POLAND

POLAND / POLSKA.

Airplanes over landscapes.
Karkonosze Mountains.
Airmail. Fifth stamp in a set of 6, issued on 06.12.1957.
Face value: 4 złotych.
Design: Jerzy Miller (1921-1985).
Engraving: Marian Romuald Polak (?-1966).
Printed by PWPW (Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych), Warszawa.
Printing: Photogravure and recess.
Print: 7,645,000 copies.
Size: 26 x 52 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 929.
- Fischer No. 894.
- Michel No. 1039.
- Scott No. C45.
- StampWorld No. 1026.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1039.
- Yvert et Tellier No. PA45.

Karkonosze is a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system. The Czech-Polish border, which divides the historic regions of Bohemia and Silesia, runs along the main ridge. The highest peak, Sněžka (Polish: Śnieżka), is the Czech Republic's highest point with an elevation of 1,603 m (5,259 ft). On both sides of the border, large areas of the mountains are designated national parks (the Krkonoše National Park in the Czech Republic and the Karkonosze National Park in Poland). and these together constitute a cross-border biosphere reserve under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme.

-
Thanks to Sylvester Dulewski for his contribution (https://birdsposta.blogspot.com/).

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

CZECHOSLOVAKIA / ČESKOSLOVENSKO.

International Trade Fair of Brno.
Siplified map of Europe.
First stamp in a set of 3, issued on 14.08.1961.
Face value: 30 haléřů of Czechoslovak koruna.
Design and engraving: Jaroslav Goldschmied.
Printing: Photogravure and recess.
Print: 3,750,000 copies.
Size: 44 x 27 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 1129.
- Michel No. 1283.
- POFIS No. 1195.
- Scott No. 1060.
- StampWorld No. 1280.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1240.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 1162.

The city of Brno has a tradition of fairs, which is inseparable from the industrial development of the city, an important industrial, scientific and logistical center in Central Europe. Annual markets and trade exhibitions have been held in Brno since 1243. As a result of the boom in the textile industry in the city, the first trade fairs were held in the 18th century. Since 1821 regular trade exhibitions have been held in Brno. Wholesale traders from Vienna, Linz, Saxony, Hungary and Turkey attended the annual markets in the city 104,000 visitors attended the Imperial Jubilee Exhibition in 1888, the largest exhibition held in Brno. From 1922 to 1927 the Brno Annual Exposition Markets were held regularly, and the tradition has continued until now with the International Trade Fair in the Brno Exhibition Centre (opened in 1928). Brno is also known as "The capital of trade fairs".

-
Thanks to Kazimierz R. Leszczyński for his contribution (http://leszkarozdub.blogspot.com).

GERMANY

GERMANY / DEUTSCHLAND.

Saxon Switzerland National Park (Nationalpark Sächsische Schweiz).
Minisheet issued on 16.07.1998.
Face value: 1,10 + 2,20 German marks.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 8,000,000 copies.
Size: 105 x 70 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 2938/2939.
- Michel No. BL44.
- Scott No. 2009A.
- StampWorld No. 1873/1874.
- Stanley Gibbons No. MS 2860.
- Yvert et Tellier No. BF 43.

Saxon Switzerland National Park (German: Nationalpark Sächsische Schweiz), established in 1990, is located in the German Free State of Saxony, near the Saxon capital Dresden. It covers two separated areas of 93.5 km² (36.1 sq mi) in the heart of the German part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, which is often called Saxon Switzerland (German: Sächsische Schweiz). Saxon Switzerland is an intensively fissured and rocky canyon landscape. The highest peak of the National Park is at 556 m (1,814 ft) above sea level. The National Park adjoins Bohemian Switzerland National Park (Czech: České Švýcarsko) in the Czech Republic.

CZECH REPUBLIC

CZECH REPUBLIC / ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA.

EUROPA 1999.
Šumava National Park (Národní park Šumava).
First stamp in a set of 2, issued on 05.05.1999.
Face value: 11 Czech koruna.
Design: Albert Fuchs.
Engraving: Václav Fajt (b. 1952).
Printing: Photogravure and recess.
Print: 806,400 copies.

Catalogues
- AFA No. 215.
- Michel No. 215.
- Scott No. 3089.
- StampWorld No. 215.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 235.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 210.

The Šumava National Park (Czech: Národní park Šumava), or Bohemian Forest National Park, is a wooded area in the Czech Republic, where a special regime of environmental protection is established. In 1990, the area was designated as a UNESCO biosphere reserve, and on March 20, 1991 it was established as a national park. It is located in the South Bohemian regions of the Czech Republic along the border with Germany (where the smaller adjacent Bavarian Forest National Park lies) and Austria. Its area is 680.64 km² (262.80 sq mi). Apart from fir trees and mountain forests, the most important are moors, peat bogs and karst lakes. The Park is  at an altitude of between 600 m (1,968 ft) and 1,378 m (4,521 ft) of the Plechého peak.

VATICAN CITY

VATICAN CITY / CIVITATIS VATICANÆ - CITTÀ DEL VATICANO.

1100th anniversary of the apostolate of the Saints Cyril and Methodius, 863-1963.
Relief map of the Great Moravia.
Second stamp in a set of 3, issued on 22.11.1963.
Face value: 70 Italian lire.
Printed by I.P.S. (Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato), Officina Carte Valori, Roma.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 1,326,000 copies.
Size: 30 x 40 mm.

Catalogs
- Bolaffi No. 373.
- Michel No. 437.
- Sassone No. 370.
- Scott No. 370.
- StampWorld No. 436.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 417.
- Unificato No. 370.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 388.

Cyril (826-869) and Methodius (815-885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited with devising the Glagolitic script, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic. Both are venerated in the Orthodox Church as saints. In 1880, Pope Leo XIII introduced their feast into the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, and in 1980, Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia. The exact ethnic origins of the brothers are unknown, there is controversy as to whetherwere of Slavic or Byzantine Greek origin, or both. In 862, the brothers began the work which would give them their historical importance: that year Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia requested that Emperor Michael III and the Patriarch Photius send missionaries to evangelize his Slavic subjects. His motives in doing so were probably more political than religious.

-
Thanks to Vairo Gregori for his contribution (https://ternifil.org/).

CZECH REPUBLIC

CZECH REPUBLIC / ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA.

EUROPA 1999.
Podyjí National Park (Národní park Podyjí).
Second stamp in a set of 2, issued on 05.05.1999.
Face value: 17 Czech koruna.
Design: Albert Fuchs.
Engraving: Václav Fajt (b. 1952).
Printing: Photogravure and recess.
Print: 712,000 copies.

Catalogues
- AFA No. 216.
- Michel No. 216.
- Scott No. 3090.
- StampWorld No. 216.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 236.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 211.

Podyjí National Park (in Czech: Národní park Podyjí), formally declared on July 1, 1991, is in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Adjacent to Austria's Thayatal National Park on the border, together they are referred to as the Inter-National park. It protects near-natural forests along the deep Dyje River valley. It has an area of 63 km² (24 sq mi) and buffer zone of 29 km² (11 sq mi). The park lies in an elevation range of 534–214 m (1,752–702 ft).