POSTCARD N.7 - Portugal

Postcard posted on the 6th July, received on the 8th July.
Potscard image:Bom Jesus de Braga, a Unesco World Heritage Site
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A ripe fruit from my blog, it seems. Pedro, another like minded (and like named, for that matter) blogger, visited my "Thank you Mr. Postman" pages and kindly wrote me this postcard (which, of course, will not go unanswered).

Although hailing from Brazil, Pedro Lives up North, at Porto and he has a keen interest not only in stamps and covers but also in postcards, especially those illustrating UNESCO WHS, such as the one he sent me. 

He also has a blog, to prove it.

 

The existence of a church on the hill where the Sanctuary now stands can be traced back to the 14th century. Over a period of 600 years the site was built, rebuilt and transformed so as to reach the actual configuration, whose works were completed in 1811. The most iconic part of the complex is the gargantuan stairway with 573 steps, divided in 3 flights, that runs up the hill parallel to a funicular line (for those less inclined to take the hard route) on which  the oldest funicular built in the Iberian Peninsula, dating back to the 19th century, still operates flawlessly.

information on the Sanctuary is easy to access on the internet. A good English summary can be found here.

Portugal held the Presidency of the EU Council during the 1st semestre of 2021. to mark this occasion, CTT the Portuguese Post, issued a 2 stamp plus Souvenir sheet set on 14MAY21. Pedro used the 0,54€ (domestic up to 20g tariff) to mail me the postcard. The other stamp is denominated at  0,88€ (Europe, up to 20 g) while the stamp on the souvenir sheet has a value of 2,5€.

The hand applied cancelation proves that the postcard was mailed from the actual city where the monument is located, Braga. A really nice touch.