Kołobrzeg, Poland

Kołobrzeg is a city in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland with some 50,000 inhabitants (as of 2000). Kołobrzeg is located on the Parsęta River on the south coast of the Baltic Sea (in the middle of the section divided by the Oder and Vistula Rivers). It has been the capital of Kołobrzeg County in West Pomeranian Voivodship since 1999, and previously was in Koszalin Voivodship (1950–1998).
During the Early Middle Ages, Slavic Pomeranians founded a settlement at the site of modern Budzistowo. Thietmar of Merseburg first mentioned the site as Salsa Cholbergiensis. Around the year 1000, when the area was under Polish rule, the stronghold became seat of the Diocese of Kołobrzeg. During High Middle Ages, the town was expanded with additional settlement was founded a few kilometers north of the stronghold in the course of the Ostsiedlung and chartered with Lübeck law. The city later joined the Hanseatic League. Within the Duchy of Pomerania, Kolberg was the urban center of the secular reign of the Cammin bishops and their residence throughout the High and Late Middle Ages. When Kolberg was part of Brandenburgian Pomerania during the Early Modern Age, it withstood Polish and Napoleon's troops in the Siege of Kolberg. From 1815, it was part of the Prussian province of Pomerania. During the 19th century a Polish community started to organize itself. As the Nazis took power in Germany, Poles and Jews were discriminated, determined to be subhuman and eventually subjected to genocide. In 1945 Polish and Soviet troops seized the town and it was subsequently attached to Poland, while the remaining German population, which had not fled the advancing Red Army was expelled. The town, devastated in the preceding Battle of Kolberg, was rebuilt but lost its status as the regional center to the nearby Koszalin. This lovely card was sent to me by Krystyna.

HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81)

Hr.Ms. Karel Doorman (R81) was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy of the Netherlands. Formerly the British ship HMS Venerable, she was sold to the Netherlands in 1948 as a light attack carrier. In 1960, she was involved in the decolonisation conflict in Western New Guinea with Indonesia. In the mid 60's the role was changed to anti-submarine warfare carrier and only ASW aircraft and helicopters were carried. An engine room fire took her out of service in 1968. She was sold to Argentina in 1969 and renamed ARA Veinticinco de Mayo. Zwollywood from Zwolle sent me this card.
The people of Zwolle are nicknamed Bluefingers. During the middle Ages the cities of Zwolle and nearby Kampen made life as difficult as possible for each other. The inhabitants of the latter city were named Kampen Sturgeons. The nickname Bluefinger was given to the Zwolle people because they supposedly committed perjury against the Duke of Gelre.
Some time later, another explanation was given. When Zwolle offered its glockenspiel from the Grote Kerk (St Michael’s Church) for sale, Kampen agreed to buy it and arrived with a wagon full of pennies. The citizens of Zwolle had to count a huge amount of copper coins and so earned their blue fingers. In 2007 the name Bluefinger surfaced across the Atlantic, as the title of a CD by Black Francis, a former member of the American band The Pixies. The source of inspiration for this CD is the late well-known musician and painter Herman Brood, who was born and lived in Zwolle.

The Gateway to Finland

This card was sponsored by the Finland State Railways. And, was first published in 1930. It was sent to me by Koo.

Pori

Pori is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some 15 kilometres (9 mi) from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäenjoki River, which is the largest in Finland. John III established it in 1558.   Pori is the most important town in the Satakunta region. Pia sent me this card from Pori.
The municipality has a population of 83,192 (31 January 2012) and covers an area of 1,704.07 square kilometres (657.95 sq mi) of which 870.01 km² (335.91 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 99.74 /km² (258.3 /sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Pori is the 11th largest city in Finland, and the 7th largest urban area. The Neo-Gothic Juselius Mausoleum, located in the Käppärä cemetery in central Pori, was built in 1903 by the wealthy industrialist F.A. Juselius for his daughter Sigrid, who died when she was only 11 years old. The mausoleum was designed by the architect Josef Stenbäck. The mausoleum originally had frescoes painted by artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela, but these decayed after a short time. Akseli’s son Jorma Gallen-Kallela using his father’s sketches restored the frescoes.
Pori is known, among other things, for the sandy beaches of Yyteri and for hosting Pori Jazz, an annual international jazz festival. Performers at the jazz festival have included Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, The Brand New Heavies and Steely Dan. B.B King is an honorary mayor of the city.

Warehouses in Hudiksvall Harbour, Halsingland

Hudiksvall was founded by King John III of Sweden in 1582. He had the inhabitants moved from the town Hudik, where his father Gustav Vasa had collected the trade- and craftsmen of Hälsingland in order to more easily collect taxes, to Hudiksvall by the shores of the bay. At the time, fishing and the trading of furs, skins, iron, copper and wood products were the main sources of income, and the city flourished. But the city lost its privileges for foreign trading in 1636, and its development was somewhat stalled for the next two centuries. This card showing the famous warehouses of Hudiksvall, was sent to me by Inge of Germany.

Search and rescue

This nice card sent to me by Silke from Bremen shows a boat of the German Maritime Rescue Service GMRS on station. Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search is conducted over. These include Mountain rescue; ground search and rescue, including the use of search and rescue dogs; urban search and rescue in cities; combat search and rescue on the battlefield and air-sea rescue over water.

Search and Rescue in German waters is conducted by the Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger DGzRS (literally translated: German Association for the Saving of Shipwrecked, more common: German Maritime Rescue Service GMRS) with air support by the German Navy and the German Air Force. All incoming requests are coordinated by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Bremen. The DGzRS is a non-governmental organization entirely supported by donations.
Besides the offshore Search And Rescue services, the German Air Force provides 8 SAR Command Posts on a 24/7 basis with the Bell UH-1D Huey. Further, the Technisches Hilfswerk is a key component of the German disaster relief framework. It is, among other things, regularly involved in urban search and rescue efforts abroad.

Josef Gabriel Rheinberger

Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (born 17 March 1839, in Vaduz, in Liechtenstein – died 25 November 1901, in Munich) was a German organist and composer, born in Liechtenstein. Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, who was the son of the Prince of Liechtenstein's treasurer, showed exceptional musical talent at an early age. At the age of only seven Rheinberger became organist at Vaduz Parish Church, and his first composition was performed the following year. In 1851, his father, who had initially been resistant to his son's desire to pursue a musical career, allowed him to enter the Munich Conservatory, where he later became professor of piano and subsequently professor of composition. When the Munich Conservatorium was dissolved he was appointed répétiteur at the Court Theatre, from which he resigned in 1867. Rheinberger married his former pupil, the poetess and socialite Franziska von Hoffnaass (eight years his senior) in 1867. Though the couple would remain childless, their marriage was happy. Franziska wrote the texts for much of her husband's vocal work.
Rheinberger's influences ranged from contemporaries such as Johannes Brahms to composers from earlier times, such as Franz Schubert and Johann Sebastian Bach. He was also influenced by painting and literature (especially English and German). Rheinberger was a prolific composer. His religious works include twelve masses (one for double chorus, three for four voices a cappella, three for women's voices and organ, two for men's voices and one with orchestra), a requiem, and a Stabat Mater. His other works include several operas, symphonies, chamber music, and choral works. Today he is remembered almost exclusively for his elaborate and challenging organ compositions; these include two concertos, 20 sonatas in 20 different keys (of a projected set of 24 sonatas in all the keys), 22 trios, 12 Meditations, 24 fughettos, and 36 solo pieces. His organ sonatas were once declared to be undoubtedly the most valuable addition to organ music since the time of Mendelssohn. They are characterized by a happy blending of the modern romantic spirit with masterly counterpoint and dignified organ style.
Rheinberger died in 1901, and was buried in the Alter Südfriedhof in Munich. During World War II, his grave was destroyed, and his remains were moved to his hometown of Vaduz in 1950. Thank you Merja for this nice maxicard.