ICELAND

This UNESCO cover from Iceland depict a single stamp issued in 2020 celabrating the Thingvellir National Park. Þingvellir, anglicised as Thingvellir was the site of the Alþing, the annual parliament of Iceland from the year 930 until the last session held at Þingvellir in 1798. Since 1881, the parliament has been located within Alþingishúsið in Reykjavík. Þingvellir is now a national park in the municipality of Bláskógabyggð in southwestern Iceland, about 40 km northeast of Iceland's capital, Reykjavík. Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological significance, and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. The park lies in a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. To its south lies Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland. Þingvellir National Park was founded in 1930, marking the 1000th anniversary of the Althing. The park was later expanded to protect the diverse and natural phenomena in the surrounding area, and was designated as a World Heritage Site in 2004.

UKRAINE

This cover from Ukraine depicts a miniature sheet issued in 2020 celebrating the Stained Glass Windows of Lviv Churches. The city of L'viv was founded in the late Middle Ages and it still preserves its medieval topography. The city has been shaped by the interactions of different communities that have lived there through centuries, including various Christian groups, Muslims, and a Jewish community. The architecture of the city represents a fusion of styles form Eastern Europe with the influences coming from Italy and Germany. Several buildings from the Renaissance and Baroque periods have been preserved. Since 1998, UNESCO has listed Lviv's historic centre as part of "World Heritage". On 5 December 1998, during the 22nd Session of the World Heritage Committee in Kyoto, Lviv was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

INDIA

This UNESCO cover from India features 2 stamps issued in 2020 celebrating the Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers. he Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks are nestled high in West Himalaya. Valley of Flowers National Park is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty. It is located in the Garhwal Himalaya of Chamoli District of Uttarakhand. This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep. The gentle landscape of the Valley of Flowers National Park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi National Park. Together, they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya. It was inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988 with extension in 2005. Together, they comprise the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, which is on the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 2004.

GERMANY

This UNESCO cover from Germany features a single stamp issued in 2018, celebrating the Palace of Falkenlust at Brühl. The Falkenkust Palace, along with the Augustusburg Palace, form a historical building complex in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, which has been listed as a UNESCO cultural World Heritage Site since 1984. The buildings are connected by the spacious gardens and trees of the Schlosspark. Augustusburg Palace (German: Schloss Augustusburg) and its parks also serve as a venue for the Brühl Palace Concerts. The palaces were built at the beginning of the 18th century by the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, Clemens August of Bavaria of the Wittelsbach family. The architects were Johann Conrad Schlaun and François de Cuvilliés. The main block of Augustusburg Palace is a U-shaped building with three main storeys and two levels of attics. The magnificent staircase was designed by Johann Balthasar Neumann. The gardens were designed by Dominique Girard. An elaborate flower garden for an area south of the palaces was also designed, but it was restructured by Peter Joseph Lenné in the 19th century and turned into a landscape garden. Attempts to renovate the area have proven difficult, due to poor source material availability. Falkenlust hunting lodge was designed by François de Cuvilliés and built from 1729 to 1740, in the style of the Amalienburg hunting lodge in the park of Nymphenburg Palace. From shortly after World War II until 1994, Augustusburg was used as a reception hall for guests of state by the German President, as it is not far from Bonn, which was the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany at that time.

NORWAY

This cover from Norway depicts 2 stamps of same type isued in 2020, celebrating Bryggen and the 950th anniversary of the town of Bergen. Bryggen (the dock), is a series of Hanseatic heritage commercial buildings lining up the eastern side of the Vågen harbour in the city of Bergen. Bryggen has been on the UNESCO list for World Cultural Heritage sites since 1979. The city of Bergen was founded around 1070 within the boundaries of Tyskebryggen. Around 1350 a Kontor of the Hanseatic League was established there, and Tyskebryggen became the centre of the Hanseatic commercial activities in Norway. Today, Bryggen houses museums, shops, restaurants and pubs.

BRAZIL

This cover from Brazil depicts 2 stamps celebrating the Historic Town of Ouro Preto. Ouro Preto, formerly Vila Rica, is a city in and former capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 because of its outstanding Baroque Portuguese colonial architecture. Ouro Preto is located in one of the main areas of the Brazilian Gold Rush. Officially, 800 tons of gold were sent to Portugal in the eighteenth century, not to mention what was circulated in an illegal manner, nor what remained in the colony, such as gold used in the ornamentation of the churches. The municipality became the most populous city of Latin America, counting on about 40 thousand people in 1730 and, decades after, 80 thousand.

GERMANY

A nice UNESCO cover from Germany depicting 1 stamp issued in 2019 celebrating the "Bauhaus" buildings and its sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau. Founded in 1919 in Weimar, the Bauhaus was the most influential art school of the 20th century. The buildings designed by the masters of the Bauhaus are fundamental representatives of Classical Modernism. The joint heritage site includes the Bauhaus school buildings in Weimar and the Haus am Horn, Weimar; the Bauhaus Dessau building, the Meisterhäuser (where senior staff lived)and the Laubenganghäuser ('Houses with Balcony Access'); and the ADGB Trade Union School in Bernau bei Berlin. All this complex is inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

ROMANIA

A beautiful UNESCO cover from Romania, depicting a miniature sheet issued in 2009 celebrating the Historic Town of Sighișoara. The Historic Centre of Sighișoara (Sighișoara Citadel) is the old historic center of the town of Sighișoara (German: Schäßburg, Hungarian: Segesvár), Romania, built in the 12th century by Saxon settlers. It is an inhabited medieval citadel that, in 1999, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its 850-year-old testament to the history and culture of the Transylvanian Saxons. Birthplace of Vlad III the Impaler (in Romanian Vlad Țepeș), the city marks the upper boundary of the Land of Sachsen. Like its bigger brothers, Sibiu (Hermannstadt) and Braşov (Kronstadt), Sighișoara exhibits Medieval German architectural and cultural heritage that was preserved even during the Communist period.

RUSSIA

This beautiful cover from Russia depicts a miniature sheet issued in 2010 celebrating the Grand Palace, Tsarskoye Selo, in St. Petersburg. The Tsarskoye Selo palace and park ensemble (the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Preserve) is a superb monument of world-ranking architecture and garden-and-park design dating from the eighteenth to early twentieth centuries. Called The 'Venice of the North', St. Petersburg, with its numerous canals and more than 400 bridges, is the result of a vast urban project begun in 1703 under Peter the Great. Later known as Leningrad (in the former USSR), the city is closely associated with the October Revolution. Its architectural heritage reconciles the very different Baroque and pure neoclassical styles, as can be seen in the Admiralty, the Winter Palace, the Marble Palace and the Hermitage. Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments is the name used by UNESCO when it collectively designated the historic core of the Russian city of St. Petersburg, as well as buildings and ensembles located in the immediate vicinity as a World Heritage Site in 1991. The site was recognised for its architectural heritage, fusing Baroque, Neoclassical, and traditional Russian-Byzantine influences.

NETHERLANDS

This cover from Netherlands depict 2 stamps celebrating the Wadden Sea. The Wadden Sea (Dutch: Waddenzee); (German: Wattenmeer); (Danish: Vadehavet) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. It has a high biological diversity and is an important area for both breeding and migrating birds. In 2009, the Dutch and German parts of the Wadden Sea were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List and the Danish part was added in June 2014.

PORTUGAL

This cover from Portugal depicts a miniature sheet issued in 2012, celebrating the Historic City of Guimarães. Guimarães is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and authentic example of the evolution of a medieval settlement into a modern town" in Europe. The city was settled in the 9th century, at which time it was called Vimaranes. This denomination might have had its origin in the warrior Vímara Peres, who chose this area as the main government seat for the County of Portugal which he conquered for the Kingdom of Galicia. Guimarães has a significant historical importance due to the role it played in the foundation of Portugal. The city is often referred to as the "birthplace of Portugal" or "the cradle city" (Cidade Berço in Portuguese) because it is widely believed that Portugal's first King, Afonso Henriques, was born there, and also due to the fact that the Battle of São Mamede – which is considered the seminal event for the foundation of the Kingdom of Portugal – was fought in the vicinity of the city.

UNITED NATIONS - Geneva Office

A nice UNESCO cover from United Nations (Geneva Office), depicting a complete set issued in 2007 with 6 World Heritage Sites in South America: Rapa Nui National Park in Easter Island (Chile), Tiwanaku: Spiritual and Political Centre of the Tiwanaku Culture (Bolivia), Iguaçu National Park (Brazil), Historic Sanctuary of Macchu Picchu (Peru), Cueva de Las Manos, Río Pinturas (Argentina) and Galápagos Islands (Ecuador).

SPAIN

This UNESCO cover from Spain depicts a 0,24€ stamp celebrating La Foncalada, a hydraulic engineering structure that is part of the World Heritage Site Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of Asturias. The Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias are six pre-Romanesque constructions all dating from the 9th century. At that time, Asturias was a stronghold of Christianity. A distinctive and innovative pre-Romanesque architectural style developed in this isolated region north of the Cantabrian mountains. The 6 included locations are: Church of Santa María del Naranco (a former palace), Church of San Miguel de Lillo, Church of Santa Cristina de Lena, The Cámara Santa, Basilica of San Julián de los Prados and La Foncalada.

AUSTRIA

This cover from Austria depict a miniature sheet issued in 2010 celebrating Sissi, teh Empress of Austria, and showing the Palace of Schönbrunn in Vienna. Schönbrunn Palace park in Vienna, which has been open to the public since 1779, is home to the Desert House, the Orangery, the Privy Garden, and the Palm House built in 1882. It is featured on the commemorative stamp and used to be the world’s largest glass structure. Schönbrunn Palace was the residence of the Habsburg emperors from the 18th century to 1918. It was built in the Rococo style as a single, unified project. It was designed by the architects Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and Nicolaus Pacassi and is the site of the world's oldest continuously operating Zoo. The Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn are inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996.

UNITED KINGDOM

This cover from United Kingdom depicts a stamp celebrating the City of Bath, one of The Great Spa Towns of Europe. The Great Spa Towns of Europe is a transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of a selection of 11 spa towns across seven European countries. They were developed around natural mineral water springs. From the early 18th century to the 1930s, Western Europe experienced an increase in spa and bathing culture, leading to the construction of elaborate bath houses. These would often include gardens, casinos, theatres, and villas surrounding the springs and the bath houses. The city of Bath was originally inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1987. The efforts to get the Great Spas of Europe onto the World Heritage List began in 2012, and the nomination was submitted in 2019. On 24 July 2021, the Great Spas of Europe were officially inscribed on the World Heritage List.

BRAZIL

A nice cover from Brazil, depicting a miniature sheet issued in 2012 celebrating the 100th. anniversary of Bondinho. This cable car, which was inaugurated on October 27, 1912, was created in order to make life easier for tourists who climbed Sugar Loaf to admire the view of the Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro. We can consider this as a part of the UNESCO site Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes Between the Mountaion and the Sea.

KAZAKHSTAN

This cover from Kazakhstan depicts a 750 stamp celebrating the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmad Yasawi. The Mausoleum of Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi is a mausoleum in the city of Turkestan, in southern Kazakhstan. The structure was commissioned in 1389 by Timur, who ruled the area as part of the expansive Timurid Empire, to replace a smaller 12th-century mausoleum of the famous Turkic poet and Sufi mystic, Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (1093–1166). However, construction was halted with the death of Timur in 1405. The religious structure continues to draw pilgrims from across Central Asia and has come to epitomize the Kazakh national identity. It has been protected as a national monument, while UNESCO recognized it as the country's first site of patrimony, declaring it a World Heritage Site in 2003.

AUSTRALIA

This UNESCO cover from Australia depicts a single stamp celebrating Lord Howe Island Group. Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. UNESCO records the Lord Howe Island Group as a World Heritage Site of global natural significance since 1982. Most of the island is virtually untouched forest, with many of the plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. Other natural attractions include the diversity of the landscapes, the variety of upper mantle and oceanic basalts, the world's southernmost barrier coral reef, nesting seabirds, and the rich historical and cultural heritage.

BRAZIL

This FAUNA stamp from Brazil depict a stamps with a Luminous mound (cupinzeiro in portuguese). These termite mounds can grow quite large with diameters up to 30 meters, and towers reaching heights of 7 meters or more. Not only do they provide a home for up to several million termites, they’re also used as nesting sites for the Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher and as home to hundreds of glowing Pyrophorus beetle larvae. At night, the termite mounds look like they’re wrapped in Christmas lights. These luminous mounds can be find at Emas National Park, a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site called Cerrado Protected Areas.

BOSNIA (REP. SRPSKA)

A nice cover from Bosnia (Rep. Srpska), depicting 4 stamps celebrating the Primeval forest Janj, which is part of UNESCO site Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe. This site comprises undisturbed examples of temperate forests that demonstrate the postglacial expansion process of European beech from a few isolated refuge areas in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, Mediterranean, and Pyrenees. The site was originally listed in 2007 as the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians, shared by Slovakia and Ukraine, extended in 2011 to include the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany, and further extended in 2017 and 2021 to include forests in a total of 18 countries. The Janj forest in Bosnia and Herzegovina was listed in 2021.

AUSTRIA

This cover from Austria depict a joint stamps with Ukraine, celebrating the Historic Centre of L'viv. The city of L'viv was founded in the late Middle Ages and it still preserves its medieval topography. The city has been shaped by the interactions of different communities that have lived there through centuries, including various Christian groups, Muslims, and a Jewish community. The architecture of the city represents a fusion of styles form Eastern Europe with the influences coming from Italy and Germany. Several buildings from the Renaissance and Baroque periods have been preserved. Since 1998, UNESCO has listed Lviv's historic centre as part of "World Heritage". On 5 December 1998, during the 22nd Session of the World Heritage Committee in Kyoto, Lviv was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

SWITZERLAND

THis cover from Switzerland depict 2 stamps celebrating the UNESCO site Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes . The Albula and Bernina lines of the Rhaetian Railway are two historic railway lines that cross the Swiss Alps. They were built in the early 20th century, providing a rapid and easy route into many formerly isolated alpine settlements. Building the railroads required overcoming technical challenges with bridges, galleries, and tunnels. The site is shared with Italy and is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008.

SPAIN

This UNESCO cover depict a 0,24€ stamp celebrating the Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí. The small valley at the edge of the Pyrenees contains churches in Romanesque style decorated with Romanesque murals, statues, and altars. The churches are unique for their tall, square bell towers. UNESCO declared World Heritage Sites in 2000 to nine of these churches.

FRANCE

AUSTRALIA

A nice cover from Australia, depicting 3 stamps with fishes from the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef. It is near the coast of Queensland, Australia. It is made up of nearly 2900 coral reefs and over 600 islands. It is 327,800 km2 big and 2600 km long. It has been listed an important World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest structure made by living things. It can be seen from outer space. The Reefs are threatened. The biggest threat to the Great Barrier Reef today is coral bleaching caused by high sea water temperatures as a result of global warming.

GEORGIA

Another new country in my collection, Georgia. This cover was posted in Batumi, in Ajaria, also spelled Adjara, Adzhariya, or Adžarija, autonomous republic in Georgia, in the southwestern corner of that country, adjacent to the Black Sea and the Turkish frontier. Batumi is the capital and largest city.

ROMANIA

A nice UNESCO cover from Romania, depicting a miniature sheet issued in 2009 celebrating the Danube Delta, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991. The Danube Delta (Romanian: Delta Dunării) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea County), with a small part in Ukraine (Odessa Oblast). Its approximate surface area is 4,152 km2, of which 3,446 km2 is in Romania. The Danube Delta, where the Danube river enters the Black Sea, is the largest European wetland. It is home to over 300 bird and 45 freshwater fish species. Important species include sturgeons, European mink, European wildcat, Eurasian otter, and the threatened monk seal.

SPAIN

This UNESCO cover from Spain depict a 0,24€ stamp celebrating Ibiza, on Balearic Islands. Ibiza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of Spain. It is 150 kilometres from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. The coast of Ibiza is home to posidonia oceanica, a seagrass only found in the Mediterranean that supports a diverse coastal and marine ecosystem. The island also contains numerous Phoenician ruins, and the fortified and walled older portions of the city date to the 16th century. Ibiza is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.

AUSTRIA

This UNESCO cover from Austria depicts a miniature sheet issued in 2009, celebrating the Danube Roman Limes. The Danubian Limes, a network of fortifications along the Danube river, protected the borders of the Roman Empire.The Austrian section is 357.5 km long and includes sites at 46 locations. The site is shared with Germany and Slovakia. In 2021, the western segment of the Danube Limes were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the set of "Frontiers of the Roman Empire" World Heritage Sites.

ROMANIA

An amazing UNESCO cover from Romania, depicting a miniature sheet issued in 2009 celebrating the Historic Centre of Sighisoara. The historic centre of the city of Sighișoara dates from the 12th century. It was founded by the Transylvanian Saxons, a community of German merchants and craftsmen. They have since lived in the region for over 850 years, though the community is decreasing in numbers due to emigration in modern times. Sighișoara is a well-preserved example of a small fortified medieval town shaped by the interactions of cultures from Central Europe and the Byzantine-Orthodox Southeastern Europe. The site is inscribed at UNESCO world heritage list since 1999.

BELARUS

A cover from Belarus, depicting a single stamp issued in 2020 celebrating the "Mir Castle" in Grodno Province.
The Mir Castle Complex is recognized by UNESCO for its cultural significance since 2000, as an excepcional exemple of a central European castle, reflecting in its design and layout successive cultural influences (Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance) that blend harmoniously to create an impressive monumento to the history of this region.

AUSTRIA

This cover from Austria depict 2 stamps of each type celebrating the Gloriette of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. A gloriette is a building in a garden erected on a site that is elevated with respect to the surroundings. The structural execution and shape can vary greatly, often in the form of a pavilion or tempietto, more or less open on the sides. The largest and probably best-known gloriette is this one in the Schönbrunn Palace garden in Vienna. Schönbrunn Palace park in Vienna, which has been open to the public since 1779, is home to the Desert House, the Orangery, the Privy Garden, and the Palm House built in 1882. It is featured on the commemorative stamp and used to be the world’s largest glass structure. Schönbrunn Palace was the residence of the Habsburg emperors from the 18th century to 1918. It was built in the Rococo style as a single, unified project. It was designed by the architects Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and Nicolaus Pacassi and is the site of the world's oldest continuously operating Zoo. The Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn are inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996.

UNITED KINGDOM

This cover depicts a stamp celebrating The Forth Bridge. The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, 14 kilometres west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered as a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in 2016), and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015. It was designed by English engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker. It is sometimes referred to as the Forth Rail Bridge (to distinguish it from the adjacent Forth Road Bridge), although this has never been its official name. Construction of the bridge began in 1882 and it was opened on 4 March 1890 by the Duke of Rothesay, the future Edward VII.

CANADA

This cover from Canada depicts 2 stamps celebrating 2 national parks. The stamp on the right features the Jasper National Park, a part of the UNESCO site Canadian Rocky Mountains Parks. The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site is located in the Canadian Rockies. It consists of seven contiguous parks including four national parks: Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho. The area is known for its natural environment and biological diversity. It includes the Burgess Shale site, a World Heritage Site in its own right from 1980 to 1984, when it was included in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks WHS designation.

GREECE

In this cover the 0,70€ stamp (on the right) celebrates de Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns. Mycenae and Tiryns were two of the most important cities of Mycenean Greece, which flourished between the 15th and 12th centuries BCE. The cities were palace economies with monumental architecture, such as the Lion's Gate and Treasury of Atreus. The Linear B tablets are the first testimonies of the Greek language. Both cities are linked to the Homeric epics Iliad and Odyssey, which have influenced the European literature and arts ever since. Tiryns was recognized as a World Heritage Site in 1999.

SPAIN

This UNESCO cover from Spain depicts a 0,24€ stamps celebrating the Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco. Tárraco is the ancient name of the current city of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). It was the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It became the capital of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior during the period of the Roman Republic, and of Hispania Tarraconensis following the latter's creation during the Roman Empire. In 2000, the archaeological ensemble of Tarraco was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

SPAIN

A nice UNESCO cover from Spain, featuring a stamp celebrating the University and Historic Centre of Alcalá de Henares. Alcalá de Henares is a Spanish city in the Community of Madrid. Straddling the Henares River, it is located 35 kilometres to the northeast of the centre of Madrid. Predated by earlier settlements on the left bank of the Henares, the city has its origins in the Complutum settlement founded in Roman times on the right bank (north) of the river, that became a bishopric seat in the 5th century. One of the several Muslim citadels in the Middle Mark of al-Andalus (hence the name Alcalá, a derivative of the Arabic term for citadel) was established on the left bank, while, after the Christian conquest culminated circa 1118, the bulk of the urban nucleus returned to the right bank. For much of the late middle-ages and the early modern period before becoming part of the province of Madrid, Alcalá de Henares was a seigneurial estate of the archbishops of Toledo. Its historical centre is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites since 1998. The city has a long university tradition. Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros founded the Complutense University in Alcalá de Henares in the late 15th century. The city currently hosts the (refounded) University of Alcalá. It is the native city of Miguel de Cervantes.

PORTUGAL

This UNESCO cover from Portugal depicts a miniature sheet issued in 2015 with a picture of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, in Spain. The city of Santiago de Compostela has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St. James, a leading Catholic pilgrimage route since the 9th century. The town was destroyed by Muslims in the 10th century and rebuilt during the following century. In 1985, the city's Old Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

SLOVAKIA

This UNESCO cover from Slovakia depicts a set of 2 stamps issued in 2009, celebrating the Danube Roman Limes. The Danubian Limes, a network of fortifications along the Danube river, protected the borders of the Roman Empire. The site is shared with Germany and Austria. Six sites at two locations, of military camps Celemantia and Gerulata, are listed in Slovakia. In 2021, the western segment of the Danube Limes were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the set of "Frontiers of the Roman Empire" World Heritage Sites.

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

RUSSIA

This cover from Russia depicts a miniature sheet issued in 2012 with a view from Wrangel Island, a Natural reserve inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2004.Located well above the Arctic Circle, the site includes the mountainous Wrangel Island (7,608 km2), Herald Island (11 km2) and surrounding waters. Wrangel was not glaciated during the Quaternary Ice Age, resulting in exceptionally high levels of biodiversity for this region. The island boasts the world’s largest population of Pacific walrus and the highest density of ancestral polar bear dens. It is a major feeding ground for the grey whale migrating from Mexico and the northernmost nesting ground for 100 migratory bird species, many endangered. Currently, 417 species and subspecies of vascular plants have been identified on the island, double that of any other Arctic tundra territory of comparable size and more than any other Arctic island. Some species are derivative of widespread continental forms, others are the result of recent hybridization, and 23 are endemic.

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

ICELAND

A nice UNESCO cover from Iceland, depicting 2 se-tenant stamps with a view from the Vatnajökull National Park. Vatnajökull National Park is one of three national parks in Iceland. It encompasses all of Vatnajökull glacier and extensive surrounding areas. These include the national parks previously existing at Skaftafell in the southwest and Jökulsárgljúfur in the north. The unique qualities of Vatnajökull National Park are primarily its great variety of landscape features, created by the combined forces of rivers, glacial ice, and volcanic and geothermal activity.On 5 July 2019, Vatnajökull National Park was inscribed as a World Heritage Site.

DENMARK

This UNESCO cover from Denmark depicts a 30kr stamp celebrating The Par Force Hunting Landscape in New Zealand. The Par force hunting landscape in North Zealand is a collection of hunting grounds and forests north of Copenhagen. The landscape was submitted for admission to the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites on 1 August 2010 and was inscribed on 4 July 2015. The landscape comprises three main areas: Store Dyrehave, Gribskov and Jægersborg Dyrehave/Jægersborg Hegn, and contains the most significant hunting grounds for the medieval nobility in Denmark. The central-star grid design of the landscape, with numbered roads and stone posts, fences, demonstrates the unique planning and design of hunting landscapes in the 17th and 18th centuries.

SLOVAKIA

In this cover from Slovakia the stamp on the right depicts a picture of the National Park Poloniny, a part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe. This site comprises undisturbed examples of temperate forests that demonstrate the postglacial expansion process of European beech from a few isolated refuge areas in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, Mediterranean, and Pyrenees. The site was originally listed in 2007 as the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians, shared by Slovakia and Ukraine, extended in 2011 to include the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany, and further extended in 2017 and 2021 to include forests in a total of 18 countries. Four reserves in Slovakia are listed, Stužica – Bukovské vrchy, Rožok, Vihorlat, and Havešová. The modification of the boundaries of forests in Slovakia took place in 2021.

RUSSIA

This beautiful cover from Russia depicts a miniature sheet issued in 2006 celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Grand Palace, Tsarskoye Selo, in St. Petersburg.. The Tsarskoye Selo palace and park ensemble (the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Preserve) is a superb monument of world-ranking architecture and garden-and-park design dating from the eighteenth to early twentieth centuries. Called The 'Venice of the North', St. Petersburg, with its numerous canals and more than 400 bridges, is the result of a vast urban project begun in 1703 under Peter the Great. Later known as Leningrad (in the former USSR), the city is closely associated with the October Revolution. Its architectural heritage reconciles the very different Baroque and pure neoclassical styles, as can be seen in the Admiralty, the Winter Palace, the Marble Palace and the Hermitage. Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments is the name used by UNESCO when it collectively designated the historic core of the Russian city of St. Petersburg, as well as buildings and ensembles located in the immediate vicinity as a World Heritage Site in 1991. The site was recognised for its architectural heritage, fusing Baroque, Neoclassical, and traditional Russian-Byzantine influences.

BOSNIA (REP. SRPSKA)

A nice UNESCO cover from Bosnia (Rep. Srpska), depicting a complete set issued in 2017 celebrating the "Stecci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards". Stećak or Stećci in plural form is the name for monumental medieval tombstones, that lie scattered across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the border parts of Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. An estimated 60,000 are found within the borders of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rest of 10,000 are found in what are today Croatia (4,400), Montenegro (3,500), and Serbia (2,100), at more than 3,300 odd sites with over 90% in poor condition. Appearing in the mid 12th century, with the first phase in the 13th century, the custom of cutting and using stećci tombstones reached its peak in the 14th and 15th century, before being discontinued in the very early 16th century during the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were a common tradition amongst Bosnian, Catholic and Orthodox Church followers alike, and were used by both Slavic and the Vlach populations. Stećc are inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO since 2016, with a selection of some 4,000 individual monoliths, grouped in necropolises at 28 locations, of which 22 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, two in Croatia, three in Montenegro, and three in Serbia. The one of the best preserved collection of these tombstones is Radimlja, west of Stolac in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

HUNGARY

In this cover from Hungary, the 150ft stamp (on the right), celebrates the Millenary Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996. The Archabbey or Territorial Abbey of Pannonhalma (lat. Archiabbatia or Abbatia Territorialis Sancti Martini in Monte Pannoniae) is a medieval building in Pannonhalma, one of the oldest historical monuments in Hungary. Founded in 996, it is located near the town, on top of a hill (282 m). Saint Martin of Tours is believed to have been born at the foot of this hill, hence its former name, Mount of Saint Martin (Hungarian: Márton-hegy), from which the monastery occasionally took the alternative name of Márton-hegyi Apátság. This is the second largest territorial abbey in the world, after the one in Monte Cassino. Its sights include the Basilica with the Crypt (built in the 13th century), the Cloisters, the monumental Library with 360,000 volumes, the Baroque Refectory (with several examples of trompe-l'œil) and the Archabbey Collection (the second biggest in the country).