SS Prince August Wilhelm

A card from the Postcard book of "Steamboats" showing a poster advertising the passenger steamer "Prince August Wilhelm" of the Hamburg-America Line (4733 GRT, 856 passengers, 116 crew). 

The ship’s maiden trip was to Mexico in 1903. Interned in Colombia in 1914, she was destroyed in a fire, mainly due to the effects of war in Colombia in 1918. 

The artist has tried to give the painting a pleasing tropical flavour with sugar cane plants.

Thank you Klaus for this nice card.

Centenary of the Opening of traffic on the Valga-Moniste-Gulbene-Pjavinas narrow gauge railway in 1900.

The history of rail transport in Estonia starts in 1870 when a line was opened connecting Paldiski, Tallinn, Tapa and Narva; the line extending all the way to St. Petersburg in Russia.

Ella sent me this card which was issued to commemorate the Centenary of the Opening of traffic on the Valga-Moniste-Gulbene-Pjavinas narrow gauge railway in 1900.

The Estonian Maritime Museum's Seaplane Harbour

The Estonian Maritime Museum's Seaplane Harbour was named as a nominee for the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) 2014. 

The Seaplane Harbour of the Estonian Maritime Museum was opened in May 2012 and has had more than 550,000 visitors since. In 2014, the steam-powered icebreaker Suur Tõll will celebrate her 100th birthday. For that occasion, she will be renovated and a new exhibition describing her history will be prepared. The icebreaker will be reopened to the public on 19 June 2014.

With the help of modern multimedia, the Seaplane Harbour in the wooden architecture suburb Kalamaja tells exciting stories about the Estonian maritime and military history promising a “sea full of excitement” for the whole family on an area that would take nearly 2 million A4 paper sheets laid down side by side. The museum’s display, that comprises of more than a couple of hundred large exhibits, revitalizes the colourful history of Estonia.

British built submarine Lembit weighing 600 tones is the centrepiece of the new museum. Built in 1936 for the Estonian navy, Lembit served in the World War II under the Soviet flag. It remained in service for 75 years being the oldest submarine in the World still in use until it was hauled ashore in 2011. Despite its long history, Lembit is still in an excellent condition offering a glimpse of the 1930s art of technology.

Another exciting attraction is a full-scale replica of Short Type 184, a British pre-World War II seaplane, which was also used by the Estonian armed forces. Short Type 184 has earned its place in military history by being the first aircraft ever to attack an enemy’s ship with an air-launched torpedo. Since none of the original seaplanes have survived, the replica in Seaplane Harbour is the only full-size representation of the aircraft in the whole World.

Simulators mimicking a flight above Tallinn, around-the-world journey in the yellow submarine, navigating on the Tallinn bay make this museum heaven for kids or adventurous adults.  

Seaplane Harbour operates in architecturally unique hangars built almost a century ago, in 1916 and 1917, as a part of Peter the Great sea fortress. These hangars are the World’s first reinforced concrete shell structures of such a great size. Charles Lindbergh, the man who performed the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, landed here in 1930s. In 2012 the hangars were rewarded with best concrete building of the year title.  

On the outdoor area visitors can tour a collection of historic ships, including the Suur Tõll, Europe's largest steam-powered icebreaker.

Thank you Ella.

Wish you All a Very Merry Christmas and a Great New Year

These cards were sent to me by my Wonderful friends in Finland and in Germany. Thank you My Dears. I wish you all and all visitors to my blogs a Very Merry Christmas and a Great New Year.

110th Anniversary of Estonia's first narrow gauge Barnu to Balga route

This maxicard was issued with the special stamp and postmark to celebrate the 110^th Anniversary of Estonia's first narrow gauge (750 mm) Barnu to Balga 125 km route which was opened to traffic on October 05, 1896. The stamp and card were released at Tallinn on 17.10.2006.

The Barnu station building is shown on this card.

Thank you Ella for this nice card.

135th Anniversary of Haapsalu Railway Station

135^th Anniversary of Haapsalu Railway Station. 

Haapsalu is a major seaside resort town set on the West Coast of Estonia located approximately 100km south-west from Tallinn, Estonia.  Haapsalu established in 1279, is well-known for its historic and maritime ambience, warm sea water, curative mud baths and friendly residents. It's a wonderful little town with narrow streets for families and romantic couples who enjoy having picnics, walking, visiting spas and taking mud baths, sailing and swimming.

The Keila-Haapsalu railway line was constructed between 1903 and 1905 to serve the resort town of Haapsalu - a favourite among the Russian aristocracy.

Erected to the designs of architect Karl Werheim, the grand historicist-style station building not only had an area for passengers but also a summer cafe and an imperial pavilion. The unusually long covered platform makes the station complex unique. The old railway embankment has been rebuilt as part of the County health trail, which offers a range of options for sports and hiking along a route from Riisipere via Haapsalu to Rohuküla. The railway station's waiting area also serves as a bus station.

Thank you Ella.

Estonian Museum Railway in Lavassaare

Estonian Museum Railway in Lavassaare – is the biggest narrow-gauge railway museum in the Baltic States and one of the biggest in Europe, where there are more than 65 items of rolling stock exhibited. The first narrow-gauge railway in Estonia was opened on the 5th October 1896 between the towns of Pärnu and Valga. In summertime runs the museum train and it is possible to organize a picnic in a picnic train.

Lavassaare Railway Museum. The third-largest museum of its kind in whole of Europe, Estonia's narrow gauge railway museum displays a whole host of locomotives from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as well as equipment and other train-related artefacts. Best of all, on Saturdays visitors can ride the museum's own train, which runs from Lavassaare (see website for schedule). The museum is only open between June and September, but anyone dropping by the rest of the year will still get a look at the dozen or so engines in the yard.

Thank you Ella for this pretty card.