2 сovers from Poland

On the 28-th and 30-th I got these nice covers fro Poland. The first registered one represents many stamps concluding 2 devoted to the European Woman Volleyball championship and  European Man Basketball Championship. I've not fot sport stamps from the Beijing Olympiad, so I was really glad to supplement my sport topic! The other stamp on this cover is devoted to the 20 anniversary of the forming of the first goverment in non-communistic Poland. It was a very imporstant event for that country since it gave rise of a new democratic Poland.

The other cover's mini sheet is also devoted to a very important event in Polish history - the Outbreak of the Warsaw uprising, which took place in 1944 and was directed against fasсism occupation in order to show the world and themself that "Poland has not yet perished"  (a line from the Polish hymn). 

Historic events is one of my favourite topics, so I was looking forward to these stamp and was really glad to get them!

Thank you, Andrzej! 

POLAND 2009 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP IN WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Poczta Polska accompanies all of the numerous major sporting events in Poland, an example of which is the postage stamp issued on account of the 26th European Championship in Women's Volleyball. Between 25 September and 4 October matches took place in Łódź, Katowice, Bydgoszcz and Wrocław with the participation of 16 among the best European national teams. Like 2 years ago, the Italian team won the gold medal beating Holland 3:0. Polish volleyball fans also had reasons for joy as the Polish team took 3rd place.

EuroBasket 2009 

European Championships in men's basketball are held every two years. Poland hosted the competitions once in 1963 (in the city of Wrocław), and again this year between 7 and 20 September, with matches in several cities throughout the country ( Katowice, Łódź, Bydgoszcz, Wrocław, Warsaw, Poznań and Gdańsk). In the final match the Spanish team beat the representation of Serbia. This year's championships were assessed very well by both the participants and FIBA Europe (the International Basketball Federation). 

New postage stamp and First Day Cover 

On account of the EuroBasket 2009 championships Poczta Polska issued a stamp with a First Day Cover featuring a motif of a ball tossed into the basket. The stamps were printed on sheets of 12 pieces, each sheet containing the title of the issue and an inscription reading "BASKETFIL International Philatelic Exhibition Poznań 2009". The issue is accompanied by an occasional date stamp, in use in the Poznań 1 Post Office.

12 SEPTEMBER 1989. THE TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF FORMING THE GOVERNMENT AFTER THE JUNE ELECTIONS

12 September 2009 celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the forming of the first non-communist government brought into being as a consequence of the June Elections in 1989. The events, which made that happen, were initiated by the strikes of the shipyard workers which ended up establishing "Solidarity" and signing the August Agreement with the communistic authorities. They were followed by the martial law and the Round Table deciding to hold first free elections to the Sejm and Senate.

THE 65th ANNIVERSARY OF THE OUTBREAK OF THE WARSAW UPRISING

This year witnesses the 65th anniversary of the great patriotic spurt of Polish people, mainly dwellers of Warsaw, which was aimed at the German occupant. This liberating fight initiated and managed by the Home Army (Armia Krajowa, AK) and joined also by other underground organizations was widely supported by the civil population of the capital city and intended to remind the world that the heart of our homeland still beats, that "Poland has not yet perished". The important role in this national outbreak was played by children and youth along with their older colleagues to which people of Warsaw pay homage every year in the insurgent quarter at the Powązki Cemetery

Cover from Spain

On the 10 of December after 13 days of travelling I got this cover from Spain. It's devoted to the civil values such as fight against climate change, the idea "Plant for the planet', reconcillation of work and family life. I consider them to be rather important topic for our everyday life! Following them will really help to make our life easy and comfortable and our Earth - better place to live. I also should notice the original ideas of the stamps! They are really amazing! Thank you very much, David!

"¿Tú no?"



The idea for the Plant for the Planet was inspired by Professor Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate for 2004 and organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The objective is to plant at least one thousand million trees worldwide each year. In Spain, the campaign has had a very positive reception and 25 million trees have already been planted in one year and 100 million more are to be planted in the following years. Many big companies collaborate in this campaign amongst which is Correos, who gives part of the sales from the eco-friendly packing boxes to the foundation “Forests of the Earth”.


"DESCO2NECTA"



The fight against climate change is one of the challenges that faces mankind and the United Nations has made an appeal to us all to change our consumer habits and reduce the CO2 footprint. The European Union is one of the international organizations committed with the environment and has implemented obligations to the member states to control green house emissions and reach the following objectives: use less polluting energy sources, use alternative means of transport, make companies responsible for an efficient use of energy and their CO2 emission without jeopardizing their competitiveness, place town planning and agriculture at the service of the environment and create favourable conditions for research and innovation.


"Conciliación Vida Laboral"



To make possible reconciliation of work and family life, fighting discrimination between working men and women and help both partners fulfil their household obligations is a main objective. The new legislation acknowledges a flexible working schedule as well as maternity, paternity leaves and time off to look after one’s family. Equal opportunities for parents and the co-participation in childcare from the moment of childbirth is now becoming a reality.
 

Cover from Italy

On the 10-th of December  after 17 days of travelling I got this letter from Italy. this time it's devoted to the outstanding scientist - Charles Darwin. I believe there is no need to write about his genious - all of us know his theory of evolution. There is some exact information about the stamp:

In the foreground is a portrait of the scientist Charles Darwin, while in the background is a detail of the title page of the first edition of his work ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, published in 1859. At the bottom on the left are a number of outlines representing the evolution of the human race, from the first hominids to homo sapiens. 

Thank you very much, Lorenzo!

Cover from Brazil

On the 16-th of December after 23 (! one more anti-record) I got my first cover from Brazil! There are the exactly stamps I wanted! The first is devoted to Russian-Brazil cooperation in space investigation. The other  2 are devoted to the International Polar Year - also the topic I collect the stamps from! As you can see, the stamps have special cancellation! Thank you very much Ricardo for the amazing cover!

Cover from Spain

On the 16-th of December after 13 days of travelling I got this letter from Spain. There were 2 Europa 2006 Spanish  stamps, devoted to the topic "Integration". Of course I was really glad to get it for my europa collection is enlarging and the stamp on the cover is very interesting for me as well. It celebrates the 60 anniversary of The Counsil of Europe. Thank you  very much, Jose Luis! 

On occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Council of Europe, Correos issues a commemorative stamp depicting the logo of this public institution with the inscription 60 years 2009. 

In 1949, ten countries signed the Treaty of London establishing the Council of Europe. In article 1 of its Statute it states its aim to “achieve a greater unity between its members and to promote awareness and encourage the development of Europe's cultural identity and diversity and to favour its economic and social progress.” 

60 years after its foundation, The Council of Europe has a genuine pan-European dimension with 47 members, representing 800 million citizens and 5 observer countries: the Holy See, the United States, Canada, Japan, and Mexico. Its headquarters are in Strasbourg and its aims are to protect human rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law, to promote awareness and encourage the development of Europe's cultural identity and diversity, to find common solutions to the challenges facing European society: such as discrimination against minorities, xenophobia, intolerance, terrorism, trafficking in human beings, organised crime and to consolidate democratic stability in Europe by backing political, legislative and constitutional reform.

The logo is the Council of Europe's own distinctive sign and was adopted in May 1999. The Council shares the flag, twelve golden stars on a blue background, with the European Union and the prelude to the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's 9th Symphony as the European anthem.

 

On the 8-th of December after 14 days of travelling I got these 2 nice covers, sent from Poland. There are 2 stamps which continue the series of “The capitals of EU countries”. Now it’s complete! The other stamp represents "Polish traces in Europe". This time Polish Post issued the stamp, devoted to Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki - the interpreter of Russian-Ukrainian origin which took part in one of Polish-Turkian war and awarded a sum of money and some packs of coffee. That's how he became the first European coffee house owner. 

Thank you very much, Andrzej!

Bratislava - the Castle 

Bratislava, in the past also known as Pressburg, Pozsóny or Posonium, is a formerly Hungarian city located on the Danube river. It became the capital city of Slovakia in 1918 following the breakdown of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, it wasn’t until 1993, following the hardships of war and the communist regime, that political changes occurred allowing the city to become the capital of the autonomous Slovakian state. 
Fortified outposts have been built on the Castle Hill since as early as 9th century as the city was on numerous occasions a target for raids (among others by the Tartars). The construction of the castle begun in the 12th century and the present shape of the building comes from the 18th century, when it was added with baroque features during the reign of Maria Theresa of Austria. The castle suffered serious damage during a fire in 1811 and wasn’t rebuilt again until the 1950s. Presently it houses, among others, the Museum of History.

Warsaw - the Castle Square

Although Warsaw was founded as early as in the 13th century, the significance of the city grew considerably when it became the capital of Poland and the home of the royal court (which had until then been located in Krakow) in 1596. King Sigismund III Vasa settled in the royal palace (which had formerly served as a castle and was rebuilt for that purpose) in the year 1611. The reign of Sigismund III Vasa and later on his son, Władysław IV Vasa, was a golden age for Warsaw, a time when the city flourished with rapid growth and development. 
The Castle Square depicted on the stamp opens the way to the Old Town. The column crowned with a sculpture of Sigismund III, whose construction was ordered by Władysław IV, was erected between 1643 and 1644. The Royal Palace, destroyed in World War II, wasn’t rebuilt until the 1970s. Both the palace and the entire Old Town are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.