St Basil's Cathedral, Vasilievsky Spusk (Slope)

A postcard from Russia.

postcard of St Basil's Cathedral and Vasilievsky Spusk, Postcrossing RU-405165

Ths postcard is of Vasilievsky Spusk (Slope) and St Basil's Cathedral, an Moscow landmark on Red Square, which is considered the central square in Moscow and Russia. Main roads lead from Red Square to other parts of the capital.  The walls of the Moscow Kremlin, which is a Unesco World Heritage site, can be seen on the left of the card.

St Basil's official name is the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat. "St Basil" actually refers to Basil the Blessed, a Muscovite "holy fool" who was buried in the Trinity Cathedral that once stood at the site before the present cathedral was built. The construction of St Basil's was ordered by Ivan the Terrible (the Grand Prince of Moscow) to commemorate the capture of Kazan in 1552 and Astrakhan in 1556 from Mongol forces. The building was completed in 1560.

Here's a picture of a postcard of St Basil's from the early 20th century.

St Basil's Cathedral, postcard from early 20th century
(wikimedia commons, public domain)

These are the stamps on my postcard.

stamps of Russian kremlins

Russian stamps are so beautiful. I love these stamps, different ones of kremlins (fortified complexes) in Russia. My first Postcrossing card from Russia also had Kremlin stamps on it.


Related links
Kremlin stamps (wikimedia commons)

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

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postcard of Brandenburg Tor, Berlin. Postcrossing DE-905693

This postcard was sent to me by Sonja in Leverkusen. The Brandenburg Gate is of course one of the most famous landmarks in Germany. It is a familiar sight to me. I stayed in two hotels just off the gate at different times and I once spent two months in Berlin, during which one of my favorite activities was walking down Unter den Linden, a linden tree-lined boulevard, visiting the landmarks and the fabulous museums in the area. If you had only one day to spend in Berlin, I would recommend this as your destination. There's a lot of iconic architecture in a grandiose setting.

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Brooklyn Bridge by Tom Baril

I got this card last week, it was sent from North Carolina.

Brooklyn bridge postcard, Postcrossing US-1083333

Nice shot of the Brookly Bridge in New York. The 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m)-bridge took 13 years to build;  construction was completed in 1883. At the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. It was also the first steel-wire suspension bridge. I walked the bridge from the Brookyln side to Manhatten three years ago. You get a great view of the Manhatten skyline. The Brooklyn Bridge is a National Historic Landmark.

The photo was taken by photographer Tom Baril in 1993.

Related links
postcards of the Brooklyn Bridge
NYC images by Tom Baril
Brooklyn Bridge (nycroads.com)