Postcard Sunday: Alps (More countries)

Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps, UNESCO World Heritage List #: 1363

Countries: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland

Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps is a series of prehistoric pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements in and around the Alps built from around 5000 to 500 B.C. on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands. 111 sites, located in Austria (5 sites), France (11), Germany (18), Italy (19), Slovenia (2), and Switzerland (56), were added to UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 2011. In Slovenia, this is the first cultural world heritage site.

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Postcard Sunday: Switzerland

St. Gallen Abbey, UNESCO World Heritage List #: 268

The Abbey of Saint Gall (German: Fürstabtei St. Gallen) is a Roman Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in present-day Switzerland. The Carolingian-era Abbey has existed since 719 and became an independent principality during the 13th century, and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. It was founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had erected his hermitage. The library at the Abbey is one of the richest medieval libraries in the world. Since 1983 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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