ROMANIA - CASTLES, RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS

Peleș Castle

Peleș Castle is a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914. By form and function, Peleş is a palace, but it is consistently called a castle. Its architectural style is a romantically inspired blend Neo-Renaissance and Gothic Revival similar to Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. A Saxon influence can be observed in the interior courtyard facades.  Interior decoration is mostly Baroque influenced, with heavy carved woods and exquisite fabrics. Peleş Castle has a 3,200-square-metre (34,000 sq ft) floor plan with over 170 rooms. There are 30 bathrooms. The establishment hosts one of the finest collections of art in Eastern and Central Europe, consisting of statues, paintings, furniture, arms and armor, gold, silver, stained glass, ivory, fine china, tapestries, and rugs. The collection of arms and armor has over 4,000 pieces. A towering statue of King Carol I by Raffaello Romanelli overlooks the main entrance. Many other statues are present on the seven Italian neo-Renaissance terrace gardens, mostly of Carrara marble executed by the Italian sculptor Romanelli. The gardens also host fountains, urns, stairways, guarding lions, marble paths, and other decorative pieces.

 

Bran Castle

Bran Castle, situated near Bran and in the immediate vicinity of Braşov, is a national monument and landmark in Romania. The fortress is situated on the border between Transylvania and Wallachia. Commonly known as "Dracula's Castle" (although it is one among several locations linked to the Dracula legend, including Poenari Castle and Hunyad Castle), it is marketed as the home of the titular character in Bram Stoker's Dracula. There is, however, no evidence that Stoker knew anything about this castle. The castle is now a museum open to tourists, displaying art and furniture collected by Queen Marie. Tourists can see the interior individually or by a guided tour. At the bottom of the hill is a small open air museum park exhibiting traditional Romanian peasant structures (cottages, barns, etc.) from across the country.

 

Bucovina's monasteries

Probota Monastery was built in 1530 by prince Petru Rares in the village Probota, Suceava county. Bogdana Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the town of Rădăuți, northern Romania. Its church is the oldest still standing religious building in Moldavia. The monastery was built by Bogdan I of Moldavia (1359–1365) somewhere around 1360. There are ten graves inside the monastery's church.

The Moldovița Monastery is a Romanian Orthodox monastery situated in the commune of Vatra Moldoviței, Suceava County, Moldavia, Romania. The Monastery of Moldovița was built in 1532 by Petru Rareș, who was Stefan the Great's (the King of Romania from 1457 until his death in 1504) illegitimate son. It was founded as a protective barrier against the Muslim Ottoman conquerors from the East.

 

 

Nice stamps.

All cards above received from: manencov

JAPAN - CASTLES, TEMPLES

Kiyomizu-dera temple

Kiyomizu-dera is an independent Buddhist temple in eastern Kyoto. The temple is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) UNESCO World Heritage site. The temple was founded in 798, and its present buildings were constructed in 1633, during a ordered by the Tokugawa Iemitsu. There is not a single nail used in the entire structure. It takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means clear water, or pure water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful stamps. 

Received from: Hiroshi

Iga Ueno Castle

Iga Ueno Castle, also known as Ueno Castle and Hakuho Castle, is a Japanese castle located in Iga, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Construction on Iga Ueno Castle began in 1585 by the command of Takigawa Katsutoshi. In 1935, the tenshu of Iga Ueno Castle was re-constructed out of wood. It houses a museum which holds a collection of artifacts relating to the area's history. Most other parts of the castle lie in ruins, though the towering honmaru walls still stand.

A beautiful stamp.

Received from: graodecafe

Nagoya castle

Nagoya Castle is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, central Japan. During the Edo period, Nagoya Castle was the center of one of the most important castle towns in Japan—Nagoya-juku— and it included the most important stops along the Minoji, which linked the Tōkaidō with the Nakasendō. The castle complex is made up of several enceintes, which are divided by the outer moat (Soto-bori) and inner moat (Uchi-bori). Each enceinte is protected by walls with turrets strategically located at each corner. Access from one enceinte to the next was controlled by guarded gates that were accessible by bridges. The castle is a good example of the type built on flat lands.

Beautiful stamps.

Received from: Megumaru

Toshodaiji Temple

Tōshōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple of the Ritsu sect in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. The Classic Golden Hall, also known as the kondō, has a single story, hipped tiled roof with a seven bay wide facade. It is considered the archetype of "classical style." It was founded by a Chinese Buddhist monk named Jianzhen during the Nara period in the year 759. Tōshōdai-ji is one of the places in Nara that UNESCO has designated as World Heritage Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara".

 

 

 

 

A nice stamp.

Received from: Nozomi

Katsura Rikyu

The Katsura Imperial Villa, or Katsura Detached Palace, is a villa with associated gardens and outbuildings in the western suburbs of Kyoto, Japan. Its gardens are a masterpiece of Japanese gardening, and the buildings are even more important, one of the greatest achievements of Japanese architecture. The palace includes a shoin ("drawing room"), tea houses, and a strolling garden. It provides an invaluable window into the villas of princes of the Edo period.

 

 

 

 

Beautiful stamps and postmark.

Received from: Chieusa