Sadly, postcards are not as popular anymore as they once were, which is why in many places they are increasingly hard to find. Postcrossing has been trying to revive the culture of sending postcards, with remarkable success, and there are communities of collectors across the globe.
Last year, I helped organize Bangladesh’s first-ever Postcrossing event, during which many of the young people in attendance wrote their first-ever postcard. The event took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, where it is still not too hard to find postcards that show different aspects of the city. In other places, especially small towns, the situation is often different, which is why some people have resorted to making their own postcards for places that are meaningful to them. Inspired by fellow Postcrossers who did just that, I have created a postcard for my hometown of Adelmannsfelden in Germany’s southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg (see above).
The postcard shows, clockwise from top left, the picturesque village pond, the Chapel of St. Leonard and St. Barbara, built in 1473 and renovated in 1970, the town hall with its wooden-shingle façade, built in 1914, and the skyline, featuring the 1130-built St. Nicholas Church and the castle of the Adelmann family on the left. All of the photos are my own.
You can download the postcard (front and back) here, and you are welcome to use the file to print your own copies. If you would like me to mail you a copy from Adelmannsfelden the next time I visit, I will be happy to do so! I only ask that you send me a postcard from your place in return. If you are interested, please send me a message with your mailing address.
Rainer Ebert 