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Saturday, November 13, 2021

Austria: Castles

On 10th September I got four postcards from Austria and as they are all connected to each other, I will show them in one post.

The first card shows various views of the Waldviertel, the northwestern part of the Austrian State of Lower Austria.

The stamp shows Burg Rapottenstein, which you can also find on the card. It was never conquered and is one of the best preserved castles in Austria.

The second card shows some views of the Austrian State of Salzburg. I have visited this state multiple times, but saw not much more than the capital, the city of Salzburg.

The stamp on this card shows Schloss Moosham in the State of Salzburg. It is still in private property, but can be visited and was used as filming location. In the late 17th century the castle gained notoriety by serving as the administrative center during the Zaubererjackl witch trials. These trials led to the execution of 139 people.

Shown on the third card is the Kufstein Fortress. The Kufstein Fortress was first mentioned in the 13th century. In its history it was often besieged and its possesion changed between Austria and Bavaria. Today it is one of the most famous sights of Tyrol. I see this castle every year on my way to my summer holidays in Tyrol and visited it once in 2016.

You probably already guessed by now, but the connection between the cards are the stamps. The four stamps were issued in a souvenir sheet on 4th September 2021 and the special about them is the art style, as they are all designed in the style of the Dispenser stamps, which apparently gained some popularity among stamp collectors. I wrote a bit about Dispenser stamps here. This stamp of course shows Kufstein Fortress and like all the others it was cancelled with the First Day Special Postmark.

The last card shows castles in Carinthia.

The last stamp shows Falkenstein Castle. I think it is funny to compare the image on the stamp with that one on the card in the lower left corner. Here it looks like the castle is located deep in the Alps, but on the card you can see a large bridge in the background.


Thank You very much Anita!

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