Issue of a stamp in the Italian Artistic and Cultural Heritage regular series, dedicated to the Rhaetian Railway in the Albula/Bernina Landscapes, on the centenary of its completion.
The line across Albula and Bernina is regarded as a true masterpiece of the railway engineer's art. Designed from the start to exist in perfect harmony with its surrounding countryside, the line stands as a proud monument to the pioneering days of railway-building, a tradition that continues to this very day.
Since July 2008, the Albula and Bernina lines have been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. The stamp features a section of the Rhaetian Railway with the characteristic red train that connects Tirano (Italy) and Thusis (canton of Graubünden, Switzerland) via St. Moritz and crosses through the Swiss Alps with their many passages, tunnels, bridges, and viaducts.
Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes, brings together two historic railway lines that cross the Swiss Alps through two passes. Opened in 1904, the Albula line in the north western part of the property is 67 km long. It features an impressive set of structures including 42 tunnels and covered galleries and 144 viaducts and bridges. The 61 km Bernina pass line features 13 tunnels and galleries and 52 viaducts and bridges. The property is exemplary of the use of the railway to overcome the isolation of settlements in the Central Alps early in the 20th century, with a major and lasting socio-economic impact on life in the mountains.
Landscape and railway blend into one, in a series of wide expanses and imposing man-made structures along the winding route through abruptly-sloping Alpine valleys. The line’s designers and builders were careful to harmonise it with the area’s natural attractions. Monumental landmarks and photo opportunities along the way include the Landwasser Viaduct, the series of winding tunnels between Bergün and Preda and the Circular Viaduct at Brusio. Man cannot live by the railway alone, but he can use it to make his way to all that’s worth seeing in three of the Alpine region’s different cultures.
The Rhaetian Railway offers a wide diversity of technical solutions for the establishment of the railway in often severe mountain conditions. It is a well designed construction that has been realised with a high degree of quality and it has remarkable stylistic and architectural homogeneity.
Title: Rhaetian Railway in the Albula/Bernina Landscapes
Date of Issue: 6 May 2010
Country: Italy
Denominations: 0,65 EUR
Source: www.post.it, www.rhb.ch
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