Historic and Architectural Complex of the Kazan Kremlin

The Kazan Kremlin is a historic citadel built on the ruins of a castle

Kazan Kremlin

Built on an ancient site, the Kazan Kremlin dates from the Muslim period of the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate. It was conquered by Ivan the Terrible in 1552 and became the Christian See of the Volga Land. The only surviving Tatar fortress in Russia and an important place of pilgrimage, the Kazan Kremlin consists of an outstanding group of historic buildings dating from the 16th to 19th centuries, integrating remains of earlier structures of the 10th to 16th centuries. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/980/

Cathedral of the Annunciation

This postcard was sent by Max

Annunciation Cathedral of Kazan Kremlin was the first Orthodox church within the walls of the Kazan Kremlin. Initially, a wooden church was quickly built under direction of Tsar Ivan IV in 1552, before it was replaced by a stone cathedral. The cathedral became the center of religious and educational life and missionary efforts in the province of Kazan. - in: https://orthodoxwiki.org/Annunciation_Cathedral_(Kazan_Kremlin,_Russia)

Spasskaya Tower

This postcard was sent by Maria

The Spasskaya Tower, which anchors the southern end of the Kremlin and serves as the main entrance to the Kremlin, is named after the Spassky Monastery, which used to be located nearby. Among the monastery's buildings were the Church of St. Nicholas (1560s, four piers) and the Cathedral of the Saviour's Transfiguration (1590s, six piers). They were destroyed by the Communists during Joseph Stalin's rule. - in: wikipedia

Kul Sharif Mosque

This postcard was sent by Olya

The Kul Sharif Mosque located in Kazan Kremlin, was reputed to be – at the time of its construction – one of the largest mosques in Russia, and in Europe outside of Istanbul.
Originally, the mosque was built in the Kazan Kremlin in the 16th century. It was named after Kul Sharif, who was a religious scholar who served there. Kul Sharif died along with his numerous students while defending Kazan from Russian forces in 1552 during the Siege of Kazan, and the mosque was destroyed by Ivan the Terrible's forces. It is believed that the building featured minarets, both in the form of cupolas and tents. The current building is a replacement, constructed in the first years of the 21st century and completed in the year 2005. - in: wikipedia

The Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park’s Caves Complex

This is one of the sites that was inscribed this year

Niah Caves

This postcard was sent by SL

Niah National Park, located within Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, is the site of the Niah Caves which are an archeological site.

The Niah Caves is located on the northern edge of a limestone mountain named Gunung Subis (Mount Subis). The entrance is located at the west mouth of the cave. The location is 15 km from the South China Sea and 50 m above sea level. The west mouth of the Niah Caves is 150 m wide and 75 m high.

The cave is an important prehistorical site where human remains from 40,000 years ago have been found.^[16] This is the oldest recorded human settlement in East Malaysia. More recent studies published in 2006 have shown evidence of the first human activity at the Niah caves from ca. 46,000 to 34,000 years ago. - in: wikipedia

Moravian Church Settlements

Christiansfeld, in Denmark, was already listed as UNESCO World Heritage, but this year the site was extended to Germany, U.K. and U.S.A

Christiansfeld

This postcard was sent from Sweden by Doris

Christiansfeld, with a population of 2,979 (1 January 2024), is a town in Kolding Municipality in Southern Jutland in Region of Southern Denmark. The town was founded in 1773 by the Moravian Church and named after the Danish king Christian VII. Since July 2015 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, highlighting its status as the best-preserved example of the town-planning and architecture of the Moravian Church.

Christiansfeld

This postcard was sent by Christina

The town was constructed around a central Church Square bordered by two parallel streets running east to west. The Hall, Sister's House, fire-house, the vicarage, and the former provost’s house were built directly around the square, and shops, Brother's House, family residences, a hotel, and a school were built along the parallel streets. Many of the residential buildings are communal, which were typical of Moravian settlements and were used by the widows and unmarried women and men of the congregation. The architecture of Christiansfeld is homogeneous, dominated by one or two-story buildings made out of yellow brick and red tile roofs. Many of the buildings in Christiansfeld retain their original uses. - in: wikipedia

Herrnhut

This postcard was sent by Marcel

Herrnhut is an Upper Lusatian town in the Görlitz district in Saxony, Germany, known for the community of the Moravian Church established by Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf, in 1722. In 2024, the town was inscribed on World Heritage List as a part of the serial site of Moravian Church Settlements.

Herrnhut proper was founded in the early 18th century by German-speaking members of the Unity of the Brethren, religious refugees from Margraviate of Moravia. - in: wikipedia

The four properties (in red what I have):

• Christiansfeld, Denmark
• Herrnhut, Germany
• Bethlehem, U.S.A.
• Gracehill, U. K.

ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz

I bought this first postcard in Speyer a few years ago but I didn't visit the Jewish courtyard. At the time it wasn't listed as World Heritage.

Mikvah in Speyer

Speyer in Germany was the hometown of one of the most important Jewish communities in Middle Ages in northern Europe. Bishop Hutzmann and Salic emperor Henry IV encouraged Jewish refugees from Mainz to the foundation of a Jewish community by facilitating them.

The Jewish courtyard was the central area of the Jewish quarter in Speyer and consisted of the synagogues for men and women as well as the Mikvah, for ritual washing. - in: wikipedia

Jewish Cemetery, Worms

This postcard was sent by Claus

The Jewish Cemetery in Worms or Heiliger Sand, in Worms, Germany, is usually called the oldest surviving Jewish cemetery in Europe, although the Jewish burials in the Jewish sections of the Roman catacombs predate it by a millennium. The Jewish community of Worms was established by the early eleventh century, and the oldest tombstone still legible dates from 1058/59.^[2] The cemetery was closed in 1911, when a new cemetery was inaugurated. Some family burials continued until the late 1930s. The older part still contains about 1,300 tombstones, while the newer part (on the wall of the former city fortifications, acquired after 1689) contains more than 1,200. The cemetery is protected and cared for by the city of Worms, the Jewish community of Mainz-Worms, and the Landesdenkmalamt of Rhineland-Palatinate. - in: wikipedia

I'm still missing Mainz

Schwerin Residence Ensemble

This is probably the most attractive of the new inscribed properties, at least for me...

Schwerin Castle

This postcard was sent by Michèle

Schwerin Castle (German: Schweriner Schloss, also known as Schwerin Palace) is a 19th-century Schloss built in the historicist style located in the city of Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state, Germany. It is situated on an island in the city's main lake, Lake Schwerin.

For centuries, the castle was the home of the dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg and later Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Today parts of it serve as the residence of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state parliament (German: Landtag) while other parts are used for the palace museum, a restaurant, and cultural events, like open air theatre in the courtyard.

Major parts of the current palace were built between 1845 and 1857, as a collaboration between the eminent historicist architects Gottfried Semper, Friedrich August Stüler, Georg Adolf Demmler, and Ernst Friedrich Zwirner. The castle is regarded as one of the most important works of Romantic historicism in Europe, and was designated a World Heritage Site in 2024. It is nicknamed the "Neuschwanstein of the North". - in: wikipedia

Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital

This year there were new entries on the UNESCO list, including the Beijing Central Axis. This site includes some properties that were already on the list. I have more postcards of the properties already listed, but I selected just these two hoping to receive a postcard in the future showing an area that is only part of Beijing's Central Axis, like the Bell Tower or the Tian'anmen Square

Palace Museum

This postcard was sent by Ashley

The Palace Museum is a large national museum complex housed in the Forbidden City at the core of Beijing, China. With 720,000 square metres (180 acres), the museum inherited the imperial royal palaces from the Ming and Qing dynasties of China and opened to the public in 1925 after the last Emperor of China was evicted. - in: wikipedia

Temple of Heaven

This postcard was sent by Weimin

The Temple of Heaven is a complex of imperial religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for a good harvest. - in: wikipedia

Lord Howe Island Group

Lord Howe Island Group is considered to be an outstanding example of an island ecosystem developed from submarine volcanic activity.

Lord Howe Island

 This postcard was sent by Peter

The Lord Howe Island Group is an outstanding example of oceanic islands of volcanic origin containing a unique biota of plants and animals, as well as the world’s most southerly true coral reef. It is an area of spectacular and scenic landscapes encapsulated within a small land area, and provides important breeding grounds for colonies of seabirds as well as significant natural habitat for the conservation of threatened species. Iconic species include endemics such as the flightless Lord Howe Woodhen (Gallirallis sylvestris), once regarded as one of the rarest birds in the world, and the Lord Howe Island Phasmid (Dryococelus australis), the world’s largest stick insect that was feared extinct until its rediscovery on Balls Pyramid.

Lord Howe Island

This postcard was sent by Penny

About 75% of the terrestrial part of the property is managed as a Permanent Park Preserve, consisting of the northern and southern mountains of Lord Howe Island itself, plus the Admiralty Islands, Mutton Bird Islands, Balls Pyramid and surrounding islets. 

Lord Howe Island

This postcard was sent by Paul

The property is located in the Tasman Sea, approximately 570 kilometres east of Port Macquarie. The entire property including the marine area and associated coral reefs covers 146,300 hectares, with the terrestrial area covering approximately 1,540 hectares. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/186