ITALY / SWITZERLAND - Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes

"Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes, brings together two historic railway lines that cross the Swiss Alps through two passes. Opened in 1904, the Albula line in the north western part of the property is 67 km long. It features an impressive set of structures including 42 tunnels and covered galleries and 144 viaducts and bridges. The 61 km Bernina pass line features 13 tunnels and galleries and 52 viaducts and bridges. The property is exemplary of the use of the railway to overcome the isolation of settlements in the Central Alps early in the 20th century, with a major and lasting socio-economic impact on life in the mountains. It constitutes an outstanding technical, architectural and environmental ensemble and embodies architectural and civil engineering achievements, in harmony with the landscapes through which they pass." - http://whc.unesco.org

Postcard 1: From Switzerland

Thank you so much, Pierre for sending this card! =)

Postcard 2: From Switzerland

A closer look of the red trains...
A Christmas surprise from Oscar & Daniela...
Thank you so much for this great postcard!
I know you two had a wonderful Christmas!

Postcard 2: From Italy

Thank you so much Simonetta for sharing with me this postcard!

Happy that you enjoyed riding the train last January!

SWITZERLAND - Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona

"The Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona in the north-eastern part of the country covers a mountainous area of 32,850 ha which features seven peaks that rise above 3,000 m. The area displays an exceptional example of mountain building through continental collision and features .excellent geological sections through tectonic thrust, i.e. the process whereby older, deeper rocks are carried onto younger, shallower rocks. The site is distinguished by the clear three-dimensional exposure of the structures and processes that characterize this phenomenon and has been a key site for the geological sciences since the 18^th century. The Glarus Alps are glaciated mountains rising dramatically above narrow river valleys and are the site of the largest post-glacial landslide in the Central Alpine region." -http://whc.unesco.org

Postcard 1

 Another surprise postcard!

Thank you so much Oscar for helping me increase my UNESCO collection from your country! ^-^

Postcard 2

 

Thank you so much, Rosmarie for sharing with me this wonderful postcard
 with equally great stamps!

ITALY / SWITZERLAND - Monte San Giorgio

"The pyramid-shaped, wooded mountain of Monte San Giorgio beside Lake Lugano is regarded as the best fossil record of marine life from the Triassic Period (245–230 million years ago). The sequence records life in a tropical lagoon environment, sheltered and partially separated from the open sea by an offshore reef. Diverse marine life flourished within this lagoon, including reptiles, fish, bivalves, ammonites, echinoderms and crustaceans. Because the lagoon was near land, the remains also include land-based fossils of reptiles, insects and plants, resulting in an extremely rich source of fossils." -http://whc.unesco.org

From ITALY

A great view !
Thank you so much Gosia for sharing this postcard with me!



From SWITZERLAND

Thank you so much Ania for sharing this postcard with me

and for using matching stamps!

Great to hear also that you visited the site few months ago.

It sure was fun!

Another great card! This time, from Oscar who visited Lugano.
Thank you so much Oscar for sharing with me this postcard!

SWITZERLAND - La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, watchmaking town planning

"The site of La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle watchmaking town-planning consists of two towns situated close to one another in a remote environment in the Swiss Jura mountains, on land ill-suited to farming. Their planning and buildings reflect watchmakers’ need of rational organization. Planned in the early 19th century, after extensive fires, the towns owed their existence to this single industry. Their layout along an open-ended scheme of parallel strips on which residential housing and workshops are intermingled reflects the needs of the local watchmaking culture that dates to the 17th century and is still alive today. The site presents outstanding examples of mono-industrial manufacturing-towns which are well preserved and still active. The urban planning of both towns has accommodated the transition from the artisanal production of a cottage industry to the more concentrated factory production of the late 19th and 20th centuries. The town of La Chaux-de-Fonds was described by Karl Marx as a “huge factory-town” in Das Kapital where he analyzed the division of labour in the watchmaking industry of the Jura." - http://whc.unesco.org

Postcard 1

Thank you so much Christine for this great postcard!

Postcard 2

A token from Oscar and Daniela who visited the

 International Watch Museum recently.

"It has some of the most amazing watches of the world!", they shared.

Thank you so much to you both for sharing with me this postcard!

Enjoy your future travels! ^-^

Cute stamp too but it has no postmark... =(

SWITZERLAND - Three Castles, Defensive Wall and Ramparts of the Market-Town of Bellinzona

"The Bellinzona site consists of a group of fortifications grouped around the castle of Castelgrande, which stands on a rocky peak looking out over the entire Ticino valley. Running from the castle, a series of fortified walls protect the ancient town and block the passage through the valley. A second castle (Montebello) forms an integral part of the fortifications, while a third but separate castle (Sasso Corbaro) was built on an isolated rocky promontory south-east of the other fortifications." -http://whc.unesco.org

"This postcard shows the castelgrande,

one of the 3 castles of Bellinzona

and the tower is called Torre Bianca or White Tower", shares Oscar.

Thank you so much Oscar for adding this card in my collection! ^-^

SWITZERLAND - Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch

"The extension of the natural World Heritage property of Jungfrau - Aletsch - Bietschhorn (first inscribed in 2001), expands the site to the east and west, bringing its surface area up to 82,400 ha., up from 53,900. The site provides an outstanding example of the formation of the High Alps, including the most glaciated part of the mountain range and the largest glacier in Eurasia. It features a wide diversity of ecosystems, including successional stages due particularly to the retreat of glaciers resulting from climate change. The site is of outstanding universal value both for its beauty and for the wealth of information it contains about the formation of mountains and glaciers, as well as ongoing climate change. It is also invaluable in terms of the ecological and biological processes it illustrates, notably through plan succession. Its impressive landscape has played an important role in European art, literature, mountaineering and alpine tourism." -http://whc.unesco.org

  

Postcard 1: Aletsch

Thank you so much dear Caroline for this wonderful postcard!

This is so much treasured!

Postcard 2: Aletsch

A great panoramic view of Aletsch from Oscar and Daniela of Portugal and both residing now at Crans-Montana, Switzerland not very far from this UNESCO Site.
Thank you so much "dannyozzy" for sharing this wonderful postcard with me! =)


Postcard 3: Jungfrau

Happy to receive this great postcard of Jungfrau with matching stamp!
A surprise card from Oscar!
Thank you so much, Oscar for making my day! :)

SWITZERLAND - Convent of St Gall

"The Convent of St Gall, a perfect example of a great Carolingian monastery, was, from the 8th century to its secularization in 1805, one of the most important in Europe. Its library is one of the richest and oldest in the world and contains precious manuscripts such as the earliest-known architectural plan drawn on parchment. From 1755 to 1768, the conventual area was rebuilt in Baroque style. The cathedral and the library are the main features of this remarkable architectural complex, reflecting 12 centuries of continuous activity." -http://whc.unesco.org

Postcard 1

The sender says "Inside of the abbey, the public can visit the library which is beautifully decorated in racoco style.
I always have to show it when somebody comes here to visit me."
Many thanks for this card, Simona! 
I wish to witness it also one day! ;-)

Postcard 2

Thank you so much Ruedi for this great postcard showing mostly the interior of the Convent of St. Gall and for using cute stamps depicting Yakari...

SWITZERLAND - Benedictine Convent of St John at Müstair

"The Convent of Müstair, which stands in a valley in the Grisons, is a good example of Christian monastic renovation during the Carolingian period. It has Switzerland's greatest series of figurative murals, painted c. A.D. 800, along with Romanesque frescoes and stuccoes." -http://whc.unesco.org

Thank you so much Sara for adding up another site from your country

in my UNESCO collection!

Am also happy with the stamps! =)

SWITZERLAND - Old City of Berne

"Founded in the 12th century on a hill site surrounded by the Aare River, Berne developed over the centuries in line with a an exceptionally coherent planning concept. The buildings in the Old City, dating from a variety of periods, include 15th-century arcades and 16th-century fountains. Most of the medieval town was restored in the 18th century but it has retained its original character." -http://whc.unesco.org

Thank you so much Zasa for sharing with me this card for our RR!

I wish to experience winter someday! =)

SWITZERLAND - Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces

"The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, stretching for about 30 km along the south-facing northern shores of Lake Geneva from the Chateau de Chillon to the eastern outskirts of Lausanne in the Vaud region, cover the lower slopes of the mountainside between the villages and the lake. Although there is some evidence that vines were grown in the area in Roman times, the present vine terraces can be traced back to the 11th century, when Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries controlled the area. It is an outstanding example of a centuries-long interaction between people and their environment, developed to optimize local resources so as to produce a highly valued wine that has always been important to the economy." -http://whc.unesco.org

Thank you so much for this card, Emmanuelle... =)