1996 INDONESIA

Collected this card when purchased a big box of stamps, it was mixed together with those stamps. Postal Mark stated from Indonesia sent to Singapore in 1996, a Roman Catholic Cathedral located at Jakarta...

 Discovery Location: Seremban N.Sembilan, Malaysia

 

Jakarta Cathedral (Indonesian: Gereja Katedral Jakarta) is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Jakarta, Indonesia, which is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Jakarta, currently Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo. Its official name is Gereja Santa Maria Pelindung Diangkat Ke Surga (from Dutch, De Kerk van Onze Lieve Vrouwe ten Hemelopneming, in English: The Church of our Lady of Assumption). This current cathedral was consecrated in 1901 and built in the neo-gothic style, a common architectural style to build churches at that time. The Jakarta Cathedral is located in Central Jakarta near Merdeka Square and Merdeka Palace, it is stood right in the front of Istiqlal Mosque.

The literal translation of the church is "Saint Mary Assumed to Heaven" or for short "St. MATH".

HISTORY

After the arrival of VOC in 1619, catholic church was banned in the East Indies and only survived in Flores and Timor islands. The Netherlands was known to support Protestanism and tried to limit the influence and authority of Papal Vatican. During Napoleonic War The Netherlands was fell under French Empire, including its possession, the colony of Dutch East Indies. In 1806 Napoleon Bonaparte installed his catholic younger brother Lodewijk (Louis Napoleon) as the king of The Netherlands. Since then the catholic church are free to operate in East Indies.

The Commissary General of Batavia 1825-1830 Du Bus de Gisignies was credited to provides land to build the first catholic church in Batavia. The former residence of General de Kock in Weltevredeen area was renovated to be a church. Monseigneur Prinsen blessed and inaugurate the church in 6 November 1829 and named "Saint Mary Ascend to Heaven". In 1859 the church was undergone renovation, however in 9 April 1890 the church was collapsed.

The present church was the rebuilded one constructed around 1891 to 1901. Pastor Antonius Dijkmans, SJ was appointed as the architect. The construction was halted because the lack of funding. The church new bishop Mgr E. S. Luypen, SJ, raised the fund in The Netherlands and the architect MJ Hulswit continued the construction in 1899. "De Kerk van Onze Lieve Vrowe ten Hemelopneming - The Church of Saint Mary Ascend to Heaven" was blessed and inaugurated by Mgr Edmundus Sybrandus Luypen, SJ in 21 April 1901. In 1988 and 2002 the church was undergone renovations, today The Jakarta Cathedral is one of the most beautiful historical buildings in Jakarta.

2010-05-20 BELGIUM from Johan

~ Belgium ~

http://johanPostCard.BlogSpot.Com

Thanks for JOHAN

Sent: 20th MAY 2010

Received: June 2010

Leuven (Dutch, pronounced Nl-Leuven.ogg; French: Louvain, often used in English, German: Löwen) is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium. It is located about 30 kilometers east of Brussels, with as other neighbouring cities Mechelen, Aarschot, Tienen, and Wavre.

The township comprises the historical city of Leuven and the former municipalities of Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, a part of Korbeek-Lo, Wilsele and Wijgmaal.

It is home to Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer group and one of the top five largest consumer goods companies in the world; and to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the largest and oldest university of the Low Countries and the oldest Catholic university still in existence.

Sint-Pieterskerk Church

Saint Peter's Church (Dutch: Sint-Pieterskerk) of Leuven, Belgium, is situated on the city's Grote Markt (main market square), right across the ornate Town Hall. Built mainly in the 15th century in Brabantine Gothic style, the church groundfloor has the shape of a cross with a low bell tower that has never been completed.

History

The first church on the site, made of wood and presumably founded in 986, burned down in 1176. It was replaced by a Romanesque church, made of stone, featuring a west end flanked by two round towers like at Our Lady's Basilica in Maastricht. Of the Romanesque building only part of the crypt remains, underneath the chancel of the actual church.

Construction of the present Gothic edifice, significantly larger than its predecessor, was begun approximately in 1425, and was continued for more than half a century in a remarkably uniform style, replacing the older church progressively from east (chancel) to west. Its construction period overlapped with that of the Town Hall across the Markt, and in the earlier decades of construction shared the same succession of architects as its civic neighbor: Sulpitius van Vorst to start with, followed by Jan II Keldermans and later on Matheus de Layens. In 1497 the building was practically complete, although modifications, especially at the west end, continued.

BY-69174 BELARUS from Dasha

~ Polatsk, Belarus (BY-69174) ~

A long & big Size card from Belarus, I've learned this place is a "Capital of Cucumbers" 

Thanks for Dasha
Sent: 29th June 2010

Received: July 2010

NL-324312 NEDERLAND from Anniekster

~ Utrecht, Nederland~ (NL-324312)

Received April 2010

Thanks for Anniekster!!

St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht, or Dom Church (Dutch: Domkerk) was the cathedral of the diocese of Utrecht during the Middle Ages. Once the country's largest church and only cathedral, dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, it has been a Protestant church since 1580. The building is the one church in the Netherlands that closely resembles the classic Gothic style as developed in France. All other Gothic churches in the Netherlands belong to one of the many regional variants. Unlike most of its French predecessors, the Dom Church has only one tower, the 112 m (368 ft) high Dom Tower, which is the hallmark of the city.

The church today

What remains of St. Martin's today are the choir, the transept and the Dom Tower. The central nave of the cathedral which collapsed in the storm of 1674 is now a square with large trees, the Domplein. Stones in various colours indicate in the pavement the original outlines of the church.

In 2004, 750 years after construction began, the collapsed parts were temporarily rebuilt in scaffolding material. The scaffolding has since been taken down.

Burials and memorials in the Dom
Utrecht was an important city in the western Holy Roman Empire and had particularly close links to the imperial Salian dynasty. In the early Middle Ages the Holy Roman Emperor was always an honorary Canon of the Dom. The Emperor Conrad II and the Emperor Henry V both died in Utrecht in 1039 and 1125 respectively. Their bowels and hearts were interred in the Dom of Utrecht. The modest "Emperors' stones" (keizerssteentjes) in the floor of the choir of the Dom are a reminder of this fact.

The only medieval tomb of importance to remain relatively unscathed in the Dom is that of Bishop Guy of Avesnes (also known as Gwijde van Henegouwen), the brother of John II, Count of Holland and Hainaut, who was bishop from 1301 until his death in 1317.

There are many other beautifully carved burial slabs and memorials in the cathedral. Of particular note is the monumental cenotaph, which contained the heart of Bishop Joris of Egmond (died 1559).

BR-84551, Hariana - Brasil

~ Igreja Da Se - Olinda - PE ~

Sent 17-11-2009

Thanks for Hariana!!