Annual Conference of Heads of Government of the Working Community of the Danube region

This pretty maxicard was issued by Yugolavia on 15.5.1991 to commemorate the Regular Annual Conference of Heads of Government of the Working Community of the Danube region which was held in Belgrade from 15th to 17 May 1991.

Thank you Karoly from Serbia for this nice card.

The Eiffel Tower

David from France sent me this nice card. The Eiffel Tower is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Erected in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair, it has become both a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world; 7.1 million people ascended it in 2011. The tower received its 250 millionth visitor in 2010. I consider myself one of the lucky ones, as I had the privilege of going up to the first level. And what a view it was from there. But, that was a long long time ago, and a fit tale for the grand children on a soon approaching winter’s evening!

The tower stands 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to assume the title of the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years, until the Chrysler Building in New York City was built in 1930. Because of the addition of the antenna atop the Eiffel Tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 17 feet (5.2 m). Not including broadcast antennas, it is the second-tallest structure in France, after the Millau Viaduct.

The tower has three levels for visitors. The third level observatory's upper platform is at 279.11 m (915.7 ft) the highest accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend, by stairs or lift (elevator), to the first and second levels. The walk from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. Although there are stairs to the third and highest level, these are usually closed to the public and it is usually accessible only by lift. The first and second levels have restaurants.

The tower has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France, often in the establishing shot of films set in the city.

Aleksandrovsky Square, Minsk

Aleksandrovsky Square is a small public garden in the heart of Minsk has a rich history and not by chance serves as the centre of “gravity” of a city life. And, in this card look at the car, we would call it a vintage model today.

 Its official, faded name is the Central Square. Long ago people renamed it in its historical version - Aleksandrovsky, probably, due to closeness to the residence of the head of Belarus Aleksander Lukashenko.

Thank you Eugenie for this nice old card.

Convent of Intercession

Suzdal is a town and the administrative center of Suzdalsky District of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated northeast of Moscow, 26 kilometers (16 mi) from the city of Vladimir, on the Kamenka River. Population: 10,535.

One of the important sites in the town of Suzdal is the Convent of Intercession shown on this card. The convent was founded in 1264. In the centre of this beautiful white walled convent is the cathedral of the Intercession; it was an add on built in 1518 by an unknown person. The interior of the cathedral has no paintings or stained glass, it is just plan white stone walls all around. The church was and still is, one of the richest convents in Russia. The convent is the home of many nuns and is also the burial vault for twenty nuns of noble birth. Connected to the white stoned wall cathedral is an art museum you can tour. There are many beautiful paintings but none in the actual cathedral itself. This building is filled with beautiful arches and art created in the 16th and 17th century.  

This nice card was sent to me bu Irina.

Sunset

Audrey sent me this lovely card with the sunset over Taipei.
Thank you Audrey.

Greetings from Heidelberg

Heidelberg is a city in south-west Germany. The fifth-largest city in the State of Baden Württemberg after Stuttgart,Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Freiburg im Breisgau, Heidelberg is part of the densely populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. In 2011, over 149,000 people lived in the city. Heidelberg lies on the River Neckar in a steep valley in the Odenwald.

A former residence of the Electorate of the Palatinate, Heidelberg is the location of Heidelberg University, well known far beyond Germany's borders. Heidelberg is a popular tourist destination due to its romantic and picturesque cityscape, including Heidelberg Castle and the baroque style Old Town.

Thank you Gabriele and Lisa for this nice card.

The Venus of Willendorf

This interesting card was sent to me by Daniela from Austria. The Venus of Willendorf, now known in academia as the Woman of Willendorf, is an 11 cm (4.3 in) high statuette of a female figure estimated to have been made between 24,000 and 22,000 BCE. It was found in 1908 by a workman named Johann Veran or Josef Veram during excavations conducted by archaeologists Josef Szombathy, Hugo Obermaier and Josef Bayer at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria near the city of Krems. It is carved from an oolitic limestone that is not local to the area, and tinted with red ochre. The "Venus of Willendorf" is now in the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.

Several similar statuettes and other forms of art have been discovered, and they are collectively referred to as Venus figurines, although they pre-date the mythological figure of Venus by millennia.

After a wide variety of proposed dates, following a revised analysis of the stratigraphy of its site in 1990, the figure has been estimated to have been carved 24,000–22,000 BCE. Very little is known about its origin, method of creation, or cultural significance.

The purpose of the carving is the subject of much speculation. It never had feet and does not stand on its own. The apparent large size of the breasts and abdomen, and the detail put into the vulva, have led scholars to interpret the figure as a fertility symbol. The figure has no visible face, her head being covered with circular horizontal bands of what might be rows of plaited hair, or a type of headdress.

The nickname, urging a comparison to the classical image of "Venus," is now controversial. According to Christopher Witcombe, "the ironic identification of these figurines as 'Venus' pleasantly satisfied certain assumptions at the time about the primitive, about women, and about taste." Catherine McCoid and LeRoy McDermott hypothesize that the figurines may have been created as self-portraits.