Early Morning in Juilin

A lovely early morning Sun over rice fields in Juilin in China. This pretty card was sent to me by pcsuen from Hong Kong.

Ludwig Windthorst

Ludwig Windthorst (17 January 1812 – 14 March 1891), was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party, the most notable opponent of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck during the Prussian-led unification of Germany and the Kulturkampf.

Windthorst was born at Kaldenhof manor in the present-day municipality of Ostercappeln, in the lands of the former Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück, which had beensecuralised to the Electorate of Hanover under the Protestant Welf dynasty in 1803. The growth-restricted boy was raised in a Roman Catholic family, which for some generations had held important posts in the bishopric's civil service. Windthorst became a half-orphan at the age of ten, when his father died in 1822. He was educated at the Gymnasium Carolinum, an endowed school at Osnabrück which he left with excellent Abitur exams, and from 1830 studied law at the universities of Göttingen andHeidelberg. Influenced by the rise of liberalism during the Vormärz era and the 1832 Hambach Festival as well as by the Catholic theologian Georg Hermes, Windthorst tried to bring his Catholic confession in accordance with the ideals of liberty, civil rights and national unity.

Erfurt

My friend Holger sent me this lovely card showing a Christmas scene from Erfurt. Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany. Erfurt was first mentioned in 742, as Saint Boniface founded the Diocese. Although the town did not belong to one of the Thuringian states politically, it quickly became the economic centre of the region. Until the Napoleonic era it was part of the Electorate of Mainz and afterwards it belonged to Prussia until 1945. The university was founded in 1392, closed in 1816 and re-established after the German reunification in 1994. It was the third university working in what is Germany today, but with an older privilege from 1379, some historians argue that it is the oldest university in Germany. Martin Luther was the most famous student of the institution. Other famous Erfurtians are the medieval theologian Meister Eckhart, the Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel, the sociologist Max Weber and Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann, the most successful speed skater of all time.

The city's economy is based on agriculture, horticulture and microelectronics. Its central location has led to it becoming a logistics hub for Germany and central Europe. Erfurt hosts the second-largest trade fair in eastern Germany (after Leipzig) as well as public children’s television channel KiKa.

Erfurt lies in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, within the wide valley of the Gera river.

Mariendom and the Severikirche, Erfurt’s landmarks, form a unique ensemble created by the combined effect of the Mariendom (Cathedral of The Blessed Virgin Mary) together with the Severikirche (St. Severus Church). These two magnificent examples of German Gothic architecture at its best, majestically dominate the cityscape. The "Gloriosa" (1497), the "Queen of Bells", has been praised for centuries throughout Europe for its magnificent resonance. Inside the cathedral there is an elaborate Gothic chancel with a series of 13 coloured stained-glass windows which are almost 13 meters high and are among the greatest works of medieval stained-glass art. The cathedral contains many noteworthy art treasures that have been created throughout the various centuries.

A wide and impressive open-air stairway leads up from the market square to the cathedral itself and to the Church of St. Severus (1278 - 1400), which contains the sarcophagus of St. Severus (1363)."

Thank you Holger.

Käthe (Katharina) Dorsch

Käthe (Katharina) Dorsch (29 December 1890 - 25 December 1957) was a German actress. She was born in the Bavarian town of Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, the daughter of a bakery helper. Her family moved to Nuremberg, when she was three years old. Dorsch attended a commercial school and had her first engagement aged 15 as a choir singer at the Staatstheater, performing Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. She appeared in Carl Zuckmayer's 1927 play Schinderhannes.

Dorsch is buried at the cemetery of Bad Saarow-Pieskow. A memorial stands at Waldfriedhof Dahlem in Berlin.

Thank you Maria.

Great Lavra Bell Tower

Vika from Kiev sent me this lovely card featuring the Great Lavra Bell Tower in that fine city of hers. The Great Lavra Bell Tower or the Great Belfry is the main bell tower of the ancientcave monastery of Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is one of the most notable buildings of the Kiev skyline (see picture).

The bell tower was the highest free-standing bell tower at the time of its construction in 1731–1745. It was designed by the architect Johann Gottfried Schädel. Its total height, with the Christian cross, is 96.5 metres (316 feet).

The Great Lavra Bell Tower is a Classical style construction with a total of four tiers, surmounted by a gilded dome. The diameter of the tower's lowest tier at its base is 28.8 metres (94 feet), and the thickness of the first tier walls is 8 metres (26 feet). The tower's foundation exceeds 7 metres (22 feet). The tower is decorated with many architectural columns: the second tier is decorated with 32 Dorian columns, the third tier is decorated with 16 Ionic columns, and the fourth with 8 Corinthian columns.

Walter Scheel

Walter Scheel (born 8 July 1919) is a German politician (FDP). He served as Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development from 1961 to 1966, Foreign Minister of Germany and Vice Chancellor from 1969 to 1974, acting Chancellor of Germany from 7 to 16 May 1974 (following the resignation of Willy Brandt after the Guillaume Affair), and finally as President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1979.

He is currently the oldest former German president alive and the longest-lived German head of state.

Thank you Maria for this maxi card.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas says Tonnie from Holland. Merry Christmas to you too Dear Tonnie.