Postcard from China

Mogao Caves

The Mogao Caves, or Mogao Grottoes (also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas and Dunhuang Caves) form a system of 492 temples 25 km (15.5 miles) southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. Construction of the Buddhist cave shrines began in 366 AD as places to store scriptures and art. The Mogao Caves are the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes and, along with Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, are one of the three famous ancient sculptural sites of China. The caves also have famous wall paintings.

World Heritage List

China
Date of Inscription: 1987
Criteria: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)
Dunhuang County, Gansu Province. At the eastern foot of Mount Mingsha, 25 kilometres southeast of the County seat.
N40 08 E94 49
Ref: 440

Mogao Caves
UNESCO

Postcard from Gatchina, Russia

Gatchina is a city in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located 45 km south of St. Petersburg by the road leading to Pskov. It is part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.

Khotchino (old name of Gatchina) was first documented in 1499, a village in possession of Novgorod the Great, Russia. In the 17th century, in a series of wars, it passed to Livonia, then to Sweden, and was returned to Russia during the Northern War. At that time, Gatchina was a southern vicinity of the new Russian capital, St. Petersburg. In 1708 Gatchina was given by Peter the Great to his sister Natalia Alekseevna, and after her death, Peter founded an Imperial Hospital and Apothekary here. In 1765, Catherine the Great bought Gatchina with suburban 20 villages, then she granted it to her favourite General Count Orlov. Between 1766 and 1788 Count Orlov built a sombre castle with 600 rooms and laid out an extensive English landscape park over 7 square kilometres, with adjacent zoo and a horse farm. A triumphal arch was erected to a design by the architect of Gatchina, Antonio Rinaldi (1771, built 1777-82), forming a monumental entrance, the gift of Catherine The Great to Count Orlov for his efforts during a recent outbreak of plague at Moscow.
Main Gatchina palace.

The Gatchina Palace was expanded several times by several imperial owners. Rococo interiors were designed by Rinaldi and Vincenzo Brenna and executed by Italian stuccoworkers and Russian craftsmen. Interiors were highlighted with parquetry floors, painted ceilings, and distinctly Italian furniture.

Gatchina

Postcard from Italy

Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan)


Santa Maria delle Grazie ("Our Lady of Grace") is a famous church and convent in Milan, included in the UNESCO World Heritage sites list.

The church is also famous for the mural of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, which is in the refectory of the convent.

The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci


Thank you Lorenzo!


Santa Maria delle Grazie
The Last Supper

Postcard from Philippines

The Miag-ao Church was built in 1786 by Spanish Augustinian missionaries and was declared as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Baroque Churches of the Philippines" in 1993. On the front facade, which is flanked by two watchtower belfries, one can see the unique blending of Spanish and native influences.

The central feature of the bas-relief facade is a large coconut tree which reaches almost to the apex. While an integral part of the Philippine landscape, the coconut tree is also the subject of lore. According to an old Philippine legend, the coconut tree was the only bequest from a loving mother to her two children, a tree which sustained them for life. On the church's facade the coconut tree appears as the "tree of life" to which St. Christopher carrying the Child Jesus on his shoulder is clinging to. The lesser facades feature the daily life of Miagaowanons during the time. Also depicted are other native flora and fauna, as well as native dress.

The church and its watchtowers were also built to defend the town and its people against raids by the Moros. It therefore has thick walls and, reportedly, secret passages. Indeed stretching along the Iloilo coast are defensive towers, but none that equal the size of the Miag-ao. It is because of this defensive purpose that it is sometimes referred to as the Miag-ao Fortress Church.

Thanks ROD!
BLOG

Miag-ao Church
Baroque Churches of the Philippines

The Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague. The country is composed of the historic regions of Bohemia and Moravia, as well as parts of Silesia.



Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Its official name is Hlavní město Praha, meaning Prague, the Capital City.

Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural, and economic centre of the Czech state for more than 1100 years. The city proper is home to more than 1.2 million people.

Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. According to Guinness World Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world. Nicknames for Prague have included "the mother of cities" (Praga mater urbium, or "Praha matka měst" in Czech)", "city of a hundred spires" and "the golden city".

Czech Republic
Prague

Thank you David!

Postcards from Poland

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly 370 kilometers (230 mi) from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Warsaw is the 8th largest city in the European Union.

World Heritage List
Historic Centre of Warsaw
Date of Inscription: 1980
During the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944, more than 85% of Warsaw's historic centre was destroyed by Nazi troops. After the war, a five-year reconstruction campaign by its citizens resulted in today's meticulous restoration of the Old Town, with its churches, palaces and market-place. It is an outstanding example of a near-total reconstruction of a span of history covering the 13th to the 20th century.





Kazimierz Dolny is a small town in eastern Poland, on the right (eastern) bank of the Vistula river in Puławy County, Lublin Province.

It is a considerable tourist attraction as one of the most beautifully situated little towns in Poland. It enjoyed its greatest prosperity in the 16th and the first half of the 17th century, due to the trade in grain conducted along the Vistula. It became an economic backwater after that trade declined, and this freeze in economic development enabled the town to preserve its Renaissance urban plan and appearance. Since the 19th century it has become a popular holiday destination, attracting artists and summer residents.

Warsaw
Kazimierz Dolny

Thank you Kazimierz!

Postcards from Russia, Vladimir

Vladimir is a city in Russia, located on the Klyazma River, 200 kilometers (124 mi) to the east of Moscow. It is the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast. Vladimir was one of the medieval capitals of Russia, and two of its cathedrals are a World Heritage Site.


ST. DEMETRIUS CATHEDRAL

The Cathedral of St. Demetrius, built under the Prince Vsevolod III, is one of the most graceful and beautiful churches in Vladimir. It is like an icon in stone. It is the most mysterious church you will find in Vladimir; beauty and mystery are inseparably linked in it, which makes the Cathedral of St. Demetrius really special.

The first mystery of the Cathedral is its birth, for no historical chronic mentions the time when this church was founded. However, many report that in 1197 the icon of St. Demetrius of Salonica was brought here from Byzantium.

The next mystery is the Cathedral itself. Numerous relief images of lions, centaurs, snow leopards and exotic ornaments (more than 1000) are covered on its white-stone walls. The sculptural decor incorporates subjects from the Bible and classical Greek mythology. In the central parts of the facades the image of King David is repeated. In medieval times, he was associated with the celebration of beauty and harmony of the world. Though all these relief may seem now only mere decorations, a valuable garment, but they have had another function; of speaking to people, of inspiring them. What is concealed behind this symbolic form will hardly be open to anyone, but it is worth a try. If not the mystery, the beauty will surely penetrate you.

Not all of the mysteries will be revealed because the interior of the Cathedral, where surviving fragments of 12th century frescoes and more are stored, is not open for visitors.


Church of the Intercession on the Nerl

The Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin on the Nerl River
is an Orthodox church and a symbol of mediaeval Russia.

The church is situated at the confluence of Nerl and Klyazma Rivers in Bogolyubovo, 13 km north-east of the ancient capital of Vladimir.

Commissioned by Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1165 to commemorate his slain son, the church used to be connected with Andrew's stone castle by a gallery. The monument is built in white stone, has one dome and four columns in the interior. Its proportions are elongated on purpose to make its outline seem more slender, although this architectural solution made its interior too dark for holding divine services.

For centuries, the memorial church greeted everyone approaching the palace at Bogolyubovo. In spring, the area would be flooded, and the church appeared as if floating on water. The church itself has not been touched by later generations, although the galleries were demolished and the dome's shape slightly changed. The walls are still covered with 12th-century carvings.

In 1992, the church was added to the UN World Heritage List as part of the site White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal.


Dormition Cathedral

Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir used to be a mother church of medieval Russia in the 13th and 14th centuries. It is part of the World Heritage Site entitled White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal.

The cathedral was commissioned by Andrew the Pious in his capital Vladimir and dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary), whom he promoted as the patron saint of his lands. Originally erected in 1158-1160, the 6-pillared 5-domed cathedral was expanded in 1185-1189 to reflect the augmented prestige of Vladimir. Embracing the area of 1178 sq. meters, it remained the largest of Russian churches for the following 300 or 400 years.

Andrew the Pious, Vsevolod the Big Nest, and other rulers of Vladimir-Suzdal were interred in the crypt of this church. Unlike many other churches, the cathedral survived the great devastation and fire of Vladimir in 1239, when the Mongol hordes of Batu Khan took hold of the capital.

The exterior walls of the church are covered with elaborate carvings. The interior was painted in the 12th century and then repainted by the great Andrei Rublev and Daniil Chernyi in 1408. The Dormition Cathedral served as a model for Aristotele Fioravanti when he designed the eponymous cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin in 1475-1479. A lofty belltower, combining genuinely Russian, Gothic, and Neoclassical influences, was erected nearby in 1810.

Info Welcome to Vladimir
Wikipedia
Church of the Intercession on the Nerl
Dormition Cathedral

Postcard from Kazan, Russia

Kazan is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and one of Russia's largest cities. It is a major industrial, commercial and cultural center, and remains the most important center of Tatar culture. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in central European Russia.
The Kazan Kremlin is the chief historic citadel of Tatarstan, situated in the city of Kazan. It was built on behest of Ivan the Terrible on the ruins of the former castle of Kazan khans. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazan_Kremlin

"On Baikal". Postcard from Angarsk, Russia

Lake Baikal is in Southern Siberia in Russia, located between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, near the city of Irkutsk. It is also known as the "Blue Eye of Siberia". It contains more water than all the North American Great Lakes combined.

At 1,637 meters (5,371 ft), Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake in the world by volume. However, Lake Baikal contains less than one third the amount of water as the Caspian Sea which is the largest lake in the world. Like Lake Tanganyika, Lake Baikal was formed in an ancient rift valley and therefore is long and crescent-shaped with a surface area (31,494 km²), less than that of Lake Superior or Lake Victoria. Baikal is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, two thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. At more than 25 million years old, it is the oldest lake in the world.

A Russian mini-submarine attempting to set a record for the deepest freshwater dive on July 29, 2008 was originally reported as being successful, but a correction later emerged that reported the MIR I failed to do so, reaching a depth of only 1,580 meters.

Info from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Baikal