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Monday, November 28, 2016

Italy: Church of San Vitale in Ravenna

On Saturday I got two postcards: one from Italy and one from Germany.

The card from Italy shows the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna. The Church of San Vitale was begun in 527 and was finished in 548, after Ravenna was captured by the Byzantine Empire. It is one of the most important examples of early Christian Byzantine architecture in Europe and houses the largest and best preserved Byzantine mosaics outside of Istanbul. It is also the only major church from the period of the Emperor Justinian I to survive until today. As one of the Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna it is since 1996 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.


Stamp:
Italian Mail (from set of two) (issued 01-12-2014)


Thank You very much Alessandro!

Germany: Halberstadt Cathedral

On Saturday I got two postcards: one from Germany and one from Italy.

The card from Germany shows the Halberstadt Cathedral in the German State of Saxony-Anhalt. The Halberstadt Cathedral is one of only a few big churches in Germany inspired by the French Gothic cathedrals. It was built between 1236 and 1491 and is known for its large treasure. During World War II it was badly damaged, but later it was restored. 


Stamp:
Lighthouses (from set of two) (issued 07-07-2016)


Thank You very much Birgit!

Sunday, November 27, 2016

USA: Alamo Mission in San Antonio

On Friday I got two postcards: one from the USA and one from Hong Kong.

The card from the USA shows the Alamo Mission in San Antonio in the US State of Texas. The Alamo Mission was founded by Franciscan missionaries in 1744 and was first used to teach Native Americans the Christian beliefs. During the Battle of the Alamo in 1836 Texian soldiers were killed in the Alamo Mission by Mexican troops. Since 1968 it is used as museum. As one of the San Antonio Missions it is since 2015 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.


Stamps:
Indian Head Penny (issued 11-01-1978)
Neon Celebrate (issued 09-09-2015)
From Me To You (issued 01-04-2015)
Stamp Collecting (issued 17-11-1972)


Thank You very much Matthew!

Hong Kong: Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum

On Friday I got two postcards: one from Hong Kong and one from the USA.

The card from Hong Kong is from the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum. The Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum was opened in 2006 in the Kom Tong Hall. It shows various relics of the revolutionary and statesman Dr Sun Yat-sen and focuses on his early years, which he had spent in Hong Kong.


With a great matching stamp:
150th birthday of Dr Sun Yat-sen (from set of four) (issued 12-11-2016)
It is a joint issue with China and Macau.
with First Day Special Postmark


Thank You very much Kayee!

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Germany: The Art of Otto Dix

On Thursday I got a postcard from Germany.

It shows the painting To Beauty by Otto Dix. Otto Dix was was a German painter and printmaker born in 1891. He was already exposed to art in his early life and entered the Academy of Applied Arts in 1910. He was one of the founders of the Dresden Secession group in 1919 and his works were shown during the German Expressionists exhibition in Darmstadt and the first Dada Fair in Berlin. He was known for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of the society during the Weimar Republic and became one of the most important artists of the New Objectivity, Neue Sachlichkeit. After the Nazis took over power in Germany they regarded Dix as a degenerate artist and some of his paintings were burned as Entartete Kunst. He had to join the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts and was forced to paint only inoffensive landscapes, but occasionally he still painted allegorical paintings that criticized Nazi ideals. After World War II Dix gained recognition in East and West Germany. He died in 1969.

To Beauty is today shown in the Von der Heydt Museum in Wuppertal. The Von der Heydt Museum was opened in 1902. It shows art from the 17th century until today. Under Nazi rule many of its exhibits were destroyed or sold, as they were regarded as Entartete Kunst. 

I bought this card recently in the Wolfsburg Art Museum.


With a matching stamp:
125th birthday of Otto Dix (issued 02-11-2016)
with a special postmark from the Gunzenhauser Museum in Chemnitz


In the Wolfsburg Art Museum I bought also three other cards showing Otto Dix' paintings.

Der Krieg is shown in the New Masters Gallery in Dresden. The New Masters Gallery is one of the most important museums of modern art in Germany. It emerged in 1843 when the Dresden Painting Gallery started to puchase contemporary art and in 1931 it moved to its own building. During World War II a part of its collections was destroyed by bombing. The modern day New Masters Gallery was founded in 1959 and is housed in the Albertinum since 1965.

Otto Dix enthusiastically volunteered for the German Army when World War I began. He was assigned to a field artillery regiment and later fought on the Western Front, including the Battle of the Somme. His regiment was moved to the Eastern Front in November 1917 and to Flanders in February 1918, where he took part in the German Spring Offensive. He was discharged from service in December 1918 after he was wounded in the neck. After the war he had to fight with a recurring nightmare and handled his sights in various paintings. 


Straßenbild is shown in the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. The Kunstmuseum Stuttgart is a museum of modern art. It was opened in 2005 and houses one of the most important collections of Otto Dix' works.


The portrait of Theodor Däubler is shown in the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. The Museum Ludwig was founded in 1976. It houses a big collection of art of the 20th and 21st century including one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe.


Netherlands: Cheat Sheet

On Wednesday I got a postcard from the Netherlands.

It is a cheat sheet.


Stamp:
Personalised stamp "Paris"
with a special postmark about the Salon Philatélique d'Automne


Thank You very much William!

Thursday, November 24, 2016

New Zealand: Church of the Good Shepherd

On Tuesday I got two postcards: one from New Zealand and one from Turkey.

The card from New Zealand shows the Church of the Good Shepherd near Lake Tekapo. The Church of the Good Shepherd was built in 1935. It is interdenominational and a popular tourist destination. Inside is a wide window offering a stunning view on the Lake Tekapo and the surrounding mountains. 


With a matching stamp:
Scenic Definitives (from set of six) (issued 18-05-2016)
Christmas (from set of five) (issued 02-11-2016)


Thank You very much Sharon!

Turkey: Women's Museum Istanbul

On Tuesday I got two postcards: one from Turkey and one from New Zealand.

The card from Turkey is from the Women's Museum Istanbul. The Women's Museum Istanbul is a virtual museum founded in 2012. It focuses on the role women played in the city's history and is the first of its kind in Turkey. Currently it searches for a suitable building.


Stamp:
?


Thank You very much Tuğçe!

Germany: German Clock Museum in Glashütte

On Monday I got three postcards from Germany.

One of them shows the German Clock Museum in Glashütte. Glashütte is a city in the Ore Mountains. In the 19th century Glashütte became the birthplace of the German watchmaking industry, after it underwent a structural economic transformation from silver ore mining to watchmaking. The German Clock Museum was opened in 2008 in the former watchmakers’ school.


Stamp:
Saxon Switzerland (issued 02-06-2016)


Thank You very much Alex!

Germany: Pirna

On Monday I got three postcards from Germany.

One of them shows Pirna. Pirna is a city in the German State of Saxony. It is famous as birth place of Johann Tetzel and for the paintings by Bernardo Canaletto. Between 1940 and 1941 15000 disabled people were killed in Pirna's Sonnenstein Castle. 


Stamp:
Chiemsee (from set of two) (issued 01-07-2015)


Thank You very much Karsten!

Germany: Rothenburg ob der Tauber

On Monday I got three postcards from Germany.

One of them shows the town hall of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the German State of Bavaria. It was a Free Imperial City until 1803 and has a well-preserved medieval old town. It is one of the most important German destinations for national and international tourism. It is part of the Romantic Road, the oldest German theme route.


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


Thank You very much Serena!

Monday, November 21, 2016

Germany: My Trip to Hamburg

On Saturday I was in Hamburg and visited some museums.

The Bergedorf Castle was first mentioned in the 14th century. In 1420 it became the residence of the bailiffs of the bi-urban condominium, as which Bergedorf was ruled by Hamburg and Lübeck until 1868. Since 1953 it houses the Museum of Bergedorf and the Vierlande. 

On Saturday the new special exhibition was opened at the museum, "Ansichtssache". To commemorate the opening a special postmark was available. 




The Hamburg Observatory is an astronomical observatory. It was established in 1825. In 1912 it moved to its present location in Bergedorf because of the increasing light pollution and since 1968 it is operated by the University of Hamburg. Today it is a part of Bergedorf's museum landscape. Some years ago a application for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List was rejected.


The Kunsthalle Hamburg is one of the largest art museums in Germany and shows European art from the Middle Ages to the present day. It was founded in 1850.

I bought postcards showing Caspar David Friedrich's Wanderer above the Sea of Fog and The Sea of Ice, Lucas Cranach the Younger's Caritas and a part of Master Bertram's Grabow Altarpiece.
Onto the card of the Wanderer above the Sea of Fog I put a matching stamp (issued 03-01-2011) and got it also cancelled in Bergedorf.





The Hamburg Museum of Work is housed in the buildings of the former New-York Hamburger Gummi-Waaren Compagnie. It was opened in 1997 and focuses on the changes in work and living during the last 150 years.



Thailand: King Bhumibol

On Saturday I got two postcards: one from Thailand and one from Brazil.

The card from Thailand shows the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Bhumibol Adulyadej was the King of Thailand between 1946 and his death in October 2016. After his death the most Thais are deeply mourning the loss of their beloved King.
You can read more about Bhumibol's life on my History Blog.


Stamp:
Royal Decoration (from set of two) (issued 05-12-1998)


Thank You very much Jobbo!

Brazil: Serra do Mar

On Saturday I got two postcards: one from Brazil and one from Thailand.

The card from Brazil shows the Serra do Mar. The Serra do Mar is a system of mountain ranges. Today most of the lush tropical rain forest that once covered the mountain range has been destroyed. To protect the forest that remained various state parks, national parks and nature reserves were established. Since 1999 are the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves in the Serra do Mar also on the UNESCO World Heritage List.


Stamps:
Pop Corn Man (issued 25-05-2011)
Musical Instruments (from set of ten) (issued 01-07-2002)
Professions (from set of three) (issued 30-12-2005)
Missing Paintings by Candido Portinari (from set of five) (issued 26-05-2004)


Thank You very much Paulo!

Germany: Murnauer Moos Bog

On Friday I got two postcards from Germany.

One of them shows the Murnauer Moos Bog. The Murnauer Moos Bog is the largest coherent moorland in Central Europe and a refuge for many threatened animal and plant species. It seeks for the inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.


Stamp:
Chiemsee (from set of two) (issued 01-07-2015)


Thank You very much Uschi!

Germany: Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses

On Friday I got two postcards from Germany.

One of them shows Martin Luther posting his Ninety-five Theses in Wittenberg. On 31st October 1517 this event became the beginning of the Lutheran Reformation, which influenced the European history for a long time. On my History Blog I will post every month a new entry about the Reformation until the big jubilee next year (See the first post here). So stay tuned!
I bought this card earlier this year in Hamburg.


With a related stamp:
500th birthday of Lucas Cranach the Younger (issued 01-10-2015)
with a special postmark about the beginning of the Reformation Jubilee Year


cover from Monaco

On Friday I got not only two postcards but also a cover from Monaco.

With great stamps:
WWF - Ornate Wrasse (whole set) (issued 15-09-2016)
UEFA European Championship 2016 (issued 01-06-2016)


On the backside is a special postmark from the 70th Salon Philatélique d'Automne held in Paris.


Thank You very much William!