0785 COSTA RICA - Oxherding and Oxcart Traditions in Costa Rica (UNESCO ICH)

The oxcart was a common means of transportation in many countries of the world for millennia, but only in very few has been given it so much importance as in Costa Rica. Considering it essential for the daily life but also for the commerce, the locals developed a unique construction and decoration of these carts, that is still being developed. The parades and traditional celebrations aren't complete without a oxcart parade. More than that, in 1988, the traditional oxcart was declared as National Symbol of Work by the Costa Rican government, and in 2005, the Oxherding and oxcart traditions in Costa Rica were included in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

0784 GERMANY (Baden-Württemberg) - Monastic Island of Reichenau (UNESCO WHS)

Reichenau, called Augia Dives in medieval Latin manuscripts, is an island upon the Untersee (Lower Lake) of the Bodensee (Lake Constance), a lake on the Rhine, situated between Germany, Switzerland and Austria, near the Alps. The island is connected to the mainland by a causeway completed in 1838, interrupted between the site of the former castle Schopflen and the eastern end of island by the 10m-wide Bruckgraben, a waterway which is spanned by a low road bridge that allows passage of ordinary boats. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000 because of its monastery, the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau.

0783 UKRAINE - Traditional costume of Ukraine (1)

The array of the Ukrainian traditional clothing is characterized by wide regional and ethnic diversity, even adjacent villages displaying important dissimilarity. The conception of traditional dress is related to the region of Central Ukraine, just as the present-day standard Ukrainian language, that also has formed in this region. The most widespread garment, inherited from the ancient Slavs, is a long shirt decorated with embroidered magic ornament with a waistband. Incidentally, embroidery is the major adornment of the traditional costume, and always enclosed certain information.

0362, 0782 PHILIPPINES (National Capital Region / Ilocos Region / Western Visayas) - Baroque Churches of the Philippines (UNESCO WHS)

0362 Paoay Church

Posted on 18.10.2012, 03.08.2013

As I said here with reference to the Philippines, "from Spaniards have remained Christianity and the name". Regarding the Christianizing of the native population, it began with the arrival of Magellan in 1521, and the Spaniards proved to be very effective, so that today Philippines is one of two predominantly Roman Catholic nations in Asia (the other being East Timor), about 93% of the population being Christian.

In parallel with the conversion of the indigenous were built many churches, "in the European style", but not a few of them suffered major destructions due to earthquakes in the area. For the Church as institution, this didn't mean only material damage, but also a loss of image and credibility, so the churchs builders had to make major structural changes. So appeared a new architectural style, EarthquakeBaroque, used also in Guatemala and even in Lisbon, characterized by more robust proportions, smaller height, and thicker and heavily buttresses.
  

0781 FRANCE (Brittany) - A women from Pays Bigouden wearing "la brouette"

I wrote a little about Brittany and its pays or bro ("country" in French, respectively Breton) here, but if then it was about a dance from Pays Pourlet, the old woman depicted in this postcard is from Pays Bigouden (in Breton, Ar Vro Vigoudenn). As says Romain, she was photographed on the quay of the harbour of Saint Guénolé, one of the four villages which forms the municipality of Penmarch. The area has distinctive customs and costumes, and during the 19th century local costumes became increasingly elaborate and colourful.

0780 SWEDEN (Södermanland) - S/S Ejdern of Södertälje

0780-1 S/S Ejdern of Södertälje in nowadays

Located at 30km southwest of Stockholm, on a bay of Lake Mälaren, which is here connected with the Baltic Sea by the Södertälje Canal (56 km in length), Södertälje is the main site for truck manufacturer Scania AB and also for pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. Furthermore, the port of Södertälje, the second in the Stockholm region, hosts something unique: the oldest coal fired propeller driven steamer, with original engine, in the world.

0780-2 S/S Ejdern of Södertälje in 1905

Built in 1880 in Gothenburg to frequent the archipelago, in nowadays S/S Ejdern makes day trips during the summer to Birka, Adelsö, Drottningholm, Stockholm and Mariefred. A voyage with S/S Ejdern is like travelling back to the past. The propulsion is provided by a Compound engine at 65 IHP, and a boiler of Scotch type, coal fired. Between 1914 and 1957 it had a single captain, Rikard Fredmark.

0665 & 0779 GERMANY (North Rhine-Westphalia) - Cologne Cathedral (UNESCO WHS)

Posted on 03.06.2013 and completed on 02.08.2013
With 157,4m height, Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom), dedicated to St. Peter, is the tallest Roman Catholic cathedral in the world. In 1248, when was commenced its construction, the site had been occupied by several previous structures, the earliest been a grain store, succeeded by a Roman temple. Nothing strange, because the city was built by Romans in 50 AD, Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium becoming the provincial capital of Germania Inferior in 85 AD. The work to the cathedral was halted in 1473, leaving the south tower complete up to the belfry level and crowned with a huge crane that remained in place as a landmark of the Cologne skyline for 400 years.

Work has resumed in the 19th century, the building being completed in 1880. The enormous costs (over US$ 1 billion in today's money) were supported in the proportion of two-thirds through civic effort, while the Prussian state supplied the remaining third. During the WWII the cathedral suffered seventy hits by aerial bombs, but didn't collapse. The repairs were completed in 1956, and in 1995 Cologne Cathedral became an UNESCO WHS. Today is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day.

0778 LAOS - Lao Sung, the highland Lao

A true mosaic of ethnic groups, Laos has, according to Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC), 49 ethnicities consisting of over 160 ethnic groups, which speak a total of 82 distinct living languages, divided into four language groups: the Tai-Kadai family (55%), the Austro-Asiatic family (30%), the Mia-Yao family (10%), and the Sino-Tibetan family (5%). Actually a complete classification of all ethnic groups has never been undertaken in Laos, and detailed ethnographic information about many groups is lacking, so the government divided the people into three groups according to the altitude at which they live, rather than according to ethnic origin: the lowland Lao (Lao Loum) account for 68%, upland Lao (Lao Theung) for 22%, and the highland Lao (Lao Sung, including the Hmong and the Yao) for 9%.

0777 UKRAINE (Chernivtsi Oblast) - Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans (UNESCO WHS)

At first glance, this building - erected by Austrians for the Orthodox Christians (mainly Romanians, but also Ukrainians and Ruthenians), after the designs of a Czech architect (Josef Hlávka), who combined the Byzantine and Moorish styles, but added several Stars of David on the clock tower - seems to be an oddity. For who knows the history of the city it is not so. Located on the upper course of the River Prut, Chernivtsi (Cernăuţi in Romanian) was part of Principality of Moldavia even since its establishment as a sovereign state in 1359 until 1774, when Habsburgs annexed the northern part of Moldavia and named it Buchenland (Bukovina).    

0776 FRANCE (Corsica) - Calanche of Piana (UNESCO WHS)

After longer or shorter periods of time when was occupied successively by Carthaginians, ancient Greeks, Etruscans, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, Saracens, Lombards, and Franks, island of Corsica, located in the Mediterranean Sea, north of the (now Italian) island of Sardinia, was taken into possession by Genoese in 1347, who governed it until 1729. Independently for few years, it was conquered by France in 1769. In general, Corsica is known for its pirates and smugglers, and because it was the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, but this island has many other things which worth known and appreciated, from natural beauties, to the history and traditions.

0775 GERMANY (North Rhine-Westphalia) - Glaselefant in Hamm

Founded on 1226 by Count Adolf I of the Mark, Hamm was member of the Hanseatic League, and in 15th century became one of the most powerful towns in the region. Ham means "corner" in the old Low German dialect, and the name of the city derives from the description of its location in the corner of the Lippe river and the narrow Ahse affluent, in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. During the 19th and early 20th century, Hamm has been one of the West German mining towns.

0773 SWITZERLAND (Bern) - Old City of Bern (UNESCO WHS)

The city of Bern, Bundesstadt (federal city, de facto capital) of Switzerland since 1848, was founded in 1191 and grew to become the biggest aristocratic city-state north of the Alps and a major power in the Old Swiss Confederacy. The medieval city center, named The Old City, built on a narrow hill surrounded on three sides by the Aare River, has remained essentially unchanged since its construction during the 12th to the 15th century, despite the major fire from 1405, and the substantial construction efforts from the 18th century.

0772 FINLAND (Ostrobothnia) - Kvarken Archipelago (UNESCO WHS)

Because "affords outstanding opportunities for the understanding of the important processes that formed the glaciated and land uplift areas of the Earth's surface", the Kvarken Archipelago (Finland) and the High Coast (Sweden), situated in the Gulf of Bothnia, were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006. The 5,600 islands of the archipelago feature unusual ridged washboard moraines (De Geer moraines), formed by the melting of the continental ice sheet, 10,000 to 24,000 years ago. As a consequence of the process of rapid glacio-isostatic uplift, whereby the land, previously weighed down under the weight of a glacier, lifts from the sea, the islands appear and unite, peninsulas expand, and lakes evolve from bays and develop into marshes and peat fens.Vegetation is typical of the west Eurasian taiga with a mix of alpine, boreal forest and wetland communities.

0771 BOLIVIA (La Paz) - La Paz

On his full name Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace), the administrative capital of Bolivia is located in the western part of the country, at an elevation of roughly 3,650m above sea level, being the world's highest de facto capital city, or administrative capital (Quito is the highest legal capital). The city sits in a "bowl" surrounded by the high mountains of the altiplano. Overlooking it is towering triple-peaked Illimani (in the postcard), which is always snow-covered and can be seen from several spots of the city.

0769, 0770 JAPAN (Chūgoku) - Museum of Folkcraft in Kurashiki

Kurashiki is one of Japan's great old merchant towns, located along a scenic canal at the foot of Mount Tsurugata, and its white-walled storehouses escaped WWII largely unscathed, are beautifully preserved and open for exploration. It was the site of clashes between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the Heian period. During the Edo period, when it became an area directly controlled by the shogunate, Kurashiki did heavy trade with the capital in rice, sugar, and other goods, and later, during the Meiji Restoration, it became known for textiles. The old merchant quarter, Bikan historical area, contains many fine examples of 17th century wooden warehouses (kura) painted white with traditional black tiles, along a canal framed with weeping willows and filled with koi. The area has no electric poles in order to make the area more closely resemble the look of the Meiji period.

Museum of Folkcraft in Kurashiki, opened in 1948 as a project of the Okayama Prefecture Folkcrafts Association, is housed in three vintage structures connected by narrow corridors and old stairwells, actually renovated rice storehouses typical of the city. With the striking contrast of its white walls and black roof tiles, one may say the structure itself is an excellent example of Japanese folkcrafts. Inside, some 1,000 old and new works from around the world are on display, including pottery, woven and dyed textiles, gold work, stone carving, woodwork lacquerware, washi paper, bamboocraft and glass work.

Japanese culture is diverse, but despite this, in terms on the interior of the houses, the aesthetic is one of simplicity and minimalism, made with attention to detail and intricacy, in generally based from ideals of Taoism, imported from China. Traditional interiors incorporate natural materials (fine woods, bamboo, silk, rice straw mats, and paper shōji screens), used to keep simplicity in the space that connects to nature. Natural color schemes are used and neutral palettes including black, white, off-white, gray, and brown. The size of rooms can be altered by interior sliding walls or screens, named fusuma. Cupboards built into the wall hide futon, mattresses pulled out before going to bed, allowing more space to be available during the day. To cover the floor are used tatami, rice straw floor mats. 

0768 FRANCE (Brittany) - La Vieille

The Pointe du Raz (Beg ar Raz in Breton language) is a promontory that extends into the Atlantic from western Brittany, and, even if it isn't the westernmost extent of France (that would be Pointe de Corsen, just to the north), is considered "the end of the world", France’s equivalent of Land’s End, in the southern UK. It is named after the Raz de Sein, the dangerous stretch of water between it and the island of Sein (Enez Sun in Breton). As can be seen in the postcard, is a wild and dramatic place of crashing waves and strong winds. It became popular in the 19th century, thanks to its appearance in the works of Gustave Flaubert and Victor Hugo, who were enchanted by its stark beauty.

0767 NEW ZEALAND (South Island) - Moeraki Boulders

The Moeraki Boulders are unusually large and spherical boulders lying along Koekohe Beach, at a place named Kumara, midway between Hampden and Moeraki townships in North Otago. According to Maori legend, the origin of the boulders dates from the loss of the Arai-te-uru, one of the large sailing canoes that came from Hawaiki. On her quest south for the precious greenstone, the canoe was wrecked near Shag Point (Matakaea). The reef which today extends seawards is the canoe's petrified hull, while close by, in the shape of a prominent rock, stands the petrified body of her commander. Strewn along the beach are the boulders which represent the eel baskets, calabashes, and kumaras washed ashore from the wreck. The name Moeraki (Moerangi) means "drowsy day".

0169, 0646, 0647, 0766 POLAND (Mazovia) - Historic Centre of Warsaw (UNESCO WHS)

Posted on 11.04.2012, 14.05.2013, 25.07.2013
The legend attributes the Warsaw name to a fisherman Wars and his wife Sawa, a mermaid who lived in the Vistula River and who Wars fell in love with. Nice legend, but actually Warsz was a 12th/13th century nobleman who owned a village located at the site of today's Mariensztat neighbourhood. Unlike other old cities of Poland, such Krakow or Poznan, Warsaw is a relatively young city, which really became important in 1596, when King Sigismund III Vasa moved the court from Kraków to Warsaw. So the capital of Mazovia became the capital of the Polish Crown, and of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, primarly due to its central location between the Commonwealth's capitals of Kraków and Vilnius. This location was the city's luck, but, given the troubled history of Poland, it has also brought it a lot of misfortune, being pillaged and burned several times.

The largest catastrophe suffered by the city was also the latest, during the WWII. Germans planned destruction of the Polish capital before the start of war, what they did after the Warsaw Uprising (1 August – 2 October 1944), under express orders of Hitler. Monuments and government buildings were blown up by Verbrennungs und Vernichtungskommando (Burning and Destruction Detachments), so that about 85% of the city had been destroyed, including the historic Old Town and the Royal Castle. By January 1945, about 85% of the buildings had been destroyed: 10% as a result of the September 1939 campaign and other combat, 15% during the earlier Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943), 25% during the Warsaw Uprising, and 35% due to systematic German actions after the Uprising.

In terms of population, the situation was even more terrible. In the Uprising, ca. 170,000 people died, from among which only 16,000 were insurgents, and after that all the civilians (ca. 650,000) were deported to the transit camp in Pruszków (Durchgangslager Pruszków). In general, during the German occupation (1939–1945) ca. 700,000 people died in Warsaw, i.e. more than all Americans and British. Thus, if the city had reached 1,300,000 inhabitants in 1939, at the end of 1945 had only 422,000 inhabitants.

After WWII, the Warsaw's Old Town (Stare Miasto), bounded by Wybrzeże Gdańskie, along the bank of the Vistula, and by Grodzka, Mostowa and Podwale Streets, was meticulously rebuilt. As many of the original bricks were reused as possible. The rubble was sifted for reusable decorative elements, which were reinserted into their original places. Bernardo Bellotto's 18th-century vedute, as well as pre-WWII architecture students' drawings, were used as essential sources in the reconstruction effort. The heart of the area is the Old Town Market Place (Rynek Starego Miasta), which dates back to the end of the 13th century. The houses around it represented the Gothic style until the great fire of 1607, after which they were rebuilt in late-Renaissance style and eventually in late-Baroque style by Tylman Gamerski in 1701.

Besides the market itself, with its restaurants, cafés and shops, in the first postcard also appear (at the bottom, from left to right):

● Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and of St. Joseph, commonly known as the Carmelite Church (Kościół Karmelitów) - a Roman Catholic church built in 1692-1701 to the plan of Józef Szymon Bellotti, best known for its Neoclassical-style façade, erected by Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł, who commissioned the Hungarian architect Efraim Szreger. It was one of the few buildings only slightly damaged during the WWII.

● Church of Our Lady Queen of the Polish Crown (Katedra Polowa Wojska Polskiego) - built in the early 17th century, completely destroyed during the war with Sweden (1655-1660), and reconstructed in baroque style between 1660 and 1681. Restored in the years 1923-1933, destroyed again in 1944, and rebuilt after WWII, since 1991 was officially commissioned as the Polish Army field cathedral.

● Castle Square (Plac Zamkowy) - On the square is a column of King Sigismund III Vasa from 1644, the oldest and symbolic monument of the city (a work of Clemente Molli). On the right you can see the Royal Castle, the official residence of the Polish monarchs from 1526 to 1795, burned by the Germans in 1939 and then completely destroyed. The rebuilding of the Royal Castle complex will have been finalized in 1995. It can be also seen in the third and fourth postcard.