Cracow's Main Square - Poland

From Warsaw to Krakow and its beautiful Main Square. 

The aerial view card was sent by Emerich, I bought the 2nd, the 3rd is an official received in 2012 and Ara sent the 4th. 

Photo by Wojciech Gorgolewski

The main square of the Old Town of Kraków, is the principal urban space located at the center of the city. It dates back to the 13th century, and at roughly 40,000 m2 (430,000 ft2) is one of the largest medieval town squares in Europe. The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) lists the square as the best public space in Europe due to its lively street life. - in: wikipedia

The main square is a square space surrounded by historic townhouses (kamienice) and churches. The center of the square is dominated by the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), rebuilt in 1555 in the Renaissance style. It was once a major centre of international trade.

PL-236358, sent by Gosia.

On one side of the cloth hall is the Town Hall Tower, the only remaining part of the old Kraków Town Hall demolished in 1820. 

On the other side the 10th century Church of St. Adalbert. 

Fot. ze zbiorów Muzeum Historycznego Miasta Krakowa

Rising above the square are the Gothic towers of St. Mary's Basilica. 

Now as in the Middle Ages the Grand Square is the focus of the city life. Krakow residents and visitors come here to meet each other, to do business, to shop in numerous stores, and to enjoy themselves in myriad restaurants, cafés and clubs. Krakow’s forum serves also as the city’s most popular site of open-air events – musical, theatrical, commercial, political, etc. - in: http://www.krakow-info.com/rynek.htm

Warsaw's New Town - Poland

 Ara has recentely been to Poland, where she visited several places and from where she sent me a few cards. I'll start with a card from Warsaw's New Town. 

The New Town is connected directly to the Old Town and was first built in the 14th century.

Most of the buildings had to be rebuilt after the second world war as they had been destroyed or damaged.

The main street of New Town is Freta Street (Ulica Freta), which leads from the Barbican through most of the New Town. By the way, the New Town did not have a city wall and in 1791 it had finally become a part of Warsaw.

The New Town Market Square (Rynek Nowego Miasta) is the center of Warsaw’s New Town. Until 1818 you could find the Townhall standing in the middle of the square, since 1958 you can find a well at the same place. The main sight here however is St. Casimir’s Church.

Fot. Christian Parma

Although the Old Town is more popular tourist destination it is still worth seeing. The card shows some of the New Town's monuments. 

The Raczynski Palace was built 1786. Inside there is a beautiful ballroom. Today the Palace is used as an  archive. 

St. Caisimir’s (Kazimierz) Curch was contructed from 1688 till 1689 and was eventually rebuilt from 1949 till 1955. Most of the things in this Baroque church are from the 20th century, but a few things remain from the 18th century.

The Church of the Holy Spirit is another Baroque style church, it was built in 1717. In former times there used to be wooden church here, but it was destroyed during the Swedish War. The church is also the starting point for the pilgrimages to Poland’s famous Częstochowa sanctuary.

The Barbican is the separation point between Old and New Town which was constructed 1548.

The Church of the Visitation of Blessed Virgin Mary  (St. Mary’s Church) is one of the pldest churches in Warsaw it was built from 1411 in Gothic style. Since then the church was remodeled several times.

The church can be seen easily from the other side of the Vistula, so it is also a part of the charming skyline of Warsaw. - in: http://www.warsawguide.com/new-town-in-warsaw/

PL-1238423

Everybody seems to love GF cards. I'm really not one of those and that's not because I don't like the cards, I like them, they're nice but not necessarily but kind of favorite cards. Actually, I only have the portuguese card and now this one from Poland. 

Designed by Ewa Slocinska www.postallove.com

PL-1238423, sent by Jacob.

Poland's capital city is Warsaw. The country is 312685 km2 and has a population of 38 483 857; over 25000 are postcrossing members.

Forests cover about 30% of Poland's territory. The country has 9300 lakes and Rysy is the highest mountain with 2499 meters. The country is home of 1225 european bisons, the largest mamals in Europe.

Pope John Paul II, Frederic Chopin, Marie Curie and Nicolaus Copernicus are some of the most famous Poles.

Amber, the baltic gold, comes in more than 300 varieties. Gdansk registered its first amber artisans guild in 1477.

In 2014 the Polish National Volleybal men team won the world championship. 

BY-1930647

Cathedral in the name of Archangel Michael in Mozyr. 

BY-1930647, sent by Lisa.

The Cathedral in the name of Archangel Michael was built in the XIII century in the late Baroque style. Next to the Cathedral close is a Bernardine monastic enclosure founded by order of king Sigismund III Vasa in the early seventeenth century. 

Palanga - Lithuania

Justina, one of my penpals, is originaly from Lithuania but she lives in Australia. This summer she traveled with her husband and son to her home country, where she reunited with her family and friends. One of the days she went on a short trip to Palanga, a popular coastal town. 

Foto: © Antanas Varanka

Palanga is a seaside resort town in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. It is the busiest summer resort in Lithuania and has beaches of sand (18 km long and up to 300 m wide) and sand dunes.
The building on the top left corner is the Tiškevičiai Palace that houses de Amber Museum; Jurate ir Kastytis is a 1961 sculpture by N. Gaigalaté and the 3rd image is the local pier.

Officials from Russia

A few days ago it was my 10th Postcrossing Anniversary. After 10 years I still love Postcrossing and I'm pretty sure that this lovely addiction to cards will last many, many years. 

 RU-5022113, sent by Alexander.

Kaluga is a city located on the Oka River 150 kilometers (93 mi) southwest of Moscow. Alexanders says that there are a lot of old churches in the city, one of them is the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the 18th century.

RU-4840330, sent by Xenia.

I couldn't find much information about this church in Belgorod. It is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows and Xenia wrote on the card that it was built in the 19th century. 

RU-4830717, sent by Elena.

This last card is from Tula, a city located 193 kilometers (120 mi) south of Moscow. On the card is possible to see part of the city's Kremlin but the focus of the card is the building on the center of the card, Tula Museum of Samovar. A samovar is a metal container used to heat and boil water in the home, particularly for tea.

The samovar is the center of the traditional Russian home, and Tula is the center of the Russian samovar industry. Tula was a major center for weapons production and skilled metalworking until the 18th century, when the craftsmen of the area decided to beat their swords into plowshares, using their metalworking talents to create samovars instead of cannons. The Russian phrase "bringing a samovar to Tula" is equivalent to the English phrase, "carrying coal to Newcastle."

The Tula Museum of Samovars commemorates the history of the samovar with exquisite examples of Tula's tradition of artistry over the last few centuries. - in: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tula-samovar-museum

Cathedral of the Assumption - Russia

 The Cathedral of the Assumption is one of the structures in the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, the most important monastery in Russia and the spiritual center of Russian Orthodox Christianity. Founded in 1345 by St. Sergius of Radonezh and containing his relics, Holy Trinity is located in the city of Sergiyev Posad about 45 miles northeast of Moscow.
Architectural Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad is on the Unesco WHS list since 1993.

RU-4643525, sent by Polina.

The Cathedral of the Assumption was modeled on the church of the same name in Moscow. It was finished in 1585, with money donated by Ivan the Terrible as penance for killing his son. 

Services are held here in the summer, but it is often closed at other times of the year. Outside the west door is the grave of Tsar Boris Godunov, the only tsar not buried in Moscow's Kremlin or the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. - in: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/russia/sergiev-posad-holy-trinity-lavra