Two Third Reich postcards from Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Dois postais do Terceiro Reich, comemorativos dos Jogos Olímpicos de Inverno em Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Jun 17, 2013
Jun 10, 2013
Germany On Stamps: Belgian Occupation of German East Africa at WWI
Those Postcards are from the belgian occupation of Ruanda-Urundi (German East Africa) during World War I. Three 5ct postcards from 1916/22.Estes Postais são da ocupação belga no Ruanda-Urundi (África Oriental Alemã) durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial. Três postais de 5ct emitidos entre 1916/22.
May 26, 2013
Stamps of France: Amiens Cathedral
AMIENS CATHEDRAL
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens, in French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens, or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and seat of the Bishop of Amiens. It is situated on a slight ridge overlooking the River Somme in the administrative capital of the Picardy region of France, some 120 km north of Paris.
It is the tallest complete cathedral in France. Its stone-vaulted nave reaching a height of 42.30 metres (138.8 ft.), only surpassed by the incomplete Beauvais Cathedral. It has the greatest interior volume of any French cathedral, estimated at 200,000 cubic metres (260,000 cu yd.).
The cathedral was built between 1220 and c.1270. Although it has lost most of its original stained glass, Amiens Cathedral is renowned for the quality and quantity of early 13th century Gothic sculpture in the main west facade and the south transept portal, and a large quantity of polychrome sculpture from later periods inside the building.
The initial impetus for the building of the cathedral came from the installation of the reputed head of John the Baptist on 17 December 1206. The head was part of the loot of the Fourth Crusade, which had been diverted from campaigning against the Turks to sacking the great Christian city of Constantinople. A sumptuous reliquary was made to house the skull. Although later lost, a 19th century replica still provides a focus for prayer and meditation in the North aisle.
The Amiens cathedral was listed as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1981.
Stamps of France: Thomas Bugeaud
THOMAS ROBERT BUGEAUD
(15 October 1784 – 18 June 1849)
Thomas Robert Bugeaud, Marquis de la Piconnerie, was born in Limoge and died in Paris, France. He was Marshal of France, Duc d'Isly, General and Administrator in Algeria. He also was a French national hero as a result of his role in conquering Algeria.
Bugeaud served in the army of the French emperor Napoleon I until forced into retirement in 1815. Returning to public life after the July Revolution of 1830, he became a deputy.
Sent twice, in 1836 and 1837, to Algeria on special missions, he returned again in 1841 to undertake the pacification of Algeria as governor-general. His celebrated victory at Isly, in 1844, finally broke the power of Abd al-Kader.
Bugeaud attempted to cooperate with the Arabs, to promote military colonization and to encourage French settlers, but the unpopularity of his policies forced his resignation in 1847.
He was named commander of the troops in Paris by Louis Philippe during the February Revolution of 1848.
Bugeaud's writings were numerous, including his "Œuvres militaires" (Military works), many official reports on Algeria about the war there, and some works on economics and political science.
Battle of Isly
The Battle of Isly was fought on August 14, 1844 between France and Morocco, near the Isly River. The French began a war with Morocco which had refused to recognize its conquest of Algeria.
Marshal Bugeaud, tried to complete the French conquest of Algeria, instigated the battle without a declaration of war in order to force negotiations concerning Moroccan support for the Algerian resistance leader Abd el Kader to conclude on terms favourable to the French.
French forces under Marshal Bugeaud routed a much larger, but poorly organized Moroccan force under Mohammed, son of sultan Abderrahmane of Morocco.
The French defeated the Moroccans at the battle of Isly in North Eastern Morocco. The Moroccans were forced to agree to the Treaty of Tangiers that recognized the French sovereignty over Algeria.
May 3, 2013
Germany on Stamps: New Pages from "Germany after Treaty of Versailles (Schleswig)"
Germany on Stamps: Schleswig History
SCHLESWIG
North and South Schleswig (in this map in red and orange, respectively)
Schleswig or Southern Jutland – in Danish "Sønderjylland" or "Slesvig", in German "Schleswig", in Low German "Sleswig" – is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark.
The Duchy of Schleswig, or Southern Jutland, was originally an integral part of Denmark, but was, in medieval times established as a fief under the Kingdom of Denmark, with the same relation to the Danish Crown as for example Brandenburg or Bavaria vis-à-vis the Holy Roman Emperor.
Feuds and marital alliances brought the Abel dynasty into a close connection with the German Duchy of Holstein by the 15th century. The latter was a fief subordinate to the Holy Roman Empire, while Schleswig remained a Danish fief. These dual loyalties were to become a main root of the dispute between the German states and Denmark in the 19thcentury, when the ideas of romantic nationalism and the nation-state won popular support.
Before World War I
Conflict between Denmark and German states over Schleswig and Holstein led to the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the 19thcentury. Denmark attempted to integrate the Duchy of Schleswig into the Danish kingdom in 1848, leading to an uprising of ethnic Germans who supported Schleswig's ties with Holstein. The military intervention of the Kingdom of Prussia supported the uprising: the Prussian army drove Denmark's troops from Schleswig and Holstein in the First Schleswig War of 1848–1851.
Denmark again attempted to integrate Schleswig in 1864, but the German Confederation defeated the Danes in the Second War of Schleswig. Prussia and Austria respectively assumed administration of Schleswig and Holstein under the Gastein Convention of 14 August 1865. However, tensions between the two powers culminated in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. In the Peace of Prague, the victorious Prussians annexed Schleswig and Holstein, creating the province of Schleswig-Holstein.
Provision for the cession of northern Schleswig to Denmark was made pending a popular vote in favour of this. In 1878, however, Austria went back on this provision. Denmark with Germany, in a Treaty of 1907, recognized, by the agreement between Austria and Prussia, the frontier between Prussia and Denmark.
Schleswig Plebiscite after World War I
No vote ever took place in the southern third of Schleswig, because the result for Germany was predictable.
On June 15, 1920, Northern Schleswig officially returned to Danish rule. Germany continued to hold the whole of Holstein and southern and central Schleswig, later becoming the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein. The Danish-German border was the only one of the borders imposed on Germany following World War I which was never challenged by Hitler.
World War II
In the Second World War, after Nazi Germany occupied the whole of Denmark, there was agitation by local Nazi leaders in Schleswig-Holstein to restore the pre-World War I border and re-annex to Germany the areas granted to Denmark after the plebiscite — as the Nazis did in Alsace-Lorraine at the same period. However, Hitler vetoed any such step, out of a general Nazi policy at the time to base the occupation of Denmark on a kind of accommodation with the Danish Government, and avoid outright confrontations with the Danes.
After World War II
After Germany had lost World War II there again was a possibility that Denmark could reacquire some of its lost territory in Schleswig. Though no territorial changes came of it, it had the effect that Prime Minister Knud Kristensen was forced to resign after a vote of no confidence because the Folketing (Parliament of Denmark) did not support his enthusiasm for incorporating Southern Schleswig into Denmark.
Although there was, as a result, a Danish minority in Southern Schleswig and a German minority in Northern Schleswig, the minorities were granted rights to practice their language and culture, to such a degree that the division and minorities as of 2009 are not a political issue between Denmark and Germany.
Apr 14, 2013
Stamps of France: Angoulême Cathedral
ANGOULÊME CATHEDRAL
A first cathedral was built on the site of a primitive, pre-Christian sanctuary, in the 4th century AD. The edifice was destroyed when the town was taken by Clovis after the Battle of Vouillé, in 507. Another cathedral was consecrated in 560, but this was set on fire by the Vikings/Normans some two centuries later. A third cathedral was then constructed in 1017. However, at the beginning of the 12th century the citizens started to consider it too small for to the wealth of the county. The designer was Bishop Gerard II, one of the most important French figures of the time. Works began about 1110 and finished in 1128.
The church's original appearance was modified in the following centuries. One of the bell towers, for example, was destroyed during the Wars of Religion of the 16th century. Further alterations were made during the restorations by Paul Abadie in 1866-1885, including the addition of the two towers with conical tops, but the façade remains mostly medieval.
The façade is decorated by more than 70 sculptures, organized into two decorative themes: the Ascension and the Last Judgement. Christ is portrayed within aureola, while two tall angels address the apostles to show them the celestial vision. The sculptors portrayed scenes of everyday life.
The interior of the nave is covered with three domes, a transept, and an apsidal choir. At the crossing with the transept is a larger dome, which has replaced the original one destroyed in the Protestant siege of 1568. The semi-circular choir is flanked by small apses and covered by a half dome.
Apr 5, 2013
Stamps of France: Triumphal Arch
TRIUMPHAL ARCH
The "Arc de Triomphe" (Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (originally named Place de l'Étoile), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées.
There is a smaller arch, the 'Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel', which stands west of the Louvre. The 'Arc de Triomphe' (Triumphal Arch) honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.
The 'Arc de Triomphe' is the linchpin of the historic axis, the "Axe historique" – a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre, to the Grande Arche de la Défense. The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806. It set the tone for public monuments, with triumphant patriotic messages.
The monument stands 50 metres (164 ft.) in height, 45 m (148 ft.) wide and 22 m (72 ft.) deep. It was the largest triumphal arch in existence until the construction of the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, in 1982. Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus.
The 'Arc de Triomphe' is so colossal those three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919, marking the end of hostilities in World War I, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it, with the event captured on newsreel.
The monumental arch became a point of departure or passage of the main military parades and demonstrations, and is one of the main tourist sights of Paris.
Stamps of France: Albi Cathedral
ALBI CATHEDRAL
Albi Cathedral, formally the Cathedral of Saint Cecilia, in French: Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile d'Albi, is the most important religious building in Albi, southern France, and the seat of the Archbishop of Albi. First built as a fortress begun in 1287 and under construction for 200 years, it is claimed to be the largest brick building in the world.
The first building dated from the 4th century and in 666 was destroyed by fire. The second is recorded in 920 by the name of Saint Cecilia, the present-day patroness of musicians. It was replaced in the 13th century by a Romanesque cathedral in stone.
The cathedral is built in the Southern Gothic Style. It was constructed almost entirely in brick between 1287 and 1480 in the wake of the Albigensian heresy in the area. Work on the nave was completed about 1330.
Notable architectural features include the bell-tower, added in 1492, which stands 78 metres (256 ft.) tall, and the doorway, added circa 1392. The nave is the widest Gothic example in France at 18 metres (60 feet). The interior lacks aisles which are replaced by rows of small chapels between brick internal buttresses.
The side chapels in the nave received overhead galleries in the 15th century, diminishing their impact. The central chœur is surrounded by a rood screen with detailed filigree stone work and a group of polychrome statues. Below the organ, a fresco of the Last Judgment covered nearly 200 m². The frescoes on the enormous vaulted ceiling comprise the largest and oldest ensemble of Italian Renaissance painting in France. The cathedral organ, work of Christophe Moucherel, dates from the 18th century.
In 2010 the cathedral was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Mar 24, 2013
Stamps of France: French Provisional Government Pages
New pages from "Stamps of France" collection. The "1944/46 French Provisional Government" is the new theme on-line. Visit the new pages.
Novas páginas da colecção "Stamps of France". O "Governo Provisório Francês de 1944/1946" é o novo tema agora disponibilizado neste blog. Visite as novas páginas.
