FI-3497604

Besides the card I've sent to myself, I've sent 4 others, including an official that is still traveling to Belarus. 

FI-3497604, sent by Jenny.

Enontekiö is a municipality in the Finnish part of Lapland. Its brick and concrete church was built in 1951/52  by the architect, Veikko Larkas.

The slender church tower is 30 m high and is connected to the nave by a porch.

Suomenlinna - Finland

From Stockholm I went to Finland and went on a boat similar to the one on the 1st postcards, a Viking Line ferry. However I didn't go to Helsinki, I went to Turku. The trip lasted all night, we left Stockholm at 20 p.m. and arrived in Turku around 7 o'clock in the morning.

After the visit to Turku, my friend Anne and I went on to Helsinki, where we met Heidi and Anna-Maria. It was a great day visiting some of the city's attractions, buying and signing postcards. The first of these was sent by me also signed by them.

One of the city's attractions is the Suomenlinna Fortress and being a UNESCO site, of course it had to be on my must visit list. 

Photographed and published by Janne Harala Tmi

Built in the second half of the 18th century by Sweden, (...) this fortress is an especially interesting example of European military architecture of the time.

Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) is a sea fortress, which was built gradually from 1748 onwards on a group of islands belonging to the district of Helsinki. The work was supervised by the Swedish Admiral Augustin Eherensvärd (1710-1772), who adapted Vauban’s theories to the very special geographical features of the region.

The landscape and the architecture of the fortress have been shaped by several historic events. It has served to defend three different sovereign states over the years: the Kingdom of Sweden, the Russian Empire and most recently the Republic of Finland.

FI-734641, sent by Terhi.

Covering an area of 210 ha and consisting of 200 buildings and 6 km of defensive walls, the fortress stretches over six separate islands. The original fortress was built using local rock and fortified with a system of bastions over varied terrain. The purpose of the fortress was originally to defend the Kingdom of Sweden against the Russian Empire and to serve as a fortified army base, complete with a dry dock. Sandbanks, barracks and various other buildings were added during the 19th-century Russian period. The defensive system was adapted to match the requirements of a modern fortress and developed in the 19th century using contemporary fortification equipment.

After Finland gained independence in 1917, the fortress was renamed Suomenlinna (or Fortress of Finland) and served as a garrison and a harbour. The military role of the fortress declined after World War II, and in 1973 the area was converted for civilian purposes. Since then, buildings have been renovated to serve as apartments as well as workspaces, to house private and public services, and for cultural purposes. - in: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/583

Stockholm - Sweden

I've never had any particular interest or curiosity in visiting Sweden but its capital became part of my plans of my most recent trip. 

Postcards and stamps are expensive. As for the stamps, there's nothing we can do about that, pay the price and that's it. As for the cards, we checked a few stores and found one with beautiful and cheap postcards. It was postcard madness!! This was the postcard I chose to send to myself. Apart from this I only sent 2 others and all with a special postmark from the Post Museum.

© CINDOR

Skeppsbron is both a street and a quay in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, stretching from the bridge Strömbron in front of the Royal Palace southward to Slussen. - in: wikipedia

I wish my pictures could look like this. 

Holašovice Historical Village - Czech Republic

Holašovice is another town that I'd to visit in Czech Republic. Well, I've been thinking about my next holidays in October and Czech Republic would definitely be a great option!!
These cards were sent by Emerich and Lucka.

The Holašovice Historical Village is situated in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, 17 km west of České Budějovice and 24 km north of Český Krumlov.

The village was deserted after the Second World War, allowing its medieval plan and vernacular buildings in the South Bohemian Folk or Rural Baroque style to remain intact. It was restored and repopulated from 1990, and it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. - in: wikipedia

The village includes twenty-three farmsteads which are placed around a rectangular village green, with the chapel of St. John of Nepomuk, a cross, a forge and a small fish-pond.

Holašovice is an exceptionally complete and well preserved example of a traditional central European village, containing a number of high-quality vernacular buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Almost all the farms are built according to the same pattern; usually, they are U-shaped with a farmyard in the middle. The gables facing the village green and their stucco decoration are in a style known as South Bohemian “Folk Baroque”. Almost always, they feature the year of foundation of the house as well as some decorative elements; all of it is painted in a variety of colours. In fact, on the facades, Holašovice master-builders replicated decorations inspired by manorial buildings of Bohemia and Austria. In addition to large farmsteads, the Holašovice Historic Village includes several farming houses which are much smaller. - in: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/861

Gardens and Castle at Kroměříž - Czech Republic

Czech Republic is home to 12 UNESCO site and in 2014 I visited 7 of them. Kroměříž wasn't one of them but it's on my list the next time I visit the country. 

Last week I've got an official card from there that I'm posting here today with a multivew Milan sent me a few years ago. 

The ensemble formed by the archiepiscopal castle, an adjacent garden (Podzámecká zahrada) and a pleasure garden (Květná zahrada) situated nearby, is located in the historic centre of the town of Kroměříž, in the Zlín region of the Czech Republic.

Kroměříž stands on the site of an earlier ford across the River Morava, at the foot of the Chriby mountain range which dominates the central part of Moravia. The gardens and castle of Kroměříž are an exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a European Baroque princely residence and its gardens. - in: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/860

CZ-1568876, sent by Emil.

The Archbishop’s Chateau in Kroměříž belongs to the key cultural heritage sites in Moravia. It has been the property of the bishops and archbishops of Olomouc, who used it as their representative residence. In the middle of the 13th century, Bishop Bruno von Schauenburg (1245–1281) (...) built a gothic castle in the place of the current chateau (...). During the episcopacy of Stanislaus Thurzo (1496–1554) the castle had been rebuilt to a renaissance chateau.

The Thirty Years’ War greatly damaged the town and the chateau. In 1643 the Swedish troops lead by general Torstenson seized and plundered the town. The reconstruction started during the rule of Bishop Karl von Liechtenstein-Castelcorno (1665–1694) following the projects of imperial court architects F. Luchese and G. P. Tencalla. At the time the chateau gained more or less its current look. The chateau suffered severe damage in the 1752 fire during which dozens of houses burned down and the second floor of the chateau was destroyed. 

Major reconstructions in the 20th century concentrated on the tower, which was set on fire by the retreating German armies in the last few days of World War II. 

In 1998 the complex of the chateau and the gardens was entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. - in: https://www.zamek-kromeriz.cz/en/about-the-castle-and-the-gardens/archbishop-castle

Reichstag - Germany

The Reichstag building was completed in 1894 following German national unity and the establishment of the German Reich in 1871. 

© KARTENEDITION PAWLOWSKI SOUVENIRS & POSTKARTEN BERLIN

AT-298953, sent by Leni

The Reichstag suffered damage and destruction over the course of the 20th century. On 27 February 1933 under mysterious circumstances that still have yet to be explained, the Reichstag caught on fire, destroying the chamber and the dome. The building, having never been fully repaired since the fire, was further damaged by air raids. During the Battle of Berlin in 1945, it became one of the central targets for the Red Army to capture due to its perceived symbolic significance.

After being destroyed in the war, it was rebuilt between 1961 and 1971 in a simplified form without the dome, which was blown up in 1945, according to plans by Paul Baumgarten. After German reunification, the German Bundestag decided to use the building as a seat of Parliament again.

Foto: DBT/Axel Hartmann 

DE-8244588, sent by Andreas. 

Between 1994 and 1999, the Reichstag was redesigned and expanded by the British architect Sir Norman Foster as a modern Parliament building while retaining its extensive, historical dimensions. The accessible glass dome, which initially generated a lot of controversy, has since become one of the landmarks of Berlin. Since 1999, the German Bundestag has been convening in the Reichstag building. - in: http://www.visitberlin.de/en/spot/reichstag

Viseu's Cathedral - Portugal

This week I was surprised with a portuguese official card sent by Daniela, someone I know from the postcrossing forum. I'm posting it here with another card of Viseu's cathedral that Beatriz sent me a couple of years ago. 

PT-629513, sent by Daniela.

With large towers that give it the look of a fortified church set on a promontory, the magnificence of this cathedral is a focal point of the city, even from a distance. It is also one of its oldest buildings. It was built on the spot where a primitive temple of the Suevo-Visigothic era once stood, whose structure was recently revealed by archaeological excavations. It began to take shape in the 12th century, under the first king of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques, and underwent a profound renovation in the 13th century, during the reign of D. Dinis. Work spanned many years and the whole building comprises elements from different eras. 

Forways LDA

The current Mannerist facade was erected in the middle of the 17th century. To replace a Renaissance facade that collapsed in 1635 and destroyed the Manueline portal, meanwhile constructed. An interesting detail is that it has six niches with stone sculptures. At the top there is Santa Maria da Assunção, the patroness of the Cathedral. Below, also in the middle, the image of St. Teotonio, a man of many virtues who was Prior of the Cathedral between 1112 and 1119 and is the patron of the city of Viseu. In the side niches are the four evangelists with the respective symbols: St. Mark, St. Luke, St. John and St. Matthew. - in: https://www.visitportugal.com/en/node/137319