Austria: Eisenstadt

Last Thursday I got two postcards from Austria.

One of them shows various views of Eisenstadt. Eisenstadt is the capital of the Austrian State of Burgenland. With just around 15000 inhabitants it is the smallest Austrian state capital and the 41st largest city of Austria. Under the Hungarian noble family of Eszterházy it was an important cultural centre. During that time many expelled Jews from Vienna resettled in Eisenstadt, Joseph Haydn lived in the town and also Maria Theresa visited the Schloss Esterházy.

Stamps:
Definitive (from a set of nine) (issued 01-03-2015)
Personalised Stamp "Giant Pandas of Schönbrunn"

Thank You very much Anita!

Austria: Eggenberg Palace

Last Thursday I got two postcards from Austria.

One of them shows Eggenberg Palace in Graz. Eggenberg Palace is the largest and most important Baroque palaces in Styria and one of the most valuable cultural assets in Austria. It is used by the Universalmuseum Joanneum. Since 2010 is Eggenberg Palace on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Stamp:
Austrian Wine Regions - Central Burgenland (issued 16-07-2016)

Thank You very much Anita!

covers from Germany

Last Thursday I got not only two postcards but also two covers from Germany.

Stamp:

Climate Protection by Electromobility (issued 06-10-2016)

with a special postmark about the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn

Stamp:
500 years Reformation (issued 13-04-2017)
with a special postmark showing Lazarus Spengler and Georg Spalatin

Monaco: Fontvieille

Last Wednesday I got three postcards: one from Monaco, one from Germany and one from Andorra.

The card from Monaco shows Fontvieille. Fontvieille is a ward of Monaco. It is the southernmost part of Monaco and also one of the youngest. From the 1970s onwards it was constructed almost entirely on artificially reclaimed land to combat the chronic land shortage in the extremely densely populated principality. 

Stamps:
Mediterranean Flora and Fauna (from set of ten) (issued 01-01-2002)
Fondation Princesse Charlène de Monaco (from set of two) (issued 10-04-2017)

Thank You very much William!

Andorra: Vall d'Ordino

Last Wednesday I got three postcards: one from Andorra, one from Monaco and one from Germany.

The card from Andorra shows various views of the Vall d'Ordino.

Stamp:
EUROPA (issued 21-04-2017)
with a special postmark from Andorra la Vella

Thank You very much William!

Germany: Dormagen

Last Wednesday I got three postcards: one from Germany, one from Andorra and one from Monaco.

The card from Germany shows various views of Dormagen. Dormagen is a town in the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia near Cologne and Düsseldorf.

Stamp:
1000 years Neunburg vorm Wald (issued 01-03-2017)

Thank You very much Marcel!

Turkey: Side

Last Tuesday I got two postcards from Turkey.

They both show the ruins of Side. Side is an ancient Greek city on the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey and one of the best-known classical sites in the country. Today it is a popular tourist destination.

My mum sent these cards to me when she recently visited Turkey.

The first card shows the ruins of the theatre complex. 

Stamp:

Antalya (from set of four) (issued 04-04-2017)

The second card shows the ruins of the Temple of Apollo.

Stamp:
Antalya (from set of four) (issued 04-04-2017)

Morocco: Hassan Tower in Rabat

Last Monday I got my first two postcards from Morocco.

The Kingdom of Morocco is a country in North Africa. In 1956 it became independent from France. Morocco claims the territory of Western Sahara, which was a Spanish protectorate until 1963. The internationally recognized territory of Morocco borders on Algeria and Western Sahara, which also borders on Mauretania. Mohammed VI is the current King of Morocco.

One of the cards shows the Hassan Tower in Rabat. Rabat became the capital of Morocco in 1912 and under French rule the city was rebuilt. Since then the city blends historic and modern features. Today it is the fifth largest city of the country. The Modern Capital and Historic City of Rabat is since 2012 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Stamp:
2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference (from set of two) (issued 07-11-2016)

Thank You very much Edgar!

Morocco: Jemaa el-Fna Square in Marrakesh

Last Monday I got my first two postcards from Morocco.

One of them shows the Jemaa el-Fna Square in Marrakesh. Marrakesh is one of Morocco's four former capitals and one of the largest cities in the country. It is also one of the busiest cities in Africa and serves as a major economic centre and tourist destination. In November 2016 the city hosted the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference. The Jemaa el-Fna Square is one of the main cultural spaces in Marrakesh and has become a symbol of the city. It represents a unique concentration of popular Moroccan cultural traditions. The Medina of Marrakesh with the Jemaa el-Fna Square is since 1985 on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Cultural space of the Jemaa el-Fna Square is since 2008 also an Intangible Heritage of the UNESCO.

Stamp:
2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference (from set of two) (issued 07-11-2016)

Thank You very much Edgar!

Reformation Jubilee 2017

On 31st October 2017 we celebrated an important jubilee in Germany, the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. You can read more about the jubilee and the Reformation on my History Blog.

Luckily I found a set of three cards with Martin Luther's quotes just before the jubilee. On one of them I got a special postmark from Wittenberg.

On 31st October seven special postmarks were available which show the Luther Memorials on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Another special postmark was available in Jena.

Hungary: Gödöllő Palace

Last Saturday I got two postcards: one from Hungary and one from Switzerland.

The card from Hungary shows Gödöllő Palace. Gödöllő Palace was built from 1735 onwards by Antal Grassalkovich I in the Baroque style. In 1866 Empress Elisabeth of Austria visited the palace for the first time, when it was used as sickbay for the wounded of the Austro-Prussian War, and breathed a wish to obtain it, which was declined by her husband. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 the Hungarian State bought the palace and gave it as coronation gift to Franz Joseph and Elisabeth. In the following time it was restored and rebuilt. The palace became a favourite residence of Elisabeth and she spent around 2000 days there. After Elisabeth's death it was rarely used and started to decay, until it was once again restored from 1996 onwards. Today it houses a museum and is a popular tourist destination.

The card was signed during the Postcrossing Meet-up in Gödöllő.
With a matching stamp:
Definitive (from set of six) (issued 04-05-2017)
Tourism (from set of two) (issued 04-03-2011)

Thank You very much Timi!

Switzerland: Lausanne

Last Saturday I got two postcards: one from Switzerland and one from Hungary.

The card from Switzerland shows Lausanne. Lausanne is the capital and biggest city of the canton of Vaud and one of the biggest cities of Switzerland. The city hosts the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland and the International Olympic Committee. In 2020 the Winter Youth Olympics will be held in Lausanne. 

On the backside of the card is a special postmark from the 71st Salon Philatélique d'Automne in Paris.
Stamps:
Mushrooms (from set of four) (issued 06-03-2014)
Love (issued 09-11-2017)
with a special postmark from Lausanne

Thank You very much William!

Germany: Saxony-Anhalt from Papersisters

Last Friday I got two postcards from Germany.

One of them is Papersisters' German Landmark postcard of Saxony-Anhalt. Saxony-Anhalt is a German State in Central Germany bordering on Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia. It was formerly a part of East Germany and was restored as state in 1990. Magdeburg is the state's capital and Halle an der Saale is its biggest city and only other big city.

Among others the card shows the Town and Parish Church of St Mary's in Wittenberg, the Harz mountains, the Castle Hill in Quedlinburg, the Bauhaus in Dessau und the Magdeburg Cathedral.

With matching stamps:
Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm (issued 02-05-2002)
Bauhaus in Dessau - Meisterhäuser (issued 07-04-2004)
1200 years Magdeburg (issued 08-09-2005)
with a special postmark showing the Castle Church in Wittenberg

Germany: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from Papersisters

Last Friday I got two postcards from Germany.

One of them is Papersisters' German Landmark postcard of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a German State in Northeastern Germany bordering on Poland, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. After World War II the historic regions of Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania were merged to create a state, which was dissolved by the East German government in 1952 and restored after the German Reunification. It is the sixth largest state by area and the least densely populated. Many popular tourist destinations are located in this state. Schwerin is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's capital, while Rostock it is only big city.

Among others the card shows the Chalk Cliffs on Rügen, Schwerin Palace and the Town Hall of Stralsund.

With matching stamps:
Saint Catherine's Church and Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund (issued 13-06-2001)
Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (issued 02-11-2017)
with a special postmark from Neustrelitz

covers from Germany

Last Friday I got not only two postcards, but also two covers from Germany.

Stamp:

Fix and Foxi (issued 07-09-2017)

with a matching special postmark from Sindelfingen

Stamp:
500 years Reformation (issued 13-04-2017)
with a special postmark from Worms

Germany: Saint Lambert's Church in Münster

Last Thursday I got a postcard from Germany.

It shows the Prinzipalmarkt in Münster with the Saint Lambert's Church in the background. The Saint Lambert's Church was built from 1375 onwards and is the most important late Gothic sacral building in Westphalia. In 1536 the corpses of the leaders of the Münster Rebellion were exhibited in cages at the church, after they had been tortured and executed in front of it. The iron cages can be still seen today.

Stamp:
Lighthouses (from set of two) (issued 06-06-2013)

Thank You very much Melanie!

Thailand: Maxicards

Last Wednesday I got two maxicards from Thailand which were fixed together by tape.

The first card shows the monument of King Taksin the Great in Chanthaburi. King Taksin the Great liberated Siam from Burmese occupation in 1767. The monument in Chanthaburi was unveiled in 1893.

The stamp was issued on 6th November 2017 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the restoration of Siam's independence.

The second card was printed in remembrance of the cremation of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. King Bhumibol Adulyadej was cremated on 26th October 2017, over one year after his death. The cremation was accompanied by a five-day mourning ceremony.

The stamp is from a set of thirteen and was issued on 25th October 2017.

On the backside of the card are four special postmarks about the cremation and the stamp that was used as postage:
ASEAN (issued 08-08-2015)

Thank You very much Cherry!

New Zealand: Sheep

Last Tuesday I got a postcard from New Zealand.

It shows a sheep on a tractor. In New Zealand there are seven sheep for every person and they are an important part of the country's economy.

With many nice stamps:
Café Culture (from set of five) (issued 04-05-2005)
Christmas (from set of three) (issued 01-10-1980)
Music in New Zealand (from set of four) (issued 05-11-1986)
Sea Resources (from set of five) (issued 07-06-1978)
Health (from set of two) (issued 02-08-1978)
Architecture (from set of four) (issued 07-04-1982)
Sheels (from set of six) (issued 29-11-1978)
Anniversaries (from set of six) (issued 07-02-1980)

Thank You very much Sharon!