3440 GERMANY (Saxony-Anhalt) - The Old Mint in Stolberg

One of the most beautiful half-timbered houses of Stolberg, built in 1535 as a mint workshop, is now the home of the city's Old Mint Museum. Unique in the German-speaking countries of Europe is the almost fully preserved workshop, complete with equipment from the 18th century. The core exhibition is rounded out with recreated functional models as well a look into the history of coins and coinage in Stolberg and Central Germany. The third floor is dedicated to the town history, particularly of the 18th century, as well as to the theologian and peasant leader Thomas Müntzer, who was born in Stolberg in 1489.

0134, 3439 SPAIN (Catalonia) - Casa Batlló - part of Works of Antoni Gaudí (UNESCO WHS)

0134

Part of the Manzana de la Discordia (Block of Discord, but also Apple of Discord), located at 43, Passeig de Gràcia,  in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Casa Batlló is a building restored in the years 1904-1906 by Antoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujol (with the contribution of Gaudí's assistants, Domènec Sugrañes i Gras, Josep Canaleta and Joan Rubió). Like all the buildings designed by the brilliant Catalan architect, it looks stunning and very modern, even for today's viewer, so it's hard to imagine how strange it may seem, with its organic, even visceral forms, for the early 20th century Barcelonians.

3439

The building consists of a ground floor, a main floor with a courtyard, four further self-contained floors, a loft and a roof terrace. There is private access to the noble floor (the main floor), and a communal stairwell set within the building well, which has been expanded and artistically tiled as though it were part of the exterior facade. The entire building is astonishing, but stand out in the first place the ground floor (with its tracery, irregular oval windows and flowing sculpted stone work) and the arched roof like a back of a dragon or dinosaur, plated with tiles in the form of scales.

3438 SLOVENIA (Slovene Littoral) - Village market in Padna

The Istrian hinterland has always been very important to supply fresh and high quality food for all coastal towns. The small village Padna, located not far for Piran, and first mentioned in sources dating to 1186, has been doing this for hundreds of years. The village is surrounded by olive groves where some trees are more than 300 years old. It has been known for its large quantities of olive oil products for a long time.

1333, 3437 CANADA (Ontario) / UNITED STATES (New York) - Niagara Falls

1333

Located on the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, on the border between Canada and the United States, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York, Niagara Falls is in fact an assembly of three waterfalls: the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. The Horseshoe Falls (furthest on the postcard 1333) lie mostly on the Canadian side and the American Falls (closest on the postcard 1333) entirely on the American side, separated by Goat Island.

3437

The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the other waterfalls by Luna Island. The boundary line was drawn through Horseshoe Falls in 1819, but it has long been in dispute due to natural erosion and construction. The combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world, with a vertical drop of more than 50m. Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (the last ice age), and water from the newly formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean.

3436 LITHUANIA - A red fox cub

The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) it is not only the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere, but also one of the world's 100 worst invasive species, due to its ability to adapt quickly to new environments. Despite its name, the species often produces individuals with other colourings. Too small to pose a threat to humans, it has extensively benefited from the presence of human habitation, and has successfully colonised many suburban and urban areas.

3435 GERMANY (Lower Saxony) - A traditional farm in Lüneburg Heath

Named after the town of Lüneburg, Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony. It has typical of those that covered most of the North German countryside until about 1800, but which have almost completely disappeared in other areas. Most of the area is a nature reserve, and also a historic cultural landscape, created by the intervention of man.

3434 ETHIOPIA (Harari) - Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic Town (UNESCO WHS)

3434 Duke's Gate in Harar Jugol

The walled city Harar functioned as the capital of the Harari Kingdom from 1520 to 1568, became an independent emirate in the 17th century and was integrated into Ethiopian Empire in 1887. From the late 16th century to the 19th century Harar was an important trade centre between the coast and the interior highlands and a location for Islamic learning. The impact of African and Islamic traditions on the development of the town's building types and urban layout make for its particular character and uniqueness.

3433 SINGAPORE (Central Region) - Sri Mariamman Temple

The Sri Mariamman Temple is Singapore's oldest Hindu temple. It is an agamic temple, built in the Dravidian style. Mariamman is a rural South Indian mother goddess who is especially worshipped for protection against diseases. Located in the downtown Chinatown district, the temple serves the majority Hindu Singaporeans, Tamilians, in the city-state. It was founded in 1827 by Naraina Pillai, eight years after the East India Company established a trading settlement in Singapore.

1397-1400, 3432 UNITED STATES (Illinois) - Chicago Skyscrapers

3432 Chicago skyline dominated by John Hancock Center

In the 1770s, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable established a fur trading post in the area which later became known as Fort Dearborn, along the bank of the Chicago River. In 1837, the settlement had a little more than 3,500 inhabitants and was incorporated as a city. Located near a portage between the Great Lakes and the  Mississippi River watershed, Chicago emerged as an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States, becoming the fastest growing city in the world for several decades. 

1397 Downtown Chicago with Northwestern Train Station,
Presidential Towers and Willis Tower

After the Civil War ended in 1865, the American economy was transformed by the industrial revolution, in which the city of Chicago was its leader, becoming America's second largest city and a leading industrial center. The Great Chicago Fire, which destroyed most buildings within the downtown area, led to the largest building boom in the history of the nation. In 1885, the first steel-framed high-rise building, the Home Insurance Building, rose in the city as Chicago ushered in the skyscraper era.

1397 Chicago skyline seen from the Chicago River

Moreover, the city gave its name to the Chicago School and was home to the Prairie School, two movements in architecture, being able to say that the architecture of Chicago has influenced and reflected the history of American architecture. Numerous architects have constructed landmark buildings of varying styles in city. Some of these are the so-called "Chicago seven":  James Ingo Freed, Tom Beeby, Larry Booth, Stuart Cohen, James Nagle, Stanley Tigerman, and Ben Weese. Today, the city's skyline is among the world's tallest and most dense.

1399 Willis Tower

Willis Tower (known also as Sears Tower) is a 108-story, 442m skyscraper completed in 1973. It surpassed the World Trade Center towers in New York to become the tallest building in the world, a title held for nearly 25 years. Its innovative design, structurally efficient and economic, inspired by an advertisement for a package of cigarettes, was realised by the architect Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan, who used for the first time bundled tube structure. The tower's observation deck (the Skydeck), located on the 103rd floor, is 412m high and is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Chicago.

1400 Willis Tower and Wacker Drive

Presidential Towers is a series of four nearly identical towers with 49 storeys (141m), each a step back from the leader, and spanning two city blocks. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates and built between 1985 and 1986, it was one of the pioneering residential projects in the River West neighborhood, an area that was once seen as nothing more than a ramshackle collection of old brick warehouses. 333 West Wacker Drive is an office building with a height of 149m, designed by Kohn Pederson Fox Associates and completed in 1983. On the side facing the Chicago River, the building features a curved green glass façade, while on the other side the building adheres to the usual rectangular street grid.

3431 ETHIOPIA (Oromia / Afar) - Lower Valley of the Awash (UNESCO WHS)

The course of the Awash River is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia and empties into a chain of interconnected lakes that begin with Lake Gargori and end with Lake Abbe on the border with Djibouti. The Awash valley contains one of the most important groupings of palaeontological sites on the African continent. The remains found at the site, the oldest of which date back at least 4 million years, provide evidence of human evolution which has modified our conception of the history of humankind.

3430 UNITED KINGDOM (Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha) - Island of Saint Helena (UNESCO WHS - Tentative List)

Saint Helena is a volcanic tropical island in the South Atlantic Ocean, part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. It is one of the most remote islands in the world and was uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese in 1502. From 1659 it has been a British possession, apart from a short Dutch interlude in 1673, and was an important stopover for ships sailing to Europe from Asia and South Africa for centuries.

3429 ROMANIA - The Dacians

The Dacians were a Thracian people who were the ancient inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. In the absence of historical records written by the Dacians (and Thracians) themselves, analysis of their origins depends largely on the remains of material culture. From roughly 500 BC, the Dacians developed a distinct civilization, which was capable of supporting large centralised kingdoms by 1st BC and 1st AD.

3427 SPAIN (Community of Madrid) - Almudena Cathedral

Consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1993, Almudena Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid. Plans to build a cathedral in Madrid dedicated to the Virgin of Almudena were discussed as early as the 16th century but even though Spain built more than 40 cities in the new world during that century, the cost of expanding and keeping the Empire came first and the construction of Madrid's cathedral was postponed. Because making the cathedral the largest that the world had ever seen was a priority, the construction of Almudena only began in 1879.

3426 SLOVENIA (Slovene Littoral) - They were known as Šavrinke

Slovenian Istria is known for its spectacularly beautiful landscape - a countryside characterized by harsh, rocky terrain. The poor soil of the region, however, has often made it difficult for its inhabitants to make a living. For decades, beginning in the 19th century, courageous local women traveled throughout Istria and beyond selling fresh produce, eggs, freshly baked bread, and other goods from their farms. They were known as Šavrinke, after the local Šavrin Hills.

3425 ROMANIA (Bucharest) - Postcrossing Meetup, Bucharest, 2 February 2020

Because February 2, 2020 was a palindrome day, the Romanian postcrossers decided to meet, and Mihnea Răducu chose for the postcard published on this occasion, a symmetrical building, CEC Palace. Built in eclectic style in 1900 as a new headquarters for Romania's oldest bank, the public savings institution Casa de Depuneri, Consemnațiuni și Economie, later known as C.E.C. and nowadays CEC Bank, the palace is topped by a glass and metal dome. The entrance features an arch supported by two pairs of columns in composite style. The four corners are decorated with gables and coats of arms and ending in Renaissance domes.

3424 GERMANY (Berlin) - North East Antifa Berlin

The Antifa movement in Germany is a political current composed of multiple far-left, autonomous, militant anti-fascist groups and individuals. It has existed in different eras and incarnations, and takes its name from the historical Antifaschistische Aktion, an organisation affiliated with the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) that existed from 1932 to 1933. Antifa committees emerged across Germany after WWII with the involvement of trade unionist, socialist, communist and Christian groups; in the Soviet occupation zone and East Germany these were absorbed into the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany and became part of its official apparatus, ideology and language.

3423 ROMANIA (Sibiu) - Cârța Monastery

The Cârța Monastery is a former Cistercian (Benedictine) monastery in the Țara Făgărașului region in southern Transylvania in Romania, currently an Evangelical Lutheran church belonging to the local Saxon community. It lies on the left bank of the Olt River, between the cities of Sibiu and Făgăraș, and was probably founded in 1202-1206 by monks from Igriș Abbey (daughter house of Pontigny Abbey), being disbanded in 1494, when the apostolic legate Ursus of Ursinis ratified Cârța Abbey's attachment to the Provostship nullius of Sibiu.

3422 BULGARIA - Old winemaking

Grape growing and wine production have a long history in Bulgaria, dating back to the times of the Thracians, who used wine not only as a drink on the table but channel between people and gods. It was a divine drink. Zagreus, somehow the Thracian analog of the Greek god Dionysus, was worshiped by the Thracians as the god of wine and merriment. Unfortunately, the tradition was interrupted for 500 years, how long this region was part of the Ottoman Empire, a state dedicated to expanding the world of Islam.

0008, 1433, 2655, 2793, 2831, 2939, 3081, 3274, 3421 THAILAND (Bangkok) - The Grand Palace in Bangkok

0008 The Grand Palace in Bangkok

Undoubtedly, Bangkok's history is intimately linked to the Chakri dynasty, which leads Siam (named from 1939, with a brief interruption, Thailand) for more than two centuries. Founder of the dynasty, Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I), was the one who moved the capital from Thonburi to Bangkok. Of course, the king had to have a palace and so appeared The Grand Palace (Phra Borom Maha Ratcha Wang), whose construction began in 1782, after a plan that closely followed that of the old palace in Ayutthaya.

2655 Phra Thinang Chakri Maha Prasat (1)

 

The king, his court and his royal government were based on the palace until 1925. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), resided at Chitralada Royal Villa and his successor Vajiralongkorn at Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, both in the Dusit Palace, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. Situated on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, at the heart of the Rattanakosin Island, the palace complex (made up of numerous buildings, halls, pavilions set around open lawns, and gardens) is roughly rectangular. Its asymmetry and eclectic styles are due to its organic development, with additions being made by successive kings.

2939 Phra Thinang Chakri Maha Prasat (2)

It is divided into several quarters: the Temple of the Emerald Buddha; the Outer Court; the Middle Court, including the Phra Maha Monthien Buildings, the Phra Maha Prasat Buildings and the Chakri Maha Prasat Buildings; the Inner Court and the Siwalai Gardens quarter. The Phra Thinang Chakri Maha Prasat buildings are composed of nine major and minor halls, structured in a similar scheme to the Maha Monthien Halls from north to south. The whole of the Chakri Maha Prasat group was the work of King Rama V and foreign architects in the 19th century.

3274 The Temple of the Emerald Buddha (1)

 

The first phase of construction began in 1868, then again in 1876, and the final phase between 1882 and 1887. The throne hall forms the front or the façade of the entire building group. The throne hall is constructed in an eclectic style, a blend of Thai and European (more specifically Renaissance or Italianate) styles. The lower part of the structure is European, while the upper part is in Thai-styled green and orange tiled roofs and gilded spires or prasats.

3081 The Temple of the Emerald Buddha (2)

 

The Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), formally known as Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram that means "the residence of the Holy Jewel Buddha", is actually a royal chapel, completed in 1784. Wat Phra Kaew has undergone a number of renovations, restoration and additions in its history, particularly during the reign of King Rama III and Rama IV. The architectural style is named as Rattanakosin style (old Bangkok-style). The main temple of the Emerald Buddha is decorated and similar to the temple in ancient capital of Ayutthaya. 

2831 The Temple of the Emerald Buddha (3)

It is surrounded on four sides by a series of walled cloisters, with seven gates. Like the royal temples of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, the complex is separated from the living quarters of the kings. Within these walls are buildings and structures for diverse purposes and of different styles, but most of them adheres strictly to classical Thai architecture. It is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple (wat) in Thailand.

1433 A kinnara in front of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha

The main building is the central phra ubosot, which houses the statue of the Emerald Buddha. In the postcard 1433 is a golden statue of a kinnara, a half-bird, half-woman creatures at Southeast Asian Buddhist mythology, one of the many creatures that inhabit the mythical Himavanta. Kinnaris have the head, torso, and arms of a woman and the wings, tail and feet of a swan. She is renowned for her dance, song and poetry, and is a traditional symbol of feminine beauty, grace and accomplishment.

2793 The Temple of the Emerald Buddha
with a Thotsakhirithon guarding an exit

The Gate No. 2 (Na Wua Gate) of the complex is guarded by the statues of two demons (yaksha), Thotsakhirithon and Thotsakhiriwan, which appear in Ramakien (Glory of Rama), Thailand's national epic, derived from the Hindu epic Ramayana. They are the sons of Thotsakan (One with ten necks), a king of demons and their mother is a female elephant, that why they have trunks like an elephant. They are mostly depicted with a characteristic face, having big round bulging eyes and protruding fangs, as well as a green complexion.

3421 The Dusit Maha Prasat throne hall in 1870s

 

The Dusit Maha Prasat throne hall, built by Rama I in 1790, dominates the Maha Prasat group. The throne hall was built on a symmetrical cruciform plan, the roof is topped with a tall gilded spire. The hall is considered an ideal archetype of Thai traditional architecture. Every aspect of the exterior decoration of the throne hall is imbuded with symbolism. The hall is built in the shape of a tall mountain to represent Mount Meru, the mythological centre of the universe. The north face has a porch with a type of throne known as a busabok used by the king when gave public audiences.