Water Towers in Netherlands

Since 1839 Water towers form a characteristic part of the environment in the Netherlands. The first towers were used for the water supply of the steam locomotives of the railways, followed by that of the tramway. This type of water tower was not very successful because of its small size and capacity.  

Most notable are the bigger water towers. From 1856 more than 260 water towers were built for the benefit of the central water supply.  

 Finally, by hospitals and private water towers built as part of small drinking water supplies in places where there was no mains present. The number of decommissioned towers are rising constantly. In addition, it does not appear that there would be many water towers built in the Netherlands in the future due better technological advances.

This card sent to me by Marianne show ten of the prominent water towers in Holland.

Children’s Philharmonic Hall, Minsk

Anastasia from Minsk sent me this lovely card.

The Church of the Holy Spirit was built in the 17^th century. Today it is reconstructed and serves as the Children’s Philharmonic Hall. Some researchers believe that the stone temple of the Holy Spirit was built around 1616. It is believed that the construction took place later - in the 30 - 40 years of the 17th century. Originally the church was Uniate, but in 1795, was handed to the Orthodox Church, and has since become known as the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

After the reunification of the Uniate chirch with the Orthodox (1839) Minsk icon of the Mother of God was returned to the Orthodox sanctuary in the Cathedral.

In 1835 there was a fire, after which the church was mostly rebuilt. Second restructuring of the church took place in 1893. In 1930, the cathedral was closed and transferred to the organization to collect grain. In the same year it was denied the bells in the city. In 1936, the church was blown up. At the site of the church was constructed a menagerie.

In 2009 began the restoration of the church building, designed by architect Baglasov S.G. You can have a look on the ancient foundations of the church by going down to the basement of the building.

A Concert hall for 240 seats has balcony where the choir can be placed. At the side of the restored buildings are administrative offices, costume, artistic room and cloakroom. Special hinged gallery connects the structure to the music school located in the neighbourhood.

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris

Annick sent me this card from Paris. The famous Arc de Triomphe is the centre piece of this photograph.

Map Card from Holland

Rene from Holland sent me this nice card from there.

Stormy Sea by Gustave Courbet

This card with a painting (oil on canvas) of a Stormy Sea by Gustave Courbet was sent to me by Andrea from Germany.

Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet (10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realist movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the Romanticism of the previous generation of visual artists. His independence set an example that was important to later artists, such as the Impressionists and the Cubists. Courbet occupies an important place in 19th-century French painting as an innovator and as an artist willing to make bold social statements through his work.

Courbet's paintings of the late 1840s and early 1850s brought him his first recognition. They challenged convention by depicting unidealized peasants and workers, often on a grand scale traditionally reserved for paintings of religious or historical subjects. Courbet's subsequent paintings were mostly of a less overtly political character: landscapes, seascapes, hunting scenes, nudes and still lifes. He was imprisoned for six months in 1871 for his involvement with the Paris Commune, and lived in exile in Switzerland from 1873 until his death.

I am fifty years old and I have always lived in freedom; let me end my life free; when I am dead let this be said of me: 'He belonged to no school, to no church, to no institution, to no academy, least of all to any régime except the régime of liberty.' 

La Esmeralda

The painting on the card is of La Esmeralda. This card was sent to me by Katerina from Russia.

Esmeralda or La Esmeralda, born Agnes, is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (or Notre Dame de Paris). She is a French Gypsy girl (near the end of the book, it is revealed that her biological mother was a French woman). She constantly attracts men with her seductive dances, and is rarely seen without her clever goat Djali. She is around 16 years old and has a kind and generous heart.

Card from Ukraine

Olga sent me this card from Ukraine. It is a painting by Kateryna Biletina.