Golden Mountains of Altai

It's not always easy to see  if the image shown in the postcard is part of the UNESCO site or not. In the case of this first postcard I'm not exactly sure, but the others I have no doubts

Kolyvan Lake

This postcard was sent by Lara

Kolyvanskoye lake, which stretches for 4 km, is a pearl of Mountain Kolyvan. It is one of the biggest lakes in the southwestern part of Altai Krai. Spurs of the lake begin with the rocky shores.

The lake is a natural monument of federal value. Being relatively small, it is famous for its pure water and granite rocks of intricate form (arches, columns, palaces, animals, human beings) – it all depends on the imagination of a person. The water is fresh and there are good sandy beaches. Once having splashed on the place of West-Siberian lowland, the lake is the result of joint efforts of waves of the ancient Mansijskoye Sea. - in: http://www.visitaltai.info/en/where_visit/objects/lakes/968/

Ukok Plateau

This postcard with amazing stamps was sent by Natalia

Ukok Plateau is a remote and pristine grasslands area located in the heart of southwestern Siberia, the Altai Mountains region of Russia near the borders with China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The plateau is recognized as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site entitled Golden Mountains of Altai as an important environmental treasure. It provides a habitat for many of the world's endangered species including one of its least studied predatory animals: the snow leopard. Other endangered species protected there include the argali mountain sheep, the steppe eagle, and the black stork. -  in: wikipedia

Multinsky Lakes

This postcard was sent by Alena

Multinsky lakes are one of the most beautiful places of the Altai region. The lakes are situated on macro face of Katun edge, in the upstream of Multa river. In the valley of lakes are towering snow-capped peaks which are reflected in their emerald-clear water. - in: http://www.altaytyr.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&lang=en

Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the town-island of Sviyazhsk

Russia inscribed in 2017 two new sites being the Assumption Cathedral one of them. And I post this snowy view in the first day of heavy snow of this winter here where I live :)

Assumption Cathedral and Monastery

This postcard was sent by Vera

The Assumption Cathedral is located in the town-island of Sviyazhsk and is part of the monastery of the same name. Situated at the confluence of the Volga, the Sviyaga and the Shchuka rivers, at the crossroads of the Silk and Volga routes, Sviyazhsk was founded by Ivan the Terrible in 1551. It was from this outpost that he initiated the conquest of the Kazan Khanate. The Assumption Monastery illustrates in its location and architectural composition the political and missionary programme developed by Tsar Ivan IV to extend the Moscow state. The cathedral’s frescoes are among the rarest examples of Eastern Orthodox mural paintings. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1525

Landscapes of Dauria

This site is shared by Mongolia and Russia and these three nice postcards show cute animals in that region. However doesn't specify in which country they are, but since they were sent from Russia I'll assume they are from there. So, I still need a postcard from Mongolia.

Landscape of Dauria

Shared between Mongolia and the Russian Federation, this site is an outstanding example of the Daurian Steppe eco-region, which extends from eastern Mongolia into Russian Siberia and northeastern China. Cyclical climate changes, with distinct dry and wet periods lead to a wide diversity of species and ecosystems of global significance.

Landscape of Dauria

The property provides key habitats for rare fauna species such as the White-naped Crane, the Great Bustard and millions of other vulnerable, endangered or threatened species of migratory birds.

Landscape of Dauria

These postcards were sent by Vera

The property is also an important area on the migration route of the Mongolian Gazelle (Dzeren) and the only place where this species is known to breed in the Russian Federation. The property also provides sanctuary to both endangered Tabargan and Mongolian Marmots, as well as to the near-threatened Pallas Cat. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1448/

Vézelay, Church and Hill

Vézelay has been an important place of pilgrimage due to the relics of St Mary Magdalene that can be seen in the Basilica

Vézelay

This postcard was sent by Gabi

Vézelay is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. It is a defendable hill town famous for Vézelay Abbey.

Vézelay Abbey

This postcard was sent by Violet

Vézelay Abbey (French: Abbaye Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay) was a Benedictine and Cluniac monastery in Vézelay in the Yonne department in northern Burgundy, France. The Benedictine abbey church, now the Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (Saint Mary Magdalene), with its complicated program of imagery in sculpted capitals and portals, is one of the outstanding masterpieces of Burgundian Romanesque art and architecture. Sacked by the Huguenots in 1569, the building suffered neglect in the 17th and the 18th centuries and some further damage during the period of the French Revolution. - in:  wikipedia

The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape

This could perfectly be the home of Shaun the Sheep :)

Return of the Sheepfold

The upland landscapes of the Causses have been shaped by agro-pastoralism over three millennia. In the Middle Ages, the development of cities in the surrounding Mediterranean plains, and especially the growth of religious institutions, prompted the evolution of a land structure based on agro-pastoralism, the basis of which is still in place today. Too poor to host cities, too rich to be abandoned, the landscape of Causses and Cévennes are the result of the modification of the natural environment by agro-pastoral systems over a millennium. 

Cévennes

This postcard was sent by Marie-Claire

The Causses and Cévennes demonstrate almost every type of pastoral organisation to be found around the Mediterranean (agro-pastoralism, silvi-pastoralism, transhumance and sedentary pastoralism). The area has by a remarkable vitality as a result of active renewal of the agri-pastoral systems. This area is a major and viable example of Mediterranean agro-pastoralism. Its preservation is necessary to deal with threats from environmental, economic and social issues that such cultural landscapes are facing globally. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1153/

Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments

Arles was on my list of places to stop during my journeys from Switzerland to Portugal and this year I finally did it! I also stopped in Avignon but I didn't buy postcards because it was too early in the day and everything was closed. In Arles was also quite early but I found one shop where I bought some cards.

Arles

Arles is a good example of the adaptation of an ancient city to medieval European civilization. It has some impressive Roman monuments, of which the earliest – the arena, the Roman theatre and the cryptoporticus (subterranean galleries) – date back to the 1st century B.C. During the 4th century Arles experienced a second golden age, as attested by the baths of Constantine and the necropolis of Alyscamps.

Arles

In the 11th and 12th centuries, Arles once again became one of the most attractive cities in the Mediterranean. Within the city walls, Saint-Trophime, with its cloister, is one of Provence's major Romanesque monuments. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/164

Arles Amphitheatre

This postcard was sent from Switzerland by Isabella

The Arles Amphitheatre (French: Arènes d'Arles) is a Roman amphitheatre in the southern French town of Arles. This two-tiered Roman amphitheatre is probably the most prominent tourist attraction in the city of Arles, which thrived in Roman times. The pronounced towers jutting out from the top are medieval add-ons.

Built in 90 AD, the amphitheatre was capable of seating over 20,000 spectators, and was built to provide entertainment in the form of chariot races and bloody hand-to-hand battles. - in: wikipedia

Arles's Roman Theatre

Arles's Roman Theatre is a 1st-century Roman theatre, built during the reign of Emperor Augustus. - in: wikipedia

Old City of Salamanca

I returned recently from Portugal and on the way back I stopped in Salamanca, Spain. It was raining a lot but it was worth it. The city is beautiful and the New Cathedral is one of the most beautiful cathedrals that I have ever seen! Too bad that the visit was too short...

Salamanca

Salamanca is an ancient university town situated in the west of Spain in the Autonomous Community of Castilla and León. The Carthaginians first conquered the city in the 3rd century B.C. It then became a Roman settlement before being ruled by the Moors until the 11th century. The university, one of the oldest in Europe, reached its high point during Salamanca's Golden Age. 

Plaza Mayor and Clerecía Church

The city's historic centre has important Romanesque, Gothic, Moorish, Renaissance, and Baroque monuments. The Plaza Mayor, with its galleries and arcades, is particularly impressive. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/381

Plaza Mayor

The Plaza Mayor (English Main Plaza) in Salamanca, Spain is a large plaza located in the center of Salamanca, used as a public square. It was built in the traditional Spanish baroque style and is a popular gathering area. It is lined by restaurants, ice cream parlors, tourist shops, jewelry stores and a pharmacy along its perimeter except in front of the city hall. It is considered the heart of Salamanca and is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful plazas in Spain. - in: wikipedia

Old and New Cathedrals of Salamanca

Salamanca has two cathedrals, the Old Cathedral, of the 12th century and of Romanesque style, and the New Cathedral, much larger, built in the 16th century of Gothic style and completed in the 18th century. The place where they both join is known as Patio Chico and is one of the most charming corners of the city. - in: wikipedia

Roman Bridge and the Cathedrals

The Roman bridge of Salamanca (in Spanish: Puente romano de Salamanca), also known as Puente Mayor del Tormes is a Romanbridge crossing the Tormes River on the banks of the city of Salamanca, in Castile and León, Spain. The importance of the bridge as a symbol of the city can be seen in the first quartering of city's coat of arms (along with its stone bull-verraco.) - in: wikipedia

Frog on the Skull - University of Salamanca

The University of Salamanca (Spanish: Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, west of Madrid, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest university in the world in continuous operations. The formal title of "University" was granted by King Alfonso X in 1254 and recognized by Pope Alexander IV in 1255. - in: wikipedia

It seems that the skull would represent Prince Juan (son of the Catholic Kings), who died in 1497 before turning 20, despite the many efforts of his doctor. The frog would represent the physician who treated him, Doctor Parra, giving the frog its nickname of “Parrita” (Little Parra). - in: http://www.culturaltravelguide.com/salamanca-mysterious-hidden-carvings

Clerecía Church

La Clerecía: currently houses the Pontifical University. Building started in 1617 and was completed 150 years later as the Colegio Real del Espíritu Santo, of the Society of Jesus. The style is Baroque. It difference the school, with an interesting cloister and the church, with an impressive façade of three bodies, two twin towers of 50 meters high and a huge dome. The Clerecía name is because it belonged to the Real Clerecía de San Marcos after the expulsion of the Jesuits. - in: wikipedia

Casa de las Conchas

The Casa de las Conchas is a historical building in Salamanca, central Spain. It currently houses a public library.

It was built from 1493 to 1517 by Rodrigo Arias de Maldonado, a knight of the Order of Santiago de Compostela and a professor in the University of Salamanca. Its most peculiar feature is the façade, mixing late Gothic and Plateresque style, decorated with more than 300 shells, symbol of the order of Santiago, as well as of the pilgrims performing the Way of St. James. In the façade are also the coat of arms of the Catholic Monarchs and four windows in Gothic style, each one having a different shape. - in: wikipedia