SPAIN

This UNESCO cover from Spain depicts a miniature sheet issued in 2022 celebrating Almadén and Idrija. Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija is a joint UNESCO World Heritage Site in Almadén, Castile-La Mancha, Spain, and Idrija, Slovenia. The property encompasses two mercury mining sites. In Almadén mercury has been extracted since Antiquity, while in Idrija it was first found in 1490. The sites bear testimony to the intercontinental trade in mercury which generated important exchanges between Europe and America over the centuries. The two sites represent the two largest mercury mines in the world and were operational until recent times. Mercury played an important role in extracting gold and silver from ores, dug in American mines. In addition, both sites illustrate the various industrial, territorial, urban and social elements of a specific sociotechnical system in the mining and metal production industries. At the heart of the Almadén site is a Mining Park, where the public can go underground. There are also buildings relating to the town's mining history, including Retamar Castle, the San Rafael Mining Hospital (now an archive), and eighteenth-century dwellings which form a hexagonal bullring.The site in Idrija notably features mercury stores and infrastructure, as well as miners’ living quarters, and a miners’ theatre.

POLAND

This cover from Poland depicts a complete set issued in 2022 on topic "Tourist places in Poland". The stamp on the top celebrates the Old City of Zamosc, the oldest historic district of the city of Zamość. It is one of World Heritage Sites in Poland (added in 1992). According to UNESCO, this monument value lies in it being "an outstanding example of a Renaissance planned town of the late 16th century, which retains its original layout and fortifications and many buildings of particular interest, blending Italian and Central European architectural traditions.".

BULGARIA

This cover from Bulgaria depicts 4 stamps (2 of each type), celebrating the Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo. The Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo are a group of monolithic churches, chapels and monasteries hewn out of solid rock and completely different from other monastery complexes in Bulgaria, located near the village of Ivanovo, 20 km south of Rousse, on the high rocky banks of the Rusenski Lom, 32 m above the river. The complex is noted for its beautiful and well-preserved medieval frescoes. The churches are inside Rusenski Lom Nature Park. The Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.

ISRAEL

This cover came from Israel. Both stamps on the top features a picture of the Old City of Acre. Acre is a historic walled port-city with continuous settlement from the Phoenician period. The present city is charactristic of a fortified town dating from the Ottoman 18th and 19th centuries, with typical urban componentes such as the citadel, mosques, khans and baths. The remains of the Crusader town, dating from 1104 to 1291, lie almost intact, both above and below today's street level, providing an exceptional picture of the layout and structures of the capital of the medieval Crusader kingdom of Jerusalém. The site is inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site since 2001.

P. R. CHINA

BRAZIL

his cover from Brazil depicts 2 stamps, including the stamp on the top celebrating the Church of Bom Jesus do Bonfim (Pillory) in the Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia. The Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, is a historic neighborhood in western Salvador, Bahia. It was the city's center during the Portuguese colonial period and was named for the whipping post in its central plaza where enslaved people from Africa were publicly beaten as punishment for alleged infractions. The Historic Centre is extremely rich in historical monuments dating from the 17th through the 19th centuries. Salvador was the first colonial capital of Brazil and the city is one of the oldest in the New World (founded in 1549 by Portuguese settlers). It was also one of the first slave markets on the continent, with slaves arriving to work on the sugar plantations. The area is in the older part of the upper city (Cidade Alta) of Salvador. It encompasses several blocks around the triangular Largo, and it is the location for music, dining and nightlife. It has a place on the national historic register and was named a world cultural center by UNESCO in 1985.

P. R. CHINA

PORTUGAL

A beautiful cover from my country, Portugal, depicting a miniature sheet issued in 1997 with a view of the Historic Centre of Oporto. Porto or Oporto is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropolitan area, with an estimated population of just 232,000 people in a municipality with only 41.42 km2. Porto's metropolitan area has around 1.7 million people in an area of 2,395 km2, making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal. Located along the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, and its core was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996, as "Historic Centre of Porto, Luiz I Bridge and Monastery of Serra do Pilar". The historic area is also a National Monument of Portugal. The western part of its urban area extends to the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. Its settlement dates back many centuries, when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire.

PORTUGAL

BRAZIL

A cover from Brazil depicting 5 different stamps issued in 2017, celebrating Brasília. Brasília is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's center-western region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitschek on April 21, 1960, to serve as the new national capital. Brasilia is estimated to be Brazil's third-most populous city.Brasilia was a planned city developed by Lúcio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer and Joaquim Cardozo in 1956 in a scheme to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro to a more central location. The landscape architect was Roberto Burle Marx. The city's design divides it into numbered blocks as well as sectors for specified activities, such as the Hotel Sector, the Banking Sector, and the Embassy Sector. Brasilia was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 due to its modernist architecture and uniquely artistic urban planning. It was named "City of Design" by UNESCO in October 2017 and has been part of the Creative Cities Network since then.

BRAZIL

A cover from Brazil depicting 5 different stamps issued in 2017, celebrating Brasília. Brasília is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's center-western region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitschek on April 21, 1960, to serve as the new national capital. Brasilia is estimated to be Brazil's third-most populous city.Brasilia was a planned city developed by Lúcio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer and Joaquim Cardozo in 1956 in a scheme to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro to a more central location. The landscape architect was Roberto Burle Marx. The city's design divides it into numbered blocks as well as sectors for specified activities, such as the Hotel Sector, the Banking Sector, and the Embassy Sector. Brasilia was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 due to its modernist architecture and uniquely artistic urban planning. It was named "City of Design" by UNESCO in October 2017 and has been part of the Creative Cities Network since then.

SERBIA

This cover from Serbia depicts 2 different stamps, both celebrating Unesco World Heritage Sites: the Tikal National Park (Guatemala) and Gamzigrad-Romuliana, Palace of Galerius, in Serbia. Tikal National Park is a national park located in Guatemala, in the northern region of the Petén Department. Stretching across 57,600 hectares, it contains the ancient Mayan city of Tikal and the surrounding tropical forests, savannas, and wetlands. In 1979, Tikal National Park was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, because of the outstanding Mesoamerican ruins at Tikal and the unique ecology of the surrounding landscape. Gamzigrad is an archaeological site, spa resort and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Serbia sice 2007, located south of the Danube river, in the city of Zaječar. It is the location of the ancient Roman complex of palaces and temples Felix Romuliana, built by Emperor Galerius in Dacia Ripensis.

POLAND

This cover from Poland features a block showing the Royal Castle in the Historic Centre of Warsaw, the capital and main city in Poland. The Historic Centre of Warsaw is also inscribed at UNESCO as a World Heritage place. During the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944, more than 85% of Warsaw's historic centre was destroyed by Nazi troops. After the war, a five-year reconstruction campaign by its citizens resulted in a meticulous restoration of the Old Town, with its churches, palaces and market-place. It is an outstanding exemple of a near-total reconstruction.

BELARUS

HUNGARY

A nice cover from Hungary with 2 small minisheets of same type celebrating the Romanesque Hall of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest and a part of Budapest World Heritage Site. The central area of Budapest along the Danube River is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and has several notable monuments of classical architecture, including the Hungarian Parliament and the Buda Castle. The city also has around 80 geothermal springs, the largest thermal water cave system, second largest synagogue, and third largest Parliament building in the world.

P. R. CHINA

BELARUS

TURKEY

This cover from Turkey depcits a stamp (on the right), celebrating the Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex. The Selimiye Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque, which is located in the city of Edirne (formerly Adrianople), Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Sultan Selim II, and was built by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan between 1568 and 1575. It was considered by Sinan to be his masterpiece and is one of the highest achievements of Islamic architecture as a whole and Ottoman architecture in particular. The mosque, together with its külliye, was included on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2011.

HUNGARY

A nice cover from Hungary with 3 stamps celebrating Budapest. The central area of Budapest along the Danube River is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and has several notable monuments of classical architecture, including the Hungarian Parliament and the Buda Castle. The city also has around 80 geothermal springs, the largest thermal water cave system, second largest synagogue, and third largest Parliament building in the world.

RUSSIA

This cover came from Russia and depicts a miniature shhet issued in 2010, celebrating the Historical Centre of the City of Yaroslavl. The city of Yaroslavl is located at the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosl rivers. Founded in the 11th century as a small wooden fortress, it developed into a strong commercial centre after being incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Moscow in 1463. Several churches from the 16th and 17th centuries are preserved. Following the town-planning reform of Empress Catherine the Great at the end of the 18th century, Yaroslavl's centre was redesigned in a Neoclassical style with a radial urban plan. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site since 2005.