Kronborg Castle

Kronborg Slot (in english Kronborg castle) is situated near the town of Helsingør (immortalised as Elsinore in Shakespeare's Hamlet) on the extreme northeastern tip of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden. In this part, the sound is only 4 km wide, hence the strategic importance of maintaining a fortress at this location commanding one of the few outlets of the Baltic Sea. The castle has for centuries been one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was added to UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list on November 30, 2000.

The castle's story dates back to a fortress, Krogen, built in the 1420s by the Danish king,Eric of Pomerania. The king insisted on the payment of sound dues by all ships wishing to enter or leave the Baltic Sea; to help enforce his demands, he built a powerful fortress controlling the sound. It then consisted of a number of buildings inside a surrounding wall.

Stamped with Copenhagen Opera House stamp.Value 7.75 DKK.

The Copenhagen Opera House (in Danish usually called Operaen) is the national opera house of Denmark, and among the most modern opera houses in the world. It is also one of the most expensive opera houses ever built with construction costs well over 500 million U.S. dollars.. It is located on the island of Holmen in the center ofCopenhagen.

Hamburg

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A night view card from Evelyn,Hamburg.

This card is showing Binnenlaster lake(also known as Inner Alster Lake) is one of two artificial lakes within the city limits of Hamburg,Germany, which are formed by the river Alster (the other being the Außenalster). The main annual festival is the Alstervergnügen.

The lake has an area of 0.2 square kilometres.

The phrase "inner" refers to the old city walls of Hamburg. The Binnenalster was the part of the lake that was "inside" the city walls. The lake was originally created to serve as a reservoir for a mill. As of 2008 the old city walls do not exist, instead two car and train bridges, the Lombardbrücke and the Kennedybrücke, span the river.

The building with tower is the Rathaus of Hamburg.

The Hamburg Rathaus is the Rathaus—the city hall or town hall—of Hamburg, Germany, it is the seat of the government of Hamburg, located in the Altstadt quarter in the city centre, near the lake Binnenalster and the central station. Constructed from 1886 to 1897, the city hall still houses its original governmental functions with the office of the First Mayor of Hamburg and the meeting rooms for Hamburg's parliament and senate (the city's executive).

Edmonton

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Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. The city is located on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies. It is the second largest city in Alberta afterCalgary, and is the hub of Canada's sixth-largest census metropolitan area. The hadrosaurEdmontosaurus is named after the city.

Moldova

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Moldova is quite rare country in Postcrossing.I received this card from Elena.It is showing tiny fragments where she lives:)

Orhei is a city and the administrative centre of Orhei District with a population of 25,680. Prior to 2003, Orhei was a Judeţ, a large administrative region, but the country was divided further in Raion, or districts. Most people speak Romanian and Russian. There is one school that is taught in Russian.

The St. Dumitru Church built by Vasile Lupu is located in this town. Orhei is approximately 50 kilometers north of the capital, Chişinău. Orhei gets its name from Orhei Vechi, an active monastery near the village of Ivancea.

The name "Orhei" is, according to one theory, derived from the Hungarian word Őrhely, meaning "fortress", dating from the 13th century, when Hungarian forces built a series of defences in the area.

Orhei was home to many Jews prior to WWII, and has a large Jewish cemetery There is only one active synagogue left in the community. The main churches are Russian Orthodox. Also in the area are Baptist, a Seventh-day Adventist Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Salvation Army and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Prague,Czech Republic

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Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Nicknames for Prague have included Praga mater urbium/Praha matka měst ("Prague – Mother of Cities") in Latin/Czech,Stověžatá Praha ("City of a Hundred Spires") in Czech or Zlaté město/Goldene Stadt ("Golden City") in Czech/German.

Situated on the Vltava River in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural and economic centre of the Czech state for more than 1100 years. For many decades during theGothic and Renaissance eras, Prague was the permanent seat of two Holy Roman Emperorsand thus was also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.

Today, the city proper is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 1.9 million.

Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list ofWorld Heritage Sites, making the city one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, receiving more than 4.1 million international visitors annually, as of 2009.

Celle,Germany

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Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of theWeser and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lüneburg Heath, has a castle (Schloss Celle) built in the renaissance and baroque style and a picturesque old town centre (the Altstadt) with over 400 timber-framed houses, making Celle one of the most remarkable members of the German Framework Road. From 1378 to 1705, Celle was the official residence of the Lüneburg branch of the Dukes of Welf who had been banished from their original ducal seat by its townsfolk.

Greetings from Boston

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Boston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact. Boston city proper had a 2008 estimated population of 620,535, making it the twenty-first largest in the country. Boston is also the anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area called Greater Boston, home to 4.5 million people and the tenth-largest metropolitan area in the country. Greater Boston as a commuting region includes six Massachusetts counties, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Plymouth, and Worcester, all of Rhode Island and parts of New Hampshire; it is home to 7.5 million people, making it the fifth-largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States.

In 1630, Puritan colonists from England founded the city on the Shawmut Peninsula. During the late 18th century, Boston was the location of several major events during the American Revolution, including the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. Several early battles of the American Revolution, such as the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Siege of Boston, occurred within the city and surrounding areas. Through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the peninsula. After American independence was attained Boston became a major shipping port and manufacturing center, and its rich history now helps attract 16.3 million visitors annually. The city was the site of several firsts, including America's first public school, Boston Latin School (1635), and the first subway system in the United States.

With many colleges and universities within the city and surrounding area, Boston is a center of higher education and a center for medicine. The city's economy is also based on research, electronics, engineering, finance, and high technology—principally biotechnology. The city has been experiencing gentrification and has one of the highest costs of living in the United States, and it remains high on world livability rankings.