Royal Wedding FDC

On Friday I got two covers including one from the United Kingdom.

With nice stamps:

Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (whole set) (issued 19-05-2018)

with First Day Special postmark

cover from Vietnam

On Friday I got two covers including one from Vietnam.

With nice stamps:

Year of the Dog (from set of two) (issued 01-12-2017)

200th birthday of Karl Marx (issued 05-05-2018)

with First Day Special Postmark

Inside were many nice Vietnamese stamps.

Thank You very much Phan!

Japan: Suntory Hall

On Thursday I got two postcards: one from Japan and one from France.

The card from Japan shows the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. The Suntory Hall is a concert hall opened in 1986. It is one of the most renowned concert halls in the World.

With a nice stamp:
Russian Year in Japan (from set of two) (issued 20-05-2018)
It is a joint issue with Russia.
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Keiko!

France: Rouen

On Thursday I got two postcards: one from France and one from Japan.

The card from France shows various views of Rouen. Rouen is the capital of the region of Normandy. It is located on the river Seine and was one of the largest and most prosperous European cities in the Middle Ages.

Stamp:
European Capitals - Tallinn (from set of four) (issued 23-04-2018)
with a special postmark from the philatelic shop in Rouen

Thank You very much William!

Singapore: Clarke Quay

On Wednesday I got a postcard from Singapore.

It shows the Clarke Quay. The Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay in Singapore. It was named after Sir Andrew Clarke, Singapore's second Governor who played a key role in positioning Singapore as the main port for the Malay states of Perak, Selangor and Sungei Ujong. Today five blocks of restored warehouses on the quay contain various restaurants and nightclubs.

Stamps:
National Monuments (from set of eight) (issued 09-08-2004)
Myths and Legends (from set of eight) (issued 25-05-2016)

Thank You very much Jobbo!

German Karl Marx Stamp, Postcards and Special Postmarks

Karl Marx was a German philisopher, economist and social critic. With his writings The Communist Manifesto and Capital: Critique of Political Economy he became one of the masterminds of the Communism and thus had a huge influence on the history of the 20th century. He died on 1883 in London. Although his ideas were often critised, he is considered to have been one of the most important figures in the human history.

To commemorate Karl Marx' 200th birthday in 2018 the German Post issued a special stamp on 3rd May. Other special stamps were issued in China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Vietnam.

The house in Trier in which Karl Marx was born on 5th May 1818 is now used as museum. For his 200th birthday a big special exhibition is shown in four museums in Trier including the Karl Marx House and also for his 200th birthday the Peoples' Republic of China donated a huge monument to Trier, which was even shown on one of the Chinese stamps.

Apart from the two special postmarks shown above three more postmarks were available in Germany: one in Bonn where Marx studied, one in Jena where he was conferred a doctorate and one in Neuhardenberg which was known as Marxwalde in the German Democratic Republic.

Thank You very much Hanko for helping me with the Karl Marx cards!

cover from China

Last Saturday I got a cover from China.

With great stamps:

200th birthday of Karl Marx (issued 05-05-2018)

with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Dong!

covers from Germany

Last Saturday I got two covers from Germany.

Stamp:

Chocolate Cosmos (issued 03-12-2015)

with a special postmark from a special Railway Mailing

Stamp:
Chocolate Cosmos (issued 03-12-2015)
with a special postmark about the 150th anniversary of Wilhelm Busch's Franz auf dem Esel

Portugal: Lisbon with Special Postcrossing Postmark

On Friday I got a great postcards from Portugal.

It shows an aerial view of Lisbon. Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also one of the oldest cities in the World and continental Europe's westernmost capital city. Last week Lisbon hosted the Eurovision Song Contest.

The card was signed during the Postcrossing Meet-up in Lisbon.
Stamp:
Centenary of the Battle of the Lys (issued 09-04-2018)
with a special Postcrossing postmark
The Battle of the Lys, which is known as Vierte Flandernschlacht (Fourth Battle of Flanders) in German, was a part of the 1918 German offensive in Flanders. It was fought between the 7th and 29th April. In the battle the German Empire tried to capture Ypres, but that failed and the battle ended with an Entente victory. 

Thank You very much Paula!

German Maxicards

When I was in Münster last week, also the Team "Erlebnis: Briefmarken" of the German Post was there to offer the special postmark to the visitors of the German Catholics Day and to sell other philatelic products. I actually hoped to buy the maxicards of Germany's latest stamps, but unfortunately they were already sold out when I was there. Luckily the postal clerk offered me to send me them from their warehouse. On Wednesday they arrived in my postbox.

The first maxicard shows the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. The Gewandhaus is a concert hall and is especially known as home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. As one of Leipzig's Musical Heritage Sites it got the European Heritage Label in 2017.

The second maxicard shows the Rheinkniebrücke and the Oberkasseler Brücke in Düsseldorf. These are two of the three bridges in the Düsseldorf Bridge Family, which had a major influence on the development of the cable-stayed bridges around the World.

The third maxicard shows Karl Marx.

Japan: Attendant Reff of Okinoshima

On Tuesday I got two postcards: one from Japan and one from Germany.

The card from Japan shows one of Okinoshima's attendant reefs. The Sacred Island of Okinoshima and its Associated Sites in the Munakata Region are since 2017 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

With a nice stamp:
Japanese Tradition and Culture (from set of twenty) (issued 09-05-2018)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Keiko!

Germany: Museums in Bonn

On Tuesday I got two postcards: one from Germany and one from Japan.

The card from Germany shows various museums in Bonn.

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

Thank You very much Yvonne!

cover from Russia

On Tuesday I got not only two postcards but also a cover from Russia.

Stamps:

Russian Kremlins (two from set of twelve) (issued 01-10-2009)

200th birthday of Karl Marx (issued 04-05-2018)

with First Day Special Postmark

Inside were a mint copy of the Karl Marx stamp and a Karl Marx postal card.

Thank You very much Ekaterina!

Germany: History of Königstein Fortress

On Monday I got a postcard from Germany.

It is the Chronicle card of Königstein Fortress. Königstein Fortress is located on a table hill in Saxon Switzerland. In 1241 it was mentioned for the first time. Then it belonged to the Kings of Bohemia. In 1408 it became a part of the Margraviate of Meißen. In the 16th century it was expanded to become the strongest fortification in Saxony. Since then it was used as prison and as sanctuary for the Saxon King in wartime. Today it is a popular tourist destination.

The card was sent with a private mail stamp, but unfortunately the German Post placed a label on it. Luckily it was easy to remove it.

Thank You very much Amelie!

My Trip to Münster

On Friday I was in Münster and there I bought some cards for my collection.

Münster is a big city in the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Once it was an important diocesan and Hanseatic town. It was founded around 800 at the crossing of two trading routes and was supported by Charlemagne. The town is connected to two famous events of the Reformation period. In the 1530s it was praised as New Jerusalem during the later repelled Anabaptists' Rebellion and in 1648 the Peace of Westphalia that ended the Thirty Years' War was signed in Münster and Osnabrück. In 1661 the Prince-Bishop withdrew some of the cities privileges. Soon it also became the residence of the Prince-Bishop. In 1773 the university was founded. In 1803 it became a part of Prussia, was shortly a part of France and in 1816 it became the capital of the Prussian province of Westphalia.

These days Münster is especially in the news as it hosts the 101st German Catholics Day between the 9th and the 13th May. The motto for the festival is Seeking Peace, which has a connection to the Centenary of the end of World War I and the 370th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia. Famous guests were Angela Merkel and Juan Manuel Santos. It was the largest German Catholics Day since 1990.

For the festival also a special postmark was available. I got the postmark on a view card of Münster.

The Münster Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Münster. It contains the tomb of Münster's most famous bishop, Clemens August Graf von Galen, who led Catholic protest against Nazi euthanasia and denounced Gestapo lawlessness.

The Town Hall of Münster is one of the symbols of Münster and is considered to be one of the most important secular buildings in the Gothic style. In 1648 the Peace of Westphalia was signed in the town hall, for which the town halls Münster and Osnabrück got the European Heritage Label in 2015.

To commemorate also the Centenary of the end of World War I and the 370th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia and to coincide with the European Year of Cultural Heritage a large exhibition project is carried out in Münster about peace between the antiquity and today. It consists of five exhibitions which are shown in the Archaeological Museum, the City Museum of Münster, the Picasso Museum and the Westphalian State Museum of Art and Cultural History with two being shown at the latter. The exhibitions can be visited until the 2nd September 2018.

The City Museum of Münster was founded in 1979. It shows exhibitions about Münster's city history with many town modells, a complete furnished cafe from the 1950s and other interesting exhibits.

The Westphalian State Museum of Art and Cultural History is the central art museum in Westphalia. It was founded in 1908.

The Picasso Museum was founded in 2000. It houses more than 800 lithographs of Pablo Picasso.

The Münster Palace was built between 1767 and 1787 as residence of the prince-bishop of Münster. Since 1954 it is used by the University of Münster.

The Clemenskirche is said to be one of the most important Baroque churches in Northern Germany. It was built between 1745 and 1753.

The Kiepenkerl is a monument to the travelling merchants which were once found between the Sauerland and Hamburg. It was destroyed during World War II, but was replaced soon after and since then became a symbol of Münster. A copy of the monument can be found at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington DC. On 7th April 2018 it was the site of the Münster attack, when a man drove a van into people seated outside restaurants.