City of Luxembourg: its Old Quarters and Fortifications

Luxembourg might be one of the smallest countries of Europe but has one of the biggest fortresses of the old continent 

Fortifications of Luxembourg

This postcard arrived from Germany sent by Kerstin

The Fortress of Luxembourg refers to the former fortifications of Luxembourg City, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which were mostly dismantled in 1867. The fortress was of great strategic importance for the control of the Left Bank of the Rhine, the Low Countries, and the border area between France and Germany.

Fortifications of Luxembourg

This postcard was sent by Adam

The fortifications were built gradually over nine centuries, from soon after the city's foundation in the tenth century until 1867. By the end of the Renaissance, Luxembourg was already one of Europe's strongest fortifications, but it was the period of great construction in the 17th and 18th centuries that gave it its fearsome reputation. Due to its strategic location, the fortress became caught up in Europe-wide conflicts between the major powers such as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, the War of the Reunions or the French Revolutionary Wars, and it underwent changes in ownership, sieges, and major alterations, as each new occupier—the Burgundians, French, Austrian and Spanish Hapsburgs, and Prussians—made their own improvements and additions. - in: wikipedia

Grand Ducal Palace

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As the town residence of the Grand Duke, the grand-ducal palace has unquestionably one of the most beautiful façades in the city (Flemish Renaissance, 16th century). Majestical interior and splendid above stairs (with light design by Ingo Maurer) can be visited exclusively during summer.  - in: http://www.visitluxembourg.com/en/place/castle/palace-of-the-grand-dukes

Historic Town of Ouro Preto

Ouro Preto is probably the place of Brazil that I would most love to visit, much because of the concentration of baroque churches in this city.

Panoramic view of Ouro Preto

This postcard was sent by Gisely

 Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (Black Gold) was the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil’s golden age in the 18th century. With the exhaustion of the gold mines in the 19th century, the city’s influence declined but many churches, bridges and fountains remain as a testimony to its past prosperity and the exceptional talent of the Baroque sculptor Aleijadinho. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/124

Houses

This postcard was sent by Paulo

Ouro Preto, in the state of Minas Gerais, is one of Brazil's best-preserved colonial towns and a UNESCO world heritage site. Among other historical and colonial cities of Minas Gerais (Tiradentes, São João del Rei, Mariana and Diamantina), Ouro Preto is one of the most popular travelling destinations in Brazil. - in: http://wikitravel.org/en/Ouro_Preto

Churches of Nossa Sra. da Conceição, São Francisco de Assis and Nossa Sra. do Rosário

This postcard arrived from Russia sent by Yulia

Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Immaculate Conception): This 1727 church is famous for its 8 lavishly decorated altars. The cemetery here has the grave of Aleijadinho, and the sacristy houses a museum dedicated to him.

Church of São Francisco de Assis (Saint Francis of Assisi): This unique rococo-style church, built in 1776, is arguably Aleijadinho's greatest work.

Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário: Built in 1785 with slave labor. Slaves were forbidden to worship at any other church. The church has a unique shape, with a contour formed by three convergent ovals. - in: http://wikitravel.org/en/Ouro_Preto

Church of Saint Francis of Assisi

This postcard was sent by Luzia

The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is a Rococo Catholic church in Ouro Preto, Brazil.

Its erection began in 1766 after a design by the Brazilian architect and sculptor Antônio Francisco Lisboa, otherwise known as Aleijadinho. Lisboa designed both the structure of the church and the carved decorations on the interior, which were only finished towards the end of the 19th century. The circular bell towers and the oculus closed by a relief were original features in religious architecture of that time in Brazil. The façade has a single entrance door under a soapstone frontispiece under a relief depicting Saint Francis receiving the stigmata. The interior is richly decorated with golden woodwork, statues and paintings, and the wooden ceiling displays a painting by Manuel da Costa Ataíde. - in: wikipedia

Kathmandu Valley

Unfortunately, Nepal was hit in 2015 by a strong earthquake that resulted in several damages in the Kathmandu Valley. Boudhanath was one of the many buildings afected. On November 2015 reconstruction began.

Boudhanath

This postcard was sent from Canada by Jason

Boudhanath is a stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal. (...) Located about 11 km (6.8 mi) from the center and northeastern outskirts of Kathmandu, the stupa's massive mandala makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal.

The Buddhist stupa of Boudhanath dominates the skyline. The ancient Stupa is one of the largest in the world. The influx of large populations of refugees from Tibet has seen the construction of over 50 Tibetan Gompas (Monasteries) around Boudhanath. As of 1979, Boudhanath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Along with Swayambhunath, it is one of the most popular tourist sites in the Kathmandu area. - in: wikipedia

Bhaktapur Durbar Square

This postcard was sent from Australia by Helen

Bhaktapur Durbar Square is the plaza in front of the royal palace of the old Bhaktapur Kingdom, 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) above sea level.

The Bhaktapur Durbar Square is located in the current town of Bhaktapur, also known as Bhadgaon, which lies 13 km east of Kathmandu. While the complex consists of at least four distinct squares (Durbar Square, Taumadhi Square, Dattatreya Square and Pottery Square), the whole area is informally known as the Bhaktapur Durbar Square and is a highly visited site in the Kathmandu Valley.

The Durbar square is surrounded by spectacular architecture and vividly showcases the skills of the Newari artists and craftsmen over several countries. - in: wikipedia

Brú na Bóinne - Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne

When I was in Portugal I had an Irish teacher who suggested me to go to work to Ireland. I didn't go and now I'm in Switzerland... 

Newgrange

This postcard was sent by Nora

Newgrange (Irish: Sí an Bhrú) is a prehistoric monument in County Meath, Ireland, located about one kilometre north of the River Boyne. It was built during the Neolithic period around 3000 BC to 2500 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. The site consists of a large circular mound with a stone passageway and interior chambers. The mound has a retaining wall at the front and is ringed by engraved kerbstones. There is no agreement about what the site was used for, but it has been speculated that it had religious significance – it is aligned with the rising sun and its light floods the chamber on the winter solstice. 

Newgrange

This postcard was sent by Ania

It is the most famous monument within the Neolithic Brú na Bóinne complex, alongside the similar passage tomb mounds of Knowth and Dowth, and as such is a part of the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage Site. Newgrange also shares many similarities with other Neolithic constructions in Western Europe, such as Maeshowe in Orkney, Scotland and the Bryn Celli Ddu in Wales. - in: wikipedia

Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh / Naracoorte)

This UNESCO site is located in two different places in Australia.

Riversleigh Fossil Mammal Site

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Fossils at Riversleigh are found in limestone by lime-rich freshwater pools, and in caves, when the ecosystem was evolving from rich rainforest to semi-arid grassland community. Some of the fossils at Riversleigh are 25 million years old. High concentrations of calcium carbonate has meant the fossils are extremely well preserved. The fossil collection reveals mammalian evolution across a time span of more than 20 million years. There are more than 200 individual locations where fossils have been found. The fossil record here is significant because it provides evidence on evolution and the distribution of species across Gondwana.

Thirty-five fossil bat species have been identified at the site, which is the richest in the world. Cave deposits have been particularly rich in bat species. - in: wikipedia

Naracoorte Caves

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Naracoorte Caves National Park is a national park near Naracoorte in the Limestone Coast tourism region in the south-east of South Australia (Australia).

The limestone of the area was formed from coral and marine creatures 200 million years ago and again 20 million years ago when the land was below sea level. Ground water since then has dissolved and eroded some of the limestone, creating the caves. The caves, such as the Victoria Fossil Cave and Blanche Cave, are often not far below ground, and holes open up creating traps for the unwary. This is the source of the remarkable collection of fossils. Mammals and other land creatures have fallen into open caves and been unable to escape. The fossil record has been preserved in strata formed from eroded topsoil washed and blown in. In some places, the fossil-bearing silt is up to 20 metres thick. Some of these areas are being preserved for future research when better methods of dating and reconstructing fossil records may have been found. These fossil traps are especially significant for tracing Australian megafauna. - in: wikipedia

The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities

This was my very first postcard of an Iraqui site! The quality of the image is not very good but I'm extremely happy to have it!

Ziggurat of Ur

This postcard was sent from Denmark by Genek

The Ziggurat (or Great Ziggurat) of Ur (meaning "temple whose foundation creates aura") is a Neo-Sumerian ziggurat in what was the city of Ur near Nasiriyah, in present-day Dhi Qar Province, Iraq. The structure was built during the Early Bronze Age (21st century BCE) but had crumbled to ruins by the 6th century BCE of the Neo-Babylonian period, when it was restored by King Nabonidus.

Its remains were excavated in the 1920s and 1930s by Sir Leonard Woolley. Under Saddam Hussein in the 1980s, they were encased by a partial reconstruction of the façade and the monumental staircase. The Ziggurat of Ur is the best-preserved of those known from Iran and Iraq, besides the ziggurat of Dur Untash (Chogha Zanbil). It is one of three well preserved structures of the Neo-Sumerian city of Ur, along with the Royal Mausolea and the Palace of Ur-Nammu (the E-hursag). - in: wikipedia

The seven components of this site (in red what I have):

• The Iraqi side of Huwaizah Marshes
• The Central Marshes
• The East Hammar Marshes
• The West Hammar Marshes
• Uruk Archaeological City
• Ur Archaeological City
• Tell Eridu Archaeological Site

Morne Trois Pitons National Park

Now that I reached 800 UNESCO sites in my collection it's even harder to get new ones. And when I think the next one won't come any time soon, a nice surprise like this one arrives

Valley of Desolation

This postcard was sent from Austria by Monika

Morne Trois Pitons National Park is a World Heritage Site (since 1997) located in Dominica. This area was established as a national park by the Dominican government in July 1975, the first to be legally established in the country. The National Park is named after its highest mountain, Morne Trois Pitons, meaning mountain of three peaks. The park is a significant area of volcanic activity. Features within the part include the Valley of Desolation, a region of boiling mud ponds and small geysers; the Boiling Lake, Titou Gorge, and Emerald Pool. - in: wikipedia