RUSSIA - Church of the Assembly of the Virgin

Kostroma. Church of the Assembly of the Virgin from the village of Kholm, 1552.

The card was printed in USSR in 1980. Thanks to Elena for the great card.

RUSSIA - Kizhi

Thanks to Alla for the card. 

TAIWAN - Pingtung. Wanjin Catholic Church

Thanks to Eric

"Wanjin Catholic Church is located in the small town of Wanjin. It was established by a Philippine priest during the Qing Dynasty. Completely restored in 1960, it is Taiwan's oldest church. It has been called the "Holy Cathedral of Mary" by Pope Paul II. An inscription on a stone plaque inside, dating back to the Qing dynasty, implies the church was erected by consent of the Manzhou authorities."

RUSSIA - Wooden Church

Thanks to Nastya for the card.

RUSSIA - Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God

Thanks to Svetlana. Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.

"Completed in 1783, the beautiful and historic the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God Cathedral is one of the oldest churches in St. Petersburg and presents a truly fascinating combination of baroque and classical architectural styles. The church is crowned with five onion-shaped cupolas, which rise into the sky above Vladimirskaya Ploschad in one of the most historic areas of the city. An impressive four-tiered bell tower stands adjacent to the church. The church is also home to one of the oldest and most elaborate iconostases in Russia."

BRAZIL - Igreja Matriz de San Tome das Letras

Thanks to Rubens for the card.  Igreja Matriz de San Tome das Letras. Minas Gerais.

"The origin of the Historic Center of São Thomé das Letras is linked to the image of the saint found in a cave, which motivated the construction of the chapel from 1770. The rectified state tomb in 1996 considered the state tombs of the Architectural and Urbanistic Complex of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary inscribed in the Book of the Archaeological, Ethnographic and Landscape Book, Book of the Historical Book, the works of Historical Arts and the Palaeographic or Bibliographic Documents and the state registration of the Architectural and Landscape Set and Book of the Book of the Applied Arts." Source

VERMONT - Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, Middlebury

Thanks to Nicole For the card. The card reads: Saint Mary’s Catholic Church. This magnificent gothic marble church is situated on College Street, adjacent to the beautiful Middlebury Collage Campus.

RUSSIA- Convent of the Intercession Suzdal

Thanks to Victoria. Convent of the Intercession Suzdal.

"The Suzdal Kremlin is the oldest part of the Russian city of Suzdal, dating from the 10th century. Like other Russian Kremlins, it was originally a fortress or citadel and was the religious and administrative center of the city. It is most notably the site of the Cathedral of the Nativity. 

Together with several structures in the neighboring city of Vladimir, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992."

RUSSIA - XVIIth Century Monastery located in Kostroma

Thanks to Aliya. This is XVII th century monastery located in Kostroma.

INDIA - Santhome Cathedral

Thnak to Mahadev for the card.

"San Thome Church, also known as St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Thomas is a Roman Catholic (Latin Rite) minor basilica in Santhome, in the city of Chennai (Madras), India. It was built in the 16th century by Portuguese explorers, over the tomb of Saint Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. In 1893, it was rebuilt as a church with the status of a cathedral by the British. The British version still stands today. It was designed in Neo-Gothic style, favoured by British architects in the late 19th century. This church is one of the only three known churches in the world built over the tomb of an apostle of Jesus, the other two being St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Galicia, Spain."

FRANCE - La Cathédrale Notre-Dame

Thanks so much Marie for the Notre-Dome cathedral card, sad to hear it caught fire.

Notre-Dame de Paris (French meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral's construction was begun in 1160 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely complete by 1260, though it was modified frequently in the following centuries.

The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, and it is among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture. As the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame contains the cathedra of the Archbishop of Paris, currently Cardinal André Vingt-Trois. The cathedral treasury contains a reliquary, which houses some of Catholicism's most important relics, including the purported Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross, and one of the Holy Nails. 

In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration in the radical phase of the French Revolution when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. An extensive restoration supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc began in 1845. A project of further restoration and maintenance began in 1991.

While undergoing renovation and restoration, the roof of Notre-Dame caught fire on the evening of 15 April 2019. Burning for around 15 hours, the cathedral sustained serious damage, including the destruction of the flèche (the timber spire over the crossing) and most of the lead-covered wooden roof above the stone vaulted ceiling."

GERMANY - The Gustav Adolf Stave Church in Hahnenklee

Thanks to Uwe for the card.

"The Lutheran Gustav Adolf Stave Church (German: Gustav-Adolf-Stabkirche) is a stave church situated in Hahnenklee, a borough of Goslar in the Harz mountains, Germany. Construction of the church began in 1907, and the church was consecrated on June 28, 1908. The church is a free copy of the medieval Borgund Stave Church in Norway.

 The church was built from spruce trunks harvested at the nearby Bocksberg mountain. The interior comprises numerous carvings of archaic symbols as well as Viking ship design features. The building soon became a frequently visited landmark and a popular wedding church."

USA - Little White Church, Elbe, Washington

Thanks to Becki for the card.

"This tiny (18-by-24 foot) church sits on its original location in the beautiful foothills west of Mount Rainier. The town of Elbe, Washington, has a rich German heritage and bears the name of the founders' origin, the Elbe River valley near Hamburg, Germany. As it has since 1906, the church signifies peace and tranquility to residents and tourists alike. Beginning in 1893, worshipers met in homes and the town hall until the church was constructed in 1906. 

A founder of the town, Heinrich Lutkens, donated the land and material for the church. Pastor Karl Kilian designed this simple yet pleasing building, and the townspeople built it themselves. Pastor Kilian served his Elbe flock from 1906 to 1933."

GERMANY - Wendelinus-Kapelle in St. Wendel

Wendelinus-Kapelle in St. Wendel. Thanks to Angela for the card.

ROMANIA - 8 Wooden Churches in Maramures

The 8 wooden churches in Maramures from the UNESCO heritage. Thanks to Anca for the card.

RUSSIA - St Isaac's Cathedral

Thanks to Helen for the card.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor (Russian: Исаа́киевский Собо́р) is a cathedral that currently functions as a museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great, who had been born on the feast day of that saint. It was originally built as a cathedral but was turned into a museum by the Soviet government in 1931 and has remained a museum ever since. In 2017, the Governor of Saint Petersburg offered to transfer the cathedral back to the Russian Orthodox Church, but the church has not exercised this offer.

The church on St Isaac's Square was ordered by Tsar Alexander I, to replace an earlier structure by Vincenzo Brenna, and was the fourth consecutive church standing at this place.The cathedral took 40 years to construct, under Montferrand's direction, from 1818 to 1858.

he building of the cathedral took so long, that it left an idiom to Finnish language: rakentaa kuin Iisakinkirkkoa (To build church of Isaac) when speaking of long-term construction projects."

RUSSIA - Chapel in honor of St George, Kemerovo

Chapel in honor of St. George the Victorious Ostrovsky Znamensky Cathedral.

Thanks to Victoria for the church card.

POLAND - Holy Trinity Cathedral, Town Hall

Thanks to Agniescka for the card.

NORWAY - Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim

"Nidaros Cathedral (Norwegian: Nidarosdomen / Nidaros Domkirke) is a Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran) cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is built over the burial site of King Olav II of Norway now Saint Olav (c. 995-1030, reigned 1015-1028), the King of Norway in the 11th century, who became the patron saint of the nation, and is the traditional location for the consecration of new Kings of Norway. It was built over a long period of 230 years, from 1070 to 1300 when it was substantially completed. But additional work, additions and renovations continued occasionally intermittently for seven more centuries until 2001, and designated as the cathedral for the Diocese of Nidaros in 1152.

ITALY - Cathedral of Milan

Thanks to Fredrico for the swap.

The Cathedral of Milan

This is part of UNESCO site of the Szvoy Residences: The Royal Palace in the cenre and Madama Palace on the right