#1782 Mallorca, Spain

Valldemossa is a village and municipality on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is famous for one landmark: the Royal Charterhouse of Valldemossa, built at the beginning of the 14th century, when the mystic and philosopher Ramon Llull lived in this area of Majorca.

Wikipedia.org

Aitäh, Katrina !

Sent on: September 2, 2019

Received on: September 9, 2019

#1781 Mallorca, Spain

Mallorca or Majorca is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The native language, as on the rest of the Balearic Islands, is Catalan, which is co-official with Spanish.

The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Islands have been an autonomous region of Spain since 1983. There are two small islands off the coast of Mallorca: Cabrera (southeast of Palma) and Dragonera (west of Palma). The anthem of Mallorca is "La Balanguera".

Like the other Balearic Islands of Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, the island is an extremely popular holiday destination, particularly for tourists from Germany and the United Kingdom. The international airport, Palma de Mallorca Airport, is one of the busiest in Spain; it was used by 28.0 million passengers in 2017, increasing every year since 2012.

The name derives from Classical Latin insula maior, "larger island". Later, in Medieval Latin, this became Maiorica, "the larger one", in comparison to Menorca, "the smaller one".

Wikipedia.org

Aitäh, Katrina !

Received on: September 4, 2019

#1640 Spain

Thank you, Paula !

Received on: July 9, 2018

#1422 Spain

Thank you, Henna !

Received on: October 9, 2017

#1243 Spain

The flag of Spain (Spanish: Bandera de España, colloquially known as "la Rojigualda"), as it is defined in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the size of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle stripe was defined by the more archaic term of gualda, and hence the popular name rojigualda (red-weld).

Wikipedia.org

Thank you, Elena !

Sent on: March 17, 2017

Received on: March 24, 2017

#1077 Bilbao, Spain

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art, designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. The museum was inaugurated on October 18, 1997, by former King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao to the Cantabrian Sea, it is one of several museums belonging to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish and international artists. It is one of the largest museums in Spain.

Wikipedia.org

With Puppy, Koons engaged both past and present, employing sophisticated computer modeling to create a work that references the 18th-century formal European garden. A behemoth West Highland terrier carpeted in bedding plants,Puppy employs the most saccharine of iconography—flowers and puppies—in a monument to the sentimental. Imposing in scale, its size both tightly contained and seemingly out of control (it is both literally and figuratively still growing), and juxtaposing elite and mass-cultural references (topiary and dog breeding, Chia Pets and Hallmark greeting cards), the work may be read as an allegory of contemporary culture. Koons designed this public sculpture to relentlessly entice, to create optimism, and to instill, in his own words, "confidence and security." Dignified and stalwart as it stands guard at the museum, Puppyfills viewers with awe, and even joy.

Guggenheim-bilbao.es

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

Thank you, David !

Sent on: May 2, 2016

Received on: May 9, 2016

#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

#1060 Majorca, Spain

Majorca or Mallorca (Catalan: Mallorca, Spanish: Mallorca) is the largest island in the Balearic Islands archipelago, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.

The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Islands have been an autonomous region of Spain since 1983. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca (in the municipality of Palma). The anthem of Majorca is La Balanguera.

Like the other Balearic Islands of Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera, the island is an extremely popular holiday destination, particularly for tourists from Germany and the United Kingdom. The international airport, Palma de Mallorca Airport, is one of the busiest in Spain; it was used by 23.1 million passengers in 2014.

The name derives from Latin insula maior, "larger island"; later Maiorica, "the larger one" in comparison to Minorca, "the smaller one".

wikipedia.org

Aitäh, Maario & Marion !

Sent on: April 13, 2016

Received on: April 18, 2016

#937 Spain

As it's the second design for Spain see received card #756 for more information.

There's now less people and more Postcrossing members than before.

Picture:

The Park Güell (Catalan: Parc Güell [ˈparɡ ˈɡweʎ]) is a public park system composed of gardens and architectonic elements located on Carmel Hill, in Barcelona (Spain). Carmel Hill belongs to the mountain range of Collserola — the Parc del Carmel is located on the northern face. Park Güell is located in La Salut, a neighborhood in the Gràcia district of Barcelona. With urbanization in mind, Eusebi Güell assigned the design of the park to Antoni Gaudí, a renowned architect and the face of Catalan modernism. The park was built between 1900 and 1914 and was officially opened as a public park in 1926. In 1984, UNESCO declared the park a World Heritage Site under “Works of Antoni Gaudí”.

Wikipedia.org

Property No #320

Date of Inscription on the List of UNESCO WHS: 1984

Thank you, 

Received on: July 30, 2015

#925 Spain

The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, more commonly referred to as La Seu (a title also used by many other churches), is a Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral located in Palma, Majorca, Spain, built on the site of a pre-existing Arab mosque. It is 121 metres long, 55 metres wide and its nave is 44 metres tall. By way of comparison, the height of the central nave reaches 33m in Notre Dame de Paris, 38m in Reims, 42m in Notre-Dame d'Amiens and 48m in Saint-Pierre de Beauvais, the highest of all Gothic cathedrals.

Designed in the Catalan Gothic style but with Northern European influences, it was begun by King James I of Aragon in 1229 but finished only in 1601. It sits within the old city of Palma atop the former citadel of the Roman city, between the Royal Palace of La Almudaina and the episcopal palace. It also overlooks the Parc de la Mar and the Mediterranean Sea.

In 1901, fifty years after a restoration of the cathedral had started, Antoni Gaudí was invited to take over the project. While some of his ideas were adopted - moving the choir stalls from the middle nave to be closer to the altar, as well as a large canopy - Gaudí abandoned his work in 1914 after an argument with the contractor. The planned changes were essentially cosmetic rather than structural, and the project was cancelled soon after.

Wikipedia.org

Thank you, Paula !

Sent on: July 1, 2015

Received on: July 6, 2015

#924 Spain

Tazones (variant: San Miguel de Tazones) is one of 41 parishes (administrative divisions) in Villaviciosa, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.

The parroquia is 3.51 km² (1.36 sq mi) in size, with a population of 254 (INE 2006). The postal code is 33315.

Wikipedia.org

Thank you, Paula !

Sent on: July 1, 2015

Received on: July 6, 2015

#900 Seville, Spain

 The Friary of La Rábida is a Franciscan friary in the southern Spanish town of Palos de la Frontera, in the province of Huelva and the autonomous region of Andalucia. The friary is located 13 km (8 mi) south of the city of Huelva, where the Tinto and Odiel rivers meet.

The Friary of La Rábida has been Franciscan property since the thirteenth century. It was founded in 1261; the evidence is a papal bull issued by Pope Benedict XIII in that year, allowing Friar Juan Rodríguez and his companions to establish a community on the coast of Andalucia. The first Christian building on the site was constructed over a small pre-existing Almohad building that lends its name (rábida or rápita, meaning "watchtower" in Arabic) to the present monastery. The Franciscans have held great influence in the region ever since.

The buildings standing on the site today were erected in stages in the late fourteenth century and the early fifteenth century. The friary, and the church associated with it, display elements of Gothic and Moorish revival architecture; their walls are decorated with frescos by the twentieth-century Spanish artist, Daniel Vázquez Diaz (1882-1969). There is also a cloister and a museum, where numerous relics of the discovery of America are displayed.

The buildings on the site have nearly 20,000 sq ft (1,858 m²) of floor space and an irregular floor plan. Throughout its five hundred years of existence, the monastery has been refurbished and repaired countless times, but the most extensive modifications were undertaken as a result of damage from the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

Christopher Columbus stayed at the friary two years before his famous first voyage, after learning that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella had rejected his request for outfitting an expedition in search of the Indies. With the intervention of the guardian of La Rábida and the confessor to Isabella, Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, he was able to have his proposal heard.

Wikipedia.org 

Date of Issue: April 23, 2013 | Europa CEPT 2013 'The Postman Van'

Thank you, Jesus !

Sent on: May 25, 2015

Received on: June 1, 2015

#899 Seville, Spain

Andalusia is a south-western European region established as an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain. It is the most populated and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities in Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognized as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and Seville. Its capital is the city of Seville (Spanish: Sevilla).

Wikipedia.org 

Date of Issue: April 4, 2012 | EUROPA CEPT 2012 'Visit...'

Thank you, Jesus !

Sent on: May 25, 2015

Received on: June 1, 2015

#898 Seville, Spain

 Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cádiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. The city has been inhabited since 3000 BC; it had a population of 149,410 in 2010, according to that year's census. Huelva is home to Recreativo de Huelva, the oldest football club in Spain.

Wikipedia.org 

Date of Issue: April 23, 2015 | Europa 2015 'Old Toys'

Date of Issue: April 23, 2015 | Europa 2015 'Old Toys'

Thank you, Jesus !

Sent on: May 25, 2015

Received on: June 1, 2015

#815 Spain

 The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Saviour or Cathedral of San Salvador (Spanish: Catedral Metropolitana Basílica de San Salvador, Latin: Sancta Ovetensis) is a Roman Catholic cathedral and minor basilica in the centre of Oviedo, in the Asturias region of northern Spain.

The Cathedral of San Salvador of Oviedo today displays an array of architectural styles, from Pre-Romanesque to Baroque, including Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance parts. It began as a large Pre-Romanesque basilica in the present location of the Gothic cathedral, but nothing more is known about that first building, built by order of King Alfonso II of Asturias.

Wikipedia.org

Property No #312

Date of Inscription on the List of UNESCO WHS: 1985

Asturias, officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous community in north-west Spain. It is coextensive with the province of Asturias, and contains most of the territory that was part of the Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. Divided into eight comarcas (counties), the autonomous community of Asturias is bordered by Cantabria to the east, by Castile and León to the south, by Galicia to the west, and by the Bay of Biscay to the north.

Wikipedia.org

Thank you, Paula !

 Received on: February 25, 2015

#789 Valencia, Spain

Valencia (or València), is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, with around 800,000 inhabitants in the administrative centre. Its urban area extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 1.5 million people. Valencia is Spain's third largest metropolitan area, with a population ranging from 1.7 to 2.5 million. The city has global city status. The Port of Valencia is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea.

Wikipedia.org

The North Station (Spanish: Estación del Norte, Valencian: Estació del Nord) is the main railway station in Valencia, Spain. It is located in the city centre next to the Plaza de Toros de Valencia, the city's bullring, and 200m from the town hall. It has connections with Metrovalencia lines 3 and 5, and the city bus network.

Wikipedia.org

Plaza de Toros de Valencia is a bullring in València, Spain. It is currently used for bull fighting. The stadium holds 10,500 people since 2010. It was built in 1841. The Valencian bullring, situated next to the North Station, was built between 1850 and 1860 and the architect was Sebastian Monleon.

Wikipedia.org

Thank you, Omar !

Sent on: January 10, 2015

Received on: January 28, 2015

#756 Madrid, Spain

About some facts written on te postcard:

Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born April 28, 1974) is a Spanish actress and model. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón (1992), to critical acclaim. Her subsequent roles in the 1990s and 2000s included Open Your Eyes (1997),The Hi-Lo Country (1999), The Girl of Your Dreams (2000) and Woman on Top (2000). Cruz achieved recognition for her lead roles in the 2001 films Vanilla Sky, All the Pretty Horses, Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Blow.

Wikipedia.org

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marqués de Dalí de Pubol (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989), known as Salvador Dalí, was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres, Spain.

Wikipedia.org

Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked world No. 3. He is widely regarded as the finest clay court player in history and has been nicknamed "The King of Clay." His evolution into an all-court threat has established him as one of the best ever all-rounders in tennis, with some considering Nadal to be the greatest player of all time.

Wikipedia.org

Spanish, also called Castilian, is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain. Approximately 470 million people speak Spanish as a native language, making it second only to Mandarin in terms of its number of native speakers worldwide. There are an estimated 548 million Spanish speakers as a first or second language, including speakers with limited competence and 20 million students of Spanish as a foreign language. Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations, and it is used as an official language by the European Union, the Organization of American States, and the Union of South American Nations, among many other international organizations.

Wikipedia.org

Mount Teide (Spanish: Pico del Teide, "Teide Peak") is a volcano on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Its 3,718-metre (12,198 ft) summit is the highest point in Spain and the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlantic. At 7,500 m (24,600 ft) from its base on the ocean floor, it is the third highest volcano on a volcanic ocean island in the world after Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa in Hawaii. Its elevation makes Tenerife the tenth highest island in the world. It remains active: its most recent eruption occurred in 1909 from the El Chinyero vent on the northwestern Santiago rift. The United Nations Committee for Disaster Mitigation designated Teide a Decade Volcano because of its history of destructive eruptions and its proximity to several large towns, of which the closest are Garachico, Icod de los Vinos and Puerto de la Cruz. Teide, Pico Viejo and Montaña Blanca form the Central Volcanic Complex of Tenerife.

Wikipedia.org

Flamenco is a form of Spanish folk music and dance from the region of Andalusia in southern Spain. It includes cante (singing), toque (guitar playing), baile (dance) and palmas (handclaps). First mentioned in literature in 1774, the genre grew out of Andalusian and Romani music and dance styles. Flamenco is often associated with the gitanos (Romani people of Spain) and a number of famous flamenco artists are of this ethnicity. Flamenco was first recorded in the late 18th century but the genre underwent a dramatic development in the late 19th century.

Wikipedia.org

Thank you, Amelia !

Sent on: November 11, 2014

Received on: November 28, 2014