Jizera Mountains Beech Forests - Czech Republic

After 2 weeks without any cards, this week I've received a few, including 4 much desired cards from UNESCO missing sites. Helena sent me this card of a beech forest in the Jezera Mountains and now I've all the Czech UNESCO sites.

Jizera Mountains Beech Forests, inscribed in the UNESCO list in July 2021, located in the northern part of the Czech Republic (Liberec Region, northern Bohemia), close to the Czech-Polish border.
These forests are one of the very last mountain beech forests in Europe almost untouched by people.

 

Autor: Jiri Zuzánek

The Jizera Mountains Primeval Beech Forests, protected by UNESCO, cover an area of about 27 square kilometres on the north-east hillside of the Jizera Mountains in North Bohemia.

The area is remarkable for mixed and beech forests on steep slopes with unique geomorphology. The inaccessibility of the mountain slopes was an advantage for the forests. People preferred to extract wood on hillsides that were easier to access and did not venture to the north side of the mountains. Thanks to that the forests have been almost untouched by human activity, and they evolve based on natural principles. The most valuable internal part has about ten square kilometres and it is surrounded by a protective zone of about seventeen kilometres. The oldest trees in the Jizera Mountains Primeval Beech Forests are 350 years old; many of the beech trees are about one hundred years old – the forest grows and dies naturally. The name is a bit misleading: even though it is officially called the beech forests, it is not only beeches that grow there. In the mixed forests, you will also find rowan and linden trees, and oaks, firs or spruces grow in the lower part, some more than two hundred years old. The best preserved and most valuable parts of the Jizera Mountains Protected Landscape Area are the home to many rare animals and plants. A part of the preserve is a completely non-intervention area where nature is left to its own spontaneous evolution. It is a unique central European primeval forest in the true sense of the word. - in: https://www.visitczechia.com

PL-1992998

 This church is much more my style. Modern things are not for me.

 

PL-1992998, sent by Eugenia.

The Church of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Krużlowa Wyżna is a gothic wooden church which was established in 1520, later renovated in the Baroque style.

FI-4596263

Alvar Aalto was also a well known architect. None of his works is classified as UNESCO WHS yet but it may happen it the future as some of them are on the Tentative list. The Seinäjoki Civic Center, which includes the Church of the Cross on the Plains, is one of those works.

 

FI-4596263, sent by Liisa.

Lakeuden Risti – the main church of the Seinäjoki parish was designed by architect Alvar Aalto and consecrated in 1960. Alvar Aalto and his assistants entered the design competition with their submission titled Lakeuksien Risti (“Cross of the plains”) which emerged a clear winner. The proposed name of the cathedral-shaped church was later amended to Lakeuden Risti.
The main characteristics of the church complex are as follows: on the north side stands the campanile, 65 metres high, in the shape of a stylized cross. Monumentally vertical, visible from afar in the endless plains, it is the town´s symbol. The slightly wedge-shaped, symmetrical church interior is 47 metres long and provides seating for a congregation of 1200. The vestry lies behind the altar, and between it and the campanile is a tiny baptistery and wedding chapel with a stained-glass work by Aalto. Aalto also designed the church textiles and communion vessels. - in: https://www.visitfinland.com

Maison Guiette - Belgium

 I've been trying to tag Gerda in the UNESCO Offer tag for quite some time and I finally succeeded . I'll try to do it again because she has cards from two other UNESCO sites that I'm still missing from Belgium. But for now, let me show you Maison Guiette in Antwerpen, Le Corbusier's first commission outside of France, but is one of the lesser-known of his 17 buildings that have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2016.

 

Belgian artist and art critic René Guiette asked Le Corbusier to design his studio-cum-residence in Antwerp, after seeing the architect's Pavilion de L'Esprit Nouveau – a temporary structure installed in Paris in 1925. Guiette wrote to Le Corbusier immediately after seeing it. His house was completed in 1927. 

As one of the first examples of Modernist architecture in the country, the house is considered particularly important to the evolution of the style in Belgium.

Maison Guiette is an early example of the International Style of Modernism.
The house has had a number of owners over the years. Architect George Baines restored Maison Guiette for Belgian fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester, who bought the house in 1983 but was always said to despise the crowds of architectural tourists who gathered outside the property. It was made a protected monument in 1978. 

Maison Guiette is Le Corbusier's only surviving building in Belgium. - in: https://www.dezeen.com

German officials

 Officials from germany always arrive in quantity and these ID's are almost sequential.

 

Foto: Reinhold Mayer

 

DE-14084328, sent by Christine.

Laupheim is town in southern Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. 

Some of the city's attractions are the Parish Church St Peter and Paul, Großlaupheim Castle, Schlosstor and the Market Square. 

The city is also known as the birthplace of Carl Laemmle, a German-American film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures.

DE-14084330, sent by Sigrid.

The church "St. Martin und Maria", now used as the parish church of Sponheim, was part of an abbey, founded by Meginhard of Sponheim and his father. The abbey got consecrated in 1123, the first monks came from Mainz. After the Reformation the monks left the abbey. A try to reestablish monastic life here with the support of the Bursfelde Congregation ended unsuccessful. Another try ended in 1794, when the last monks fled the monastery from the approaching French troops. - in: https://www.flickr.com

Lookphotos/Wohner

DE-14084327, sent by Paula.

Winter landscape on the Hohen Hagen near Winterberg, Sauerland, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Halle - Germany

This is what a call great cards. Impressive monuments, great pictures and nice quality paper. The 1st card was sent by Ina and the 2nd is an official.

Halle, a former ducal town, is considered one of the oldest cities in Germany and Saxony Anhalt. It has a rich history and many historical sites to discover.

© Schöning Verlag

Fourteen streets in Halle lead to the city’s 16,000-square-metre Marktplatz, hosting many of the monuments on this list like the Marktkirche and Roter Turm. 

One of Central Germany’s finest Late Gothic churches, Halle’s 16th-century Marktkirche is unmissable thanks to its four towers.These are four of the five towers that give Halle its nickname “Stadt der fünf Türme”. That unusual pair towers on the east side are watchmen’s towers and were linked high up by a bridge. 

Martin Luther preached at the Marktkirche three times, and 140 years later, George Frideric Handel was baptised here. 

Halle’s fifth tower is also the tallest, rising to 84 metres on Marktplatz just a few metres from the Marktkirche. The tower was 88 years in the making, and was completed in the Late Gothic style in 1506. If you squint you can just make out the cluster of 246 spikes on the gilded orb at the very top of the spire. As a free-standing campanile Halle’s Roter Turm has no equivalent in Germany. The tower has a carillon of 76 bells, the largest in Europe with a total weight of almost 55 tons. - in: https://www.thecrazytourist.com

 

Foto: Ulrich Findeisen

DE-14084324, sent by Andreas.

the Hallmarkt dates back to the medieval era. It was earlier a hub for salt processing and was later established as a city square. The square is flanked by several historic buildings, an old church, a city library, government buildings and the Göbel Fountain.

Lucerne - Switzerland

 Óscar has recently been to Switzerland on holidays! I've been to the country for the last time 14 years ago and I visited Lucerne during a Postcrossing meeting. I must confess that besides the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge), I don't remember much of the city. I remember the Jesuit Church though.

Lucerne lies at the north end of Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstätter See) where the River Reuss flows out of the lake. The town, with its well-preserved medieval core and elegant historic buildings, is one of the most visited in Switzerland.

 

Foto: Jan Geerk

When it comes to what to see in Lucerne, do not miss the Jesuit Church.  Situated on the southern bank of the River Reuss, you cannot help but notice the twin onion-domed towers of the Jesuit Church which dominate the skyline. 
Built from 1666 to 1673 for the Jesuits, this church in Lucerne was the first large church in Switzerland to be built in the Baroque style.
While the exterior looks quite plain, the interior is a sight to behold.  Richly decorated in white marble, the church features an outstanding painted ceiling and ornate faux marble side altars. - in: https://holidaystoswitzerland.com

Monthly Fav. Surprise RR * March '24

 Lets start posting in May with the MFS RR cards from March.

 

www.papersisters.de

 

I totally agree with Whitney, receiving these HPC cards is like getting tiny glimpses into cultures!! 

This is the 3rd version of the HPC from USA.

New windmill from the Netherlands. 

Until 1985, this mill stood about 1.5 kilometers further north in 't Waar. In 1793, a mill was built there to drain the De Dellen polder. Unfortunately, the mill burned down, after which the current mill was built in 1855. Because the polder became dry, it was decided to move the mill to its current location, next to the Tichelwaark polder. Although the mill is no longer in use, it still has an emergency function. If the Tichelwaark pumping station fails, the mill can take over.

The card was sent by Alice.

Freiburg is one of the warmest and sunniest cities in Germany but I'd rather visit it on a cold, snowy day just to enjoy views like this. 

The card was sent by Isa.

I believe this was the 1st time Kate sent me a card and she sent a great one from my favs. 

Aleksander Nevsky Church, sanctified in 1898, was built on the territory of the Military Cemetery as a memorial for the heroes of Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. The church is built in the tradition of Russian baroque church XVII - XVIII centuries. This is the only Orthodox church that has never been rebuilt in Minsk and the last Orthodox church that was closed before World War II (1938). Inside the church, there is a small mobile church that Russian troops used when they fought in Bulgaria. - in: https://yesbelarus.com