Three sweet muffins

In my first swap with Helga, from the Netherlands (FB swap), I got theese three beautiful muffin postcards.
(Received on: 19.07.2012)

Interesting fact from the muffins' history: Recipes for muffins, in their yeast-free "American" form, are common in 19th century American cookbooks. Recipes for yeast-based muffins, which were sometimes called "common muffins" or "wheat muffins" in 19th century American cookbooks, can be found in much older cookbooks.

Schloss Lustheim und Sandmännchen

In my second swap with Hanna (Germany), I swapped two cards, one with the beautiful Schloss Lustheim and one with Sandmännchen. I love the both, thank you very much!! :)
(Received on: 18.07.2012)

Lustheim Palace
Enrico Zuccalli built Lustheim Palace as a garden villa in Italian style in 1684-1688 for Maximilian II Emanuel and his first wife, the Austrian princess Maria Antonia.
The interior is dominated by the large banqueting hall in the middle of the building. The frescoes were done by Johann Anton Gumpp, Francesco Rosa and Johann Andreas Trubillio.
Since 1968 the palace has housed a grand collection of Meissen porcelain, only outranged by the Porzellansammlung in the Zwinger, Dresden.
The palace once formed the centre point of a semicircle of round buildings. Two pavillons still exist: To the south of Lustheim Place the Renatus Chapel was erected in 1686 by Zuccalli in a pavillon. The northern pavillon houses the decorated stable which was built for the favourite horses of Elector Max Emanuel.

I ♥ Chocolate

This is my third postcard from Svenja (Germany), got through FB-swap.
(Received on : 16.07.2012)

Chocolate has become one of the most popular food types and flavors in the world. Gifts of chocolate molded into different shapes have become traditional on certain holidays: chocolate bunnies and eggs are popular on Easter, chocolate coins on Hanukkah, Santa Claus and other holiday symbols on Christmas, and chocolate hearts or chocolate in heart-shaped boxes on Valentine's Day. Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages, to produce chocolate milk and hot chocolate.
Cocoa mass was used originally in Mesoamerica both as a beverage and as an ingredient in foods. Chocolate played a special role in both Maya and Aztec royal and religious events. Priests presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods and served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies. All of the areas that were conquered by the Aztecs that grew cacao beans were ordered to pay them as a tax, or as the Aztecs called it, a "tribute".
The Europeans sweetened and fattened it by adding refined sugar and milk, two ingredients unknown to the Mexicans. By contrast, the Europeans never infused it into their general diet, but have compartmentalized its use to sweets and desserts. In the 19th century, Briton John Cadbury developed an emulsification process to make solid chocolate, creating the modern chocolate bar. Although cocoa is originally from the Americas, today Western Africa produces almost two-thirds of the world's cocoa, with Côte d'Ivoire growing almost half of it.

Morsum-Kliff an der Ostspitze

Another postcard what I got from Lisa, (Germany) through snail-mail.
(Received on : 13.07.2012)

The Ostspitze (4,632 m) is a peak of the Monte Rosa Massif in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. It is the second highest peak of the massif, after the Dufourspitze (4,634 m), and the second highest (minor) summit in Switzerland.

Friesenhaus bei Rantum

This postcard was sent by Lisa, my penpal from Germany.
(Received on : 13.07.2012)

Rantum (friesisch: Raantem) ist ein Ortsteil der Gemeinde Sylt auf der Insel Sylt, südlich von Westerland im Kreis Nordfriesland.

Der Name des Ortes wird gern mit dem Namen der Meeresgöttin Ran in Verbindung gebracht; Rantum als Ort der Ran. Wahrscheinlicher ist jedoch die Ableitung aus der alten Schreibweise des Ortsnamens Raanteem als Ort am Rande.

Supetar

My family went on holiday last week to Croatia, but unfortunately my older brother and I couldn't go there with them, so they have sent us this postcard.
(Received on: 09.07.2012)

Supetar (Italian: San Pietro della Brazza) is a town and a city on the northern side of the Dalmatian island of Brač, in the Split-Dalmatia County, in Croatia. It became the island's official centre in 1827. The City of Supetar includes the town Supetar and the three villages Splitska, Škrip and Mirca.
With a population of 3,326, it is the island's largest and fastest-expanding town with dozens of apartments being built every year. It is accessible via 45 minute ferry via Jadrolinija from the mainland city of Split.
The present settlement of Supetar was founded in the 16th century when people living in Nerežišča, about 8 km inland, began to use it as their harbour. The town's main period of development occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries when Supetar took over from Nerežišča as the administrative centre of the island of Brač.

The Little Mole bakes cookies

It's my second postcard from Karolína (Czech Republic), got through FB-swap.
(Received in June, 2012)

Karolína and I, we both don't know which Krtek-episode is showing by this postcard, so if somebody knows, please let me know and send me an e-mail! :)

Muffins

These yummy muffins were sent by Moniek (Netherlands), I got this card through FB-swap.
(Received in July, 2012)

A muffin is an American English name for a type of quick bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting. They may be filled with sweet fillings, such as chocolate, toffee, lemons or blueberries. Savory varieties, such as cornbread muffins or cheese muffins or sometimes just plain muffins, also exist. They generally fit in the palm of an adult hand, and are intended to be consumed by an individual in a single sitting.

Outside the United States of America, muffin can also refer to a disk-shaped muffin, usually called an English muffin outside the United Kingdom. As American-style muffins are also sold in Commonwealth countries, the term muffin can refer to either product, with the context usually making clear which is meant.

There are many varieties and flavors of muffins made with a specific ingredient such as blueberries, chocolate chips, cucumbers, raspberry, cinnamon, pumpkin, date, nut, lemon, banana, orange, peach, strawberry, boysenberry, almond, and carrot, baked into the muffin. Muffins are often eaten for breakfast; alternatively, they may be served for tea or at other meals.

Bitterfeld-Wolfen

It's also an official Postcrossing postcard, sent by Peter (Germany).
Postcard ID: DE-1444289
Received on: 5 Jul, 2012

Bitterfeld-Wolfen is a town in the district Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in south-eastern Saxony-Anhalt, west of the river Mulde, in an area that is dominated by heavy industry and lignite mining. The town was formed by merger of the towns Bitterfeld and Wolfen and the municipalities Greppin, Holzweißig and Thalheim on 1 July 2007.

Bitterfeld-Wolfen is 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of Halle (Saale) and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Leipzig. Eastward lies the lake Muldestausee, southward the Goitzsche lake with docks, westwards the lido of Sandersdorf. The town lies in a nature preserve Bitterfelder Bergbaurevier.

Baby in the flower

The sleeping baby in the flower (Anne Geddes) postcard was sent by Angelika (Poland), as an official Postcrossing card.

Postcard ID: PL-473694

Received on: 5 Jul, 2012

He/She is sleeping so sweet, thank you Angelika so much! :)

Moi, ça va! - Et toi?

This very cute Diddl postcard is an official Postcrossing card, sent by Monique (Netherlands).
Postcard ID: NL-1301206
Received on : 5 Jul, 2012

("Moi, ça va! - Et toi?" = "I'm okay! - And you?" )

The Great Wall of China

The third postcard from Katharin (FB-swap) shows the the Great Wall of China .
(Received in July, 2012)

The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China in part to protect the Chinese Empire or its prototypical states against intrusions by various nomadic groups or military incursions by various warlike peoples or forces. Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC; these, later joined together and made bigger, stronger, and unified are now collectively referred to as the Great Wall. Especially famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained, enhanced; the majority of the existing wall was reconstructed during the Ming Dynasty.

Shanghai Metro's map

This card is also from Katharin, sent through FB-swap.
(Receive in July, 2012)

The Shanghai Metro is the urban rapid transit system of China's largest city, Shanghai. The system incorporates both subway (地铁) and light rail (轻轨) lines. It opened in 1995, making Shanghai the third city in Mainland China, after Beijing and Tianjin, to have a rapid transit system. Since then, the Shanghai Metro has become one of the fastest-growing rapid transit systems in the world.

Titanic

My very first Titanic-postcard was sent by Katharin (German girl living in China), via FB-swap.
(Received in July, 2012)

RMS Titanic was a passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK to New York City, US. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. The second of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, she was built between 1909–11 by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. She carried 2,224 people.

Two Miffy cards from Moniek

I got these two adorable Miffy postcards from Moniek (Netherlands), through FB-swap.
(Received in July, 2012)

Mount Batok

This postcard was sent by Rika from Surabaya, Indonesia. We have a common penpal, Hannah, but it was a surprise card from her. :) How nice!! ;)
(Received in July, 2012)

Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park is located in East Java, Indonesia, to the east of Malang and to the southeast of Surabaya, the capital of East Java. It is the only conservation area in Indonesia that has a sand sea, the Tengger Sand Sea (Laut Pasir Tengger), across which is the caldera of an ancient volcano (Tengger) from which four new volcanic cones have emerged. This unique feature covers a total area of 5,250 hectares at an altitude of about 2,100 m. 

The volcanic complex of Tengger forms a condition where a new caldera of volcano forms inside a larger and more ancient caldera. There are five volcanoes inside the Tengger Caldera: Mount Bromo (2,329 m), Mount Batok (2,470 m), Mount Kursi (2,581 m), Mount Watangan (2,661 m), and Mount Widodaren (2,650 m). Mount Batok is the only peak that is no longer active, and is covered in casuarina (cemara) trees. Mount Widodaren, located beside Mount Batok, contains the cave Widodaren, which is considered sacred by local people.

Body Worlds

This special-shaped Body Worlds postcard is from Amy, USA.
I got it today, on the second July, 2012.

Body Worlds is a traveling exhibition of preserved human bodies and body parts that are prepared using a technique called plastination to reveal inner anatomical structures. The exhibition's developer and promoter is German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, who invented the plastination technique in the late 1970s at the University of Heidelberg.

"München mag Dich"

The last postcard from my lovely penpal Tina (Germany), from München.
(Received in June, 2012)

The city's motto is "München mag Dich" (Munich likes you). Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" (Cosmopolitan city with a heart). Its native name, München, is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat of arms. Black and gold—the colours of the Holy Roman Empire—have been the city's official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian.

For economic and social innovation, the city was ranked 15th globally out of 289 cities in 2010, and 5th in Germany by the 2thinknow Innovation Cities Index based on analysis of 162 indicators. In 2010, Monocle ranked Munich as the world's most livable city.

Weimar

Also a postcard from Tina (Germany), this one from Weimar.
(Received on 28.06.2012)

Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia (Thüringen), north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899. Weimar was the capital of the Duchy (after 1815 the Grand Duchy) of Saxe-Weimar (German Sachsen-Weimar).
Weimar's cultural heritage is vast. It is most often recognised as the place where Germany's first democratic constitution was signed after the First World War, giving its name to the Weimar Republic period in German politics, of 1918–1933. However, the city was also the focal point of the German Enlightenment and home of the leading characters of the literary genre of Weimar Classicism, the writers Goethe and Schiller. The city was also the birthplace of the Bauhaus movement, founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius, with artists Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Oskar Schlemmer, and Lyonel Feininger teaching in Weimar's Bauhaus School. Many places in the city centre have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Potsdam

The 10. Postcard from Tina's collection from today's (28.06.2012) post.

Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, 24 km (15 mi) southwest of Berlin city centre.
The name "Potsdam" originally seems to have been "Poztupimi" from a West Slavonic name meaning "beneath the oaks", highlighting the area's many grand oak trees.
Potsdam has several claims to national and international notability. In Germany, it had the status Windsor has in Britain: it was the residence of the Prussian kings and German Kaisers, until 1918. Around the city there are a series of interconnected lakes and unique cultural landmarks, in particular the parks and palaces of Sanssouci, the largest World Heritage Site in Germany. The Potsdam Conference, the major post-World War II conference between the victorious Allies, was held at another palace in the area, the Cecilienhof.

Bamberg

Tina's (snail-mail) next postcard, from Germany, shows more photos from Bamberg.
(Received on 28.06.2012) 
I remember that I have visited this town with my family many years ago, when we lived in Germany.

Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. Its historic city center is a listed UNESCO world heritage site.
Bamberg is known for its smoked Rauchbier.
Bamberg is located in Franconia, 63 km (39 mi) north of Nuremberg by railway and 101 km (63 mi) east of Würzburg, also by rail. It is situated on the Regnitz river, 3 km (1.9 mi) before it flows into the Main river.
Bamberg prides itself with being on seven hills, as it symbolises similarity to Rome. The hills are Cathedral Hill, Michaelsberg, Kaulberg/Obere Pfarre, Stefansberg, Jakobsberg, Altenburger Hill and Abtsberg.

Kempten

This card is also from Tina, through snail-mail, from Germany.
(Received on 28.06.2012)

Kempten is the largest town in Allgäu, a region in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later overtaken by the Romans, who called the town Cambodunum. Archaeologists consider Kempten one of the oldest urban settlements in Germany.

More Diddl cards

Twelve postcards came today (28.06.2012) from my penpal, Tina (Germany) and five of them are Diddl cards. Cute, right? :)

Diddl has many friends and relatives, including a girlfriend called Diddlina who is also a Jumping Mouse. Their friends include Mimihopps (a fox rabbit); 'Pimboli' (a Knautschanien cuddle-teddy bear); Ackaturbo (a fire-tailed mini-raven); Bibombl (a bobbletail setter); Milimits (a tigertail kitten); Tiplitaps (a changing-shell turtle); Wollywell & Vanillivi (angora lucky sheep); and Galupy (a galapagos horse). The 'Frog Brothers' are the enemies of Diddl and Friends.

Elves

This two elf-postcards are from my dear penpal, Tina (Germany), received through snail-mail.
(I got it today, 28.06.2012)



The first one on the left  is my favourite, it's so glittery and colorful, but I love of course the second one too!! :)

Little Mole and Christmas

I got today (28.06.2012) this lovely Christmas-Krtek postcard from the Czech Republic, sent by Karolína.

Little Mole and Christmas (Krtek a Vánoce)

Snow lies all around and Christmas is approaching. Everybody in the forest is asleep; only Mole wants to surprise his friends and decorates a lovely Christmas tree. He wraps presents for each animal and sings his carols. But the malevolent Aunt Crow steals the Christmas tree and flies away. How can Little Mole save Christmas?

Hegratsreider See im Allgäu

This pretty landescape postcard came from Lisa, my penpal from Germany.
(Received on 27.06.2012)

The Allgäu is a southern German region in Swabia. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia and southeastern Baden-Württemberg. The region stretches from the prealpine lands up to the Alps. The main rivers flowing through the Allgäu are the Lech and Iller.

It is sub-divided into the following regions: Oberallgäu, Unterallgäu, Ostallgäu, Westallgäu.

The area is notable for its beautiful landscapes and is popular for vacations and therapeutic stays. It is well known in Germany for its farm produce, especially dairy products including Hirtenkäse ("herdsman's cheese"). The alpine regions of the Allgäu rise over 2,000 metres in altitude and are popular for winter skiing. 

Beautiful Greece

My first three postcard from Greece were sent by Anna (FB-swap). The card are so picturesque, I have never been to Greece, I got the mood to visit it soon!! :)
(Received in June, 2012)

 

Greece (Ελλάδα; historically in Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellas), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία), is a country in Southern Europe, politically considered part of Western Europe. Athens is the capital and the largest city in the country (its urban area also including Piraeus). 

Greece has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands (approximately 1,400, of which 227 are inhabited), including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands among others. Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m (9,570 ft).

Modern Greece traces its roots to the civilization of ancient Greece, generally considered the cradle of Western civilization. As such it is the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western literature and historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, and Western drama, including both tragedy and comedy. This legacy is partly reflected in the seventeen UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in Greece, ranking Greece 7th in Europe and 13th in the world.

The Prambanan temple

This beautiful ancient temple is from Indonesia, sent by Yenny Rere (FB-swap).
(Received in June, 2012)

Candi Prambanan or Candi Rara Jonggrang is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). The temple compound is located approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) east of the city of Yogyakarta on the boundary between Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces.
The temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, and is one of the largest Hindu temples in Southeast Asia. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47-metre-high (154 ft) central building inside a large complex of individual temples. One of the most majestic temples in Southeast Asia, Prambanan attracts many visitors from across the world.

How The Mole Got His Pants

How The Mole Got His Pants was the first Krtek-cartoon I have ever seen. This postcard shows a scene from it, sent by Lucía (Czech Republic), I got it through FB-swap.
(Received in June, 2012)

Krtek was first to be seen in 1956 in Prague, when Zdeněk Miler wanted to create a children's cartoon about how flax is processed. He wanted a strong Disney-influence to the cartoon by choosing an animal for the leading role, and decided to pick a mole after stumbling over a molehill during a walk. The first film called "Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel" ("How the mole got his pants") was released in 1956, and the cute main character won itself an enormous popularity in many Eastern European countries as well as Germany, Austria, India and China. Production for further episodes started in 1963 and since then, around 50 episodes have been created.

Art postcard

This art postcard is from Finland, an official Postcrossing postcard, sent by Leyla.
Postcard ID: FI-1457889
Received on: 22 Jun, 2012

I don't know why she has sent me this postcard, I don't collect art-stuff... I'd be happy with a simple city-view card and that's all... 

Three Miffy cards

These three Miffy-postcards are from the Netherlands, sent by Natascha. I got them through direct-swap on Postcrossing.
(Received in June, 2012)

 

Miffy was created in 1955 after Bruna had been telling his one-year-old son Sierk stories about a little rabbit they had seen earlier in the dunes, while on holiday at Egmond aan Zee. Miffy became a female after Bruna decided that he wanted to draw a dress and not trousers on his rabbit. Depending on the story, Miffy can be a baby or four years old.

At first Miffy looked like a toy animal, with floppy ears, but by 1963 she looked the way we see Miffy today. Miffy is drawn in a minimalist style, requiring only a few lines and one or two primary colors. There are some colors that are never used, and Bruna can be picky about a certain shade of color, brown and grey for example, and will search for it until he is happy. Even though the things that he draws are not realistic, they are instantly recognisable, and Miffy is obviously a rabbit.

Hong Kong

My very first postcard from Hong Kong was sent by Ivan, through FB-swap.
(Received in June, 2012)

Hong Kong (香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. Hong Kong is a city-state. It is situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.

Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.

Bali

This beautiful Balinese water temple-postcard was also sent by Indah (FB-swap), from Indonesia.
(Received in June, 2012)

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island. The province covers a few small neighbouring islands as well as the isle of Bali.

With a population recorded as 3,891,428 in the 2010 census, the island is home to most of Indonesia's Hindu minority. In the 2000 census about 92.29% of Bali's population adhered to Balinese Hinduism while most of the remainder follow Islam. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. Bali, a tourist haven for decades, has seen a further surge in tourist numbers in recent years.

Thinking of you

This old-fashioned postcard with the Eiffel-Tower is from Indonesia, sent by Indah (FB-swap).
(Received in June, 2012)

I think this card is very sweet and romantic, I wish I could go back to Paris once again! :)

Polska

This Poland card was sent by Marta, from Katowice, through FB-swap.
(Received in June, 2012)

Poland  (Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska) is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe.

Winter in Germany

This picturesque winter- landescape was sent from Germany, by Klaus as an official Postcrossing postcard.
Postcard ID: DE-1423674

Received on: 19 Jun, 2012

Melbourne

I think it's one of the most beautiful cards I have ever received, this nightview from Melbourne, Australia, sent by Azzi. (This is also an official Postcrossing postcard.)
Postcard ID: AU-210289
Received on: 19 Jun, 2012

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. Inhabitants of Melbourne are called Melburnians or Melbournians.
The metropolis is located on the large natural bay known as Port Phillip, with the city centre positioned at the estuary of the Yarra River (at the northernmost point of the bay). The metropolitan area then extends south from the city centre, along the eastern and western shorelines of Port Phillip, and expands into the hinterland. 
Melbourne was founded in 1835 (47 years after the European settlement of Australia) by settlers from Launceston in Van Diemen's Land. It was named by governor Richard Bourke in 1837, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb—the 2nd Viscount Melbourne. Melbourne was officially declared a city by Queen Victoria in 1847. In 1851, it became the capital city of the newly created colony of Victoria. During the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities. After the federation of Australia in 1901, it then served as the interim seat of government of the newly created nation of Australia until 1927.