863 EC - Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca (1999)

Brief Description

"Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca is set in a valley surrounded by the Andean mountains in the south of Ecuador. This inland colonial town (entroterra ), now the country's third city, was founded in 1557 on the rigorous planning guidelines issued 30 years earlier by the Spanish king Charles V. Cuenca still observes the formal orthogonal town plan that it has respected for 400 years. One of the region's agricultural and administrative centres, it has been a melting pot for local and immigrant populations. Cuenca's architecture, much of which dates from the 18th century, was 'modernized' in the economic prosperity of the 19th century as the city became a major exporter of quinine, straw hats and other products."

昆卡的洛斯－里奥斯的圣安娜历史中心

"昆卡的洛斯－里奥斯的圣安娜位于厄瓜多尔南部安第斯山环绕的一个山谷里，始建于1557年，是典型的内陆殖民地城镇，如今是厄瓜多 尔第三大城市。城市的建造严格遵守了30年前西班牙国王查尔斯·冯·昆卡(Charles V. Cuenca)制定的垂直城市规划原则，并于后来的400年间一直沿袭了当初的规划。作为这个地区的农业和行政中心之一，该历史中心是当地居民和外来移民 的大熔炉。昆卡的建筑大多始建于18世纪，到19世纪时这里成为奎宁、草帽以及其他产品的主要出口港，经济上的繁荣也推动了城市建筑的现代化。"

Source UNESCO WH website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/863

Courtesy of vykortsfantast from France

2 EC - City of Quito (1978)

Brief Description

"Quito, the capital of Ecuador, was founded in the 16th century on the ruins of an Inca city and stands at an altitude of 2,850 m. Despite the 1917 earthquake, the city has the best-preserved, least altered historic centre in Latin America. The monasteries of San Francisco and Santo Domingo, and the Church and Jesuit College of La Compañía, with their rich interiors, are pure examples of the 'Baroque school of Quito', which is a fusion of Spanish, Italian, Moorish, Flemish and indigenous art."

基多旧城

"厄瓜多尔的首都基多城海拔2850米，是在16世纪一个印加城市的废墟上建立起来的。尽管历经了1917年的地震，基多仍然是拉丁 美洲保存最好、变化最小的历史中心。圣弗朗西斯修道院和圣多明各修道院，拉孔帕尼亚的教堂和耶酥会学院，连同这些建筑华丽的内部装饰都成为了“基多巴洛克 风格”的纯正典范，完美地融合了西班牙、意大利、摩尔人式、佛兰德和当地艺术。"

Source UNESCO WH website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/2

Courtesy of Claus from Germany

1 EC - Galápagos Islands (1978)

Brief Description

Situated in the Pacific Ocean some 1,000 km from the South American continent, these 19 islands and the surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique ‘living museum and showcase of evolution’. Located at the confluence of three ocean currents, the Galápagos are a ‘melting pot’ of marine species. Ongoing seismic and volcanic activity reflects the processes that formed the islands. These processes, together with the extreme isolation of the islands, led to the development of unusual animal life – such as the land iguana, the giant tortoise and the many types of finch – that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection following his visit in 1835.

加拉帕戈斯群岛
群岛地处离南美大陆1000公里的太平洋上，由19个火山岛以及周围的海域组成，被人称作独一无二的“活的生物进化博物馆 和陈列室”。加拉帕戈斯群岛处于三大洋流的交汇处，是海洋生物的“大熔炉”。持续的地震和火山活动反映了群岛的形成过程。这些过程，加上群岛与世隔绝的地 理位置，促使群岛内进化出许多奇异的动物物种，例如陆生鬣蜥、巨龟和多种类型的雀类。1835年查尔斯·达尔文参观了这片岛屿后，从中得到感悟，进而提出 了著名的进化论。
Source UNESCO WH website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1

Courtesy of MsMoney from postcrossing forum

Stamps issued by Royal mail for 150 Years of Darwin's "On the Origin of Species"