Minsk, Belarus

Next come a few cards from Minsk, Belarus's capital

I received this one recently as a swap with Marina - looking at the card gives me the impression of a city with very clean air (unlike here). And they do seem to have a lot of green areas all over too (again, unlike here).

Well, I've written about Minsk before, so won't get much into details this time...just that after this swap  I realized I had acquired a number of Minsk cards showing the city and the Svislach river, so I thought I'd show them altogether...

the stamp is part of a mini-sheet with 4 stamps issued in 2015, showing paintings of artists of the Paris School from Belarus. On this stamp you can see a painting from 1925 called "The Lake" by Ossip Zadkine.

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well the rest of the cards here are all official ones...Belarus has really climbed up the ladder in terms of Postcrossing sent cards and at the time of speaking holds the 6th place....quite surprising I must admit...
The card here shows the embankment of the Svislach river..it is 327 km long and has derived its name from the root -visl- 'flowing,' of Indo-European origin

here I decided to show the whole back of the card cos of the cute stickers...that duck one is especially adorable :)
as for the stamps, we two from the set of 12 Architectural Monuments issued in 2012 - the left one shows a church in Polatsk, while the right one, shows the Mirski castle.

Thanks to Yanina for this card

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Here we have a multiveiw card with the Svislach river in each of the pictures.

First we have a view of the Upper Town. Then below it, we can see some sport competitions.

In the middle you can see the Trinity Suburb, while on the right side, first you can again see the Svisloch embankment, while the bottom picture shows a man fishing in the centre of the city. 

The stamp is from a set of two Christmas stamps issued in 2012.
Thanks to Marianne for this card.

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Can you notice the drawings, or whatever they may be, on the two tall buildings? they look interesting.

Here in particular you can see the Housing of the Uskhod micro-district.

the stamp is from a set of 2 issued in 2012, showing Belorussian ornament.
Thanks to Dzimitry for this one.

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And one more Minsk card, showing a really beautiful aerial view of the city, in particular, the Trinity Suburb and the Svislach river embankment.

Again we have the two architectural stamps as above from 2012, showing the church in Polatsk and the Mirski castle.
Thanks to Victoria for this card.

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A really cool card I received in one of the RR's on the forum

I do not know where over Belarus this exactly is, but I love it! Gets my adrenaline buzz so high!
Ive never been skydiving or parachuting or so, even though I would LOVE to...the closest Ive been to is, being a passenger in one of those small Cessna aircrafts...and that was pretty cool, but still, skydiving is soo much cooler! The problem with me is that Im somewhat anxious and impatient and just want to get down to the activity immediately, skipping months of all sorts of preparations...and probably that is why I often get discouraged or put off to do some things in life...cos I want it right here, right now..should change that attitude...seriously....

a cool leopard stamp, showing the Amur leopard...a stamp from a set of 4 stamps representing the Zoos in Belarus, issued in 2013. I love the leopard dots on the sheet margins (or however that one was called...my mind is just blocked now)

Fauna of Belarus, Belarus

for my last post today, I have three cards coming from Belarus. I decided to put them altogether since they all come from the same series of postcards, presenting the Fauna of Belarus...plus, i received them all as officials too :) I dont know about you, but Ive been receiving a lot of official cards from Belarus lately...

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first we have a card showing the Golden eagle. It is said that along with the eagle-owl, they are the biggest birds of prey in the Belorussian forests where the golden eagle hunts in the day-time, while the owl in the twilight and it is a rare luck to see these birds.  Well, the photographer must have been one lucky guy....

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the stamp is a definitive issued this year in a set of two, representing ornaments.



next we have the European wolf...

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it is said that Belarus is home to a population of 1,500-2,000 wolves. With the exception of specimens in nature reserves, wolves in Belarus are largely unprotected.
Dont you just have the desire to hug him? look at that face!

there is even a wolf stamp on the card! :) it is a part of the Wild Animals series, issued in a set of 5 in 2008, where the flower stamp also dates from that year, from the set of 8 Gardens Flowers stamps. The other one is a definitive issued this year in a set of not more, not less but 24 stamps, depicting Architectural monuments and this one shows the Church of Epiphany


and the last card I have for now of this series, shows the White stork...

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really nice birds, used to tell stories to children about where do babies come from :)

this bird is completely white except for the black wing flight feathers, and its red bill and legs, which are black on juveniles. It walks slowly and steadily on the ground, and flies with its neck outstretched

well, again we have the wolf stamp here, and the Church of Epiphany....but also three more from the same issue of definitives, including the Mahiliou Town Hall (50 kopecks), then we have the Kamianets Tower (100 kopecks stamp), and the Niasvizh Castle (200 kopecks stamp). Well, the back of the card does look nice with so many stamps :)

thanks for reading and have a great rest of the weekend!

Polatsk, Belarus

my last card for today comes from Belarus...actually it is two cards...and I received them both as officials, but I guess the second sender didnt know I already had it...so hence, sometimes you end up with duplicates :)

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The left side of the card shows St. Sophia's Cathedral, while on the right, as the back of the card says, "Dramatized knights' fights in Polatsk"

Polatsk is said to be the oldest city in Belarus, and one of the most ancient cities of Eastern Slavs, mentioned in ancient manuscripts dating back from 806. 

Im just not sure what the symbol behind the knights' fighting is, so contributions are welcome. 

as i said, i got two copy of the card and both with different stamps. the first one has 3 different stamps. The hare stamp is from a set of 5 stamps issued in 2008, showing wild animals. The one next to it is a Christmas stamp from a set f two issued in 2010, while the one below is another 2008 stamp from a set of 8 Garden Flowers' stamps, this one showing a Narcissus.

here we have more or less the same issues, just different stamps, which is good. the left one is from the Wild animals series, showing a Forest Marten, while the Garden Flower stamp shows a tulip.

so, that would be it...enjoy your weekend :)

The St. Mary Nativity Orthodox Convent, Belarus

the last card for today is another official one from 2009, this time coming from Belarus.

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the card says to show the St. Mary Nativity Orthodox Convent built in 1720-1751 by the architect I.Fontana III.

and unfortunately that is all I can tell you about it...so if anyone from Belarus or elsewhere has more information about it, would be more than welcome to contribute. Thank you!

the card arrived in an envelope, so no stamps...

btw, i must confess that due to the number of cathedrals and such that ive seen while i was away, i wouldnt want to see one in a while...

Minsk, Belarus

My last card for today is a great official one coming from Belarus.

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Now, you may ask, whats so special about this card? It is just another fancy building....yeah....it is...but do you know that this is actually the main building of the railway station in Minsk??! Oh yeah :)
I had no idea about it until I actually read the explanation on the back...to me it was like some shopping mall but I was highly mislead :)
It was built in 2000, so it is quite a new and modern one. I wish that our government actually decided to renovate our main train station, coz it looks awful and miserable, just as our trains. I dont say it has to look like the station above, but it should at least be decent and maybe have elevators instead people having to pull their heavy suitcases along the stairs, and the waiting rooms could be cleaner and nicer...but maybe, in some distant futue....

I think that the first three stamps are quite familiar to you....one is from the 8 garden flowers' stamps issued in 2008 (here you have the Petunia) and the other stamp was also issued in 2008 in a set of 5 wild animals' stamps and here you see the European Mink. The third stamp is the interesting one coz at least it is not one you see often on the Belarus cards. It was issued in 2005 in a set of two stamps representing Belarussian national clothes, and this stamp portrays the Mosty region.

Thank you for following and hope you have a great week ahead...and of course, I hope to see you soon :)

Brest, Belarus

I really love these Russian, Belorussian, Ukrainian...churches....or in one word, all that used to belong to USSR..the architecture is just so nice!

This is the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Brest, and it is considered to be the biggest church in Belarus. And unfortunately, I was surprised to see how little information one can find on the internet regarding this place.
All I got to find out is that this place commemorates the victims of WWII..and im not even 100% sure that is correct.

All the stamps come from 2008. The left one is from a set of 5 stamps of wild animals, with this one portraying a raccoon, while the other two are from a set of 8 representing Garden Flowers.

Grodno, Belarus

Time for some railway stuff :)

This card comes from Grodno in Belarus, showing its Railway Station.

Picture (1) shows the Old Railway Station, which was built with the beginning of the railway service St. Petersburg - Warsaw (1867). In 1986, it was destroyed in connection with the building of a new railway station (picture 2). On the wall of the building there is a memorial plaque which reminds of the attempt of Grodno gymnasia students to get to L. Narbut troop during the uprising of 1863-1864. Near the station, there is a zoo founded in 1927 by a teacher Ya. Kokhanovski (picture 3).

Minsk, Belarus

A very nice official card showing a cemetery in Minsk

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Well, problem is im not 100% sure, but the English transcription to this should be something like Kalvariskya..or Kalvaryja as i have found it on google....but i cant guarantee we are talking about the same cemetery here...and google cant brag to be full on information on this one, or it might be me who is overlooking things.
The entire back of the card has a text in Belorussian regarding this cemetery...which i could have understood it...well if someone is willing to translate it for me, id be glad to scan the back of the card...even though some bits of the text are covered by stamps....the majority is still readable

both stamps are from 2008....the flower one is from a set of 8 stamps called Garden Flowers, this one showing a Tulip....while the other one is a Christmas stamp

Pinsk, Belarus

This card is showing Pinsk by the river Pina....and its a logical guess that the name of the city derives from the name of the river...

While googling for some basic info about Pinsk, in general i came over quite a dry matter....AND..articles about Jews in Pinsk...ok, I really didnt know about it, but seems that by accident, i post two Jewish related cards on a Catholic Christmas day....Hopefully i wont go to Hell for this :)
Well, i dont feel like getting into religious issues here...so ill stick to the dry matter
Pinsk is said to be one of the oldest Slavic settlements, since it was first mentioned in the chronicles in 1097.

Two main sights of the town are lined along the river. These are the Assumption Cathedral of the monastery of the greyfairs. (1712-30) with a campanile from 1817 and the Jesuit collegium (1635-48), a large Mannerist complex, whose cathedral was demolished after the World War II....the Jesuit collegium is the one you can see on the card..

the stamp is from a set of 5 issued in 2008 from the Wild Animals series. Here you can see the European Mink.

Gomel, Belarus

Its amazing how many train-related cards i had received ever since i mentioned in my wishlist that i love them!

I dont really know anything about this Belorussian town...and not much information are provided either...except that its situated in the southeastern part of the country, on the right bank of Sozh River, close to the border with Ukraine and in close proximity to Chernobyl. Uhmm...now thats not nice...esp. not when i take a look at how deserted the railway station seems...when i related to Chernobyl, it certainly doesnt leave a nice impression...

Although it has been heavily contaminated with radioactive debris following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster,  residents were never evacuated from Gomel and general population continued to grow.

ok....that was more than i ever wanted to know....

the stamp on the left comes from a set of 8 stamps issued in 2006, representing Garden Flowers, with this one showing a Tulip, while the other stamp, from what you can see, comes from the EUROPA series, issued in 2004, where this stamp bears the title Vacation Mushrooming......

Nesviž, Belarus

A UNESCO card from Belarus, showing the Nesviž Castle. I like the colours...the green always gives a feeling of tranquility...and i like it how the castle is on one and the houses on the other side of the river. 

Nesviž Castle is a residential castle of the Raidzwill Family in Niasviž, Belarus.The most important structure in Nesvizh is the Corpus Christi Church, connected with the castle by a dam over a ditch and containing coffins of 72 members of the Radziwill family, each interred in a simple coffin made of birch and marked with Traby Coat of Arms.The church is considered the first Jesuit temple patterned after II Gesu in Rome,the first domed basilica with Baroque facade in the world and the first baroque piece of architecture in Eastern Europe. Apart from elaborate princely sepulchres, its interior features some late baroque frescoes from 1760s and the Holy Cross altar, executed by Venetian sculptors in 1583.

The stamp is from a set of two, issued in 2008, called "Hunt".

Minsk, Belarus

As for my last card today, ill take you to Minsk, in Belarus....

This is called the St.Triniry Suburb.
It is considered as a famous site in Minsk, settled down on the right coast of the river Svisloch.Walking down the small paved streets you can feel yourself in ancient times, enjoying multi-coloured houses and tiny shops and caves.
Well, not much info i could find upon this one...and whenever google showed me a site about it, turned out that the site is either non-existent or just contained NO info about it. Thats my luck, i guess...
Well im wishing you a nice day, and ill hopefully see you soon! And wish me luck that *I* get through MY day :P

Minsk, Belarus

The last card for today represents Belarus.
Well, i think that its maybe good that right now i dont have postcards from more former USSR countries and that 6 is more than enough for one update...

This card shows a Belarusbank building at the Dzerzhinskogo Avenue in Minsk...hehe, Minsk...remember my previous (well, and only one) Minsk postcard? That Minsk relation always makes me laugh :)

Anyway, i was wondering, did you notice the moon on the postcard? It feels so surreal somehow, but so beautiful! As if it's just come out from the sky....awkward but interesting.

before i close this, ill share a silly fact with you...back in time, when the Soviet Union fell apart, i thought that Russia was the whole Soviet Union and that eventually, it fell apart into pieces and to each piece of land they had to give a new name, so thats how all these new countries were born...well, dont take it for granted, i was like 11 or 12 back then ;-)

Well, thats all for today...hope you liked the cards...and hope you have a nice week ahead...and hope to see you soon... i have a number of things to do and backlogs to finish, but ill try not to make such big gaps in-between posts

'till next time...

Mir, Belarus

A loooovely view of a castle....in most of the cases it has proved that not just castles are magnificent as buildings, but they tend to be in some lovely surroundings too...

This is the Mir castle Complex in Belarus....it is located near Mir in the Karelichy District of Hrodna (Grodno) in the north-eastern part of the country.

The construction of this castle began at the end of the 15th century, in Gothic style. It was subsequently extended and reconstructed, first in the Renaissance and then in the Baroque style. After being abandoned for nearly a century and suffering severe damage during the Napoleonic period, the castle was restored at the end of the 19th century, with the addition of a number of other elements and the landscaping of the surrounding area as a park. Its present form is graphic testimony to an often turbulent history.
Building of the castle was completed by Duke Ilinich in early 16th century, and around 1568 the Mir Castle passed into the hands of the Lithuanian Duke Radvila, who finished building the Castle in a Renaissance architecture style.

It is also a Belorussian UNESCO whs.

Thanks a LOT Kati for the absolutely great postcard!

Minsk, Belarus

Here comes my first card from Belarus....I wonder if i should be thankful to the USSR for going apart and give me much more states to have to collect than just one...

This comes from the capital, Minsk.....Minsk, I like it....I like the way it sounds, somewhat cool....reminds me of one of the episode of "Friends" when Phoebe fell for this scientist guy, it was David I think...who had to go to Minsk coz he and his friend got a grant for some kind of a research there....and how they had to leave for Minsk, January 1st....the departure was the sad part, but I always laughed at Phoebe's reaction to Minsk, and it made me laugh how they were so excited for going to Minsk...which im sure, especially back then, many people have never heard of it before (Phoebe definitely hadnt :))
now, im not sure when this episode of Friends was shot, since they say there that Minsk is in Russia...but as far as I know, Belarus got independence in 1990/91....the first season of Friends (this episode is from the first season) was shot at 1993....so we have a weird gap here....purpose or pure ignorance...I dont know....but in one of the later episodes, when David comes back from Minsk, they still refer to it as in Russia...this actually reminds me i should put some "Friends" on and have a laugh :)

Regarding the card, I like it a lot....coz of the fountains...I love fountains....the ones you can see here are along Lenin Street, where the buldings are around 100 years old...

Minsk...I definitely like the name....along with another capital from the former USSR countries....well, im not telling, you'll have to wait till I get a card from there...which so far, isnt in sight....