Dùn Èideann | Scotland

A friend of mine was in Edinburgh for a business trip and she sent me this beautiful postcard, which shows a panorama of the old town. As she tells me, she wrote this postcard while drinking tea at the Elephant Cafe, where J. K. Rowling started writing Harry Potter!

Edinburgh (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital city of Scotland and the seat of the Scottish Parliament. It is the second largest city in Scotland and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30 square miles (78 km²) rural area. Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea.

The city was one of the historical major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, helping to earn it the nickname Athens of the North. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 in recognition of the unique character of the Medieval Old Town and the planned Georgian New Town. It covers both the Old and New Towns together with the Dean Village and the Calton Hill areas. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city. In May 2010, it had a total of 40 conservation areas covering 23% of the building stock and 23% of the population, the highest such ratios of any major city in the UK. In the 2011 mid-year population estimates, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 495,360.

The city hosts the annual Edinburgh Festival, a group of official and independent festivals held annually over about four weeks beginning in early August. The number of visitors attracted to Edinburgh for the Festival is roughly equal to the settled population of the city. The best-known of these events are the Edinburgh Fringe, the largest performing-arts festival in the world; the Edinburgh International Festival; the Edinburgh Military Tattoo; and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Other annual events include the Hogmanay street party and the Beltane Fire Festival. Edinburgh attracts over 1 million overseas visitors a year, making it the second most visited tourist destination in the United Kingdom. [wikipedia]

Patmos island

 This postcard was also found in that abandoned house. It shows Patmos island, but it is not used, so it doesn't have a date on it. I have never been to Patmos, but I have been told that it is one of the most beautiful Greek islands!

Patmos (Greek, Πάτμος; Italian: Patmo) is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. One of the northernmost islands of the Dodecanese complex, it has a population of 2,984 and an area of 34.05 km² (13 square miles). The highest point is Profitis Ilias, 269 meters above sea level. The Municipality of Patmos, which includes the offshore islands of Arkoi (pop. 54), Marathi (pop. 6), and several uninhabited islets, has a total population of 3,044 (2001 census) and a combined land area of 45.039 km². It is part of the Kalymnos peripheral unit.

Patmos' main communities are Chora (the capital city), and Skala, the only commercial port. Other settlements are Grikou and Kampos. The churches and communities on Patmos are of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. In 1999, the island's historic center Chora, along with the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse, were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The monastery was founded by Saint Christodulos. Patmos is also home to the Patmian School, a notable Greek seminary.

Patmos is mentioned in the Christian scriptural Book of Revelation. The book's introduction states that its author, John, was on Patmos when he was given (and recorded) a vision from Jesus. Early Christian tradition identified this writer John of Patmos as John the Apostle, though some modern scholars are uncertain. As such, Patmos is a destination for Christian pilgrimage. Visitors can see the cave where John is said to have received his Revelation (the Cave of the Apocalypse), and several monasteries on the island are dedicated to Saint John.

According to a legend within the Greek mythology, the island's original name was "Letois," after the goddess Artemis, daughter of Leto. It was believed that Patmos came into existence thanks to her divine intervention. Mythology tells of how Patmos existed as an island at the bottom of the sea.

Deer-huntress Artemis frequently paid visits to Caria, the mainland across the shore from Patmos, where she had a shrine on Mount Latmos. There, she used to meet up with the moon goddess Selene, who cast her light on the ocean, revealing the sunken island of Patmos.

Selene was always trying to get Artemis to bring the sunken island to the surface and, hence, to life. Selene finally convinced Artemis, who, in turn, elicited her brother Apollo's help, in order to persuade Zeus to allow the island to arise from the sea.

Zeus agreed, and the island emerged from the water. The Sun dried up the land and brought life to it. Gradually, inhabitants from the surrounding areas, including Mount Latmos, settled on the island and named it "Letois" in honour of Artemis. [wikipedia]

Salt Castle | Austria

These five postcards are also part of my parents' collection. We have bought them many years ago.

Salzburg (Austro-Bavarian: Såizburg; literally: "Salt Castle") is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital city of the federal state of Salzburg.

Salzburg's "Old Town" (Altstadt) has internationally renowned baroque architecture and one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The city is noted for its Alpine setting.

Salzburg was the birthplace of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the mid-20th century, the city was the setting for parts of the American musical and film The Sound of Music, which features famous landmarks in Austria. The musical was a partnership between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.

The capital city of the State of Salzburg (Land Salzburg), the city has three universities. It has a large population of students who add liveliness and energy to the area, and the universities provide culture to the community.

Nesvizh Castle

This beautiful postcard was sent to me by Maria from Minsk in Belarus via postcrossing [BY-118414]. It shows Nesvizh Castle in Belarus.

Nesvizh Castle or Niasvizh Castle (Belarusian: Нясвіжскі замак, Niasvižski zamak) is a residential castle of the Radziwill family in Nesvizh in Belarus.

The estate was owned by the Radziwiłł Polish magnate family from 1533, when it was awarded to Mikołaj Radziwiłł and his brother Jan Radziwiłł after the extinction of the Kiszka family. Since the Radziwills were one of the most important and wealthy clans of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, it was there that the Lithuanian Archive was moved in 1551. In 1586 the estate was turned into an ordynacja.

In 1582 Mikołaj Krzysztof "Sierotka" Radziwiłł, the Marshal of Lithuania, voivode of Trakai and Vilnius and castellan of Šiauliai, started the construction of an imposing square three-storey chateau. Although the works were based on a pre-existing structure of a mediæval castle, the former fortifications were entirely turned into a renaissance-baroque house. Construction was completed by 1604, and they added several galleries half a century later. The château's corners were fortified with four octagonal towers.

Krak des Chevaliers | Syria

Krak des Chevaliers, transliterated Crac des Chevaliers, is a Crusader castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval military castles in the world. In Arabic, the fortress is called Qal'at al-Ḥiṣn (Arabic: قلعة الحصن‎), the word Krak coming from the Syriac karak, meaning fortress. It is located approximately 40 km west of the city of Homs, close to the border of Lebanon, and is administratively part of the Homs Governorate.

Known to the Arabs as Hisn al Akrad (Arabic: حصن الأکراد‎), the Castle of the Kurds, it was called by the Franks Le Crat and then by a confusion with karak (fortress), Le Crac. The modern Arabic name for the castle is Qalaat el Hosn; this derives from the name of an earlier fortification on the site called Hosn el Akrad, meaning "stronghold of the Kurds".

The castle is located east of Tartus, Syria, in the Homs Gap, atop a 650-metre-high hill. It sat along the only route from Antioch to Beirut and the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of many fortresses that were part of a defensive network along the border of the old Crusader states. The fortress controlled the road to the Mediterranean, and from this base, the Hospitallers could exert some influence over Lake Homs to the east to control the fishing industry and watch for Muslim armies gathering in Syria. 

Castle in Malbork | Poland

This is another postcrossing card, sent by Sulwia from Poland. Unfortunately, she forgot to write the postcard ID, so I cannot register it. :(

The Castle in Malbork was built in Prussia by the Teutonic Order, a German Roman Catholic religious order, as an Ordensburg (fortified castle of the order). The Order named it Marienburg (Mary's Castle). The town which grew around it was also named Marienburg. Since 1945, when it became part of the nation of Poland after World War II, it has been called Malbork.
The castle is a classic example of a medieval fortress, and is the world’s largest brick Gothic castle. UNESCO designated the "Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork" and its museum as World Heritage Sites in December 1997. It is one of two World Heritage Sites in the region with origins in the Teutonic Order. The other is the "Medieval Town of Toruń", founded in 1231 as the site of the castle Thorn (Toruń). [by wikipedia]

Schloss Neuschwanstein

 

This is probably the first postcard I ever bought! I was with my parents touring Germany back in 1989. This pictures the Royal Castle Neuschwanstein in Southwest Bavaria, which was Disney's inspiration for the Castle of the Sleeping Beauty. I remember only a few things from that trip, but the Castle is sure one of them. The funny thing is that I mostly remember the kitchen and not the other rooms =]

ps I like it that in the back there is a stamp that says "Schloss Neuschwanstein".

Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein) is a 19th-century Gothic Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner.

Le Mont Saint Michel | France

Perched on a rocky islet in the midst of vast sandbanks exposed to powerful tides between Normandy and Brittany stand the 'Wonder of the West', a Gothic-style Benedictine abbey dedicated to the archangel St Michael, and the village that grew up in the shadow of its great walls. Built between the 11th and 16th centuries, the abbey is a technical and artistic tour de force, having had to adapt to the problems posed by this unique natural site. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A truly breathtaking place!If you ever go to Normandy, you should definitely visit it!