Eckerö Post- och Tullhuset | Åland

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The Åland archipelago consists of 6,700 islands situated in the Baltic Sea, midway between Sweden and Finland. Only 60 are inhabited. Although the people of Åland speak Swedish, this autonomous territory is part of Finland. With 950 inhabitants, one of these islands is Eckerö.

Eckerö Post- och Tullhuset is Swedish for Eckerö Mail and Customs House. It was built in 1828. Today it works as a post museum and a cultural center.

Old Town of Ávila | Spain

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Founded in the 11th century to protect the Spanish territories from the Moors, this 'City of Saints and Stones', has kept its medieval austerity. The city's fortifications with their 82 semicircular towers and nine gates, are the most complete in Spain.

Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This is a serial property, which includes the walled town of Ávila and four extra-muros Romanesque churches: San Segundo, San Andrés, San Vicente, and San Pedro.

In 2007, another three Romanesque churches (San Nicolás, Santa María de la Cabeza, and San Martín) and three convents from the 15th and 16th centuries (La Encarnación, San José and the Real Monasterio de Santo Tomás) were added to the inscribed property.

Valley of Flowers National Park | India

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India’s Valley of Flowers National Park is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty. This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep.

The park is part of Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks, a Unesco World Heritage site.

Taman Ayun Temple | Indonesia

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Pura Taman Ayun Temple was built in 1634 by the Raja of Mengwi. Taman Ayun literally translates as ‘beautiful garden’ and is generally regarded as one of the most attractive temples of Bali.

The temple is part of the subak (complex rice-field irrigation system) sites recognised by Unesco in 2012. The complete name of this Unesco site is Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy.

Old Québec | Canada

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Québec was founded by the French explorer Champlain in the early 17th century. It is the only North American city to have preserved its ramparts, together with the numerous bastions, gates and defensive works which still surround Old Québec.

Historic District of Old Québec is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Humberstone Salpeter Works | Chile

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Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works are two former saltpeter refineries located in northern Chile in the Atacama Desert. Both are the remains of a series of over 200 saltpeter works that once existed in this region. After the mines were abandoned in the 1960s they were occupied by homeless people.

Santa Laura and Humberstone were then bought by a businessman who planned to sell off the remains for scrap. But he went bankrupt first, which actually preserved it. They were taken over by a non-profit organisation, cleaned up and made UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2005.

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On the left UPAEP (Unión Postal de las Américas, España y Portugal) issue 2016. Every year the member countries issues stamps with common theme: Olympics.

Schloss Moritzburg | Germany

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Duke Maurice of Saxony had a hunting lodge built in the Renaissance style in 1542 on a granite dome in Friedewald Forest that was rich in wildlife. Soon the castle, which later was named after him, was the center of Saxon hunting.

In 1723, major works began to convert it from a Renaissance building into a Baroque hunting and pleasure palace. The best Saxon craftsmen and artists collaborated in the providing the interior in the seven halls and more than 200 rooms.

Hansestadt Stendal | Germany

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Hansestadt Stendal is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, situated west of the river Elbe.

The Hanseatic League, also called Hanse was founded by north German towns and German merchant communities abroad to protect their mutual trading interests. The league dominated commercial activity in northern Europe from the 13th to the 15th century.

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The stamp with special postmark, commemorating the 300th birthday of Johann Joachim Winckelmann (issued 12-10-2017) is related to Stendal.  He is the father of the modern archaeology and the discipline of art history. 

thank you Dustin!

Røros Mining Town | Norway

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Røros Mining Town and the Circumference is a Unesco World Heritage site. This site is linked to the copper mines, established in the 17th century and exploited for 333 years until 1977.

Røros is a unique mining town built exclusively of wood. The wooden houses and the centre of the town are included on the list. The mining town has retained much of its original structure in the layout of the streets from the 1600s, and the wooden houses built in the1700 and 1800s.

Mykonos Island | Greece

 

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Mykonos is a Greek island with 10,500 inhabitants. The island is part of te Cyclades, a group of 220 islands in the Aegean Sea.

The Mykonos windmills are an iconic feature of this island. The windmills can be seen from every point of the village.

Sheli Pagoda | China

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The Mountain Resort (the Qing dynasty's summer palace), in Hebei Province, was built between 1703 and 1792. It is a vast complex of palaces and administrative and ceremonial buildings. Temples of various architectural styles and imperial gardens blend harmoniously into a landscape of lakes, pastureland and forests.

Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde is a UNESCO World Heritage site. (ID-no 703) This card pictures the Sheli Pagoda, the only structure that remained remained of the Buddhist temple of Yongyou.

Prambanan Temple Compounds | Indonesia

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Prambanan is a Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia.

The temple, dating back tot the 9th century, is dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). 

The Madara Horseman | Bulgaria

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The Madara Rider, representing the figure of a knight triumphing over a lion, is carved into a 100-m-high cliff near the village of Madara in north-east Bulgaria.

Madara was the principal sacred place of the First Bulgarian Empire before Bulgaria’s conversion to Christianity in the 9th century. The inscriptions beside the sculpture tell of events that occurred between AD 705 and 801.

Flags of the World | United Kingdom - England

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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west.

The flag of England is derived from St George's Cross. The association of the red cross as an emblem of England can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and it was used as a component in the design of the Union Flag in 1606.