BE-98157

Another great official card, not only because it was one of my favorites but also because it was sent by a forum member, in this case, a portuguese member that lives in Belgium.

The card descipts St. Rumbold's Cathedral towering over the Market Square in Mechelen, Dutch-speaking city in the province of Antwerp.

BE-98157, sent by Raquel "ferro".

"The cathedral was built in honor of Saint Rombout (Rumbold), a 17th century irish missionary, and it is rumored that his remains are buried inside the cathedral. State-of-the-art examination of the relics assumed to be St. Rumbold's, showed a death date between 580 and 655, while tradition had claimed 775. Twenty-five paintings in the choir illustrate the life of the saint.

The construction was started shortly after 1200, and during the final phase in 1452-1520, the tower of the cathedral itself was built.

The flat-topped silhouette of the cathedral's tower is easily recognizable and dominates the surroundings. The original design called for a 77-meter spire, but only 7 meters of it were ever actually built, hence the unusual shape. Despite its characteristic incompleteness, this World Heritage monument is 97.28 metres high and has 514 stairs which are visited by thousands of tourists every year." - in: wikipedia

NL-639847

This official from the Netherlands arrived yesterday and i like it a lot. The sender got married in this castle ;)

This castle is located in Helmond, a city in the province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands.

"Helmond Castle was built in 1402 by a member of the Van Berlaer family as a replacement for the family’s first castle, which originally stood just a few hundred meters to the southwest of the newer building. The castle was built to a similar design to the Muiden and Radboud Castles, although the Helmond Castle has much thinner walls, and relies more on its double moats for defence. The castle now houses a small museum and an art gallery, and is open to the public all year round." - in: http://www.anetherlandsattraction.com/netherlands-attractions-eh/helmond-castle.htm

DE-900389

Another german church but on an official card.


DE-900389, sent by Silvia.

This is the interior of a church in Zöblitz, a city in Saxony.

Darmstadt - Germany

Almost time to sleep, someone has to work tomorrow.
While i was signing thousands of cards in Köln i saw this one and loved it. I asked Ninta if she could send me a copy of it and the card arrived a few weeks ago.

This beautiful russian chapel is located in Darmstadt, a city in the federal state of Hesse, west-central Germany.

The chapel was built as a private chapel by the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, whose wife Alexandra was born in Darmstadt.

Czech cards

After the polish cards now i've 2 czech cards, also sent by Emerich.

"Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic.

Its history and growth have been largely affected by exploitation and further use of the high quality black coal deposits discovered in the locality, giving the town a look of an industrial city and a nickname of the “steel heart of the republic” during the communist era of Czechoslovakia. Many of the heavy industry companies are being closed down or transformed." - in: wikipedia

The Ostrava industrial complex was listed in the tentative UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001.

Broumov is a town in the Czech Republic, in the Náchod District of the Hradec Králové Region near the Polish border.
On the card there's the Peace Square, with Mary Column.

More polish cards

These are cards from Stargard Szczecinski with it's Town Hall, Artus Court in Gdansk and Wroclaw Town Hall.

Stargard Szczecinski Town Hall is the biggest medieval town hall in Pomerania. It was built around 1250 and it was rebuilt in 14th cent. Today's late-gothic fasade dates from the second half of 16th century. A great fire in 1635 destroyed the Town Hall together with town's archives. It was rebuilt but destroyed again in 1945. The last rebuilt was in 1957 - 61.

The Artus Court is a building in the centre of Gdansk, Poland, which used to be the meeting place of merchants and a centre of social life. Today it is a point of interest of numerous visitors and a branch of the Gdańsk History Museum.

Wroclaw's splendid Gothic Town Hall is the cynosure of the Market Square, and for centuries the most important building in the city. Although construction began in the 13th Century, extensive modifications continued to be made right up to the 16th Century meaning that the hall showcases a mix of architectural styles, principally Gothic and Renaissance. The Town Hall even boasts it's own astronomical clock.
It was under the Town Hall's vaulted ceiling and sculpted pillars that the Wroclaw's political big wigs debated difficult decisions through the ages, and guests of honour were received.
Today the building has lost its political functions and tourists are allowed to ogle at the splendid interiors of rooms such as the Burgher's Hall and the Great Hall, visit the Museum of City Art or sample some finely fermented hops at the famous cellar bar, Piwnica Swidnicka.

Polish religious temples

These polish have been sent by Emerich and they show the cathedrals of Lodz and Gorzów, the Basilica in Wadowice and the Skalka Sanctuary in Krakow.

Łódź is the third-largest city in Poland and this is the Basilica Cathedral St Stanisław Kostka.

Gorzów Wielkopolski is a city in western Poland. The card shows the St. Mary Cathedral, the oldest building in the city. It was founded at the end of the 12th century.

Wadowice is a town in southern Poland, 50 km from Kraków. The city is best known for being the birthplace of Pope John Paul II.

The Virgin Mary’s Offertory Minor Basilica is closely connected with the childhood and youth of Karol Wojtyła. He was baptized here on the 20^th of June 1920 and in May 1929 had his First Holy Communion here.

"The Skalka Sanctuary and St Stanislaw's Church are a Roman Catholic Church and monastery on the banks of the Vistula River in Krakow. The original Romanesque church which stood on this site was the place of one of Poland's crucial historic events - the murder of Stanislav, bishop of Krakow by the king, Boleslav. There are differing reasons why this happened but regardless, the people were not happy and Stanislav was eventually made a saint by Pope Innocent IV in 1253 - he has been called the saint of moral order. He was the first n ative Polish saint and remains patron saint of Poland. His relics are now in Wawel Cathedral.

The current Gothic church which stands on the site dates from the 14th century, with a Baroque update from the mid-18th century. Beginning in the 19th century, the church became a place for burial for well-known artists and writers, including Nobel Prize winning poet Czeslaw Milosz." - in: http://www.krakow-poland.com/Tourist-Attractions/Skalka-Sanctuary,bgh