Tiannv - the fairy

This lovely card was sent to me by Wenshiqi from China. She tells me that the picture on the card is a cartoon image of a role in a Peking opera. They call her "Tiannv"(a fairy), something like chang-e (the goddess of the moon in chinese culture). 

Painting by Frans Hals

This is a painting by Frans Hals a dutch artist. It depicts a meeting of officers and NCOs of the security detail. A 1633 Frans Hals painting in the Frans Hals  Museum, Haarlem.

This lovely card was sent to me by Laury.  She says that this is a typical dutch painting from the 17^th Century. The man shown at the bottom of the picture is Colonnel Yohan Claese Loo. This painting it seems was an inspiration for a self-portrait by William Merritt Chase. 

Helmond, Netherlands

Helmond is a municipality and a city in the province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands. It is quite near Eindhoven a big city. Eindhoven is known for many things, amongst them PSV Eindhoven the football club. If luck favours them Eindhoven may host the 2018 FIFA World Cup there. Helmond has many textile companies. The Vlisco factory is located next to the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal which runs through the city. Helmond is home of the professional football team of Helmond Sport. The centre of Helmond has a castle which was built by Jan III van Berlaer around 1350.

This pretty card which sends greetings from Helmond was sent to me by Brigite and John who live in Helmond and are very proud of it. I would be too if I lived in such a nice town!

The National Sanctuary Complex "Sophia of Kiev"

The National Sanctuary Complex "Sophia of Kiev" is a state museum administration in Kiev and Sudak responsible for maintenance and preservation of some of its most precious historic sites. The card shows a large portion of the National Sanctuary complex in Kiev.

·         Complex of Saint Sophia Cathedral, prime landmark

·         Golden Gates, part of Sofia of Kiev since 1983

·         St. Cyril's Monastery, created in 1929, it was transferred to Sofia of Kiev in 1965

·         St Andrew's Church, part of All-Ukrainian Historic Site 1935, it was transferred to Sofia of Kiev in 1939 and 1968.

The creation of the cultural preserve (sanctuary) in 1934 by the order of the authorities of the Soviet Ukraine at the site of the Saint Sophia Cathedral has likely saved one of the holiest sites in Eastern Europe from destruction during the Soviet-wide anti-religious campaign of early 1930s. The preserve was established in place of the cathedral of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church that was dissolved in 1930. The museum's responsibilities were gradually expanded to other historic locations of Kiev.

In 1994, the sanctuary was accorded its current status of “National”. This card shows the many important monuments and churches in Kiev. Julia who lives in Kiev sent me this card.

The Cathedral of Our Lady

The Cathedral of Our Lady is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp was started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been 'completed'. In Gothic style, its architects were Jan and Pieter Appelmans. It contains a number of significant works by the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, as well as paintings by artists such as Otto van Veen, Jacob de Backer and Marten de Vos.

The cathedral is on the list of World Heritage Sites.

Where the cathedral now stands, there was a small chapel of Our Lady from the 9th to the 12th century, which acquired the status of parish church in 1124. During the course of the twelfth century, it was replaced by a larger Romanesque church (80 metres (260 ft) long and 42 metres (138 ft) wide).

In 1352, construction was begun on a new Our Lady’s church which would become the largest Gothic church in the Netherlands. In the beginning, it was to be provided with two towers of equal height. In 1521, after nearly 170 years, the new church of Our Lady was ready. The south tower reached only as far as the third string course.

During the night of 5–6 October 1533, the new church was largely gutted by fire. The completion of the second tower was therefore delayed, which led to its ultimate postponement. Moreover, the church only became cathedral of the bishopric of Antwerp in 1559 but lost this title again from 1801 to 1961, following the Concordat of 1801. During the Iconoclasm of 20 August 1566 (at the start of the Eighty Years' War), Protestants destroyed a large part of the cathedral interior. Later, when Antwerp came under Protestant administration in 1581, a number of artistic treasures were once again destroyed, removed or sold. The restoration of Roman Catholic authority came in 1585 with the fall of Antwerp.

In 1794 the French revolutionaries who conquered the region plundered Our Lady’s Cathedral and inflicted serious damage. Around 1798, the French administration intended to demolish the building but after each blow, the cathedral was able to recover. In 1816, various important works of art were returned from Paris, including three Rubens masterpieces. And over the course of the 19th century, the church was completely restored and refurnished.

Between 1965 and 1993, a complete restoration took place.

My friend Hildegarde sent me this nice card.

Polynesia

A little About the Polynesia 

This legendary 248-foot schooner was acquired by Windjammer in 1975 and christened Polynesia. Originally built in 1938 and christened Argus, she was one of the last of the Portuguese Grand Banks fleet. She was featured in the May 1952 edition of National Geographic magazine and in the late maritime writer, Allen Villers’ book, “The Quest for the Schooner Argus.” Under her new name, Polynesia, she was completely refurbished and air conditioned to blend today's comfort with yesterday's romance and grace, with comfortable luxury accommodations, while still retaining the charm of her maritime history.  

When Windjammer Barefoot Cruises ceased operations in 2007, Polynesia was acquired by Portuguese interests, returned to Portugal and renamed Argus, where she will be providing sail training to youth, a great next step for a true classic.

Thank you Yunju for this lovely card.

Mainz

"Greetings from Mainz" says the card. This pretty card was sent to me by Alexandra.
Mainz is the capital of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It was the capital of the Electorate of Mainz at the time of the Holy Roman Empire. In antiquity Mainz was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire; it was founded as a military post by the Romans in the late 1st century BC. The city is located on the river Rhine at its confluence with the Main opposite Wiesbaden, in the western part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main; in the modern age, Frankfurt shares much of its regional importance.

The city is famous as the home of the invention of the movable-type printing press, as the first books printed using movable type were manufactured in Mainz by Gutenberg in the early 1450s. Until the twentieth century, Mainz was usually referred to in English as Mayence.

Mainz is located on the 50th latitude, on the west bank of the river Rhine, opposite the confluence of the Main with the Rhine. The population in the early 2012 was 200,957, an additional 18,619 people maintain a primary residence elsewhere but have a second home in Mainz. The city is part of the Rhein Metro area comprising 5.8 million people. Mainz can easily be reached from Frankfurt International Airport in 25 minutes by commuter railway.