100 years of the incorporation of Floridsdorf into Vienna

This nice maximum card was sent to me by Daerden from Belgium. The card and the stamp on it were issued to commemorate 100 years of the incorporation of Floridsdorf into Vienna  Today's Floridsdorf, Vienna's 21st District, with an area of 44.46m2, stands on land cultivated and developed by early man. The discovery there of stone axes suggests that it was inhabited as early as the Neolithic Age (ca. 4000 to 2000 BC). Celts settled here around 500 BC and the whole settlement area to the north of the Danube, known to the Romans as "Transdanubia", was fought over first by Germanic tribes and later by other invading peoples such as the Lombards, Avars and the Slavs. The settlement was initially called "On the Peak" ("Am Spitz") and belonged to the seminary of Stift Klosterneuburg. In 1786, the prelate at that time, Floridus Leeb, gave 30 plots along the Schlosshofer road to settlers and it is from him that the area takes its present name "Floridsdorf". What began as a predominantly agricultural area rapidly grew and developed as a result of the Nordwestbahn railway, flourishing industries and the steam tramway, which opened in 1885. In 1894 its status was elevated to that of a town.
Throughout the ages Floridsdorf's survival depended on the Danube as an important trading route. At the same time the raging torrent with its countless tributaries and branches wreaked havoc each year with severe flooding. It was not until 1870-1875 that measures were taken to regulate the Danube. Between 1972 and 1988 the high water defences were again reinforced so that Floridsdorf, like the other districts which border on the Danube, has since been protected from flooding.

Machairas Monastery

This scenic card was sent to me by my dear friend Merja from Cyprus. Machairas is a historic monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary located about 40 km from the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia. It lies at an altitude of about 900 m and was founded at the end of the 12th century close to the current village of Lazanias. The monastery is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and officially celebrates the feast of the Entrance of the Virgin Mary to the Temple (Eisodia) on the 21st of November.

Legend has it that an unknown hermit smuggled one of the 70 icons said to have been painted by Luke the Apostle secretly from Asia Minor to Cyprus. This icon of the Virgin Mary remained in its hiding place until the arrival of two other hermits from Palestine in 1145: Neophytos and Ignatius who stumbled across the icon in a cave. To reach it, they had to machete their way into the cave through the thick plant growth, so the icon assumed the name 'Machairotissa' in reference to the Greek word for knife (Makhaira). The whole monastery founded on this site takes its name from this icon.
Following the death of Neophytos, Ignatios travelled with Prokopios (another hermit) to Constantinople in the year 1172 where they succeeded in obtaining financial assistance from the then Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos. The monastery was also granted ownership of the entire mountain on which it is now situated and the status of stavropegion (meaning it remained independent of the area bishopric). The initial monastery was then enlarged by the monk Neilos in the early 13th century. He became the first abbot of the monastery (later he even became bishop of Tamassos). The monastery received further grants from two other Byzantine emperors: Emperor Isaac II Angelos granted cash and land in Nicosia and Emperor Alexios III Angelos donated 24 serfs. 

SS Rotterdam

The fifth SS Rotterdam, known as "The Grande Dame", was launched by Queen Juliana in a gala ceremony on 13 September 1958, and completed the following summer. The Rotterdam was the last great Dutch "ship of state", employing the finest artisans from the Netherlands in her construction and fitting out process. With a career spanning forty years, she was also one of the most successful passenger ships of all time. She sailed from 1959 until her final retirement in September 2000.

On July 12, 2004, she arrived at Gibraltar for asbestos encapsulation and removal performed by the Cuddy Group of the UK. She next visited Cadiz where her hull was repainted its original Holland America grey, and then moved on to Poland and Germany for final restoration. She returned to the city of Rotterdam on August 8, 2008. She opened to the public on February 15, 2010 as a combination museum/hotel and school for vocational training. This pretty card was sent to me by Ans.

Turku Castle

Turku Castle is a monument of Finnish history situated in the city of Turku in Finland. Together with Turku Cathedral, the castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use in Finland. Turku Castle is the largest surviving medieval building in Finland. It stands as a national monument, on the banks of the Aura River, as it has done since the 14th century.

Many accidents have assailed the castle, especially numerous sieges. In 1614, when King Gustav II Adolf visited the castle, a tremendous fire destroyed the wooden structure of the main castle almost completely. After this the main castle was abandoned and used partly as a store, partly just stood empty. A new accident beset the castle in the summer of 1941 soon after the Continuation War had begun when an incendiary bomb hit the main castle.

The renovation of the castle, which was begun before the Second World War and interrupted by Finland's two wars with the Soviet Union, was completed in 1987. The castle was handed over to its users completely restored on 12 October 1993. The building is owned and maintained by the Finnish state and is entrusted to the use of the city of Turku. The castle functions in its entirety as a historical museum as part of the Turku provincial museum. In the main part of the castle are banquet rooms for the city of Turku, a church for the local congregation and also restaurants in both the main castle and the bailey. Today the castle is once more experiencing a heyday as it has achieved the status of being one of Finland's most visited museums. My friend Pia sent me this card.

The Little Mermaid of Copenhagen

Thank you Pia for this nice card from Denmark with The Little Mermaid  which is a statue of a mermaid in Langelinie, Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, the small and unimposing statue (with a height of 1.25 metres (4 ft) is a Copenhagen icon and a major tourist attraction. The statue was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg, who had been fascinated by a ballet about the fairytale in Copenhagen's Royal Theatre and asked the prima ballerina, Ellen Price, to model for the statue. The sculptor Edvard Eriksen created the bronze statue, which was unveiled on 23 August 1913. The statue's head was modelled after Price, but as the ballerina did not agree to model in the nude, the sculptor's wife, Eline Eriksen, was used for the body.

The Copenhagen City Council decided to move the statue to Shanghai at the Danish Pavilion for the duration of the Expo 2010 (from May to October), the first time it had been moved from its perch since it was installed almost a century earlier.

Vandalism of the statue. This statue has been damaged and defaced many times since the mid-1960s for various reasons, but has each time been restored. In 2006, Copenhagen officials announced that the statue may be moved farther out in the harbour, as to avoid further vandalism and to prevent tourists from climbing onto it. On April 24, 1964, the statue's head was sawn off and stolen by politically oriented artists of the Situationist movement, amongst them Jørgen Nash. The head was never recovered and a new head was produced and placed on the statue. On July 22, 1984, the right arm was sawn off and returned two days later by two young men. In 1990, an attempt to sever the statue's head left a cut in the neck 18 centimeters (7 in) deep. In 2004, she was draped in a burqa as a statement against Turkey joining the European Union. In May 2007, the statue was again found draped in a Muslim dress and head scarf.

The statue displayed in Copenhagen harbour has always been a copy; the sculptor's heirs keep the original at an undisclosed location. Undamaged copies of the statue are located in Solvang, California; Kimballton, Iowa; Piatra Neamţ, Romania and a half-sized copy in Calgary, Canada. The grave of Danish-American entertainer Victor Borge, includes a copy as well. A copy of the statue forms the Danish contribution to the International Peace Gardens in Salt Lake City. The half-size replica was stolen on 26 February 2010, but was recovered on 7 April, evidently abandoned in the park after the thief became nervous about being caught with it.

Troodos National Forest Park

The Troodos National Forest Park is at the centre of the island of  Cyprus and covers an area of about 9,000 hectares. The highest point is Chionistra or Mount Olympus at 1,952 metres (also the highest point on the island) and the lowest is Moni forest at 700 metres. The park is suitable for myriad activities ranging from picnics to hiking, skiing and mountain biking. There are 10 nature trails which cover over 50 Km. The park contains 12th to 15th century frescoed churches, winemaking villages and pine forests. There are also monasteries dating from the Byzantine period. The best known and most beautifully restored of these is Kykkos, built in the 12th century (Refer to my post dated     ). The main resorts of the Troodos are Platres and Kakopetria, attractive villages with bakeries, shops and an alpine atmosphere. Over 750 plant species can be found in the area, making Troodos National Forest Park the richest botanical garden of Cyprus. 12 of these species can only be found in Troodos National Forest Park.
As for fauna, within the park live among other species: ravens, Bonelli's eagles, Treecreepers and Griffon vultures. The distinctive geology of Troodos Forest area has been studied by scientists from around the world. The rock types and formations found in the Troodos area allow scientists a better understanding of how the sea bed of the Sea of Tethys was formed 90-million years ago. Along many trails in the forest, examples of plutonic rock, formed far under the bed of the Sea of Tethys, can be seen. This nice maximum card was given to me by my dear friend Merja.

Old Porvoo riverside

Porvoo  is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century. Porvoo is the seat of the Swedish speaking Diocese of Borgå of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The card sent to me by my dear friend Ella shows a pretty picture of the Old Porvoo riverside, featuring wooden storage buildings

The town received its name from a Swedish earth fortress near the river Porvoonjoki which flows through the town. The name Porvoo is the Fennicised version of the Swedish name (Borgå) and its parts of borg meaning "castle" and å "river".