Turkey: Galata Tower

On Friday I got a postcard from Turkey.

It shows the Galata Tower in Istanbul. The Galata Tower was built in 1348 by the Genoese. According to the legend an Ottoman engineer flew from the top of the tower across the Bosporus with artificial wings in the 17th century. Today the tower houses a restaurant and offers a magnificent view of Istanbul.

The card was signed during the Postcrossing Meet-up in Istanbul.
Stamp:
EUROPA (from set of two) (issued 09-05-2017)

Thank You very much Taylan!

cover from Italy

On Friday I got not only a postcard but also a cover from Italy.

Stamps:

Women in Art (from set of seven) (issued 02-01-2002)

Teatro del Popolo in Castelfiorentino (issued 19-05-2017)

with a special postmark about the Festival Panafricano in Turin

Inside were three ad cards about the EXPO 2015.

Thank You very much Renato!

Germany: Sprengel Museum in Hanover

On Thursday I visited the Sprengel Museum in Hanover. 

The Sprengel Museum is named after Bernhard Sprengel, a German chocolate manufacturer, who donated his collection of modern art to the city of Hanover in 1969. The museum opened in 1979. Beside the collection of Sprengel it also houses the collection of modern art of Lower Saxony and Hanover and today it shows one of the most important modern art collections in Germany, which includes artworks by artists like Wassily Kandinsky, Pablo Picasso or Marc Chagall. 

The museum is home to the largest collection of artworks by Kurt Schwitters, one of the most important German artists of the 1920s. The collection includes a reconstruction of Schwitters' Merzbau. Since 1994 the museum also houses the Kurt Schwitters Archive, which records the life of work of Kurt Schwitters.

Burkina Faso: Ouagadougou

Yesterday I got two postcards: my first card from Burkina Faso and one from Germany.

Burkina Faso is a country in West Africa bordering on Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana and the Ivory Coast. It became independent from France in 1960. Although Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the World, it is known for its stable political system and the peaceful living together of different ethnic groups. 

The card shows a picture of Ouagadougou from the book "Les paradoxes de l'eau". Ouagadougou is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso. It is also the country's economic and cultural centre. Every two years it is the venue of the Panafrican Film and Television Festival, which is Africa's largest festival of this type.

With nice stamps:
Everyday Life in Ouagadougou (from set of two) (issued 16-10-2012)
Traditional Dishes (from set of three) (issued 25-06-2009)
Domestic Animals (from set of three) (issued 2010)
Hunting Resorts (from set of five) (issued 06-06-2008)

Thank You very much Mike!

Germany: Wartburg Castle

Yesterday I got two postcards: one from Germany and my first card from Burkina Faso.

The card from Germany shows the Wartburg Castle. The Wartburg Castle is located above the town of Eisenach in the German State of Thuringia. Described as the ideal castle and connected with various important events in German history, it was the place where Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German. Since 1999 it is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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

With a matching stamp:
EUROPA (issued 11-05-2017)
with a matching special postmark

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

Yesterday I also got a cover with the Wartburg stamp and a special postmark from Eisenach showing Martin Luther.

Recently I was also able to buy a maxicard of the Wartburg stamp.

My Trip to Celle

Yesterday I was in Celle and there I bought some cards for my collection. The Chronicle card of Celle I sent to myself during my stay.

Celle was founded in 1292. Between 1378 and 1705 the town was the residence of the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The town survived World War II without destruction and thus has a well-preserved historic centre with many timber-framed houses. Today Celle is a part of the German State of Lower Saxony. 

Stamp:

500th birthday of Lucas Cranach the Younger (issued 01-10-2015)

The Bomann Museum was founded in 1892 and today it is the third largest museum in Lower Saxony. Its collection focus on Lower Saxon folklife studies and the history of Celle. It also houses the Tansey Collection, an important collection of portrait miniatures.

At the moment the Bomann Museum shows a special exhibition about the Lutheran Reformation in cooperation with the Celle Castle and the Town Church. The exhibition can be seen until the 12th November 2017.

Celle Castle was the residence of the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Celle. It is an Renaissance style building with Baroque state rooms. The castle chapel is one of the most important Renaissance style structures in Northern Germany and the only church in Germany which was nearly not altered since the early-Reformation period. Today the castle houses a museum.

The Town Church was the religious centre of Celle during the Reformation. It houses the epitaphs of the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

The Synagogue of Celle was built in 1740. During the pogroms of 1938 the interior was destroyed, but to put the surrounding buildings not at a risk the synagogue building survived. It is thus the oldest preserved synagogue in Lower Saxony. Since 1996 it houses a museum about the Jewish life in Celle and since 1997 it is again used as synagogue by the Jewish Community of Celle.

My Trip to Clausthal-Zellerfeld

On Sunday was World Heritage Day and I visited the monuments of the Upper Harz Water Management System in Clausthal-Zellerfeld.

Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in the Harz Mountains in the German State of Lower Saxony. The town was founded in 1924 when the two mining towns of Clausthal and Zellerfeld were merged. It is especially known for the Clausthal University of Technology. In 1843 Robert Koch was born in Clausthal.

The Upper Harz Mining Museum was opened in 1892. It is one of the oldest technological museums in Germany and shows various exhibits about the mining in the Upper Harz. In 2017 the museum celebrates the 125th anniversary of its opening.

For the World Heritage Day a special post office with a special postmark was erected at the museum. The special postmark shows the Emperor Wilhelm Shaft, which also celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2017.

The Ottiliae Shaft was in use between 1868 and 1930. It has the oldest still-existing headframe in Germany, which was built in 1876. Today it is a satellite branch of the Upper Harz Mining Museum. As part of the Upper Harz Water Management System it is since 2010 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Estonia: Tallinn

On Saturday I got three postcards: one from Estonia, one from New Zealand and one from Vietnam.

The card from Estonia shows the Old Town of Tallinn. Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It is located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe. Between the 14th and the 16th century it was a major trade hub, when it was a member of the Hanseatic League. In recent years Tallinn has developed into one of the most digital cities in the World. It is the home to the NATO Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence and the birthplace of many international companies including Skype. Since 1997 is the Old Town of Tallinn on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In 2011 it was the European Capital of Culture.

The card was signed during the Postcrossing Meet-up in Tallinn.
Stamps:
Definitive (from set of three) (issued 10-01-2013)
500 years Reformation (issued 27-05-2017)
Definitive (from set of three) (issued 18-01-2017)

Thank You very much Jaan!

Vietnam: Chau Doc

On Saturday I got three postcards: one from Vietnam, one from Estonia and one from New Zealand.

The card from Vietnam shows a fisher at the Lu Field in Chau Doc. Chau Doc is a city in southern Vietnam in the Mekong Delta Region. The city is known for its basa catfish and fishsauces. 

With a nice stamp:
Architecture (from set of six) (issued 2014)
40 years Diplomatic Relations with Thailand (from set of two) (issued 05-08-2016)
It is a joint issue with Thailand.

Thank You very much Matthew!