Sunday Stamps: Astronomy

Just looking around and found this special postcard from Ulrich. So I decided to write this post for Viridian´s Sunday Stamps.

Here the stamp itself, a bit bigger. It´s beautiful. 

The Horse-head Nebula is part of our Milky Way. Though the mist in the form of a horse's head is a deep dark cloud that absorbs all light, you can see it with a telescope - a silhouette in front of the glowing Orion Nebula.

And here the whole set:

A special feature is the tenant of the 55-cent stamps of the solar system in a sheet. The sun and the Milky Way combine both brands. The four special stamps were designed by the graphic artist Hans Werner Schmidt. Year of print 2011. 

Which one do you prefer?

125 Jahre Schmalspurbahnen im Harz

Because today Viridian´s theme is means of transportation, I couldn ´t stop myself of presenting a railway stamp. This time from Germany.

The Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (German: Harzer Schmalspurbahnen) or HSB is a network of 1,000 mm gauge railways in the Harz mountains, in central Germany. It connects the principal towns of Wernigerode, Nordhausen and Quedlinburg and several smaller towns in the area with about 140 kilometres of track, much of which is steeply graded and picturesque. The most popular destination on the network is the Brocken, an old Soviet listening post on top of the tallest peak in the Harz mountains, accessed by a spiral railway line, the Brocken Railway. The railway is notable for running a significant number of its trains with steam haulage, mostly employing 1950s vintage 2-10-2 tank locomotives, hauling traditional open-platform bogie carriages. The network is currently operated by the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen GmbH, whose members are chiefly the various local authorities whose territories it serves.
Particularly precious are the historic steam locomotives. So today two Mallets made ​​before 1897 are in use. During the course they pass over almost 400 bridges, water culverts and a tunnel.
Find out more about this anniversary here: 
http://www.hsb-wr.de/hsb_barrierefrei/hsb/hsb_e.htm 

Title: 125 Jahre Schmalspurbahnen im Harz
Date of Issue: 9 Februar 2012
Country: Germany
Denominations: 0,45 euro
Source: https://philatelie.deutschepost.de

Dog stamps from Germany

Good morning to you all stamp collectors. Today at Viridian´s Sunday Stamps I have chosen to display my dogs. I don´t really have much on this theme. So here it is:



This fine set of five welfare stamps was issued on 8th February 1996, and is devoted to pedigree dogs. A pedigree is a dog's family tree. It lists the registered names of the dog's parents, grandparents, great-grandparents (etc.) of the dog - most printed pedigrees go to 4 or 5 generations. Other information may or may not be included, such as date of birth, color, registration number, call name, or titles earned. Titles earned are almost always included - Championship, Sire or Dam of Merit, Obedience or Agility titles.

Represented here are 

- the Collie (http://www.canismajor.com/dog/collie.html), 

- Great St Bernard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Bernard_(dog)), 

- Chow-Chow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chow_Chow), 

- Borzoi (http://www.borzoi.org/about.php),

- and Briard (http://www.briardworldnet.info/)

Germany 2012 New Issues

Happy New year to everyone!

In this post I will insert images of recent stamp issues from Germany. By clicking on the link below the picture you will be redirected to a short description of the items, similar to what I have done before on this blog. Enjoy!

January 2, 2012 Nationalpark Jasmund

http://douspeakgerman.blogspot.com/2012/01/serie-post-winterferien-in-deutschland.html

http://douspeakgerman.blogspot.com/2012/01/350-geburtstag-matthaus-poppelmann.html

UNESCO Heritage Sites Germany

The German Post has issued a set of two stamps illustrating two famous world heritage sites of UNESCO – Yakushi-ji Temple of Nara (Japan) and old town of Regensburg (Bavaria, Germany).

Yakushi-ji (55 cents) is one of the Seven Great Temples of Nara and the head temple of the Hosso sect of Japanese Buddhism. It was constructed by Emperor Tenmu in the late 7th century for the recovery of the emperor's sick wife. One of Japan's oldest temples, Yakushiji has a strictly symmetric layout, with the main and lecture halls standing on a central axis, flanked by two pagodas, shown on the stamp.

The main hall was rebuilt in the 1970s after being destroyed by fire, and houses a Yakushi trinity, a masterpiece of Japanese Buddhist art. The East Pagoda is the temple's only structure to have survived the many fires and dates from 730. It is an UNESCO site since 1998. For those who would like to visit it, here is a link.

The Old Town of Regensburg (75 cents) was registered as UNESCO world heritage in 2006. Located on the Danube River, Regensburg with Stadtamhof is an exceptional example of a central-European medieval trading center, which illustrates an interchange of cultural and architectural influences. A notable number of buildings of outstanding quality testify to its political, religious, and economic significance from the 9th century. The historic fabric reflects some two millenniums of structural continuity and includes ancient Roman, Romanesque, and Gothic buildings. Regensburg’s 11th to 13th century architecture still defines the character of the town marked by tall buildings, dark and narrow lanes, and strong fortifications. The buildings include medieval patrician houses and towers, a large number of churches and monastic ensembles as well as the 12th-century Stone Bridge. 

The stamp illustrates St. Peter's Cathedral surrounded by medieval buildings. St Peter’s Cathedral is indisputably the city’s spiritual center. When you look up towards the spires of this imposing Gothic building, you will see kings on horseback, foolish virgins, and gargoyles with animal and human faces. Website here.

I will surely go to visit them, at least Regensburg, that is one hour away from my home, by car :)


Title: UNESCO World Heritage Site
Date of Issue: 3 February 2011
Country: Germany
Denominations: 0,55 and 0,75 euro

Source: http://philatelie.deutschepost.de