#1076 Bilbao, Spain

For more info, see received card #619.

Property No #1217

Date of Inscription on the List of UNESCO WHS: 2006

Date of Issue: April 22, 2016 | Europa CEPT 2016 'Think Green'

Thank you, David !

Sent on: May 2, 2016

Received on: May 9, 2016

#749 Hong Kong

The Tsing Ma Bridge is a bridge in Hong Kong It is the world's ninth-longest span suspension bridge, and was the second longest at time of completion. The bridge was named after two of the islands at its ends, namely Tsing Yi and Ma Wan. It has two decks and carries both road and rail traffic, which also makes it the largest suspension bridge of this type. The bridge has a main span of 1,377 metres (4,518 ft) and a height of 206 metres (676 ft). The span is the largest of all bridges in the world carrying rail traffic.

The 41-metre (135 ft) wide bridge deck carries six lanes of automobile traffic, with three lanes in each direction. The lower level contains two rail tracks and two sheltered carriageways, used for maintenance access and traffic lanes when particularly severe typhoons strike Hong Kong and the bridge deck is closed to traffic.

Wikipedia.org

Date of Issue: July 24, 2014 - Definitive - Landscape

Date of Issue: December 31, 2006 - Scarlet Minivet

Thank you, Michelle!

Sent on: November 15, 2014

Received on: November 24, 2014

#619 Bilbao, Spain

The Vizcaya Bridge (Bizkaiko Zubia in Basque, Puente de Vizcaya in Spanish), is a transporter bridge that links the towns of Portugalete and Las Arenas (part of Getxo) in the Biscay province of Spain, crossing the mouth of the Ibaizabal River.

People in the area, and even the official website, commonly call it the Puente Colgante (literally "hanging bridge", used for suspension bridge in Spanish), although its structure is quite different from a suspension bridge.

The Vizcaya Bridge was built to connect the two banks which are situated at the mouth of the Nervion River. It is the world's oldest transporter bridge and was built in 1893, designed by Alberto Palacio, one of Gustave Eiffel's disciples. The Engineer Ferdinand Joseph Arnodin was in charge, and the main financier of the project was Santos Lopez de Letona. It was the solution given by the engineer to the problem of connecting the two towns without disrupting the maritime traffic of the Port of Bilbao and without having to build a massive structure with long ramps. Palacio wanted to design a bridge which could transport passengers and cargo, and that could allow ships to go through. The design of the Palacio Shuttle bridge was adequate and could be built with a reasonable price.

The service was only interrupted once, for four years, during the Spanish Civil War, when the upper section was dynamited. From his house in Portugalete, Palacio saw his masterpiece partially destroyed just before his own death.

On July 13, 2006, the Vizcaya Bridge was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is the only Basque monument on the list. Also, in Spain, it is the only monument in the Industrial Heritage category. The UNESCO considers the bridge to be a perfect combination of beauty and functionality. It was the first to use a combination of iron technology and new steel cables which began a new form of constructing bridges which was later imitated throughout the world.

The bridge, still in use, is 164 meters long, and its gondola can transport six cars and several dozen passengers in one and a half minutes.

It operates every 8 minutes during the day (every hour at night), all year round, with different fares for day and night services, and is integrated into Bilbao's Creditrans transport system. An estimated four million passengers and half a million vehicles use the bridge annually.

There are two new visitor lifts installed in the 50 meter high pillars of the bridge that allow walking over the bridge's platform, from where there is a view of the port and the Abra bay.

Wikipedia.org

Property No #1217

Date of Inscription on the List of UNESCO WHS: 2006

Date of Issue: May 6, 2010 | Europa 2010 'Children Books'

Thank you, David !

Sent on: May 16, 2014

Received on: May 29, 2014

#604 Czech Republic

The Písek Stone Bridge (Kamenný most v Písku in Czech) is the oldest bridge on the area of Czech Republic and one of two oldest bridges in Central Europe, located in south Bohemian city of Písek. It was probably built in the 3rd quarter of the 13th century.

It is sometimes called Stag Bridge because, according to legend, it was to be named after the first being to pass over it. At the time, town Písek was surrounded by deep woods, so the first being to cross the bridge was a stag. However, most local people calls it Old Bridge (starý most).

It spans the Otava River, a tributary of the Vltava River. This bridge is in the Gothic style with baroque statues and a cross. The length of the bridge is 109.75 m and the width 6.25 m. It is built on six pillars and has seven arches.

The bridge survived the floods in 2002. The flood water removed railings and some statues. After the flood, Písek started with the general reconstruction. The railings and statues were repaired; copy of one statue which was lost was created. The bridge is now supported by a net of concrete and iron tubes.

Wikipedia.org

Date of Issue: April 30, 2014 | Europa 2014 'National Music Instruments'

Bagpipes are an ancient folk musical instrument. Originally they were simple wind instruments, which probably originated more than 4000 years ago in Egypt. From there they have spread into Europe. 
Posteurop.org

Thank you, Marie !

Sent on: May 19, 2014

Received on: May 22, 2014

#52 Donji Vakuf, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Stari Most (English: Old Bridge) is a 16th century Ottoman bridge in the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina that crosses the river Neretva and connects two parts of the city. The Old Bridge stood for 427 years, until it was destroyed on November 9, 1993 by Bosnian Croat forces during the Croat-Bosniak War. Subsequently, a project was set in motion to reconstruct it, and the rebuilt bridge opened on July 23, 2004.

Property No #946

Date of Inscription on the list of UNESCO: 2005

Thank you, Eddie ! 

Sent on: February 24, 2011
Received on: March 21, 2011

His blog: http://eddiegunner.blogspot.com/