400th Birth Anniversary of Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld

The stamp on this maxi card issued by Germany on 14.2.1991 was to commemorate the 400^th Birth Anniversary of Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld.

Friedrich Spee (February 25, 1591 – August 7, 1635) was a German Jesuit and poet, most noted as an opponent of trials for witchcraft. Spee was the first person in his time who spoke strongly and with arguments against torture in general. He may be considered the first who ever gave good arguments why torture is not a way of obtaining truth from someone undergoing painful questioning.

Spee was born at Kaiserswerth on the Rhine. On finishing his early education at Cologne, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1610, and, after prolonged studies and activity as a teacher at Trier, Fulda, Würzburg, Speyer, Worms and Mainz, where he was ordained priest in 1622. He became professor at the University of Paderborn in 1624; from 1626 he taught at Speyer, Wesel, Trier and Cologne, and preached at Paderborn, Cologne and Hildesheim.

An attempt to assassinate Spee was made at Peine in 1629. He resumed his activity as professor and priest at Paderborn and later at Cologne, and in 1633 moved to Trier. During the storming of Trier by the imperial forces in March 1635, he distinguished himself in the care of the suffering, and died soon afterwards of an infection contracted in a hospital.

Thank you Maria for this nice maxi card.

Pretty picture

A pretty picture to brighten your Day. Thank You Ella.

Stamp Day in Helsinki

This maxi card was issued on 9.10.2013 at Helsinki, Finland to commemorate Philately Day or “Stamp Day”as the locals call it. The stamp is a personalised one by the Post Office in Helsinki. I had featured another maxi card about Philately Day 2013. The building featured on this card is the famous Lutheran Church in Helsinki.

Thank you Ella for this nice card.

Queen Louise's Bridge

Lithuania and Russia are  connected by the Queen Louise's Bridge over Nemunas River at Panemune (in Lituania) and Sovetsk (Russia).

The bridge is named after the Prussian Queen who in 1807 brokered a peace between Napoleon, Czar Alexander I and Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III, on a raft on the river Memel. It is probably the best-known landmark of modern Tilsit or Sovetsk.

At this boundary Russia has changed side a few times politically. Until 1918-1920 Russia was on the northern side, but after the end of World War II she appeared on the southern side. At that time Lithuania was occupied and became officially a Soviet republic. Since 1991 Lithuania is an independent country.

Thank you Olga for this nice card.

The Rowan Tree

Ella, sent me this pretty card with a picture of a Rowan tree. Now,  the rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or small trees in genus Sorbus of family Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.  

The best-known species is the European Rowan Sorbus aucuparia, a small tree typically 4–12 m tall growing in a variety of habitats throughout northern Europe and in mountains in southern Europe and southwest Asia. Its berries are a favourite food for many birds and are a traditional wild-collected food in Britain and Scandinavia. It is one of the hardiest European trees, occurring to 71° north in Vardø in Arctic Norway, and has also become widely naturalised in northern North America.

Rowans are excellent small ornamental trees for parks, gardens and wildlife areas.  They are very attractive to fruit-eating birds, which is reflected in the old name "bird catcher".

The wood is dense and used for carving and turning and for tool handles and walking sticks. Rowan fruit are a traditional source of tannins for mordanting vegetable dyes. In Finland, it has been a traditional wood of choice for horse sled shafts and rake spikes.

The National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine - Taipei

This card that Irene sent me shows guards at The National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine, which is a shrine in Zhongshan District, Taipei, Taiwan, dedicated to the war dead of the Republic of China.

Built on Chingshan Mountain and overseeing the Keelung River in Taipei's Zhongshan District in 1969, the Martyrs Shrine recalls the architecture of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing's Forbidden City. The structure houses the spirit tablets of about 390,000 persons killed, among other engagements, during the Xinhai Revolution, Northern Expedition, Second Sino-Japanese War, Chinese Civil War, and the First and Second Taiwan Strait Crises. A changing of the honour guard from the various branches of the Republic of China Military, similar to the rituals at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, take place at the shrine.

The Martyrs' Shrine was the site of the funeral of Chiang Ching-kuo in 1988. On March 29 (Youth Day, commemorating the Huanghuagang Uprising) and September 3 (Armed Forces Day) of every year the President of the Republic of China leads the heads of the five Yuans (branches of government) to pay their respects to the martyrs by bowing and offering incense. Similar shrines are located in each locality in Taiwan, and similar ceremonies are led by county magistrates and city mayors.

Although the Martyrs Shrine is located in Taiwan, most of the soldiers were born on Mainland China. Taiwan was ruled by Japan throughout World War II, and about 200,000 Taiwanese who lived under Japanese rule served in the Japanese Imperial Army.

One Horse Power Rolls Royce!

Merja sent me this delightful card from Cyprus. She says, this is her on her "One HP Rolls Royce". Yes Dear, in these days of traffic jams everywhere, I think this is the right choice!