Official - Eguisheim, France

Eguisheim is a medieval village in France's Alsace wine region. The narrow, concentric streets of its old town are lined with many preserved half-timbered houses. The stamp shows another Alsatian town of Kayserberg. Both are situated close to Colmar, known for its Christmas market. Wine region, quaint houses, markets...We all know what needs to be done :) Many thanks to Stephane.

P.S. This post lead to me booking a room for November in Strasbourg, wheee...!

UNESCO - Bardejov Town Conservation Reserve, Slovakia

A perfect Unesco card from a wonderful postcrosser - thank you Mirka, receiving mail from you is a delight!

Bardejov is a small but exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a fortified medieval town, which typifies the urbanisation in this region. Among other remarkable features, it also contains a small Jewish quarter around a fine 18th-century synagogue.

The town’s surviving urban plan, with a regular division of streets around a spacious market square, is an indication of European civilization from the 13th to 14th centuries.

 

UNESCO - Historic Centre Of San Gimignano, Italy

'San Gimignano delle belle Torri' is in Tuscany, 56 km south of Florence. It served as an important relay point for pilgrims travelling to or from Rome on the Via Francigena. The patrician families who controlled the town built around 72 tower-houses (some as high as 50 m) as symbols of their wealth and power. Within the walls, the well-preserved buildings include notable examples of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture, with outstanding examples of secular buildings as well as churches.

Grazie mille Chiara :)

 

UNESCO - Jurisdiction Of Saint-Emilion, France

Viniculture/winemaking was introduced to this fertile region by the Romans and intensified in the Middle Ages - Saint-Emilion is a commune in Aquitaine in southwestern France counting only ca 2000 inhabitants but full of fascinating Romanesque churches and ruins, and vineyards that marked its history.

Lovely view, merci Sebastiene, and for the vintage stamp :)

UNESCO - Historic Centre Of Sighişoara, Romania

Founded by German craftsmen and merchants known as the Saxons of Transylvania, Sighişoara is a fine example of a small, fortified medieval town which played an important strategic and commercial role on the fringes of central Europe for several centuries. Each year, a Medieval Festival takes place in the old citadel in July.

Thank you Daniela for this quaint view and cool stamps showing stained glass windows in the Bucharest's presidential Cotroceni Palace. Looking through the 2011 stamp issues of the Romanian Post i have seen something that caused immense yearning heh - gorgeous zodiac and reptiles sets!

UNESCO - Medieval City Of Rhodes, Greece

Rhodes (Greek: Ρόδος)  is the principal city on the island of Rhodes, an island in the Dodecanese, Greece. It has been famous since antiquity as the site of Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The Order of St John of Jerusalem occupied Rhodes from 1309 to 1523 and set about transforming the city into a stronghold. It subsequently came under Turkish and Italian rule. With the Palace of the Grand Masters, the Great Hospital and the Street of the Knights, the Upper Town is one of the most beautiful urban ensembles of the Gothic period. In the Lower Town, Gothic architecture coexists with mosques, public baths and other buildings dating from the Ottoman period.

Gorgeous view sent by Milde, and with a great variety of stamps - a treasure, thanks so much! :))

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Rothenburg ob der Tauber ("Red fortress above the Tauber") is a town in the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany, well known for its well-preserved medieval old town. It was a Free Imperial City from the late Middle Ages to 1803, when it became a part of Bavaria.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous...My heart would be fulfilled if I was to walk those old cobbled streets on a sunny or a snowy day... xD

Mdina (Città Vecchia), Malta

For today's reminder of my trip to Malta I have only chosen postcards with cancellations, to keep it short and sweet :) A daytrip to Mdina was one of the highlights as the place is simply gorgeous - I just wish I didnt have to also connect it to the extremely strong gusts of wind that nearly knocked me off the city walls..!

Mdina or Città Vecchia is the old capital of Malta, a medieval walled town situated on a hill in the centre of the island. Its commonly called the "Silent City", as the town is still confined within its walls, and has a population of just over three hundred - a part of its charm.

Mdina is on Unesco's tentative list.

UNESCO - Trogir, Croatia

A lovely surprise from Ivana - hvala :)

The historic centre of Trogir is one of the seven croatian Unesco sites. The town was founded in the 3rd cent. BC by Greek colonists and developed into important port until the Roman period. In the 11th cent. a diocese was established and in 1107 it gained an autonomous status. Trogir is the best-preserved Romanesque-Gothic complex in the whole of central Europe.

UNESCO - Visby, Sweden

Hanseatic Town of Visby is the best-preserved fortified commercial town in northern Europe. It is situated on the island of Gotland, was an important Viking site and later in the 13th century flourished as the main centre of The Hanseatic League (economic alliance of trading cities). 

This card has a vintage feeling to it, and shows people as they would have been dressed all those centuries ago...Thank you MerJade, and for the fantastic stamps - probably the nicest I've received from Sweden so far! :)))

UNESCO - Historic Fortified City Of Carcassonne, France

I immediately fell in love with this view of the fortified french town of Carcassonne! My brother went for a trip with his university mates a few years back, and sent me this card that amplified my already-existent love for France :)

Carcassonne is situated in the Aude department, in south-central France. In the 6th century BC the hill site of Carsac became an important trading place, and it was fortified by the romans around 100 BC. The fortifications were expanded throughout the years, and were thoroughly restored in 1853 by the architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. In 1997 it was added to the whs unesco list :)

Medvedgrad/Zagreb, Croatia

This beautiful view of Zagreb from Medvedgrad was sent to me by my dear postcrossing-friend Goran :) I have been to Zagreb a few times, but never had the time or opportunity to visit the surrounding area.

Medvedgrad (bear-town) is a medieval fortified town on the southern slope of Medvednica mountain. It was built in the 13th century, after the devastating Mongol invasion. From here you can enjoy one of the most beautiful views of Zagreb, especially at night :)