Oldenburg Palace

Oldenburg is an independent city in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. During the French annexation (1811–1813) in the wake of the Napoleonic war against Britain, it was also known as Le Vieux-Bourg in French. The city is situated at the Rivers Hunte and Haaren, in the northwestern region between the cities of Bremen in the east and Groningen (Netherlands) in the west. It has a population of 162,173 (as of 2010), which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig and Osnabrück. In German, the formal name isOldenburg (Oldenburg) or Oldenburg (Oldb) (spoken: Oldenburg in Oldenburg) to distinguish it from the city of Oldenburg in Holstein.

The city is the place of origin of the House of Oldenburg. Before the end of the German Empire (1918), it was the administrative centre and residence of the monarchs of Oldenburg.

The site of the splendid Oldenburg palace used to be the location of a moated castle. The palace as it now stands was built by Count Anton Günther (1583-1667). From 1607 to 1615 he had the medieval-style castle converted into a splendid Renaissance-style palace. From then on it served as the residence of all counts and grand dukes of the city.

The appearance of the palace also changed frequently in the following centuries. During the period of Danish rule from 1737 to 1753 the palace underwent a great deal of conversion work: The shape of the roof was changed, the tower entrance was closed and a main gate was built instead. In addition a north-east wing was built from 1774 to 1778. It served to house the Danish governor and minister Friedrich Lewin Graf Holmer. Duke Friedrich August probably named this wing the "Holmerflügel" after him. His successor Duke Peter Ludwig had the two-floor "library wing" built and had the inside of the palace refurbished by the court painter Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein (1751-1829) in a classicist style. In 1894 the dilapidated "Kanzlei-Flügel" was torn down.

Since 1921 the Oldenburg palace has been part of the Federal State Museum for Art. The square in front of the castle is often used as a meeting place for different cultures as depicted on the card. Thank you Marco.

Historic Post Offices

On 3^rd February 1987 the GDR issued four stamps commemorating four historic post offices in East Germany. Along with the stamps a maximum card depicting each of these post offices was also issued. The maxi cards shown here portray the post offices atWeimar which was established in 1888/89, and the one at Kirchau in 1924/26. The other two post offices were at Freiberg and Perleberg.

Marco sent me these nice maxicards.

 

Struve chain

In Korpilahti, at the top of Oravivuori, lies one of Finland's six points in the Struve chain. This is a triangulation chain extending from the Black Sea to the Arctic Ocean that was used in the 19th century to establish the shape of the earth. On this spot a triangulation tower has been erected to commemorate the importance of the Oravavuori (or Puolakka) measuring station to the mapping of Finland. Struve's chain gained inclusion on the UNESCO world heritage list in 2005. Thank you dear Ella for this interesting card.

Christina Alexandra - Queen regnant of Sweden

Christina (18 December 1626 – 19 April 1689), later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Sweden from 1633 to 1654, using the titles of Queen of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg. As the heiress presumptive, at the age of six she succeeded her father on the throne of Sweden upon his death at the Battle of Lützen. Being the daughter of a Protestant champion in the Thirty Years' War, she caused a scandal when she abdicated her throne and converted to Roman Catholicism in 1654. She spent her later years in Rome, becoming a leader of the theatrical and musical life there. As a queen without a country, she protected many artists and projects. She is one of the few women buried in the Vatican grotto.

Christina was moody, intelligent, and interested in books and manuscripts, religion, alchemy and science. She wanted Stockholm to become the Athens of the North. Influenced by the Counter Reformation, she was increasingly attracted to the Baroque and Mediterranean culture that took her away from her Protestant country. Her unconventional lifestyle and masculine dressing and behaviour would feature in countless novels and plays, and in opera and film.

These two cards show two views of the coronation pageantry. The First card shows Mars with his three knights in a tableau vivant. And the second card depicts Amor and Venus in a self-propelling carriage. The original paintings are in the National Museum in Finland. Thank you Dear Merja for these very interesting cards.

Dutch Fleet at Anchor

A lovely painting of the Dutch Fleet of the 1800's at anchor.

USS Missouri Memorial

USS Missouri (BB-63) ("Mighty Mo" or "Big Mo") is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship and was the third ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honour of the US state of Missouri. Missouri was the last battleship built by the United States and was the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II.

Missouri was ordered in 1940 and commissioned in June 1944. In the Pacific Theatre of World War II she fought in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled the Japanese home islands, and she fought in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. She was decommissioned in 1955 into the United States Navy reserve fleets (the "Mothball Fleet"), but reactivated and modernized in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan, and provided fire support during Operation Desert Storm in January/February 1991.

Missouri received a total of 11 battle stars for service in World War II, Korea, and the Persian Gulf, and was finally decommissioned on 31 March 1992, but remained on the Naval Vessel Register until her name was struck in January 1995. In 1998, she was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. 

Thank you Duncan for this wonderful card.

The Archipelago Trail

Saaristotie in Finnish means Archipelago road in English. This Finnish national road 180 (regional road 180) runs from Kaarina to Korppo (Korpo) via Parainen (Pargas) and Nauvo (Nagu).

Archipelago Sea is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Aland , within Finnish Territorial waters . By some definitions it contains the largest archipelago (island group) in the world by the number of islands, although many of the islands are very small and tightly clustered.

The larger islands are inhabited and connected by ferries and bridges. The Aland Islands, including the largest islands of the region, form an autonomous region within Finland. The rest of the islands are part of province of Southwest Finland. The Archipelago Sea is a significant tourist destination.

Several of the islands have been developed for tourism. Accommodation facilities ranging from exclusive and luxurious beach villas to the more common simple sports cabins with good fishing opportunities are available. Several of the islands have been developed to provide coastal facilities.  

The Archipelago Trail. The Archipelago Ring Road allows travellers to access the archipelago by car, bus or boat. The circular route of the Archipelago Trail, even though only approximately 250 kilometres in length, offers a surprising number of varied experiences. During your trip from one island to another, you will experience various ferries and vessels.

Yes, indeed Ella, a holiday for tourists here would just be wonderful!