178 LATVIA - Andris Vitolins Ambulance

This postcard shows the painting "Ambulance" created by Andris Vitolins in Riga, Latvia. Unfortunately, I do not have many informations about him. Vitolins is a Latvian painter which already had exhibitions in Latvia and France. Here is a quote from him from his website: "Mankind fascinates me; nevertheless I do not paint people. I paint objects created by men. I portray the material world. I focus on the materialised fruit of human fantasy. I observe human development by watching how the mankind develops thus transforming and using the landscape. I am watching how our living environment gets urbanised: it escapes the control of mankind and transforms into a disarranged entanglement."

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Dietrich (postcrossing) sent from Riga (Latvia) on 15.06.2014

177 CZECH REPUBLIC - Jewish Quarter and St Procopius' Basilica in Trebíc

The Jewish Quarter of Třebíč is an exceptional testimony to the cultural traditions related to the Diaspora in central Europe, and bears witness to the coexistence of and interchange of values between two different cultures, Jewish and Christian, over many centuries. The World Heritage site is in the town of Třebíč, and it has three distinct components: the Jewish Quarter, the Jewish cemetery and St Procopius Basilica, all situated on the north bank of the River Jihlava. The Jewish Quarter rises from the river up on the hillside. The urban layout is characterized by two main streets, linked with the riverside through a number of small medieval alleys, some of which go through the houses. The buildings are vernacular in character, consisting generally of a vaulted ground floor and one or two upper floors with wooden ceilings. Some of the facades have features dating from the Renaissance or Baroque period, but many are of later date, until the 20th century. Because of political constraints, the Jewish quarter was limited in space. Its natural limits meant that this area was never fully fenced, although there was separation (eruf ) until 1875, after which Jews were free to move and buy property elsewhere. As a result, wealthy people moved out, and the area remained in the hands of the poor. Characteristically the area is organized in condominiums. At street level there was often a shop or a workshop, the upper levels being reserved for residential use. There is no special typology for a Jewish house, which is characterized more in terms of the use of a limited space and the condominium structures. This leads to linkage of different houses through acquisition of spaces from neighbouring buildings. In Třebíč the area has preserved all essential social functions, synagogues, schools, etc., as well as a leather factory.

The oldest mention of a synagogue is in 1590; the present Old (Front) Synagogue, from 1639-42, a simple Baroque building, is today used as a Hussite church. The New (Rear) Synagogue dates from the 18th century; it has been restored and serves as a museum and meeting room. In the 16th century, orders were issued to expel the Jews from the Jewish Quarter but these were not carried out. As a whole the authorities were more tolerant here than elsewhere in Europe. Earlier the Jews were involved in money lending, but they also worked in some crafts (tanning, bead-firing, glove-making, soap-making). From the 17th century they were mainly involved in trade and crafts of this kind. From the beginning, the Jewish Quarter had its own self-government with an elected magistrate and two councillors. In 1849, it had its own administration led by a mayor, and it was called Zamošti ('over the bridge'). In the 1920s the area was merged with Třebíč, and the population became progressively mixed. In 1890, there were some 1,500 Jews in this area, but in the 1930s only 300. All Jewish residents were deported during the Second World War, and none are left at present. The Jewish Cemetery is situated above the Jewish Quarter, behind the hill. Access for carriages was arranged via a special road. The current cemetery has two parts, the first part from the 15th century and the second from the 19th. There are some 4,000 stones and some of them bear important carvings. At the entrance there is a ceremonial hall, built in 1903, which is still intact. St Procopius Basilica is situated in a good position on the hill with a view over the whole of Třebíč. It was originally a monastic church (13th century) and part of a Benedictine monastery (founded in 1101). Now it is linked with the castle built on the site of the monastery after its destruction in the 16th century. This is partly due to the mixture of Romanesque and early Gothic elements. It is a triple-choired, three-aisled basilica with an elongated presbytery, an open north porch with square plan, and two western towers. Beneath the east end and the presbytery, there is a crypt with pointed rib vaults. The basilica is built from granite and sandstone. The exterior of the basilica is in square-cut granite blocks. The west elevation is in Baroque style, with 'Gothicized' features in it, and it has plaster rendering. The walls of the interior are now bare, although some traces of original plaster have been discovered in the choir. The nave has Gothicized Baroque vaults with rendered fields.

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Petr Wohlmuth (direct swap) sent from Prague (Czech Republic) on 26.02.2014

176 USA - Idaho Nature View

Idaho is a state in the northwestern region of the United States. Idaho is the 14th largest, the 39th most populous, and the 7th least densely populated of the 50 United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state. Idaho is a mountainous state with an area larger than that of all of New England. It is surrounded by the states of Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. The network of dams and locks on the Columbia River and Snake River make the city of Lewiston the farthest inland seaport on the Pacific coast of the contiguous United States. Idaho's nickname is the "Gem State", because nearly every known type of gemstone has been found there. In addition, Idaho is one of only two places in the world where star garnets can be found in any significant quantities, the other being India. Idaho is sometimes called the "Potato State" owing to its popular and widely distributed crop. The state motto is Esto Perpetua (Latin for "Let it be forever"). Humans may have been present in the Idaho area as long as 14,500 years ago. Excavations at Wilson Butte Cave near Twin Falls in 1959 revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads, that rank among the oldest dated artifacts in North America. American Indian peoples predominant in the area included the Nez Percé in the north and the Northern and Western Shoshone in the south. An early presence of French-Canadian trappers is visible in names and toponyms that have survived to this day: Nez Percé, Cœur d'Alène, Boisé, Payette, some preexisting the Lewis and Clark and Astorian expeditions which themselves included significant numbers of French and Metis guides recruited for their familiarity with the terrain.

Idaho, as part of the Oregon Country, was claimed by both the United States and Great Britain until the United States gained undisputed jurisdiction in 1846. From 1843 to 1849 present-day Idaho was under the de facto jurisdiction of the Provisional Government of Oregon. When Oregon became a state, what is now Idaho was in what was left of the original Oregon Territory not part of the new state, and designated as the Washington Territory. Between then and the creation of the Idaho Territory on July 4, 1863, at Lewiston, parts of the present-day state were included in the Oregon, Washington, and Dakota Territories. The new territory included present-day Idaho,Montana, and most of Wyoming. The Lewis and Clark expedition crossed Idaho in 1805 on the way to the Pacific and in 1806 on the return, largely following the Clearwater River both directions. The first non-indigenous settlement was Kullyspell House, established on the shore of Lake Pend Oreille for fur trading in 1809 by David Thompson of the North West Company. In 1812 Donald Mackenzie, working for the Pacific Fur Company at the time, established a post on the lower Clearwater River near present-day Lewiston. This post, known as "MacKenzie's Post" or "Clearwater", operated until the Pacific Fur Company was bought out by the North West Company in 1813, after which it was abandoned. The first attempts at organized communities, within the present borders of Idaho, were established in 1860. The first permanent, substantial incorporated community was Lewiston in 1861. After some tribulation as a territory, including the chaotic transfer of the territorial capital from Lewiston to Boise, disenfranchisement of Mormon polygamists upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1877, and a federal attempt to split the territory between Washington Territory which gained statehood in 1889, a year before Idaho, and the state of Nevada which had been a state since 1863, Idaho achieved statehood in 1890. The economy of the state, which had been primarily supported by metal mining, shifted towards agriculture, forest products and tourism. Idaho was one of the hardest hit of the Pacific Northwest states during the Great Depression. Prices plummeted for Idaho's major crops: in 1932 a bushel of potatoes brought only $.10 compared to $1.51 in 1919, while Idaho farmers saw their annual income of $686 in 1929 drop to $250 by 1932. In recent years, Idaho has expanded its commercial base as a tourism and agricultural state to include science and technology industries. Science and technology have become the largest single economic center (over 25% of the state's total revenue) within the state and are greater than agriculture, forestry and mining combined. The Idaho State Historical Society and numerous local historical societies and museums preserve and promote Idaho’s cultural heritage.

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Kevin Grimes (friend) sent from Idaho Falls (USA) on ?

175 CHINA - The Great Wall (UNESCO WHS)

Known to the Chinese as the 'Long Wall of Ten Thousand Li', the formidable defensive structures built to ward off invasion of the Celestial Empire by barbarians is called the Great Wall or the Wall of China by Europeans. The principle of these extraordinary fortifications goes back to the Chunqiu period (722-481 BC) and to the Warring States period (453-221 BC). The construction of certain walls can be explained by feudal conflicts, such as that built by the Wei in 408 BC to defend their kingdom against the Qin. Its vestiges, conserved in the centre of China, antedate by many years the walls built by the Kingdoms of Qin, Zhao and Yan against the northern barbarians around 300 BC. Beginning in 220 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the founder of the Empire of the Ten Thousand Generations, undertook to restore and link up the separate sections of the Great Wall which had been built in the 3rd century BC, or perhaps even earlier, and which stretched from the region of the Ordos to Manchuria. Towards the west, he had extended the fortifications, the first cohesive defence system of which significant vestiges still remain in the valley of the Huanghe all the way to Lanzhou shortly before the accession of the Han dynasty (206 BC). During their reign the Great Wall was extended even further, and under the emperor Wudi (140-87 BC) it spanned approximately 6,000 km between Dunhuang in the west and the Bohai Sea in the east. The danger of incursion along the northern Chinese border by the federated Mongols, Turks and Tunguz of the Empire of the Xiongnu, the first empire of the steppes, made a defence policy more necessary than ever. After the downfall of the Han dynasty (AD 220), the Great Wall entered its medieval phase. Construction and maintenance works were halted; China at that time enjoyed such great military power that the need for a defence policy was no longer felt.

It was the Ming Emperors (1368-1644) who, after the long period of conflict that ended with the expulsion of the Mongols, revived the tradition begun by Qin Shi Huang. During the Ming dynasty, 5,650 km of wall were built. To defend the northern frontier, the Wall was divided into nine Zhen, military districts rather than garrisons. At strategic points, fortresses were built to defend the towns, passes, or fords. The passageways running along the top of the wall made it possible to move troops rapidly and for imperial couriers to travel. Two symbolic monuments still proudly stand at either end of the wall - the First Door under Heaven at Shanhaiguan, located at the wall's eastern end, and the Last Door under Heaven at Jiayuguan, which, as part of the fortress entirely restored after 1949, marks its north-western end. This complex and diachronic cultural property is an outstanding and unique example of a military architectural ensemble which served a single strategic purpose for 2,000 years, but whose construction history illustrates successive advances in defence techniques and adaptation to changing political contexts. The purpose of The Great Wall was to protect China from outside aggression, but also to preserve its culture from the customs of foreign barbarians. Because its construction implied suffering, it is one of the essential references in Chinese literature. The Great Wall of the Ming is, not only because of the ambitious character of the undertaking but also the perfection of its construction, a masterpiece. The wall constitutes, on the vast scale of a continent, a perfect example of architecture integrated into the landscape. During the Chunqiu period, the Chinese imposed their models of construction and organization of space in building the defence works along the northern frontier. The spread of Sinicism was accentuated by the population transfers necessitated by the Great Wall. That the great walls bear exceptional testimony to the civilizations of ancient China is illustrated as much by the tamped-earth sections of fortifications dating from the Western Han that are conserved in Gansu Province as by the admirable and universally acclaimed masonry of the Ming period.

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Starring You sent from ? (China) on 14.01.2014

174 GERMANY - Wartburg Castle (UNESCO WHS)

The Castle of Wartburg is an outstanding monument of the feudal period in central Europe. It is rich in cultural associations, most notably its role as the place of exile of Martin Luther, who composed his German translation of the New Testament there. It is also a powerful symbol of German integration and unity. The legendary creation of the castle is attributed to Count Ludwig der Springer. The first steps in its construction were taken in 1067, and it became one of the key points in the early years of Ludovician sovereignty. This sovereignty grew more firmly established during the first half of the 12th century. Raised to the dignity of Landgraves, the Ludovicians supported the policies of the Stauffen emperors. The building of the palace in the second half of the 12th century illustrates their status as Princes of the Empire. In 1227 Heinrich Raspe IV, the brother of Ludwig IV, succeeded him and, espousing the pope's cause, was appointed King of Germany on the initiative of Innocent IV. His death in 1247 ended the Ludovician dynasty. The Margrave of Wettin, Heinrich von Meissen, took possession of Wartburg. The transfer of the seat of power to Gotha and subsequently to Weimar at the beginning of the 15th century marked the beginning of the castle's decline. From the 16th century onwards, the castle was kept more or less in a state of repair; although abandoned as a seat of power, its strategic importance was nonetheless highlighted several times. After the Napoleonic wars, a national sentiment emerged which revelled in the image of ancient Germany as symbolized by Wartburg Castle.

In the first half of the 19th century, on the initiative of the Grand Duke of Saxony, the entire site was completely renovated: the remains of the palace were raised from their ruins, the curtain wall restored, and the remainder of the buildings reconstructed under the supervision of architect Hugo von Ritgen. The large parts played by assumptions in the reconstruction have rather more to do with the romantic imagination than with historical reality. In 1945, the bombing of Eisenach spared Wartburg, although the castle was later pillaged by Soviet troops. The German Democratic Republic made Wartburg Castle a national monument; since the reunification of Germany, restoration work has concentrated primarily on the interiors and on the problems of preserving the stonework on the palace facades. The castle occupies a rocky spur looking north and south, in the midst of the forest that looks down over the city of Eisenach. Its layout corresponds in essence to that of the original fortress, particularly the palace, the ramparts, the South Tower, and the outworks, which are now partially buried or in ruins. In architectural terms, The rocky spur is reached from the northern end, occupied by a tower with a drawbridge, followed by a number of outbuildings which form an outer courtyard. Next follows the lower courtyard, the main features of which are the keep and the palace, onto which the Knights' Baths back. The South Tower marks the farther end of the spur. The centre of the lower courtyard is occupied by a cistern.

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Nordseekrabbe (UNESCO Forum) sent from Spaden (Germany) on 19.01.2014

173 RUSSIA - Port of Vladivostok

Commercial Port of Vladivostok is a seaport in the Russian city of Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai. It is one of the main transport hubs in the Russian Far East, which plays an important role in international cabotage in the Pacific Rim. The Port of Vladivostok is the eastern last stop on Russia's Northern Sea Route that stretches from the country's northwestern shores at the border with Norway. It is the principal base for supplies for Russia's Arctic ports to the east of Cape Chelyuskin. In May 1896 Nicholas II, the Russian Emperor, ordered to build commercial port on the coast of Golden Horn Bay and allocated 600,000 rubles for this purpose. The arrival of the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1903 connected the Port of Vladivostok to Manchuria and gave the port a better connection to the rest of the Russian Empire and enhanced its importance as a major center in eastern Russia. The Port of Vladivostok was important as a military port that received supplies from the United States during World War I.

When the Russian Revolution of 1917 began, the Port of Vladivostok was occupied by foreign forces, primarily the Japanese, who stayed there until the early 1920s. After they left the city, the Port of Vladivostok became important to the new Soviet Government.The port is operated by Commercial Port of Vladivostok . During the World War II, when Baltic and Black Seas were locked out by the Wermacht, weapons, food stuff, machinery and medical supplies were shipped to Vladivostok from the USA under lend-lease. Then the cargo was loaded into wagons and transported to fronts via Trans-Siberian Railway. For 5 war years the port of Vladivostok handled 10 M tons of cargoes. In 1945 it was recognized the leading port for efficient and speedy vessel handling in the Soviet Union. After the war economic situation in the Russian Far East began to stabilize: new enterprises appeared and old ones were revitalized. In 1950 the port handled 7 times more cabotage cargoes than the year before. In 1952 the port became closed to foreign ships due to being the location of the Pacific fleet of the Soviet Navy and was opened only 40 years later in 1991.

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Ulyana02 (postcrossing) sent from Vladivostok (Russia) on 07.02.2014

172 JAPAN - Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration (UNESCO)

The solitary, often snow-capped Mount Fuji (Fujisan), rising above villages and tree-fringed sea and lakes, has inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries. Fujisan is a solitary strato-volcano, around 100 km south-west of Tokyo that rises to 3,776 meters in height. The base of its southern slopes extends to the sea shores of Suruga Bay. The awe that Fujisan’s majestic form and intermittent volcanic activity has inspired was transformed into religious practices that linked Shintoism and Buddhism, people and nature, and symbolic death and re-birth, with worship ascents and descents to and from the summit, formalised in routes and around shrines and lodging houses at the foot of the mountain. And the almost perfect, snow-capped conical form of Fujisan inspired artists in the early 19th century to produce images that transcended cultures, allowed the mountain to be known around the world, and had a profound influence on the development of Western art. From ancient times, pilgrims carrying a long staff, set off from the  compounds of the Sengenjinja shrines at the foot of the mountain to reach the crater at its summit where it was believed that the Shinto deity, Asama no Okami resided. At the summit, they carried out a practice called ohachimeguri (literally, “going around the bowl”), processing around the crater wall. There were two types of pilgrims, those who were led by mountain ascetics, and from the 17th century onwards, those in greater numbers who belonged to Fuji-ko societies that flourished in the prosperous and stable Edo period.

As pilgrimages became more popular from the 18th century onwards, organizations were established to support the pilgrims’ needs and routes up the mountain were delineated, huts provided, and shrines and Buddhist facilities built. Curious natural volcanic features at the foot of the mountain, created by lava flowing down after volcanic eruptions, came to be revered as sacred sites, while the lakes and springs  were used by pilgrims for cold ablutions, Mizugori, to purify their bodies prior to climbing the mountain. The practice of making a circuit of eight lakes, Hakkaimeguri - including the five lakes included in the Fujigoko (Fuji Five Lakes) - became a ritual among many Fuji-ko adherents. Pilgrims progressed up the mountain through what they recognised as three zones; the grass area around the base, above that the forest area and beyond that the burnt or bald mountain of its summit. From the 14th century, artists created large numbers of images of Fujisan and between the 17th to the 19th century, its form became a key motif not only in paintings but also in literature, gardens, and other crafts. In particular the wood block prints of Katsushika Hokusai, such as the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, had a profound impact on Western art in the 19th century and allowed the form of Fujisan to become widely known as the symbol of ‘Oriental’ Japan. The serial property consists of the top zone of the mountain, and spread out around its lower slopes shrines, lodging houses and a group of revered natural phenomena consisting of springs, a waterfall lava tree moulds and a pine tree grove on the sand beach, which together form an exceptional testimony to the religious veneration of Fujisan, and encompass enough of its majestic form to reflect the way its beauty as depicted by artists had such a profound influence on the development of Western art.

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Pjazz (UNESCO You Choose) sent from Osaka (Japan) on 22.01.2014

171 MALAYSIA - Kek Lok Si Temple

The Kek Lok Si Temple is a Buddhist temple situated in Air Itam in Penang and is one of the best known temples on the island. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia. The temple is heavily commercialised with shops at every level and inside the main temple complexes. Mahayana Buddhism and traditional Chinese rituals blend into a harmonious whole, both in the temple architecture and artwork as well as in the daily activities of worshippers. The construction of the temple began in 1890 and was inspired by the chief monk of the Goddess of Mercy Temple at Pitt Street. With the support of the consular representative of China in Penang, the project received the sanction of the Emperor Guangxu, who bestowed a tablet and gift of 70,000 volumes of the Imperial Edition of the Buddhist Sutras. The primary benefactor of the Kek Lok Si Temple in 1906 was none other than Kapitan Chung Keng Quee.

In 1930, the seven storey main pagoda of the temple or the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas, was completed. This pagoda combines a Chinese octagonal base with a middle tier of Thai design, and a Burmese crown; reflecting the temple's embrace of both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism. In 2002, a 30.2m bronze statue of the Kuan Yin was completed and opened to public. It replaced the previous white plaster Kuan Yin statue which was damaged due to a fire a few years earlier. The bronze statue is located on the hillside above the pagoda while the head of the previous statue which survived the fire is preserved and placed on the right hand corner of the new statue. As the fairly recent date mentioned above may suggest, the temple is still growing. Generous donations from the affluent Chinese community allow the construction of additional buildings. From 2005 to 2009 an ornate shelter for the Kuan Yin statue was constructed. 16 carved dragon pillars were built, carrying the top of three concentric octagonal roof. This most recent construction was inaugurated on 6 December 2009.

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Raymond Low (direct swap) sent from ? (Malaysia) on 17.02.2014

170 FINLAND - Climate and Flag of Finland

The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone. In the Köppen climate classification, the whole of Finland lies in the boreal zone characterized by warm summers and freezing winters. Within the country, the temperateness varies considerably between the southern coastal regions and the extreme north, showing characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream combines with the moderating effects of the Baltic Sea and numerous inland lakes to explain the unusually warm climate compared with other regions that share the same latitude, such as Alaska, Siberia and southern Greenland. Winters of southern Finland (when mean daily temperature remains below 0 °C or 32 °F) are usually about 100 days long, and the snow typically covers the land from about late November to mid-April. Even in the most temperate regions of the south, the harshest winter nights can see the temperatures fall to −30 °C (−22 °F). Climatic summers (when mean daily temperature remains above 10 °C or 50 °F) in southern Finland last from about late May to mid-September, and in the inland, the warmest days of July can reach 35 °C (95 °F). Although most of Finland lies on the taiga belt, the southernmost coastal regions are sometimes classified as hemiboreal.

The flag of Finland, also called siniristilippu ("Blue Cross Flag"), dates from the beginning of the 20th century. On a white background, it features a blue Nordic cross, which represents Christianity. The state flag has a coat of arms in the centre, but is otherwise identical to the civil flag. The swallow-tailed state flag is used by the military. The presidential standard is identical to the swallow-tailed state flag but also has in its upper left corner the Cross of Liberty after the Order of the Cross of Liberty, which has the President of Finland as its Grand Master. Like Sweden's, Finland's national flag is based on the Scandinavian cross. It was adopted after independence from Russia, when many patriotic Finns wanted a special flag for their country, but its design dates back to the 19th century. The blue coloring is said to represent the country's thousands of lakes and the sky, with white for the snow that covers the land in winter. This color combination has also been used over the centuries in various Finnish provincial, military, and town flags.

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Amanda79 (postcrossing) sent from Oulainen (Finland) on 23.02.2014

169 ROMANIA - Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains (UNESCO)

The Geto-Dacian kingdoms of the late 1st millennium BC attained an exceptionally high cultural and socio-economic level, and this is symbolized by this group of fortresses, which represent the fusion of techniques and concepts of military architecture from inside and outside the classical world to create a unique style.
The civilization of the Getes and Dacians can be distinguished in the Thracian world long before Herodotus first referred to them in the 7th century BC. The Getes inhabited the Danube plain and the Dacians the central and western part of the region between the Carpathians and the Danube. It was a typical Iron Age culture, practising agriculture, stock-raising, fishing and metal-working, as well as trade with the Graeco-Roman world. When Greek colonies were established along the northern shores of the Black Sea, the Geto-Dacian rulers established close links with them and extended their protection.
The system developed by the Dacians to defend their capital, Sarmizegetusa Regia, was composed of three distinct fortified elements: the oldest is represented by fortified sites on dominant physical features, which consisted of palisaded banks and ditches. The second group is that of fortresses. The final category is that of linear defences, which blocked access from certain routes and linked two or more fortresses.
There are three components of Sarmizegetusa, the capital of Dacia: the fortress, the sacred area, and the civilian quarter. The Grădiştea plateau is dominated by the fortress, which was the centre of secular and spiritual government. The sacred area is situated to the east of the fortress. Access is by means of a paved path on the west and a monumental stone stairway on the east.

Costeşti-Cetăţuie, a small plateau on a hill overlooking the left bank of the river Apa Oraşului, was terraced to form a strong fortress. Its fortifications were laid out in three concentric bands, erected in successive stages of the fortress's life. The ramparts are constructed from stone, wood and rammed earth, a different technique being used for each enceinte. A number of towers survive.
Costeşti-Blidaru is the strongest and most spectacular of the fortresses erected to defend Sarmizegetusa. It is rectilinear in plan and is located on the levelled summit of a small hill. There are two enclosures. The walls have corner bastions, through one of which access is gained to the interior, where there are the remains of a square building that would have housed the garrison. A second enclosure, also rectangular in plan, was added later, extending the fortress to the entire summit of the hill.
The Luncani Piatra Roşie fortress consists of two fortified enclosures on the eastern slope of a rocky massif. The earlier and smaller of the two has corner bastions. In the interior there is an apsidal timber-framed barrack block with two rooms. To the north and outside the defences there were two buildings on the site of an earlier sanctuary. The second enceinte dates from the late 1st century AD.
The Băniţa fortress was constructed on a steep conical hill in the Jiu valley. The only side on which the summit was accessible was on the north, and this was defended by a strong stone wall in murus dacicus style. The fortress itself was entered through a gate leading to a monumental limestone stairway with andesite balustrades. The plateau above has three terraces at different levels.

The Căpâlna fortress was constructed at the summit of a steep hill which was terraced and surrounded by ramparts following the natural contours. There is an imposing square structure built using the murus dacicus technique. The enceinte was entered by a fortified gateway on the south-east, close to the military building. There was originally another entrance in the north-east, but this was blocked between the construction of the fortress and the Roman conquest in AD 106.´

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Mircea Ostoia (direct swap) sent from Focsani (Romania) on 21.01.2014

168 VIET NAM - Ha Long Bay (UNESCO)

Ha Long Bay, situated in the Gulf of Tonkin, includes some 1600 islands and islets forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Because of their precipitous nature, most of the islands are uninhabited and relatively unaffected by human influence. The geomorphology of Ha Long Bay is known as a drowned karst landscape due to the exceptional combination of its limestone karst features which have been subject to repeated regression and transgression of the sea over geological time. The limestones of Ha Long Bay have been eroded into a mature landscape of fengcong (clusters of conical peaks) and fenglin (isolated tower features) karst features, modified by sea invasion at a later stage. The smaller islands are fenglin towers of 50m to 100m high with height. Many have vertical walls on all or most sides and these continue to evolve by rock falls and large slab failures. Marine invasion of Ha Long Bay has added an extra element to the normal process of lateral undercutting of the limestone towers and islands. The most conspicuous feature being the main notch cut into the entire rocky coastline. Notches are a feature of limestone cliffs worldwide, but those of Ha Long Bay are exceptionally well developed and, at many sites, extend into arches and caves. This process of undercutting and subsequent erosion maintains the steep faces of the fenglin karst towers and thereby perpetuates the spectacular nature of the landscape.

A distinctive feature of Ha Long Bay is the abundance of lakes within the larger limestone islands. Extensive limestone caves represent another important feature of Ha Long Bay, with three main types able to be identified: old phreatic caves formed below the water table of the time; old karstic foot caves formed by lateral undercutting of cliffs at base level; and marine notch caves formed at sea level where rock structures are powerfully eroded and eventually reduced to a wave cut platform. In summary, Ha Long Bay possesses a tremendous diversity of caves and other landforms which derive from the unusual geomorphological process of marine invaded tower karst. These areas provide a unique and extensive reservoir of data for the future understanding of geoclimatic history and the nature of karst processes in a complex environment.

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Mu Chu (direct swap) sent from Ho Chi Minh (Viet Nam) on 08.01.2014

167 POLAND - Wieliczka Royal Salt Mine (UNESCO)

The Wieliczka Salt Mine, located in the town of Wieliczka in southern Poland, lies within the Kraków metropolitan area. The mine, built in the 13th century, produced table salt continuously until 2007, as one of the world's oldest salt mines still in operation. From its beginning and throughout its existence, the Royal mine was run by the Żupy krakowskie Salt Mines. Commercial mining was discontinued in 1996 due to low salt prices and mine flooding. The mine's attractions include dozens of statues, three chapels and an entire cathedral that has been carved out of the rock salt by the miners. The oldest sculptures are augmented by the new carvings by contemporary artists. About 1.2 million people visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine annually. The mine is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated in the first round, September 16, 1994. Its listing is maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

The Wieliczka salt mine reaches a depth of 327 metres (1,073 ft) and is over 287 kilometres (178 mi) long. The rock salt is naturally gray in various shades, resembling unpolished granite rather than the white or crystalline look that many visitors may expect. During World War II, the shafts were used by the occupying Germans as an ad-hoc facility for various war-related industries. The mine features an underground lake; and the new exhibits on the history of salt mining, as well as a 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) touring route (less than 2% of the length of the mine's passages) that includes historic statues and mythical figures carved out of rock salt in distant past. More recent sculptures have been fashioned by contemporary artists. The Wieliczka mine is often referred to as "the Underground Salt Cathedral of Poland." Even the crystals of the chandeliers are made from rock salt that has been dissolved and reconstituted to achieve a clear, glass-like appearance. It also houses a private rehabilitation and wellness complex. Also the Wieliczka was one of World 12 Tourism rankings. There is a legend about Princess Kinga, associated with the Wieliczka mine. The Hungarian noblewoman was about to be married to Bolesław V the Chaste, the Prince of Kraków. As part of her dowry, she asked her father for a lump of salt, since salt was prizeworthy in Poland. Her father King Béla took her to a salt mine in Máramaros. She threw her engagement ring from Bolesław in one of the shafts before leaving for Poland. On arriving in Kraków, she asked the miners to dig a deep pit until they come upon a rock. The people found a lump of salt in there and when they split it in two, discovered the princess's ring. Kinga had thus become the patron saint of salt miners in and around the Polish capital.

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Anna Szczepaniec (direct swap) sent from Krakow (Poland) on 17.02.2014

166 UNITED KINGDOM - Liverpool - Maritime Mercantile City (UNESCO)

The city and port of Liverpool are exceptional testimony to the development of maritime mercantile culture in the 18th and 19th centuries, and played an important role in the growth of the British Empire. Liverpool is an outstanding example of a world mercantile port city, which represents the early development of global trading and cultural connections throughout the British Empire. The city was also a major centre generating innovative technologies and methods in dock construction and port management in the 18th and 19th centuries. Six areas in the historic centre and docklands of Liverpool bear witness to the development of one of the world's major trading centres in the 18th and 19th centuries, based on its harbour. The first ocean steamship left from Liverpool in 1840; from that date onwards the town became a fundamental link connecting Europe to America. It also became the major port for the mass movement of people: it was a centre for the slave trade until its abolition in 1807, and for emigration from northern Europe to America. Thousands of people from all over Europe gathered here to migrate to the New World. Liverpool was a pioneer in the development of modern dock technology, transport systems and port management. The listed sites feature a great number of significant commercial, civic and public buildings, including St George's Plateau. The view of Liverpool's waterfront was once very different from that of today. Where the world-famous riverside now stands was the tidal reach of the Mersey, merging with the Pool from which the town drew its name. The River Mersey is a tidal basin that flows into the Irish Sea and this geographical relationship was the foundation of its emergent overseas trade starting in the days of King John, who granted Liverpool its charter in 1207. The Pool was the safest mooring place for boats, and the borough council petitioned parliament to introduce legislation to build the first commercial wet dock in the world in 1715.

This development of the sea trade led inevitably to the expansion of associated trades such as sail-makers, blacksmiths, riggers and basket-makers. The growth of Liverpool continued dramatically in the 19th century: the population grew from 78,000 in 1801 to 685,000 by 1901. The borough council petitioned for Liverpool to be given city status, which it achieved in 1888, and by the early 20th century it was proclaimed the 'Second City of the Empire'. After the First World War, Liverpool experienced economic downturn, yet the city council continued to make improvements with the construction of the East Lancashire Road and the Mersey Queensway Tunnel, which in its time was the longest underwater tunnel in the world. Liverpool was bombed more heavily in the Second World War than any other provincial city in Europe and was almost completely devastated. During the war 1,000 convoys entered Liverpool and the city was the headquarters of the battle of the Atlantic from 1941. Post-war rebuilding took place and by the 1950s Liverpool was once again the second most important port in the empire in terms of the value of its imports and exports and the most important in terms of its passenger figures. In the late 20th century, after a prolonged period of unemployment and decline, the revival of the fortunes of the city lay in the redevelopment of its dock system. The Albert and Wapping Docks were restored as visitor attractions and a retail centre, and the installation of new dock gates at Canning facilitated the Tall Ships and Mersey River Festival in the 1980s and 1990s. It should not be forgotten also that Liverpool was the heart of a musical revolution during the 1960s.

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Binnington (UNESCO Forum) sent from Liverpool (UK, England) on 23.01.2014

165 GERMANY - Luther Memorials in Wittenberg (UNESCO)

These memorials are of outstanding universal value as bearing unique testimony to the Protestant Reformation, which was one of the most significant events in the religious and political history of the world, and as outstanding examples of 19th-century historicism. They are all associated with the lives of Martin Luther and his fellow-reformer Melanchthon. In the 15th and 16th centuries Eisleben owed its great prosperity to copper and silver mining, Martin Luther was born there on 10 November 1483 at lodgings in a house in a street then known as Lange Gasse. The family moved in the following year to Mansfeld, some 10 km distant from Eisleben. After studying philosophy at Erfurt University, Martin Luther joined the Augustinian Order in 1505. He stayed there until 1510, when he transferred to the newly built Augustinian monastery at Wittenberg, where he also held the chair of Bible studies at the University. Two years later, on 31 October 1517, he launched the Reformation by nailing his 95 Propositions to the north door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Luther developed his views on the authority of Holy Scripture and the doctrine of salvation by faith in publications in the years that followed, actions which led to his being excommunicated and banished from the empire by the imperial Diet of Worms in 1521. Frederick of Saxony extended his protection to Luther, whom he sheltered in his castle of Wartburg, enabling him to begin translating of the Bible into German. He returned to Wittenberg in March 1522, and in 1525 he broke with his monastic vows and married the former nun, Katharina von Bora.His household became the centre for reformists from all over Europe, and the family room that he created on the first floor was the setting for his 'table talks,' which were later to be published.

The following individual sites and monuments are included in the World Heritage site:

• Luther Hall, Wittenberg : a three-storey building housing the Luther Hall, part of the early 16th-century monastery.
• Melanchthon's house, Wittenberg : built in 1536 in typical Renaissance style - a narrow three-storey building crowned by a tripartite round-arched staggered gable. The internal arrangement of rooms is original; unlike the previous houses; it retains much of its 16th-century character.
• Town Church, Wittenberg : located near the Market Place in the centre of the old town;in late Gothic Style, with two massive towers. The most striking feature is the main altar, the work of Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Younger, and strongly influenced by Luther and Melanchthon in its iconography.
• Castle Church, Wittenberg : the castle rises above the medieval town, to the west, and the spire of its church crowns the north-western corner. Much of the original character of the castle has been lost, as a result of its having been reused as a barracks in the 19th century, but the church is largely as it was at the time of Luther. It is a long basilical structure with an eastern apse, a typical example of the German Hallenkirche in very late Gothic style. Access is through the western door; because of its symbolic importance, the second door on the north side, the famous Propositions Portal, is only used on special occasions. Its ogival arch is contemporary with the original construction in 1499, as an inscription testifies. The decoration around the door includes representations of Luther and Melanchthon, and the Latin text of the 95 Propositions is displayed on the bronze doors. The church houses the tombs of Luther and Melanchthon.

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Bianka Kopplin (direct swap) sent from Wittenberg (Germany) on 01.02.2014

164 CZECH REPUBLIC - Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc (UNESCO)

The Olomouc Holy Trinity Column is one of the most exceptional examples of the apogee of central European Baroque artistic expression. Columns of this type constituted a unique material demonstration of religious faith in central Europe during the Baroque period, and the Olomouc example represents its most outstanding expression. In the reconstruction following the Thirty Years' War (1648-50) the city of Olomouc took on a new appearance. Many impressive public and private buildings were constructed in a local variant of the prevailing style, which became known as 'Olomouc Baroque'. The most characteristic expression of this style was a group of monuments (columns and fountains), of which the Holy Trinity Column is the crowning glory. Václav Render submitted the project to the City Council and work started in the spring of 1717. In this first stage, in the 1720s, the first part of the sculptural decoration was carried out by the Olomouc sculptor Filip Sattler. The remaining sculptural work was carried out in 1745-52 by the distinguished Moravian sculptor Ondrej Zahner (1709-52). The Column was ceremonially consecrated on 9 September 1754, in the presence of the Empress Maria Theresa.

In essence, the basic ground plan of the Holy Trinity Column is derived from a circle 17m in diameter. From the circular base, which has eighteen peripheral guard stones linked by a forged chain, a staircase of seven steps rises to the column's first level, the ground plan of which is hexagonal. The first level comprises a small chapel, again with a circular ground plan. At the points of the hexagon there are six conical balustrades. At the points of the hexagon, supported by six massive pedestals richly decorated on three sides with motifs such as scrolls and acanthus, are to be found the first six larger than life-size statues of saints (c. 220-240 cm) adjoining the body of the chapel on the first level. The first level is richly decorated with fluted pilasters, ribbon motifs, conches, relief cartouches with relief figures of apostles and other masonry details. The same pattern is consistently repeated in both the second and third levels. The second level retains the ground plan of the first, and is crowned by the second group of six statues of saints, placed on isolated pedestals. The third level tops the base of the column. It recedes slightly towards the centre, its periphery furnished again with six massive pedestals carrying the third row of six saints, another row of six relief figures of apostles and rich masonry decoration. This base of the third level supports a monolithic pillar 10 m high and richly decorated with fluting and acanthus motifs. The sculptural group of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is mounted on the first third of the monolith, the figure of the Virgin Mary supported by a pair of angels. Again, the group is executed on a larger-than-life-size scale, in gilded copper. On the top of the pillar-monolith itself, crowned by a capital featuring scroll and acanthus motifs, there is a group of God the Father giving a blessing and Christ with the cross, both placed on a globe, with the figure of the Archangel Michael below. The entire structure is completed by a radial target-star with a dove in the centre, to symbolize the Holy Spirit. Once more, the entire group is on a larger-than-life-size scale in wrought and gilded copper. The overall height of the column is 35 m. The concept of the Holy Trinity involved the two principal elements of the essential hierarchy of values in the Baroque period. Faith and religious tradition are intermingled with the idea of the city - its traditions, protection and civil administration. The ideas of Christianity and of citizenship (allegiance to the city in the best meaning of the word) combine here as a triumphal statement in the form of a stone monument.

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Klára Mrázková (direct swap) sent from Ostrava-Proskovice (Czech Republic) on 17.02.2014