ADGB Trade Union School in Bernau, Germany

The ADGB Trade Union School is a training centre complex in Bernau bei Berlin. It was built for the former General German Trade Union Federation from 1928 to 1930. It is a textbook example of Bauhaus functionalist architecture and was the second-largest project ever undertaken by the Bauhaus. The main architect was Hannes Meyer, the second director of the Bauhaus. In 2017 the ADGB Trade Union School was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the Bauhaus Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau.

Thank You very much Marcel!

Some Old Postcards

On 24th May I got some old postcards which I had ordered online.

The first card shows a view of Bad Freienwalde in the Oderbruch. The Oderbruch is a landscape located at the Oder river in eastern Germany on the Polish border. The Prussian king Frederick the Great initiated the drainage of the Oderbruch in order to bring this large tract of marshland under cultivation. The Oderbruch got the European Heritage Label this year. 

On the second card the Bavarian State Library in Munich is shown. The Bavarian State Library is one of Europa's most important universal libraries and ranks among the best research libraries in the World. Moreover its historical stock encompasses one of the most important manuscript collections of the World, the largest collection of incunabula Worldwide, as well as numerous further important special collections. Since 1663 already two copies of every book printed in Bavaria have to be sent to the library.

The next card shows the Burschenschaftsdenkmal in Eisenach. The Burschenschaftsdenkmal is a national monument built between 1897 and 1902. It was erected to honour the students who died during the Franco-Prussian War and also the influence of the student leagues on the German Unification of 1871.

Blankenburg Castle is shown on another card. It dates back to the 12th century and in the 18th century it got its current Baroque shape. The Welf court of Blankenburg was famous for its brilliant festivals and theatrical performances.

Last but not least I also bought these two cards of the Soviet War Memorial in Berlin's Treptower Park. This Soviet War Memorial honours those soldiers who died during the battle of Berlin and was the central war memorial of East Germany. It is part of a triptych which also includes The Motherland Calls in Volgograd. I had visited this memorial some years ago, but was not able to get a postcard back then. 

cover from Germany

On 28th January I got not only a postcard but also a cover from Germany.

The stamp celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Smart Card (issued 05-09-2019). It was cancelled with a Covid-19 postmark. I have not gotten one of these for a while, but as you can see seven months later they are still in use. Unfortunately the number of the mail sorting centre is unreadable.

In the cover were four postcard, of which I used one for a special postmark.

The first card of the others shows the Archaeological Open-Air Museum in Oerlinghausen. This museum in North Rhine-Westphalia was opened in 1936 and shows reconstructed houses from the Stone Age to the Early Middle Ages. 

The second card shows various views of the small municipality Lanz in Brandenburg. Although Lanz has just a bit more than 700 inhabitants, it is known as birthplace of Turnvater Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, a German gymnastics educator and nationalist whose writing is credited with the founding of the German gymnastics movement. On the card you can see among others a portrait of Jahn, the Jahn Museum (upper row middle) and his Birth House (upper row right).

The last card shows some impressions of Borkum, the largest East Frisian Island.

Thank You very much Marcel!

Germany: Brandenburg Gate in Potsdam

On Wednesday I got four postcards: two from Germany and two from the United Kingdom.

One of the cards from Germany shows the Brandenburg Gate in Potsdam. The Brandenburg Gate was built between 1770 and 1771 as symbol for Prussia's victory in the Seven Years' War. Originally it was a part of Potsdam's city wall, but since they were destroyed around 1900 it is a free-standing structure. 

Stamp:
Emoji (issued 04-04-2019)

Thank You very much Edith!

Germany: New Palace in Potsdam

On Tuesday I got four postcards: three from Germany and one from Sri Lanka.

One of the cards from Germany shows the New Palace in Potsdam. The New Palace was built after the end of the Seven Years' War between 1763 and 1769 at the behest of Frederick the Great. It was actually not intended to be used as royal residence, however Emperor Wilhelm II used it as summer residence between 1888 and 1918. It is considered to be the last great Prussian baroque palace. As one of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin is the New Palace since 1990 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Stamp:
Gruffalo (issued 01-03-2019)

Thank You very much Serena!

Germany: Saint Nicholas' Church in Potsdam

On Friday I got five postcards: two from Germany, one from the Philippines, one from Indonesia and one from Japan.

One of the cards from Germany shows the Saint Nicholas' Church in Potsdam. The Saint Nicholas' Church is a Lutheran church. It was built between 1830 and 1837 in the Classicist style by Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

Stamp:
Birth Centenary of Hannelore "Loki" Schmidt (issued 01-03-2019)

Thank You very much Edith!

Germany: Filmmuseum Potsdam

On Tuesday I got three postcards from Germany.

One of them shows the Filmmuseum Potsdam. The Filmmuseum Potsdam was founded in 1981 and is thus the oldest film museum in Germany. Its exhibition centres around the Babelsberg Studio, the oldest large-scale film studio in the World.

Stamp:
Emoji (issued 04-04-2019)

Thank You very much Svenja!

Germany: Museum Barberini

Last Friday I got a postcard from Germany.

It shows the Museum Barberini in Potsdam. The Museum Barberini is an art museum that opened in 2017. Back then it was said to be one of the most important new museums of the year. Its collection is centred on the private collection of its founder and patron Hasso Plattner, but for its special exhibitions it also shows loans from many important art museums around the World. The museum is housed in the Barberini Palace, which was rebuilt between 2013 and 2016 after it was destroyed in World War II. 

Stamp:
100th birthday of Heinz Sielmann (issued 08-06-2017)

Thank You very much Edith!

Germany: Village Church of Ribbeck

On Tuesday I got three postcards: one from Germany, one from Japan and one from Macedonia.

The card from Germany shows the Village Church of Ribbeck. Ribbeck is a district of the city Nauen in the German State of Brandenburg. It is especially famous for Theodor Fontane's poem Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland, which tells the story of a generous noble man who always gives pears from his garden to the local children. When the man dies, he wishes to get a pear in his grave, which turns into a new pear tree that provides pears for the children also after his mean son closed the garden for the children. Once a pear tree really grew from the grave of the von Ribbeck family, but it was destroyed by a storm in 1911. Its stub is today kept at the Village Church and a new pear tree was planted in 2000.

On the backside is a seal of a pear tree.
Stamp:
Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz (from set of two) (issued 12-07-2018)

Thank You very much Svea!

Germany: Brandenburg from Papersisters

On Monday I got a postcard from Germany.

It is Papersisters' German Landmark postcard of Brandenburg. Brandenburg is one of the States of the Federal Republic of Germany bordering on Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Poland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony. It also completely surrounds Berlin. The state was founded in 1990 and was earlier a part of the German Democratic Republic. Potsdam is the state's capital and only big city.

Among others the card shows the Einstein Tower, Rheinsberg Palace and the Brandenburg Gate in Potsdam.

With a matching stamp:
Sanssouci Palace (issued 01-03-2016)
with a special postmark showing the mail delivery by boat in the Spreewald

cover from Germany

Today I got not only a postcard but also a cover from Germany.

Stamp:

250 years Freiberg University of Mining and Technology (issued 03-12-2015)

Inside was a postcard.

It shows Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau. You can read more about the Prince on my History Blog.

Thank You very much Babett!

Germany: Branitz Park

Yesterday I got a cover from Germany.

Stamp:

250 years Freiberg University of Mining and Technology (issued 03-12-2015)

Inside was a postcard.

It shows the Branitz Park. The Branitz Park is a landscape garden in Cottbus in the German State of Brandenburg. It was created from 1845 onwards by Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau and there he spent the last years of his life. In the park there are two special pyramids which are unique in the World. Some years ago attempts failed, which planned an addition of the Branitz Park to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Thank You very much Babett!

Germany: Theodor Fontane Memorial in Neuruppin

On Monday I got four postcards from Germany.

One of them shows the Theodor Fontane Memorial in Neuruppin. Neuruppin is a town in the German State of Brandenburg. After a devastating fire in 1787 the town was rebuilt in the Neoclassical style. It is known as the most Prussian of all Prussian towns. In 1819 the famous German novelist Theodor Fontane was born in Neuruppin and in 1907 the Theodor Fontane Memorial was unveiled.

Unfortunately the stamp got lost.

Thank You very much Jule!

Germany: Jüterbog

On Thursday I got four postcards: one from Germany, one from Italy, one from Belgium and one ffrom Hong Kong.

The card from Germany shows various views of Jüterbog. Jüterbog is a small town in the German State of Brandenburg. It is one of the oldest towns in Brandenburg and was for a long time an exclave of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. After Johann Tetzel moved to the town in 1517, it became a centre of the sale of indulgences and an attracting point for many people from the Electorate of Saxony, as the sale was prohibited there. Tetzel's activities in Jüterbog are considered to have been a direct reason for the Posting of Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses. 

Stamp:
Variable Value stamp (from set of two) (issued 24-10-2008)

Thank You very much Undine!

Germany: Eisenhüttenstadt

Yesterday I got four postcards: two from Germany, my first card from Algeria and one from Singapore.

One of the cards from Germany shows various views of Eisenhüttenstadt. Eisenhüttenstadt is a town in the German State of Brandenburg. It was founded in 1950 as model city by the Socialist government of East Germany. Between 1953 and 1961 it was known as Stalinstadt, but in the course of the De-Stalinization the name was changed. In 1986 became Eisenhüttenstadt the first East German city with a twin city in West Germany. 

Stamp:
Chocolate Cosmos (issued 03-12-2015)

Thank You very much Sabine and Thomas!

Germany: Sanssouci Palace and New Palace

On Monday I got eleven postcards including three from Germany.

One of the cards from Germany shows the Sanssouci Palace (upper row) and the New Palace (lower row) in Potsdam. The New Palace was built between 1763 and 1769 after the end of the Seven Years' War at the behest of Frederick the Great. It was actually not intended to be used as royal residence, however Emperor Wilhelm II used it as summer residence between 1888 and 1918. It is considered to be the last great Prussian baroque palace. Since 1990 are the Sanssouci Palace and the New Palace on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

I got this card a few weeks ago in a cover.

With a matching stamp and another related stamp:
Sanssouci Palace (issued 01-03-2016)
300th birthday of Frederick the Great (issued 02-01-2012)
with a special postmark showing also the Sanssouci Palace

Thank You very much Elisabeth for sending me the card in an envelope!

Germany: Himmelpfort

Yesterday I got five postcards: three from Germany, one from Japan and one from Indonesia.

One of the cards from Germany is a Christmas card sent from Himmelpfort. Himmelpfort is a town in the German State of Brandenburg. It is known for its Christmas post office.

I bought this card in my hometown and used it to get a special postmark.

Stamp:
Presenting Joy (issued 02-11-2015)
with the special postmark of Himmelpfort's Christmas post office

Germany: Schwedt

On Saturday I got two postcards: one from Germany and one from the Åland Islands.

The card from Germany shows various views of Schwedt. Schwedt is a town in the German State of Brandenburg nearby the River Oder and the Polish border. It is located within the Lower Oder Valley National Park and was awarded the title National Park City. It is an important location of the oil processing and paper industry.

I got this card a few weeks ago in a cover.

Stamp:
Lily of the Valley (issued 06-05-2010)
with a special postmark about Schwedt's 750th anniversary of first mentioning

Thank You very much Julia for sending me the card in an envelope!

Germany: Sanssouci Palace

On Thursday I got six postcards: three from Germany, one from the Philippines, one from Malaysia and one from France.

One of the cards from Germany shows the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam. The Sanssouci Palace was built between 1745 and 1747. It was built as summer residence of Frederick the Great using his own outline. It was built in the style of the Rococo. The Sanssouci Palace is as one of the Palaces of Potsdam since 1990 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The card was sent from the Postcrossing Meet-up in Potsdam.
Stamp:
Dresden (from set of two) (issued 03-04-2014)

Thank You very much Thomas!

Germany: Tour Brandenburg

On Monday I got five postcards: three from Germany, one from Italy and one from France.

One of the cards from Germany shows a map of a section of the Tour Brandenburg. The Tour Brandenburg is a bike trail in the German State of Brandenburg. It was opened in 2007 and is Germany's longest bike trail. 

My grandparents sent the card to me after their recent trip to the Federal Horticulture Show in Brandenburg.

Stamp:
Lily of the Valley (issued 06-05-2010)