Friday, October 22, 2010

Danube, Donau, Dunaj, Dunav, Duna, Дунав, Dunărea, Дунáй (Dunay), Tuna River - a heraldic journey

The most important river in Europe, and the second-longest after Volga, is the Danube.

"Since the Norman conquest of England, the English language has used the French word Danube. In the languages of the modern countries through which the river flows, it is:



Let's take a quick (modern national heraldic) journey on the Danube, for some historical spots along the way.
I'll show you some very nice maximum cards from Romania, produced by Romfilatelia.
I don't have the souvenir sheet (with Germany) from the first stamp series of Danube's Coats of Arms, so I'll show it from the Romfilatelia's website (please visit http://www.romfilatelia.ro/marci/colectia.php?ContentID=505&Year=2010 and http://www.romfilatelia.ro/marci/colectia.php?ContentID=534&Year=2010)
):

Now a simple postcard from the Danube port of Regensburg, Germany:

Bratislava Castle, Slovakia:

Melk Abbey, Austria:

Parliament Palace, Budapest, Hungary:

Ilok [ILOK] Fortress, Croatia:

Ram Fortress, Serbia:

Dramatic Theater, Ruse, Bulgaria:

Navigation Palace, Galați ([ɡaˈlatsʲ]) , Romania:

"Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu" University, Cahul, Rep. of Moldova:

"Assumption of the Virgin" Church, Izmail, Ukraine:
Thank you again, my dear friend Teodor Ghiata-Melnic (Romania), for these great MCs, like hundreds of others that I got from you over the years! :)

Now, a quick info on the Danube Delta:
"The Danube Delta (RomanianDelta DunăriiUkrainian:Дельта Дунаю, Del'ta Dunaju) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent [1]. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated inUkraine (Odessa Oblast). The approximate surface is 4152 km², of which 3446 km² are in Romania. If the lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1015 km² of which 865 km² water surface; situated in the south, but attached to the Danube Delta from geological and ecological perspectives, as well as being the combined territory of the World Heritage Site) are to be added, the considered area of the Danube Delta grows to 5165 km²."

"Situated on major migratory routes, and providing adequate conditions for nesting and hatching, the Danube Delta is a magnet for birds from six major eco-regions of the world, including the Mongolian, Arctic and Siberian. There are over 320 species of birds found in the delta during summer,[4] of which 166 are hatching species and 159 are migratory. Over one million individuals (swans, wild ducks, bald coots, etc.) winter here."

The first 2 minutes of this -> "The Waves of Danube" song.


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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!