2300 years of continuous urban tradition. Its rich culture was created under the influence of old Greeks, Romans, and Venetians. Trogir has a high concentration of palaces, churches, and towers, as well as a fortress on a small island, and in 1997 was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. "The orthogonal street plan of this island settlement dates back to the Hellenistic period and it was embellished by successive rulers with many fine public and domestic buildings and fortifications. Its beautiful Romanesque churches are complemented by the outstanding Renaissance and Baroque buildings from the Venetian period", says UNESCO report.
Trogir is the best-preserved Romanesque-Gothic complex not only in the Adriatic, but in all of Central Europe. Trogir's medieval core, surrounded by walls, comprises a preserved castle and tower and a series of dwellings and palaces from the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods. Trogir's grandest building is the church of St. Lawrence, whose main west portal is a masterpiece by Radovan, and the most significant work of the Romanesque-Gothic style in Croatia." - in: wikipedia

I already have a card from Brugge and now there's a new one but from a different site, the Flemish Béguinage. "A Béguinage is a collection of small buildings used by Beguines, which were several lay sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic Church, founded in the 13th century, of religious women who sought to serve God without retiring from the world.
A Béguinage comprises a courtyard surrounded by small dwellings. It is often encircled by a wall and secluded from the town proper by one or two gates. Poor and elderly beguines were housed here by benefactors.
The beguines were a religious movement of women. Their success, according to the Belgian historian Henri Pirenne, was due to a surplus of women occasioned by violence, war, military and semi-military operations, which took the lives of many men. Great numbers of women had no option but to unite and collectively secure the aid of rich benefactors.
Similarly, nuns' convents in the twelfth century enjoyed substantial initial success. Stricter rules within Cistercian and other abbeys, however, caused many women to seek less strict surroundings. Moreover, these abbeys' initial success necessitated the refusal of a great many applications for admission. As an additional obstacle, in several cases a certain degree of prosperity was required as a condition for admission to a regular nunnery." - in: wikipedia

"The 91-meter-high belfry of Ghent is one of three medieval towers that overlook the old city center of Ghent, Belgium, the other two belonging to Saint Bavo Cathedral and Saint Nicholas' Church. Through the centuries, it has served not only as a bell tower to announce the time and various warnings, but also as a fortified watchtower and town treasury.
Construction of the tower began in 1313 to the design of master mason Jan van Haelst, whose plans are still preserved in a museum. After continuing intermittently through wars, plagues and political turmoil, the work reached completion in 1380. It was near the end of this period that the gilded dragon, brought from Bruges assumed its place atop the tower. The uppermost parts of the building have been rebuilt several times, in part to accommodate the growing number of bells.
The primary bell in the tower, Roland, was the one used by citizens to warn of an enemy approaching or a battle won. "Roland has become almost a person to the people of Belgium. He is a patriot, a hero, a leader in all rebellion against unrighteous authority."
Upon conquering Belgium, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor ordered the removal of Roland. The belfry of Ghent, together with its attached buildings, belongs to the set of belfries of Belgium and France inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List." in: wikipedia

Italian whs

This week i've received a few new unesco sites. Last wednesday arrived an envelope with 2 cards of 2 italian sites missing on my unesco wishlist as a result of a new trade with Luca "diaboluke".

"Matera is a town and a province in the region of Basilicata, in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Matera.

Matera has gained international fame for its ancient town, the "Sassi di Matera" (meaning "stones of Matera"). The Sassi originate from a prehistoric (troglodyte) settlement, and are suspected to be some of the first human settlements in Italy.
The Sassi are houses dug into the tuff rock itself, which is characteristic of Basilicata and Puglia. Many of these "houses" are really only caverns, and the streets in some parts of the Sassi often are located on the rooftops of other houses. The ancient town grew in height on one slope of the ravine created by a river that is now a small stream. The ravine is known locally as "la Gravina".

Until the late 1980s this was considered an area of poverty, since these houses were, and in most areas still are, mostly unlivable. Current local administration, however, has become more tourism-oriented, and has promoted the re-generation of the Sassi with the aid of the European Union, the government, UNESCO, and Hollywood.
One of the benefits of the ancient city, is that there is a great similarity in the look of the Sassi with that of ancient sites in and around Jerusalem. This has caught the eye of film directors and movie studios." - in: wikipedia

Alberobello is a small town and comune in the province of Bari, in Puglia, Italy. It has about 11,000 inhabitants and is famous for its unique trulli constructions. The Trulli of Alberobello are part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1996.
The trulli, limestone dwellings found in the southern region of Puglia, are remarkable examples of drywall (mortarless) construction, a prehistoric building technique still in use in this region. The trulli are made of roughly worked limestone boulders collected from neighbouring fields. Characteristically, they feature pyramidal, domed or conical roofs built up of corbelled limestone slabs.

Edit's cards

After a few days without any updates, i'm back with new cards all received this week.

The 1st envelope arrived monday or tuesday with 4 bueautiful cards, 3 from Spain and 1 from Hungary, sent by Edit.

I already had a night view of the St. Martin Bridge in Toledo but seen from the opposite side. This view is exactly what i remember from Toledo when i visited the city a few years ago.

I've been to Ávila 4 times, i think, i liked it very much and took a few pictures in this square. I've bought some cards there and old of them kind of old, this is looks really great. Ávila is most known for the medieval city walls, that were constructed of brown granite in 1090: surmounted by a breastwork, with eighty-eight towers and nine gateways, they are still in excellent repair, but a large part of the city lies beyond their perimeter.

Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches is an world heritage site since 1985.

Edit sent cards from different spanish cities and this one shows the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, a famous bullring in Madrid. "Situated in the barrio of Guindalera, it was inaugurated on June 17, 1931. It has a seating capacity of 25,000 and is regarded as the home of bullfighting in Spain.
This bullring was designed by an architect called Espeliú. Its style is Neo-Mudéjar (Moorish) with pottery incrustations. The price of the seats depends upon how close they are to the "arena" and whether they are in the sun or the shade (the latter being more expensive). The bullfighting season starts in March and ends in December; bullfights are held every day during the San Isidro Fiesta, and every Sunday or holiday during the season. Bullfights start at 6 or 7pm and last for two to three hours." - in: wikipedia

Edit lives in Spain but her home country is Hungary. This is the Heroes Square with the Millenary Monument in Budapest. This monument is a "spectacular ensemble of statues erected to commemorate the thousandth anniversary of the Magyar Conquest is situated at the end of Budapest's most beautiful avenue (Andrássy Street). The monument was designed by Albert Schickedanz and Fülöp Herczog. Many of the statues representing Hungarian Monarchs and Princes of Transylvania were made by György Zala. At the center of the Monument there is a column surrounded by seven figures - leaders of the seven Hungarian tribes." - in: http://cityguide.budapestrooms.com/sights/sights2.htm

Shiretoko - Japan

Shiretoko National Park in Japan is the newest unesco site in my collection. I've received this card today and it was sent by Evita "evitayuhe".

" Shiretoko National Park covers most of the Shiretoko Peninsula at the northeastern tip of the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. The word "Shiretoko" is an Ainu word meaning "end of the earth".
One of the most remote regions in all of Japan, much of the peninsula is only accessible on foot or by boat. The park is best known as the home of Japan's largest brown bear population and for offering views of the disputed Kunashiri Island, claimed by Russia. The park has a hot springs waterfall called Kamuiwakka Falls. Kamui wakka means "water of the gods" in Ainu.
The forests of the park are temperate and subalpine mixed forests; the main tree species include Sakhalin fir, Erman's birch and Mongolian oak. Beyond the forest limit there are impenetrable Siberian Dwarf Pine thickets.
In 2005, UNESCO designated the area a World Heritage Site, advising to develop the property jointly with Kuril Islands of Russia as a transboundary "World Heritage Peace Park"." - in: wikipedia

Cards from Brazil

The last cards of this week arrived from Brazil. Karina "kazinhabueno" hosted a lottery on the portuguese community and decided to send cards to everyone who've joined it. I got my cards on thursday.

"The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is a Rococo Catholic church in Ouro Preto.
Its erection began in 1766 after a design by the great Brazilian architect and sculptor António Francisco Lisboa, the so-called Aleijadinho, who also designed the carved decorations inside, which were only finished towards the end of the 19th century. The circular bell towers and the oculus closed by a relief were original features in religious architecture of that time in Brazil.
The façade has a single entrance door under a fine stone frontispiece, surmounted by a relief depicting Saint Francis receiving the stigmata. The interior is richly decorated with golden woodwork, statues and paintings, and the wooden ceiling displays a beautiful painting by Manuel da Costa Athayde on a Marian subject, one of his best works." - in: wikipedia
This chrch was recently elected as one of the 7 Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World.

The second card is from the Mel Island in Paraná state with the Conchas Lighthouse.

"The lighthouse was built 1872, ordered by the King Dom Pedro II and it was brought from England to Ilha do Mel. It is a working lighthouse used to orient boats entering in the Paranaguá Bay. From that spectacular height you get a lovely view of various beaches and also the point where the island separates. The lighthouse has featured in films due to its beauty." - in: http://www.ilhadomel-travel.com.br/destination_guide

Cards from Italy

I've got 2 brazilian cards today but first i need to show the italian cards i've received last tuesday. It was my second trade with Katja "maggiolino". All these cards are unesco and the last one is a new unesco.

"Verona is a city in Veneto, northern Italy, one of the seven provincial capitals in the region. It is one of the main tourist destinations in north-eastern Italy, thanks to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, the ancient amphitheatre built by the Romans.

Because of the value and importance of its many historical buildings, Verona has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Verona preserved many ancient Roman monuments, no longer in use, in the early Middle Ages, but much of this and much of its early medieval edifices were destroyed or heavily damaged by the earthquake of 3 January 1117, which led to a massive Romanesque rebuilding. The Carolingian period Versus de Verona contains an important description of Verona in the early medieval era." - in: wikipedia

"Verona Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale di Santa Maria Matricolare, or simply Duomo di Verona) is a church in Verona. It was erected after two Palaeo-Christian churches on the same site had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1117. Built in Romanesque style, the cathedral was consecrated on September 13, 1187. The structure was later modified by several renovation interventions, although the plan has remained unchanged." - in: wikipedia

"Parco del Delta del Po is a protected wetlands region in the Po delta consisting of four parcels of land on the right bank of the Po and to the south. In 1999 the park was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and was added to "Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta."
The 53,653 ha (132,580 acres) of the park contain wetlands, forest, dunes and salt pans. It has a high biodiversity, with 1000-1100 plant species and 374 vertebrate species, of which 300 are birds." - in: wikipedia

New German Unesco cards

My german unesco wishlist is getting shorter and shorter. Today i've recived these 2 wonderful cards sent by Sabine "bine", all of them new in my collection.

With the 4 cards i got today, i've now more than 2000 cards, 2002 to be precise :D

"Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a town in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the Elbe River.
The importance of Wittenberg historically was due to its seat of the Elector of Saxony, a dignity held by the dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg and also to its close connection with Martin Luther and the dawn of the Protestant Reformation; several of its buildings are associated with the events of this time. Part of the Augustinian monastery in which Luther dwelt, first as a monk and later as owner with his wife and family, is preserved and considered to be the world's premier museum dedicated to Luther." - in: wikipedia

"Bauhaus ("House of Building" or "Building School") is the common term for the Staatliches Bauhaus a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933.
The Bauhaus school was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar. In spite of its name, and the fact that its founder was an architect, the Bauhaus did not have an architecture department during the first years of its existence. The Bauhaus style became one of the most influential currents in Modernist architecture and modern design. The Bauhaus had a profound influence upon subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography.
The school existed in three German cities (Weimar from 1919 to 1925, Dessau from 1925 to 1932 and Berlin from 1932 to 1933)." - in: wikipedia