Sydney Opera House - Australia (UNESCO)

© S. T. Yiap / VistGallery

unused, offered by "geminiscp"

"Inaugurated in 1973, the Sydney Opera House is a great architectural work of the 20th century that brings together multiple strands of creativity and innovation in both architectural form and structural design. A great urban sculpture set in a remarkable waterscape, at the tip of a peninsula projecting into Sydney Harbour, the building has had an enduring influence on architecture. The Sydney Opera House comprises three groups of interlocking vaulted ‘shells’ which roof two main performance halls and a restaurant. These shell-structures are set upon a vast platform and are surrounded by terrace areas that function as pedestrian concourses. In 1957, when the project of the Sydney Opera House was awarded by an international jury to Danish architect Jørn Utzon, it marked a radically new approach to construction." In: UNESCO

Geneva - Switzerland

© Photo & design: Dino Sassi

unused,

"Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zurich) and is the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situated where the Rhone exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. The municipality (ville de Genève) has a population (as of June 2012) of 192,385, and the canton (République et Canton de Genève, which includes the city) has 468,194 residents. In 2007, the urban area, or agglomération franco-valdo-genevoise (Great Geneva or Grand Genève in French) had 1,240,000 inhabitants in 189 municipalities in both Switzerland and France. The economic area "Great Geneva-Bern area" has 2.9 million inhabitants." In: Wikipedia

Old town of Colmar - France

© Editions RIBO

unused,

"Colmar (German between 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: Kolmar) is the third-largest commune of the Alsace region in north-eastern France. It is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department and the Arrondissement of Colmar.

The town is situated along the Alsatian Wine Route and considers itself to be the "Capital of Alsatian Wine" (capitale des vins d'Alsace). The city is renowned for its well preserved old town, its numerous architectural landmarks and its museums, among which is the Unterlinden Museum with the Isenheim Altarpiece." In: Wikipedia

Map card of Portugal mainland (III)

© Edig

unused

Bridge over Adaja river and the Walls of Ávila - Spain (UNESCO)

© Garcia Garrabella

unused, bought in Braga (Portugal)

"Founded in the 11th century to protect the Spanish territories from the Moors, this 'City of Saints and Stones', the birthplace of St Teresa and the burial place of the Grand Inquisitor Torquemada, has kept its medieval austerity. This purity of form can still be seen in the Gothic cathedral and the fortifications which, with their 82 semicircular towers and nine gates, are the most complete in Spain." In: UNESCO

Gardens of Versailles - France (UNESCO)

© Éditions D'Art

unused, bought in Braga (Portugal)

"The Palace of Versailles was the principal residence of the French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. Embellished by several generations of architects, sculptors, decorators and landscape architects, it provided Europe with a model of the ideal royal residence for over a century." In: UNESCO

Church of Our Lady of Pain in Paraty - Brazil (UNESCO tentative)

© Design and photos: H. Seelaender, A. Pereirinha

sent by "andreaeiko"

"The colonization of the Brazilian territory and the conquest of its backlands are reflected in the routes of Parati. In its explicit destiny, Parati became the first benchmark for trade along the Atlantic Forest's trails. Parati was a turning point and an interface between sea and land, a temporary or permanent point for extinct, absorbed or excluded races.

Ever since the Europeans first caught sight of Brazil in 1500, and especially of Parati's coast in 1502, the slopes of the so-called Serra do Mar – covered by the Atlantic Forest, which lies along with the Atlantic coast between the Brazilian plateau and the coastal plains – have been playing a critical role in Brazilian history." In: UNESCO

Map card of Extremadura - Spain

© Modesto Galán (photo)

sent from Portugal by Blicas Blocas

"Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west. To the north it borders Castile and León (provinces of Salamanca and Ávila); to the south, it borders Andalusia (provinces of Huelva, Seville, and Córdoba); and to the east, it borders Castile–La Mancha (provinces of Toledo and Ciudad Real)

It is an important area for wildlife, particularly with the major reserve at Monfragüe, which was designated a National Park in 2007, and the project of the International Tagus River Natural Park (Terreno Natural Río Tajo Internacional). The government of Extremadura is called Junta de Extremadura." In: Wikipedia

Kronborg Castle in Helsingör - Denmark (UNESCO)

© Robert Trajaborg Andersen (photo)

unused, offered by "geminiscp"

"Located on a strategically important site commanding the Sund, the stretch of water between Denmark and Sweden, the Royal castle of Kronborg at Helsingør (Elsinore) is of immense symbolic value to the Danish people and played a key role in the history of northern Europe in the 16th-18th centuries. Work began on the construction of this outstanding Renaissance castle in 1574, and its defences were reinforced according to the canons of the period's military architecture in the late 17th century. It has remained intact to the present day. It is world-renowned as Elsinore, the setting of Shakespeare's Hamlet." In: UNESCO

Narbonne Cathedral - France

© Editions Modernes "Théojac"

unused, bought in Braga (Portugal)

"Narbonne Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur de Narbonne) is a former cathedral, and national monument of France, located in the town of Narbonne. It is dedicated to Saints Justus and Pastor.

It was the seat of the Archbishop of Narbonne until the Archbishopric was merged into the Diocese of Carcassonne under the Concordat of 1801. (The title, however, passed to the Archbishop of Toulouse.) The church was declared a basilica minor in 1886.

The building, begun in 1272, is noted for being unfinished." In: Wikipedia