YUGOSLAVIA (Serbia)

YUGOSLAVIA (Serbia) / ЈУГОСЛАВИЈА (Србија - Srbija).

Airmail definitive stamps.
Danube River at the Iron Gates.
First stamp in a set of 9, issued on 16.06.1951.
Face value: 1 Yugoslav dinar.
Design: Janez Trpin (1908-1973).
Engraving: Kocmut.
Printing: Recess.
Size: 39 x 24 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 635.
- Michel No. 644A.
- Scott No. C34.
- StampWorld No. 676.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 675.
- Yvert et Tellier No. PA 32.

The Iron Gates (Serbian: Ђердапска клисура / Đerdapska klisura; Romanian: Porțile de Fier) is a gorge on the river Danube. It forms part of the boundary between Serbia (to the south) and Romania (north). In the broad sense it encompasses a route of 134 km (83 mi); in the narrow sense it only encompasses the last barrier on this route, just beyond the Romanian city of Orșova, that currently contains two hydroelectric dams, with two power stations. At this point in the Danube, the river separates the southern Carpathian Mountains from the northwestern foothills of the Balkan Mountains. The Romanian side of the gorge constitutes the Iron Gates Natural Park (Parcul Natural Porțile de Fier), whereas the Serbian part constitutes the Đerdap National Park (Национални парк Ђердап / Nacionalni park Đerdap). A wider protected area on the Serbian side was declared the UNESCO global geopark in July 2020.

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Thanks to Dragan Buškulić for his contribution (https://worldofstamp2.wordpress.com/).

SLOVAKIA

SLOVAKIA / SLOVENSKO.

Splendors of Homeland issues.
Súl'ov Rocks.
First stamp in a set of 2, issued on 18,09.2015.
Face value: 0.80 euro.
Design: Karol Felix (b. Košice, 1961).
Engraving: Martin Činovský (b. Levoča, 1953).
Printing: Photogravure and recess.
Print: 1,000,000 copies.
Size: 44 x 26 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 737,
- Michel No. 769.
- POFIS No. 593.
- Scott No. 721.
- StampWorld No. 762.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 718.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 672.

The Súľov Rocks (Slovak: Súľovské skaly) is a 5.43 km² (2.10 sq mi) national nature reserve declared in 1973, located within the Súľov Mountains region (Western Carpathians), in the Bytča district, Žilina region. They are characterized by a rugged relief and take the form of towers, cones, needles, doors, and some rocks resemble figures or animals. The highest peak is Žibrid, at 867 m (2,845 ft).

UKRAINE

UKRAINA / УКРАЇНА

Lviv Oblast.
Kamianets waterfall (Кам'янецький водоспад).
Stamp printed in a minisheet of 4, issued on 18.12.2019.
Face value: 8 Ukrainian hrivnia.
Design: Alexander Kalmykov.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 30,000 copies.
Size: 33 x 27.5 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 1854.
- StampWorld No. 1869.

The Kamianets or Kamianka waterfall (in Ukrainian: Кам'янецький водоспад) is located on the Kamianka River, within the Dubyna National Park, in the Ukrainian Carpathians, in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. The height of the waterfall, which is divided into two parts by a rock, is 7 m (23 ft).

SLOVAKIA

SLOVAKIA / SLOVENSKO.

Splendors of Homeland issues.
Manínska Gorge (Manínska tiesňava).
Second stamp in a set of 2, issued on 18.09.2015.
Face value: 0.90 Euro.
Design: MariánČapka (b. Žilina, 1950). 
Engraving: Rudolf Cigánik (b. Handlová, 1961).
Printing: Photogravure and recess.
Printed by Poštovní tiskárna cenin, as, Praha.
Print: 1,000,000 copies.
Size: 26.5 x 44.1 mm.

Catalogues
- AFA No. 738.
- Michel No. 770.
- POFIS No. 594.
- Scott No. 722.
- StampWorld No. 763.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 719.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 673.

Manínska Gorge (in Slovak, Manínska tiesňava) is a national nature reserve since 1967, and is part of the Strážov Protected Landscape Mountains. It is the narrowest gorge in Slovakia and is located 6 km (3.7 miles) from Považská Bystrica, in the Súľov Mountains (in northwest part of Carpathian range), between the peaks of Veľký (890 m, 2,920 ft) and Malý Manín (812 m, 2,664 ft), which they once formed a continuous ridge of limestone. The gorge was excavated for centuries by the Manín stream; it is 800 m (2,625 ft) long and in some places only a few meters wide. In 1933 a rock was blown up to allow the construction of the paved road that runs through it.

ROMANIA

ROMANIA / ROMÂNIA.

Tourist promotion.
Babele rock formations in the Bucegi Mountains, Central Romania.
Second stamp in a set of 6, issued on 16.04.1971.
Face value: 40 Romanian bani.
Design: Vlasto Stoianov.
Print: 4,000,000 copies.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 2922.
- Scott No. 2236.
- StampWorld No. 2925.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 3800.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2597.

Babele (which means "The old women") is the name of an area on the Bucegi Mountains plateau in Romania, within the South Carpathians. The name comes from some mushroom-shaped rock formations, the result of erosion and variable hardness of the rock layers. Some researchers estimate that the shaping agents were water and wind supported by frost and thaw. The alternation of rocks, sandstones and limestones on the plateau is also taken into account. However, human intervention in finishing in more or less regular ways cannot be denied. So far, no scientific evidence has been able to fully explain this phenomenon, and therefore the legends about these rocks are still developing.

ROMANIA

ROMANIA / ROMÂNIA.

Hydroelectric Power Plants and Dams.
Lake Vidraru and Vidraru Dam.
Fifth stamp in a set of 6, issued on 10.03.1978.
Face value: 2.15 Romanian lei.
Design: Vlasto Stoianov.
Print: 1,000,000 copies.
Printing: Photogravure.
Size: 49 x 34 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 3497.
- Scott No. 2760. (?)
- StampWorld No. 3486.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 3261.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 3093.

Lake Vidraru is an artificial lake created in 1965 in the course of the Argeș River by the Vidraru Dam, in Argeș County, for the production of electricity, irrigation and flood prevention. It is located between the Frunții Mountains and the Ghițu Massif, in the southern Carpathians, and collects the waters of several minor tributaries. The total area of the lake is 8.94 km² (3.45 sq mi), its length is 10.3 km (6.4 mi), the maximum width is 2.2 km (1.4 mi) and its circumference is 28 km (17 mi). Maximum water depth is 155 m (509 ft) near the 166 m (544.6 ft) high curved dam. The volume of water is 465 million cubic meters. Construction of the dam took five and a half years starting in 1960.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

CZECHOSLOVAKIA / ČESKOSLOVENSKO.

Gerlachovský štít (Gerlach Peak), in Tatra mountains, from Vyšné Ružbachy Spa (now in Slovakia).
Fouth stamp in a set of 4, issued on 17.03.1956.
Face value: 1.20 Czechoslovak koruna.
Design: Mario Stretti.
Engraving: Jindra Schmidt.
Print: 3,375,000 copies.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 962.
- Scott No. 743.
- StampWorld No. 958.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 912.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 848.

Gerlachovský štít (Gerlach Peak), at 2,655 m (8,711 ft), is the highest peak in the High Tatras, in Slovakia, and in the entire Carpathian mountain range. The first confirmed ascent was made by Ján (Johann) Still, from the town of Nová Lesná, in 1834. In the Austro-Hungarian Empire it was known as Franz Joseph Peak, in homage to the emperor.

ROMANIA

ROMANIA / ROMÂNIA.

Tourism promotion.
Bicaz (or Izvorul Muntelui) Lake, and Ceahlău Mount.
Fourth stamp in a set of 5, issued on 29.06.1964.
Face value: 1.25 Romanian lei.
Design: A. L. Ionescu and I. Mihăescu.
Printing: Recess.
Print: 500,000 copies.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 2297.
- Scott No. 1652.
- StampWorld No. 2294.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2016.

Lake Bicaz, also known as Izvorul Muntelui, is a 32 km² (12 sq mi) navigable man-made reservoir created by a dam built on the Bistrița River between 1950 and 1960 to generate power at the Bicaz-Stejaru hydroelectric plant. Its maximum depth is 97 m (318 ft). In Potoci, a few kilometers north of the city of Bicaz, there is a biological research facility, equipped with a small submersible used for underwater exploration.

Mount Ceahlău, in the Bistriţa mountain range, division of the Eastern Carpathians, in Neamţ County, has an altitude of 1907 m (6,257 ft). It is integrated into the Ceahlău National Park and has ski slopes.

ROMANIA

ROMANIA / ROMÂNIA.

Tourist promotion.
Bicaz Gorge (Cheile Bicazului), in the Cheile Bicazului-Hășmaș National Park, 
in Neamţ and Harghita provinces (north-east of Romania).
First stamp in a set of 6, issued on 16.04.1971.
Face value: 10 Romanian bani.
Design: Vlasto Stoianov.
Print: 4,000,000 copies.

Catalogues
- Scott No. 2235.
- StampWorld No. 2924.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 3799.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2596.

The Bicaz Gorge is located in the Hășmaș mountain range, on the border of the Neamț and Harghita provinces. The canyon was formed by the Bicaz River, and is a natural gate of obligatory passage between the regions of Moldova and Transylvania. It is located in the Bicaz-Hășmaș National Park (Parcul Național Cheile Bicazului-Hășmaș). This area is part of the great chain of the Carpathian Mountains. A spectacular road runs along the gorge, for about 8 kilometers, between steep slopes and winding curves. It can also be traveled by rail, on the route that runs between Bicaz and Gheorgheni. The national park covers an area of 6,575 hectares (65,750,000 square meter) and is divided into two zones: the special conservation zone (78%), and the protection zone (22%).