HABRIA '11 Stamp Exhibition Special Postmark in Germany

Thank you very much Martin for this new mail! :)  It features a special pictorial postmark marking the participation of the Deutsche Post at the HABRIA 11 Bilateral Stamp Exhibition (18-20 November 2011) held by the Hanover Stamp Club of 1886 at the Hanover Congress Centrum.  Exhibitors from the UK and Germany participated in this event.

The Old Heligoland Lighthouse in 1903.

The postmark represents the old Heligoland Lighthouse (German Leuchtturm Helgoland), located on Germany's only offshore island, Heligoland.  The Prussian administration ordered the construction of a new lighthouse in 1902, to replace an even older one built by the British when Heligoland was under their rule.  The lighthouse was in service from 1902 until its destruction during World War II in 1945.  A square-shaped anti-aircraft tower made of heavily reinforced concrete was the only building to resist the bombings and was converted into a makeshift lighthouse in 1952.

The stamp depicts the Dahmeshöved Lighthouse, from the 2011 Lighthouse series (Date of Issue: July 7).  This lighthouse is situated in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea coast.

Mailing date: 18 November 2011

Delivery date: -5 December 2011

Native Animals in Germany

Deutsche Post issued on 8 June 2006 a set of 5 postage stamps, designed by Gerhard Lienemeyer and depicting Native Animals of Germany. The Pine marten (Martes martes) and the Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) are illustrated on the above mail.

Thank you very much Martin! :) Again another nice cover from Hessisch Lichtenau.

Mailing date: 23 November 2011

Delivery date: 30 November 2011

Women's World Cup 2011 in Germany

The sixth FIFA Women's World Cup was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany.  Sixteen teams took part in this competition held at 9 different venues all around Germany.  Japan won the final against the United States on penalty shoot-out, and became the first Asian team to win a FIFA World Cup.

To mark this event, Deutsche Post issued on April 17, 2011 two stamps of 45 and 55 cents.  The stamps were designed by Henning Wagenbreth and form part of the 2011 edition of the yearly sports series.

Martin sent me those 2 nice stamps on the cover above from Hessisch Lichtenau, a small town in central Germany.  Thank you very much! :)

Mailing date:  27 OCT 2011

Delivery date: 04 NOV 2011

Postcard from Gotha, Germany

Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany.  It is the capital of the district of Gotha.  Thank you Jiayi for this nice postcard showing the downtown of Gotha. :)

Jiayi used a stamp issued jointly by Germany and Japan in 2011 to commemorate 150 years of diplomatic relations between those two countries.  The stamp depicts the Regensburg Cathedral, built between 1273 and 1520, in the medieval centre of the city of Regensburg - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The second stamp of this set illustrates Yakushi-ji Temple in Nara City, Southern Japan built from 680 till 697.

Mailing date: 03 October 2011

Delivery date: 18 October 2011

Lighthouses in Germany

Deutsche Post issued on June 7, 2011 a set - the second for 2011 - of two special postage stamps depicting Arngast and Dahmeshöved lighthouses.  This issue is part of the "Bacon" series which aims to raise awareness of the diversity of German lighthouses.

55c - The Arngast lighthouse is located about 4.5 km away from South Beach.  Since its commissioning in 1910, this maritime signpost is in continuous operation.  The 36-meter-high lighthouse is part of the traffic safety system at the Jade.  Its white light has a range of 21.0 nautical miles (approximately 40 km).  In 2003 the Arngast lighthouse entered the list of Germany's cultural monuments.

90c - The Dahmeshöved lighthouse was built in the years 1878-1879 at the Bay of Lubeck in Schleswig-Holstein and was put into operation in February 1880.  The octagonal lighthouse is built of red brick and has a round iron lantern.  The building is approximately 29 m high.  Due to its location, a few metres above sea level, this lighthouse has the mounting height with 34 m above sea level.  Its white light has a range of 23 nautical miles (approx. 43 km).  The lighthouse is open for public since January 1, 2003. 

Thank you very much Martin! :)

Mailing date: September 3, 2011

Delivery date: September 14, 2011

Loriot & Wum from Germany

Loriot (Vicco von Bülow) is a famous German cartoonist who created the cartoon dog Wum, also known as The Talking Dog.  This cover, sent on January 7 fom Wemding, feautures one of the four Welfare stamps issued on January 3, 2011.  The stamp is about Wum on the racetrack (Auf der rennbahn).  Thank you very much Franz: it's my first mail from your country.