Moscow, Russia

I got this multiview through a direct swap with Svietlana in May.

The top image features The Kremlin at night.  In the Russian language, кремль means fortress.  Though there are many other kremlins in Russia, the word is usually used when referring to the most popular one found in Moscow.

The administration of the Russian President (currently Dmitry Medvedev, but I'm pretty sure is once again going to be Vladimir Putin next year) is located in the Moscow Kremlin.

In the bottom image, we can see the Cathedral of the Assumption, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, and once again, the Moscow Kremlin.

The Cathedral of the Assumption is the oldest and the most important church in the Kremlin.  In 1326, the seat of the Russian Orthodox Church was transferred from Vladimir to here, making it the center of the state of Muscovy, the most powerful of the Russian principalities.  Here, tsars, Grand Dukes, and more importantly, emperors, were crowned.  Patriarchs, metropolitans, and bishops were also consecrated here.  Read more about the Cathedral's history here.

The Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, standing at 81 meters, was the tallest building in Russia for almost 400 years.  There are 21 bells in the tower and the belfry.  The largest is the Assumption Bell weighing 70 tons, and is the first bell to ring during church holidays.  Read more about the Bell Tower here.

Moscow is Russia's capital city

And what better way to send this postcard than together with a stamp of a kremlin?

The Ryazan Kremlin was founded in the year 800

The Wells Cathedral in Somerset, UK

Wells was the first English cathedral to be built in the new Gothic style imported from France.  The first building phase took about 80 years to complete, building from east to west, culminating in the magnificent West Front shown on the postcard below.  About 300 of its medieval statues remain, including a theatrical stone backdrop used for feast day processions.  Read more about the Wells Cathedral here on its homepage.  

This beautiful cathedral can be found in the Southwest England

I received this postcard from Claire through the Just Postcards Round Robin 73.  This came with a stamp of the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

Almost all British stamps come with the image of the Queen

Wow.  Blogging about the postcards I received is really turning into a real learning experience.  Lots more postcards to scan in the days to come.  Awesome.