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

Stari Grad Plain

The Stari Grad Plain is an agricultural landscape that was set up by the ancient Greek colonists in the 4th century BC, and remains in use.

Stari Grad

This postcard was sent by Nikola

Stari Grad Plain on the Adriatic island of Hvar is a cultural landscape that has remained practically intact since it was first colonized by Ionian Greeks from Paros in the 4th century BC. The original agricultural activity of this fertile plain, mainly centring on grapes and olives, has been maintained since Greek times to the present. The site is also a natural reserve. The landscape features ancient stone walls and trims, or small stone shelters, and bears testimony to the ancient geometrical system of land division used by the ancient Greeks, the chora which has remained virtually intact over 24 centuries. - in: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1240/

Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas

The Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas is a group of three Hoysala-style temples in South India

Keshava Temple

This postcard was sent by Sriram

The Chennakesava Temple, also referred to as Chennakeshava Temple and Keshava Temple, is a Vaishnava Hindu temple on the banks of River Kaveri at Somanathapura, Mysuru, Karnataka, India.The temple was consecrated in 1258 CE by Somanatha Dandanayaka, a general of the Hoysala King Narasimha III

The ornate temple is a model illustration of the Hoysala architecture. The temple is enclosed in a courtyard with a pillared corridor of small shrines (damaged). The main temple in the center is on a high star-shaped platform with three symmetrical sanctums (garbha-griha), set in a square matrix (89' x 89') oriented along the east–west and north–south axes - in: wikipedia

The three properties (in red what I have)

• Channakeshava Temple
• Hoysalesvara Temple
• Keshava Temple

Royal Building of Mafra – Palace, Basilica, Convent, Cerco Garden and Hunting Park (Tapada)

The National Palace of Mafra was one of the few World Heritage sites in Portugal that I hadn't visited yet, so this year I took care of it and I loved it!

Mafra Palace

The Palace of Mafra (Portuguese: Palácio de Mafra) is a monumental Baroque and Italianized Neoclassical palace-monastery located in Mafra, Portugal, some 28 kilometres from Lisbon. Construction began in 1717 and was completely concluded in 1755.

The palace, which also served as a Franciscan friary, was built during the reign of King John V (1707–1750), as consequence of a vow the king made in 1711, to build a convent if his wife, Queen Mariana, gave him offspring. The birth of his first daughter the Infanta Barbara of Portugal, prompted construction of the palace to begin. The palace was conveniently located near royal hunting preserves, and was usually a secondary residence for the royal family.

Mafra Palace

This postcard was sent by Martinha

This vast complex, largely built of Lioz stone, is among the most sumptuous Baroque buildings in Portugal and at 40,000 m², one of the largest royal palaces. Designed by the German architect João Frederico Ludovice, the palace was built symmetrically from a central axis, occupied by the basilica, and continues lengthwise through the main façade until two major towers. The structures of the convent are located behind the main façade. The building also includes a major library, with about 30,000 rare books. The basilica is decorated with several Italian statues and includes six historical pipe organs and two carillons, composed of 98 bells. - in: wikipedia

Galilee

The church is built in the form of a Latin cross with a length of 63 m. It is rather narrow (16.5 m), an impression accentuated by the height of its nave (21.5 m). The vestibule (Galilee porch) contains a group of large sculptures in Carrara marble, representing the patron saints of several monastic orders.

Basilica

The interior makes abundantly use of local rose-coloured marble, intermingled with white marble in different patterns. The multi-coloured designs of the floor are repeated on the ceiling. The barrel vault rests on fluted Corinthian semicolumns standing between the side chapels. The chapels in the transept contain altarpieces in jasper made by sculptors from the School of Mafra. The side aisles display 58 marble statues commissioned from the best Roman sculptors of their time. The All Saint's chapel in the transept is screened from the crossing by iron railings with bronze ornaments, made in Antwerp. - in: wikipedia

Monastery of Alcobaça

My wife and I visited the monastery of Alcobaça in 2010. This year we visited it again, now with our son.

Monastery of Alcobaça

The Alcobaça Monastery (Portuguese: Mosteiro de Alcobaça, Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça) is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Alcobaça, in Oeste Subregion. The monastery was founded in the medieval period by the first Portuguese King, Afonso Henriques, in 1153, and maintained a close association with the Kings of Portugal throughout its history.

Monastery of Alcobaça

The church and monastery were the first Gothic buildings in Portugal, and, together with the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, it was one of the most important of the mediaeval monasteries in Portugal. - in: wikipedia

Monastery of Alcobaça and Tombs of D. Pedro and Inês

This postcard was sent by Ana "galueth28". 

In the transept of the church are located the tombs of King Pedro I and his mistress, Inês de Castro, who was assassinated, in 1355, under the orders of Peter's father, King Afonso IV. After becoming King, Pedro ordered the remains of his beloved to be transferred to her tomb in Alcobaça and, according to a popular legend, made her be crowned as Queen of Portugal and ordered court members to pay her homage by kissing her decomposing hand.

This pair of Royal tombs in Alcobaça, of unknown authorship, are among the best works of gothic sculpture in Portugal. The tombs are supported by lions, in the case of the King, and half-men half-beasts, in the case of Ines, and both carry the recumbent figures of the deceased assisted by a group of angels. The sides of Pedro's tomb are magnificently decorated with reliefs showing scenes fromSaint Bartholomew's life, as well as scenes from Pedro and Ines' life. Her tomb is decorated with scenes from the life of Christ, including the Crucifixion and with the Last Judgement. - in: wikipedia

Alcobaça Monastery Cloister

This postcard was sent by José "PilotOne" 

The cloister of the monastery was built during the reign of, and sponsored by, King Dinis I. It is one of the largest mediaeval Cistercian cloisters in Europe. Its columns are decorated by capitals with animal and vegetal motifs. The builder was the Portuguese architect Domingo Domingues. The Gothic Fountain Hall has an elegant early renaissance water basin inside, decorated with renaissance motifs including the coat-of-arms of the monastery and reliefs of gryphs. The second floor of the cloister, in manueline style as revealed by its typical twisted columns, was built in the early 16th century. - in: wikipedia

Chapter House

This room, where the monks gathered to discuss the daily matters concerning the monastery, was the most important room after the church. Their daily gathering began by listening to the reading of a chapter from the Rule of St Benedict. The entrance to the house is through a Romanesque-style portal with two similar windows on each side. The room is now filled with Baroque statues created by the monks for the main chapel of the church.

Royal Pantheon

From the right arm of the transept, one reaches the Royal Pantheon, a room built in the end of the 18th century in Neo-Gothic style, being the earliest Neo-Gothic architecture in Portugal.

The Royal Pantheon has the 13th-century tombs of two queens of Portugal, Urraca of Castile and Beatrix of Castile, married respectively to Kings Afonso II and Afonso III. There are smaller tombs of unidentified princes. The most remarkable tomb is that of Queen Urraca (died in 1220), buried in a richly decorated late Romanesque tomb. A relief showing the queen is seen over the tomb, and the sides are decorated with the Apostles under a round arched gallery. Other reliefs show the king, surrounded by their children, mourning the late queen, as well as Christ surrounded by a mandorla and the symbols of the four Evangelists. Other tombs are richly decorated with arabesques of Mudéjar-Romanesque style, as well as the Apostles. 

Room of the Kings

This room, located close to the entrance of the church, has a series of 17th–18th century statues representing the kings of Portugal. The walls are decorated with blue-white 18th century tiles that tell the history of the Monastery of Alcobaça, since its foundation by Afonso Henriques. - in: wikipedia