Manětín - Czech Republic

After a trip my cards collection gets considerable bigger because of the cards I buy and this recent trip to Czech Republic was no exception. I bought dozens of cards and when I got home I had some more cards waiting for me. This is 1st of the czech cards Emerich sent me. 

Foto: Ivan Rillich

Manětín is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. 

All visitors of Manětín are surprised by the number and quality of the Baroque sculptures and devotional pillars, dating back to the end of the 17th and 18th centuries. The late Baroque burgher houses on the square and along the main street complete the coloring of the once important town, nearly forgotten, however, today. - in: http://www.zamky-hrady.cz/1/manetin-e.htm

Haczów - Poland

I've traded again with Emerich, this time 15 cards and this one is from Haczów, a village in south-eastern Poland. In the village is located the  Assumption of Mary and St. Michael's Archangel church, one of the six with Wooden Churches of Southern Little Poland, on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 2003. 

Photo: Dariusz Krakowiak

This temple is the largest wooden Gothic church in Europe and also the oldest wooden church built by using the horizontal log technique in Poland. It is located on the trail of wooden architecture in southern Poland and on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The church was built in the late 14th century and later extended and renovated. As a place of religious worship it was used till 1948 but then began to fall into disrepair. In the 1960’s and 1970’s the church furnishings (altars, benches, paintings and other ornaments) were taken to the Museum in Sanok and the court in Kroscienko Wyzne. Before being entered on the UNESCO list the church underwent major renovation. Firstly, the wooden ceiling was replaced and new wood shingle put on the roof.

Inside, the wall paintings from the end of the 15th century survived, which were supplemented by more recent paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries. Gothic art is represented by sculptures, including the Pieta from about 1400. - in: http://www.poland.travel/en/unesco-world-heritage-sites/the-assumption-church-in-haczow

Ruins of the Viljandi Order Castle - Estonia

Also from Estonia, and also sent my Martiina, now i've this card of the ruins of the Viljandi Order Castle. 

Foto: Anu Kivi 

The stone castle started to appear on the place of the former Estonian stronghold in 1224. The fortress got its final shape and size in the beginning of the 16th century and was one of the distinguished fortresses in Estonia and Latvia. Due to wars between Sweden, Poland and Russia all that is left from the entire order castle today are just a few stone walls.

Already in the beginning of the last century the ruins of the fortress and the park around it turned into a recreational area for the residents of Viljandi. In order to access the castle hills from town a rope bridge was build from the Kaeuvumägi hill over the 13 meters deep trench in 1931. - in: http://www.visitestonia.com/en/ruins-of-the-viljandi-order-castle

Lake Väikejärv - Estonia

A favorite from Estonia, sent by Martiina, that took almost 2 months to reach my mailbox!! 

Photo by Malev Toom

This the famous heart shaped Lake Väikejärv, located in the Viljandi County. 

Noirmont Point - Jersey

This is my 1st card from Jersey, one of the two Channel Islands, the other is Guerney. Laerke was there a couple of weeks ago and sent be this card of the Noirmont point lighthouse.

The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are considered the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy, and are not part of the United Kingdom. - in: wikipedia

Noirmont Point is the most southerly headland in Jersey.

Noirmont Point and a substantial part of the headland behind it was acquired by the States in 1950 as the Island's war memorial. And it is a strange irony given its status as a memorial of a war in which Jersey was occupied by the Germans for five years, that probably the main reason for visiting the headland is to view the restored bunkers and gun emplacements of Batterie Lothringen, the only naval coastal artillery battery in the island and part of Hitler's infamous Atlantic Wall. - in: http://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Noirmont

The lighthouse is from 1915 and is still active. 

German officials

My officials have been travelling for quite some time, sometimes more than a month but in the 2 last days a few of them were registered. I hope this is a sign that things are getting better.  

 Heinz Lothar Stutte * Fotografie + Bildkunstverlag

DE-3371334, sent by André.

An oldish card from Schrammsteine, long, strung-out, very jagged group of rocks in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains located east of Bad Schandau in Saxon Switzerland in East Germany. 

 Photo: Klaus Ender

DE-3372629, sent by Julia.

This is the Ralswiek Palace in Rugen Island. 

Schloss Ralswiek sits on a location occupied by noble families since the Middle Ages. Today’s neo-Renaissance schloss dates from 1891 and was designed to resemble a French Renaissance château.

The estate was built by Hugo Sholto Douglas, earl of Douglas. Of Scottish ancestry, he made his fortune by mining in Germany. He fought in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and was awarded the Iron Cross.

The schloss was confiscated from the Douglas family after World War II and turned into a nursing home and home for the handicapped for the German Red Cross.

In 1999, renovations began for its new life as a hotel, finally opening its doors to guests in 2002. - in: http://castleandpalacehotels.com/countries/germany/germany_regions/mecklenburg_western_pomerania/ralswiek.html

 © Schöning GmbH & Co. KG 

DE-3395329, sent by Bernhard.

A view of Kirchdorf, a village on the Poel Island, a german island in the Baltic Sea. It covers an area of 36.02 km² and has 2873 citizens. Satellite pictures show that most of it is used as farmland. With its good air, clean water, fine beaches and sheltered harbours, it is also popular recreational area. - in: wikipedia

DE-3371339, sent by Manuela.

Different views from Münich: Café Luitpold, Nymphenburg Palace, Viktualienmarkt, Marienplatz, musicians, Theatine Church and Brauereigespann. 

Vignale Monferrato - Italy

I had a great mail day yesterday, 5 cards and a big stationery package from Netherlands. One of the cards was this one from Italy, a new UNESCO site in my collection. I only need 2 more cards to have cards from 800 UNESCO sites and I took care of that yesterday. In a few days I'll get 5 new sites from 3 african countries. I can't wait to get them.

But for now, I've this card from the Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato, which includes 6 separate areas: Langa of Barolo, Grinzane Cavour Castle, Hills of Barbaresco, Nizza Monferrato and Barbera, Canelli and Asti Spumante and Monferrato of the Inferot. Vignale Monferrato is a town located in Monferrato of the Inferot. 

This is Italy's 50th UNESCO site and the card was sent by Marina. 

This landscape covers five distinct wine-growing areas with outstanding landscapes and the Castle of Cavour, an emblematic name both in the development of vineyards and in Italian history. It is located in the southern part of Piedmont, between the Po River and the Ligurian Apennines, and encompasses the whole range of technical and economic processes relating to the winegrowing and winemaking that has characterized the region for centuries. Vine pollen has been found in the area dating from the 5th century BC, when Piedmont was a place of contact and trade between the Etruscans and the Celts; Etruscan and Celtic words, particularly wine-related ones, are still found in the local dialect. During the Roman Empire, Pliny the Elder mentions the Piedmont region as being one of the most favourable for growing vines in ancient Italy; Strabo mentions its barrels. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1390