Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt (21 July 1854 – 18 August 1905) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish painter. Albert Edelfelt was born in Porvoo, Finland. His father Carl Albert was an architect. Edelfelt admired the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg, who was a friend of the family. The company of Runeberg had a lasting impact on Edelfelt, who from time to time turned to scenes from Finnish history in his paintings. Edelfelt went on to illustrate Runeberg's epic poem The Tales of Ensign Stål. He studied art in Antwerp (1873–1874), Paris (1874–1878) and Saint Petersburg (1881–1882). He married Baroness (friherinnan) Ellan de la Chapelle in 1888 and they had one child. Edelfelt was one of the first Finnish artists to achieve international fame. He enjoyed considerable success in Paris and was one of the founders of the Realist art movement in Finland. He influenced several younger Finnish painters and helped fellow Finnish artists such as Akseli Gallen-Kallela to make their breakthrough in Paris.
The painting on the card displayed, was titled “From the anchorage at Copenhagen III”. The card was sent to me by Jaana.
The Valamo monastery, Finland's only Orthodox monastery, is a hidden gem. The Red Army annexed the original monastery during WWII; the latest church was consecrated in 1977. Like all good monks, the clergy at Valamo produce their own wine (which visitors can buy) using crowberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackcurrants. In February 1940, during the Winter war, Finnish government decided to evacuate Valaam monastery (located on the island in the lake Ladoga) to Finland. 200 monks, monastery library and about 60% of icons have been moved on military tracks - ice on the lake Ladoga was strong enough. Now it's the biggest Christian Orthodox centre in Finland
New Valamo or New Valaam is an Orthodox monastery in Heinävesi, Finland. The monastery was established in 1940, when some monks from Valaam Monastery in Karelia were evacuated from their old abode on a group of islands in Lake Laatokka (Ladoga) to Eastern Finland. The old (Valamo) Valaam Monastery was quite soon after the outbreak of the Winter War occupied by the armed forces of the Soviet Union. After a temporary dwelling place the monks decided to settle down in Heinävesi in Eastern Finland. The choice fell on a mansion in Papinniemi, Heinävesi, after the monks had found there, quite surprisingly, an icon of St. Sergius and St. Herman, the founders of Valaam (Valamo) monastery in the 12th century. The monks considered this to be a sign from God. Having received evacuees from the Konevsky (Konevitsa) and Pechenga (Petsamo) monasteries, it is now, the only monastery for men of the Finnish Orthodox Church.
The Finnish Orthodox Church has also a monastery for women, Lintula Holy Trinity Convent, which is situated 18 kilometres (11 miles) from New Valamo, in Palokki, Heinävesi. My dear friend Merja sent me this card.
Luhansk (formerly Voroshilovgrad) also known as Lugansk is a city in southeastern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Luhansk Oblast (province). The city itself is also designated as its own separate municipality within the oblast. The current estimated population is around 445,900 (as of 2004). Luhansk is perhaps one of the few cities in the world that was renamed four times within 55 years. During the soviet times the city was called Voroshilovgrad in tribute of the Soviet military commander Kliment Voroshilov, a native of Luhansk, exactly since November 5, 1935, but on March 5, 1958, the old name Luhansk was reinstated until 1969. On January 5, 1970, after Voroshilov dead, the name of the city was changed again to Voroshilovgrad. On May 4, 1990, a decree of the Ukrainian SSR renamed again the city with its original name.
St. Vladimir Cathedral in Luhansk this unique structure. Its construction began in 1993, laying the first stone was with the former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. Cathedral was solemnly consecrated on 19 March 2006. St. Vladimir Cathedral today is the biggest religious buildings in southeast Ukraine. The Cathedral can accommodate about 3 thousand parishioners. This lovely card was sent to me by Stanislav who lives in Luhansk.
In June 2000, after two years of fighting in a border dispute, Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a cessation of hostilities agreement following proximity talks led by Algeria and the Organization of African Unity. In July, the Security Council set up UNMEE to maintain liaison with the parties and establish a mechanism for verifying the ceasefire. In September 2000, the Council authorized UNMEE to monitor the cessation of hostilities and to help ensure the observance of security commitments.
On 30 July 2008, the Security Council terminated the mandate of UNMEE with effect from the following day. The Council decision came in response to crippling restrictions imposed by Eritrea on UNMEE, as well as the cutting off of fuel supplies – making it impossible for the operation to continue carrying out its mandated tasks, and putting at risk the safety and security of UN personnel.
The picture shows a Corporal of a Canadian Regiment making friends with a young Ethiopian. The Obverse of the card at left gives more information regarding the card and the nice stamp affixed to the card. Thank you Ian Perry for this nice card.
The Porsche 356 was the company's first production automobile. It was a lightweight and nimble handling rear-engine rear-wheel-drive 2 door sports car available in hardtop coupe and open configurations. Design innovations continued during the years of manufacture, contributing to its motorsports success and popularity. Production started in 1948 at Gmünd, Austria where approximately 50 cars were built. In 1950 the factory relocated to Zuffenhausen, Germany and general production of the 356 continued until April 1965, well after the replacement model 911 made its autumn 1963 debut. It is estimated approximately half of the total production of 76,000 356s still survive. Currently in Brazil, sells a replica of the Porsche 356, the Chamonix Super 90. Maria, this is indeed a lovely car to have and to ride. When you get to buy it, don’t forget that I am waiting to be in the passenger seat. Thank you for this pretty card Dear Friend.
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most normal ships lack: a strengthened hull, an ice-clearing shape, and the power to push through ice-covered waters. Finland depends heavily on her icebreakers to keep the sea lines of communications open. It is well known that seas around the Finnish coast are frozen even in normal winters at that latitude. No wonder they are so good at winter sports.
On 7 September 2005 The Icebreakers stamp booklet featuring Finnish icebreakers Urho, Otso, Fennica and Botnica was issued. The ships represent the last three generations of Finnish icebreakers. Each stamp shows the name and building year of the icebreaker, and also the name and building year of the sister ship. The four stamps of the booklet illustrate the 24-hour operation of the Icebreakers - the top stamp on the left depicts morning, the one below it depicts daytime ops, the picture on the top right indicates evening and the one below it nighttime ops. The oldest of the vessels in the stamp booklet, 30 years this year, is the icebreaker Urho. Otso was built in 1986. The ship is more modern in terms of technology and in particular more cost effective than Urho. Fennica, built in 1993, is the first multipurpose icebreaker in Finland. In the winter the multipurpose icebreakers sail in domestic icebreaking duties. In the summer they have offshore duties in the service of international oil and gas industry. The newest of the ships depicted on the stamps is Botnica. It was built in 1998 with advanced multipurpose icebreaker technology.
Graphic designers Ari Lakaniemi and Susanna Rumpu designed the Icebreakers stamp booklet. The stamps are based on photographs by Matti Lehto (scale models), jarmo Vehkakoski and jouni Klinga (background pictures). The price of the Icebreakers booklet is 2.60 euro. The stamp booklet contains 1st class non-denominated gummed stamps. My dear friend Merja sent me this lovely set of four maxi cards with the stamps on them.
Auschwitz or Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940–1945), was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II It was the largest of the German concentration camps, consisting of Auschwitz I (the Stammlager or base camp); Auschwitz II–Birkenau (the Vernichtungslager or extermination camp); Auschwitz III–Monowitz, also known as Buna–Monowitz (a labor camp); and 45 satellite camps. Auschwitz had for a long time been a German name for Oświęcim, the town by and around which the camps were located; the name "Auschwitz" was made the official name again by the Germans after they invaded Poland in September 1939. Birkenau, the German translation of Brzezinka (birch tree), refers to a small Polish village nearby that was mostly destroyed by the Germans to make way for the camp. During the last Great War, the very name Auschwitz brought about nightmares to allied soldiers who were perhaps hundreds and thousands of miles away from this notorious place. I for one shocked when I studied it almost thirty years later when I was involved in a project at the Staff College.
Auschwitz II–Birkenau was designated by the Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, Germany's Minister of the Interior, as the place of the "final solution of the Jewish question in Europe". From early 1942 until late 1944, transport trains delivered Jews to the camp's gas chambers from all over Nazi-occupied Europe. The camp's first commandant, Rudolf Höss, testified after the war at the Nuremberg Trials that up to three million people had died there (2.5 million gassed, and 500,000 from disease and starvation), a figure since revised to 1.1 million, around 90 percent of them Jews. Others deported to Auschwitz included 150,000 Poles, 23,000 Roma and Sinti, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war, some 400 Jehovah's Witnesses and tens of thousands of people of diverse nationalities. Those not killed in the gas chambers died of starvation, forced labor, infectious disease, individual executions, and medical experiments.
On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops, a day commemorated around the world as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In 1947, Poland founded a museum on the site of Auschwitz I and II, which by 1994 had seen 22 million visitors—700,000 annually—pass through the iron gates crowned with the infamous motto, Arbeit macht frei ("work makes free"). Many suspected what was happening inside the gates, but, now the true horrors were laid bare before the whole world. Pawel sent this card to me.
The monastery of Agia Napa is located in the homonymous village in Ammochostos District. The village got its name from the “Icon of Virgin Mary of Napes”, which means “the Saint of the woods” and thus, she was named “Agia Napa”. This is how the village got its name, Agia Napa, “Holy Forest”.
There is not sufficient evidence as to when the Monastery was originally founded. The cave, the hiding place and the well, all testify to the existence of the Christian community, from the time of the Byzantine era. Agia Napa was given its name before 1366. The Monastery though, as it is today, is a building of the 15th century, when Cyprus was under the sovereignty of the Venetians. According to local tradition, in the cave that has now become a church, the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary was found by a hunter. The hunter’s dog was first to see the glowing icon and began barking, insistently calling over his master. A considerable number of believers started visiting the holy place of the cave, as soon as they heard about the discovery of the icon. The icon had probably been placed in the cave during the period of iconoclasm (7th-8th century) and thus, it was rescued. In the 14th century, the remaining half of the cave was built into a church. Another tradition mentions that the daughter of a noble Venetian family took refuge in the cave out of obstinacy, because of her parents’ refusal to allow her marriage with a non-aristocrat. It is said that around the year 1500 the wealthy Venetian built the church, the cells and a flourmill, on her own expenses. (The flourmill was probably installed in the Monastery during the period of the Turkish domination). A women’s Monastery and a Roman chapel were gradually created. The right aisle of the church, right after the entrance, operated as the Roman chapel. The enormous sycamore tree of the Monastery, which is found next to the reservoir, is said to have been planted by the Venetian woman. When the time of her death approached, she built the stone, vaulted monument. She wished to be buried in this monument, next to the dew of the reservoir. On the northern side of the courtyard, there is a fountain with the shape of the head of a wild boar. Above that, the two-floor building is standing, in which the Venetian daughter initially lived.
Up on the hill, on the west side of the church, there is a small, ancient church, that again according to tradition, the Virgin Mary lay down for a while to rest. By the grace of the Virgin Mary, couples who are infertile and women who are experiencing difficulties during pregnancy, arrive at the monastery everyday to pray for help and request to gird the miraculous belt of the Saint of Agia Napa. The monastery is a particularly graceful place, where anyone and everyone with faith, can find comfort and spiritual peacefulness. Our loving All Holy Mother, everyday opens her arms to us all, in order to take away our worries and troubles, no matter how severe they seem to be. The Virgin Mary everyday prays for us, for the salvation of our souls. My dear friend Merja gave me this maxicard.
These three maxi cards show three of the Birds of Prey in Cyprus. These three stamps are part of a set of six stamps. The birds are from the top The Owl. The owl is a night bird about 22 cm long. It can be seen in many areas like forests, farmlands, farms as well as in populated areas. It feeds mainly on rodents, reptiles, small birds and insects. It lays 3 to 6 eggs in crevices of cliffs, in holes of buildings or in heaps of stones, during the April – June Period. Then we have Eleonora’s Falcon shown at lower left. This is a medium size bird of prey about 38cm long. It feeds mainly on small birds as well as on insects. It lives in flocks and builds its nest in cavities as well as on rocky islands. It lays 2-3 eggs about the middle of July, so that at the time of growing of the young birds, there is plenty of food, because this period coincides with the birds’ migration. And finally , we have another view of the Eleonora’s Falcon in flight. These lovely maxi cards were given to me by my Dear Friend Merja.
For details about the famous Brandenburg Gate please see my post dated 16.06.2011. Neither the Gate nor Berlin have changed appreciably since then ;-)) Michaela sent this card to me.
Preaching Secret Buddha dharma Krodha Guhyasamaja is also called “Happy Buddha” with the image of a man and a woman holding each other’s arms. For those interested to know more about this form of Buddhism it is advisable, to read the texts of the dharma mentioned. The author of this blog is not competent to interpret the nuances or the finer points. This card was sent to me by Michael from Canton.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is most noted for his novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called "the Great American Novel." Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He apprenticed with a printer. He also worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to his older brother Orion's newspaper. After toiling as a printer in various cities, he became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, before heading west to join Orion. He was a failure at gold mining, so he next turned to journalism. While a reporter, he wrote a humorous story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which became very popular and brought nationwide attention. His travelogues were also well-received. Twain had found his calling. He achieved great success as a writer and public speaker. His wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. However, he lacked financial acumen. Though he made a great deal of money from his writings and lectures, he squandered it on various ventures, in particular the Paige Compositor, and was forced to declare bankruptcy. With the help of Henry Huttleston Rogers, however, he eventually overcame his financial troubles. Twain worked hard to ensure that all of his creditors were paid in full, even though his bankruptcy had relieved him of the legal responsibility.
Twain was born during a visit by Halley's Comet, and predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet's subsequent return. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age," and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature."
Mark Twain, summered in Elmira for more than twenty years. Perched high above the Chemung River Valley in his octagonal study, Twain penned his literary classics as the crisp, valley air rolled over the lush hills towards a wine stained sunset. The Chemung River Valley is the southern gateway into New York’s largest wine-producing region, The Finger Lakes. Internationally recognized for breathtaking vistas and award-winning wine, the unique geographic conditions of the region make it the ideal home for more than 100 wineries and vineyards. Maria sent me this card.
The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is an orthodox cathedral in the Tallinn Old Town, Estonia. It was built to a design by Mikhail Preobrazhensky in a typical Russian Revival style between 1894 and 1900, during the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is Tallinn's largest and grandest orthodox cupola cathedral. It is dedicated to Saint Alexander Nevsky who in 1242 won the Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipus, in the territorial waters of present-day Estonia. The late Russian patriarch, Alexis II, started his priestly ministry in the church. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral crowns the hill of Toompea where the Estonian folk hero Kalevipoeg is said to have been buried according to a legend. (There are many such legendary burial places of him in Estonia.) The cathedral was built during the period of late 19th century Russification and was so disliked by many Estonians as a symbol of oppression that the Estonian authorities scheduled the cathedral for demolition in 1924, but the decision was never implemented due to lack of funds and the building's massive construction. As the USSR was officially non-religious, many churches including this cathedral were left to decline. The church has been meticulously restored since Estonia regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Ella sent me this card.
A lighthouse with turbulent seas somewhere on the Swedish coast. Kati sent me this card. If this is what the lighthouse keeper and his wife have to face, you can well imagine what we sailor boys had to face at sea in rough weather. They say that a sailor has a girl in every port. That’s just because in every port there are some kind hearted sweet young things who feel sorry for these simple minded sailor boys who had just come back from the sea, and were yearning for some sympathy and good company!
Olavinlinna, literally St. Olaf's Castle, which is a 15th century three-tower castle located in Savonlinna, Finland. It is the northernmost medieval stone fortress still standing. The fortress was founded by Erik Axelsson Tott in 1475 under the name Sankt Olofsborg in an effort to profit from the political turmoil following Ivan III's conquest of the Novgorod Republic. It was sited in Savonia so as to lay claim to the Russian side of the border established by the Treaty of Nöteborg. Olavinlinna has three towers. It was the first Swedish castle provided with a set of thickset circular towers that could withstand cannon fire. It is not by accident that a network of lakes and waterways forms the setting for the castle, for these would seriously impede a prospective Russian offensive. Olofsborg withstood several sieges by the Russians during the First and Second Russian-Swedish wars. A brisk trade developed under the umbrella of the castle towards the end of the 16th century, giving birth to the town of Savonlinna, which was chartered in 1639. Nearer home, in the State of Rajasthan are many forts which were similarly located, like the one in Udaipur. Even then they knew that, Prevention was better than cure!
On 28 July 1714 the garrison capitulated to the invading Russians, and it took them only two days to take the castle in 1743, in the events leading up to the Treaty of Abo which awarded the entire region to Empress Elizabeth of Russia. Merja sent me this pretty card.
Merja gave me these two maxi cards. In the central part of Cyprus, in the mountains of the Troodos range, some of the most important monuments of the history of Byzantine painting have survived. These are the painted churches which have to this day preserved brilliant examples of various trends of Byzantine and post-Byzantine monumental art, from the 11th to the 19th century. Ten of these churches have so far been granted World Cultural Heritage status by UNESCO.
The Church of Archangel Michael (card above) is situated in a central area of the Troodos mountain range, in the valley of Marathasa, in the village of Pedoulas. In 1985 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List which includes nine other painted Byzantine churches of the Troodos range. According to the dedicatory inscription above the north entrance, the church was built and decorated with frescoes in 1474, with the donation of priest Vasilios Chamados. The priest, accompanied by his wife and two daughters, is depicted above the dedicatory inscription, offering Archangel Michael a model of the church. This church belongs to the typical single-aisled, timber-roof type of the Troodos region. The narthex, which extends to its south and west side, was used as a loft due to the small size of the church. The loft was used by the women, while only men entered the main church.
The card below shows The 12th century Church of Panagia tou Araka, a UNESCO World Heritage site, stands just outside the village of Lagoudera and boasts some of the finest frescoes of the late Comnenian style (1192) prevailing throughout Greece, the Balkans and Russia. Together with the churches of Asinou and Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis, it is considered to be one of the most important Byzantine churches on the island. Visitors should ask for the priest, who can be found on the premises next to the church, to escort them to the church.
Holland is a region located in the western part of the Netherlands. When we hear andldquo;Hollandandrdquo;, the first images that comes to mind are windmills, cheese, their national costume or klederdracht, and of course - tulips! Holland tulips have become popular all over the world due to their distinctive bulbous shape and shocking varieties of color. They are commonly grown in gardens, used as potted plants or fresh cut flowers sold in shops. Moreover, red tulips have become the symbol of passion and eroticism of young love. White tulips, on the other hand, stand for pure love while yellow ones symbolize a concern for the beloved.
While tulips are closely identified with Holland, the flowers did not originate from that province. Tulips actually came from the Ottoman Empire and only arrived in Europe in the late 1500's, introduced by a botanist Carolus Clusius to the Leiden University in the Netherlands. Not long afterwards, the flowers became such a hit in the Netherlands that one bulb, the most famous one called Semper Augustus, sold for as much as 6,000 florins (the average annual income at that time was only 150 florins). Semper Augustus was indeed very rare; it had red and white vertical stripes which can only be produced by a virus on a healthy tulip crop.
Around the time of its sale - early 17th century - the Netherlands was undergoing what historians call the andldquo;Tulip Maniaandrdquo; (incidentally, the phrase andldquo;tulip maniaandrdquo; have become a metaphor to a large economic bubble). The flowers sold for such exorbitant prices that they were even used as currency for trade. However, the market collapsed eventually, leaving the flowers worthless. Thousands of Dutch were left financially ruined in the wake of the crash, including noblemen and dignitaries. For a flower, this is indeed a very interesting history.
Tulips grow best in temperate climates, such as Holland's. The perfect weather for them is cool springs and early summers. In the Philippines though, they can be grown annually in natural conditions. The Philippine weather is not exactly suitable for tulips, but some growers make use of greenhouses to cultivate the flowers. This way, the problem with the high temperature and sometimes extreme weather conditions can be resolved. It's not Holland tulips, but if you want to get tulips here in the Philippines (and other flowers as well, such as roses), there are many flower shops that you can look into. Bjørna sent me this lovely card.
This card shows a Forest-fertilising plane taking off from a road in Finland In 1985. Minna sent me this card.
Europa 1993 series consists of two stamps (10 and 30 c). The theme chosen by the European Postal Telecommunications Organization (CEPT) was Contemporary Art. The Cyprus Postal Services chose to present works of art on the general theme or motherhood - a choice indicative of the great concern of artists for this theme.
A bronze sculpture (originally of clay) height 25 cm by Nicos Dymiotis (1930-1990). This work was made around 1970 and some copies of it are found in private collections. Dymiotis was born in Strovolos, Nicosia. He attended the Pancyprian Gymnasium of Nicosia and studied sculpture at the Lyon National School of Arts, France (1948-1953). After his return to Cyprus he worked on busts and statues, steles and tombstones. The central theme of his sculpture is MOTHER AND CHILD a subject presented in various forms with new kinds of expression. Dymiotis' work is not confined to an external realistic description but extends to schematization with an emphasis on characters, the simplicity of form, and the rendering of the essential while at the same time it avoids narrative and emphasis on purely plastic values. Dymiotis uses a variety of materials mainly stone, marble, plaster, clay and wood. Dymiotis served as an educator from 1957 and in 1981 he was promoted to the post of Assistant Headmaster.
The card below shows an Applique (106 x 127 cm) by Christoforos Savva (1924-1968). This work was made in 1965 and is exhibited in the National Gallery of the Cyprus Ministry of Education. Chr. Savva was born in the village of Marathovounos and during the Second World War he served as a volunteer in the British Army. He studied at the Heatherly School of Fine Arts, England and later at the Studio of Andre Lhote, Paris. In 1960 he founded the gallery "Apophasi", later to become a place for theatrical and musical performances, lectures, exhibitions etc. He organized numerous exhibitions of his works. He contributed to the renovation of the Cyprus cultural life, to the introduction of modern cultural trends and has generally stimulated the interests of the Cypriot people in the arts. Savva used a great variety of materials and techniques. He used oil colours, water colours, ink and pencil. He made etchings and used mixed media to create appliques, reliefs, mosaics, sculptures with cement, metal, wire, pins etc. Merja gave me these two lovely maxi cards.
