Gorham's Cave Complex

 Eric sent me this postcard from Gibraltar with a matching stamp!

Gorham's Cave

The steep limestone cliffs on the eastern side of the Rock of Gibraltar contain four caves with archaeological and paleontological deposits that provide evidence of Neanderthal occupation over a span of more than 100,000 years. This exceptional testimony to the cultural traditions of the Neanderthals is seen notably in evidence of the hunting of birds and marine animals for food, the use of feathers for ornamentation and the presence of abstract rock engravings. Scientific research on these sites has already contributed substantially to debates about Neanderthal and human evolution. - in: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1500/

Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin

When a UNESCO site is formed by two or more places or buildings I like to have a postcard of each or a multi-view that shows them all. But when a site, like this one, is formed by 150 buildings, well, I'm not gonna say that it's impossible, but it would take some time to collect them all! However it's not imperial to cross it from my missing list.

Potsdam

With 500 ha of parks and 150 buildings constructed between 1730 and 1916, Potsdam's complex of palaces and parks forms an artistic whole, whose eclectic nature reinforces its sense of uniqueness. It extends into the district of Berlin-Zehlendorf, with the palaces and parks lining the banks of the River Havel and Lake Glienicke. - in: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/532/

Sanssouci Palace

Sanssouci is the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is notable for the numerous temples and follies in the park. The palace was designed/built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to fulfill King Frederick's need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court. The palace's name emphasises this; it is a French phrase (sans souci), which translates as "without concerns", meaning "without worries" or "carefree", symbolising that the palace was a place for relaxation rather than a seat of power. - in: wikipedia

Chinese House at Sanssouci Park

The Chinese House (German: Chinesisches Haus) is a garden pavilion in Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, Germany. Frederick the Great had it built, about seven hundred metres southwest of the Sanssouci Summer Palace, to adorn his flower and vegetable garden. The garden architect was Johann Gottfried Büring, who between 1755 and 1764 designed the pavilion in the then-popular style of Chinoiserie, a mixture of ornamental rococo elements and parts of Chinese architecture. - in: wikipedia

New Palace

The New Palace (German: Neues Palais) is a palace situated on the western side of the Sanssouci park in Potsdam, Germany. The building was begun in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years' War, under King Friedrich II (Frederick the Great) and was completed in 1769. It is considered to be the last great Prussian baroque palace. - in: wikipedia

Cecilienhof Palace

Cecilienhof Palace (German: Schloss Cecilienhof) is a palace in Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany built from 1914 to 1917. Cecilienhof was the last palace built by the House of Hohenzollern that ruled the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire until the end of World War I. It is famous for having been the location of the Potsdam Conference in 1945, in which the leaders of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States took important decisions affecting the shape of post World War II Europe and Asia. - in: wikipedia

Pfaueninsel Castle

Pfaueninsel ("Peacock Island") is an island in the River Havel situated in Berlin-Wannsee, in southwestern Berlin, near the border with Potsdam and Brandenburg. The island is part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 1793, the Prussian king Frederick William II, a descendant of Frederick William I, acquired the island and had the Pfaueninsel castle built for himself and his mistress Wilhelmine Enke in 1794-1797. The small Lustschloss was placed on the western tip of the island, visible from the king's residence at the Marmorpalais in Potsdam. - in: wikipedia

Historic Centre of Vienna

Vienna is in my top 5 of "must visit" cities. I don't know when but I hope to visit the city of the waltzes one day

Vienna

This postcard was sent by my cousin Andreia

Vienna developed from early Celtic and Roman settlements into a Medieval and Baroque city, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, as well as the late-19th-century Ringstrasse lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1033

St. Stephen's Cathedral

This postcard was sent by Danubia

St. Stephen's Cathedral (more commonly known by its German title: Stephansdom) is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP. The current Romanesque and Gothic form of the cathedral, seen today in the Stephansplatz, was largely initiated by Duke Rudolf IV (1339–1365) and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first a parish church consecrated in 1147.

St. Stephen's Cathedral

 This postcard was sent by my cousin Andreia

The most important religious building in Vienna, St. Stephen's Cathedral has borne witness to many important events in Habsburg and Austrian history and has, with its multi-coloured tile roof, become one of the city's most recognizable symbols. - in: wikipedia

Vienna City Hall

Martinha from Portugal visited Vienna a couple of years ago and sent us this postcard wishing us merry Christmas!

Wiener Rathaus (also Neues Rathaus) is the city hall of Vienna, located on Rathausplatz in the Innere Stadt district. Constructed from 1872 to 1883 in a Neo-Gothic style according to plans designed by Friedrich von Schmidt, it houses the office of the Mayor of Vienna as well as the chambers of the city council and Vienna Landtag diet. - in: wikipedia

Statue of the Waltz King in Vienna

This postcard was sent by my cousin Andreia

Johann Strauss II (October 25, 1825 – June 3, 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger, the Son (German: Sohn), Johann Baptist Strauss, was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a ballet. In his lifetime, he was known as "The Waltz King", and was largely then responsible for the popularity of the waltz in Vienna during the 19th century.

Strauss had two younger brothers, Josef and Eduard Strauss, who became composers of light music as well, although they were never as well known as their elder brother. Some of Johann Strauss' most famous works include "The Blue Danube", "Kaiser-Walzer", "Tales from the Vienna Woods", and the "Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka". Among his operettas, Die Fledermaus and Der Zigeunerbaron are the best known. - in: wikipedia

Vienna State Opera

Paula from Portugal also visited Vienna and sent us this postcard to wish us a merry Christmas!

The Vienna State Opera (German: Wiener Staatsoper) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road, built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll and designs by Josef Hlávka, and is an example of Renaissance Revival architecture. It was inaugurated as the "Vienna Court Opera" (Wiener Hofoper) in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elizabeth of Austria. - in: wikipedia

St. Charles Church

This postcard was sent by Anna

The Rektoratskirche St. Karl Borromäus, commonly called the Karlskirche (English: St. Charles Church), is a Baroque church located on the south side of Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria. Widely considered the most outstanding baroque church in Vienna, as well as one of the city's greatest buildings, the church is dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo, one of the great counter-reformers of the sixteenth century. - in: wikipedia

Upper Middle Rhine Valley

Just to see all the castles along the Rhine Valley it would be worth it to take a boat down the river

Middle Rhine Valley

 This postcard was sent by Michèle

The 65km-stretch of the Middle Rhine Valley, with its castles, historic towns and vineyards, graphically illustrates the long history of human involvement with a dramatic and varied natural landscape. 

The landscape is punctuated by some 40 hill top castles and fortresses erected over a period of around 1,000 years. Abandonment and later the wars of the 17th century left most as picturesque ruins. The later 18th century saw the growth of sensibility towards the beauties of nature, and the often dramatic physical scenery of the Middle Rhine Valley, coupled with the many ruined castles on prominent hilltops, made it appeal strongly to the Romantic movement, which in turn influenced the form of much 19th century restoration and reconstruction. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1066/

Marksburg

This postcard was sent by Miguel

The Marksburg is a castle above the town of Braubach in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is one of the principal sites of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fortress was used for protection rather than as a residence for royal families. It has a striking example of a bergfried designed as a butter-churn tower. Of the 40 hill castles between Bingen am Rhein and Koblenz the Marksburg was the only one which was never destroyed. - in: wikipedia

Gutenfels Castle

This postcard was sent by Svenja

Gutenfels Castle (German: Burg Gutenfels), also known as Caub Castle, is a castle 110m above the town of Kaub in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Gutenfels Castle was built in 1220. It was used with the toll castle, Pfalzgrafenstein Castle in the middle of the Rhein and the fortified town of Kaub on the farthest side to provide an impenetrable anti-toll zone for the Holy Roman Emperor until Prussia purchased the area (1866) and ended this toll in 1867.

The castle is part of the Rhine Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site added in 2002. The castle transitioned from a hotel into private ownership in 2006. - in: wikipedia

Stolzenfels Castle

This postcard was sent by Andrea

Stolzenfels Castle (German: Schloss Stolzenfels) is a former medieval fortress castle ("Burg") turned into a palace, near Koblenz on the left bank of the Rhine, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Stolzenfels was a ruined 13th-century castle, gifted to the Prussian Crownprince, Frederick William in 1823. He had it rebuilt as a 19th-century palace in Gothic Revival style. Today, it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley. - in: wikipedia