GERMANY. Württemberg (French Occupation)

GERMANY. Württemberg-Hohenzollern (French occupation zone).
DEUTSCHLAND. Württemberg-Hohenzollern (Französische Besatzungszone).

Lichtenstein castle in Echaz Valley, near Reutlingen.
Twelfth stamp in a set of 12, issued in 08.1947.
Face value: 84 German reichspfennig.
Design: Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas (1907-1997).
Stamping: Photogravure.
Size: 26 x 43.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 12.
- Michel No. 12.
- Scott No. 12.
- StampWorld No. 12.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 12.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 12.

Württemberg-Hohenzollern (French: Wurtemberg-Hohenzollern) was a West German state created in 1945 as part of the French post-World War II occupation zone. Its capital was Tübingen. It consisted of the southern half of the former state of Württemberg and the Prussian administrative region of Hohenzollern. On May 18, 1947, a new constitution was enacted and Württemberg-Baden's first parliament was elected. With the formation of West Germany on  May 23, 1949, Württemberg-Baden joined the federal republic. A straw poll was held on September 24, 1950 in Württemberg-Hohenzollern, Württemberg-Baden, and Baden regarding a merger of the three states. A public referendum was held on December 16, 1951. All three states were merged and the modern German state of Baden-Württemberg was founded on April 24, 1952.

Lichtenstein Castle (German: Schloss Lichtenstein) is a privately-owned Gothic Revival castle located on an escarpment that marks the northwestern edge of the in the Swabian Jura of southern Germany. It was designed by Carl Alexander Heideloff. The castle overlooks the Echaz valley near Honau, Reutlingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It has an altitude of 817 m (2,680 ft) and about 250 m (820 ft) above the Echaz river, a small tributary of the Neckar river. The ruins of Lichtenstein Castle's medieval predecessor, the Burg Alt-Lichtenstein, lies 500 m (1,600 ft) away. The castle was damaged during World War II, but efforts to restore it began in the immediate aftermath of the war.