UNITED NATIONS (Geneva Office)

A nice cover from United Nations (Geneva Office), depicting 3 stamps with different UNESCO sites in Cuba. From the left to the right: Trinidad and Valley de los Ingenios, Old Havana and its fortifications and Viñales Valley. The city of Trinidad was founded in the early 16th century. In 1518, Hernán Cortés began his expedition to conquer Mexico from the port at Trinidad. The city prospered throughout the colonial period in large part due to the success of the local sugar industry. The adjacent Valley de los Ingenios was the origin of the Cuban sugar industry, which emerged in the 18th century. It is home to numerous cane sugar mills, as well as cattle ranches and tobacco plantations. it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988, because of its historical importance as a center of the sugar trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. Trinidad is one of the best-preserved cities in the Caribbean from the time when the sugar trade was the main industry in the region. Old Havana (Spanish: La Habana Vieja) is the city-center (downtown) and one of the 15 municipalities forming Havana, Cuba. It has the second highest population density in the city and contains the core of the original city of Havana. The positions of the original Havana city walls are the modern boundaries of Old Havana. In 1982, Old Havana was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List, because of its unique Baroque and neoclassical architecture, its fortifications, and its historical importance as a stop on the route to the New World. A safeguarding campaign was launched a year later to restore the authentic character of the buildings. The village of Viñales was founded in 1875 after the expansion of tobacco cultivation in the surrounding valley. The Valley features a karst topography, vernacular architecture, and traditional cultivation methods. The Valley was also the site of various military engagements in the Cuban War of Independence and Cuban Revolution. In 1999, the valley was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a cultural landscape because of its use of traditional tobacco-growing techniques.

RUSSIA

This nice cover from Russia depicts a miniature shhet issued in 2010 (on the left), celebrating the Feronpotov Monastery. The Ferapontov Monastery, in the Vologda region in northern Russia, is an exceptionally well-preserved and complete example of a Russian Orthodox monastic complex of the 15th-17th centuries, a period of great significance in the development of the unified Russian state and its culture. The architecture of the monastery is outstanding in its inventiveness and purity. The interior is graced by the magnificent wall paintings of Dionisy, the greatest Russian artist of the end of the 15th century. The Ferapontov convent is considered one of the purest examples of Russian medieval art, a reason given by UNESCO for its inscription on the World Heritage List in 2000.

HUNGARY

A nice cover from Hungary with 3 stamps depicting the Szécheny Chain Bridge 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.

SPAIN

A beautiful UNESCO cover from Spain, depicting a miniature sheet issued in 2011, celebrating the amazing moorish monument Alhambra in Granada. The Alhambra is a part of the UNESCO site that includes 2 other landmarks of moorish influence: the Generalife and the Albazyn. The three sites are remnants of the Moorish influence in southern Spain. The fortress Alhambra and the palace Generalife were built by the rulers of the Emirate of Granada and is classified as an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. The Albayzín district contains examples of the Moorish vernacular architecture and was added to the listing in 1994.

RUSSIA

This cover from Russia full of beautiful stamps includes a strip of 2 stamps (on the top) celebrating a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site: The Curonian Spit. The Curonian Spit is a 98-kilometre long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast. Its southern portion lies within Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, and its northern within southwestern Klaipėda County, Lithuania. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, and it's shared by the two countries.

FRANCE - UNESCO Headquarters

Pierre Millien sent me this first day cover from France, cancelled at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

ROMANIA

A nice UNESCO cover from Romania, depicting a complete set 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.

MONTENEGRO

This cover from Montenegro depicts 2 different stamps. The 0,30€ stamp (on the right), celebrates the Church Our Lady of The Rocks, which is part of the Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor, an UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montenegro that was inscribed in 1979. It encompasses the old town of Kotor (Italian Cattaro), the fortifications of Venetian Cattaro, and the surrounding region of the inner Bay of Kotor. The region that is included in the heritage is the inner bay of Kotor (past the Verige strait) with its surrounding mountains and towns, notably Risan and Perast in addition to Kotor. Further the islets of St. George (Sveti Đorđe) and Our Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Škrpijela) are part of the heritage site.

RUSSIA

A nice cover from Russia, featuring a miniature sheet issued in 2011 celebrating the Old City of Derbent. The Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent were part of the northern lines of the Sasanian Persian Empire, which extended east and west of the Caspian Sea. The fortification was built in stone. It consisted of two parallel walls that formed a barrier from the seashore up to the mountain. The town of Derbent was built between these two walls, and has retained part of its medieval fabric. The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Derbent is located in Dagestan, on the Caspian Sea. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second-most important city of Dagestan. Derbent occupies the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian Steppe to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. It has a population of roughly 120 thousand residents. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms. In the 19th century, the city passed from Iranian into Russian hands by the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813. It was declared a Wordl Heritage site by UNESCO in 2003.

UNITED KINGDOM

This cover from United KIngdom depicts a single stamp showing the Lomb's Silk Mill, which is part of the "Derwent Valley Mills". The Derwent Valley Mills was the birthplace of the factory system; the innovations in the valley, including the development of workers' housing – such as at Cromford – and machines such as the water frame, were important in the Industrial Revolution. The Derwent Valley Mills influenced North America and Europe. Many of the mills built in the Derwent Valley for the cotton industry survive and were reused after the decline of the industry. Some have been reused. Most of the worker's housing survives and are still in used as homes. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, local authorities in partnership with English Heritage attempted to prevent the deterioration of the houses and mills by giving advice to owners and using grants to undertake conservation work. When the application for World Heritage Site status was made in 2000, 26 of the 838 listed buildings in the area were on English Heritage's At Risk Register and were in a state of disrepair. In 2000, the Derwent Valley Mills were nominated to become a World Heritage Site. Along with Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, New Lanark, and Saltaire (all now World Heritage Sites), the site was proposed to increase the representation of industrial archaeology on the list of World Heritage Sites. The proposal was successful and in 2001 the Derwent Valley Mills were designated a World Heritage Site.

RUSSIA

This UNESCO cover from Russia depicts a miniature sheet issued in 2015 celebrating the 500th anniversary of Novgorod Stone Kremlin. Situated on the ancient trade route between Central Asia and northern Europe, Novgorod was Russia's first capital in the 9th century. Surrounded by churches and monasteries, it was a centre for Orthodox spirituality as well as Russian architecture. Its medieval monuments and the 14th-century frescoes of Theophanes the Greek (Andrei Rublev's teacher) illustrate the development of its remarkable architecture and cultural creativity. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia. The city lies along the Volkhov River just downstream from its outflow from Lake Ilmen and is situated on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and Saint Petersburg. UNESCO recognized Novgorod as a World Heritage Site in 1992.

BELARUS

This nice cover from Belarus depicts a complete set issued in 2009 celebrating the Nature reserve of "Bielovezhskaya Pushcha" (Bialowieza Puszcza in polish). Białowieża Forest (or Biełaviežskaja Pušča; Polish: Puszcza Białowieska) is one of the last and largest remaining parts of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. The forest is home to 800 European bison, Europe's heaviest land animal. UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme designated the Polish Biosphere Reserve Białowieża in 1976 and the Belarusian Biosphere Reserve Belovezhskaya Puschcha in 1993. The forest has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an EU Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation. The World Heritage Committee by its decision of June 2014 approved the extension of the UNESCO World Heritage site "Belovezhskaya Pushcha/Białowieża Forest, Belarus, Poland", which became "Białowieża Forest, Belarus, Poland".