Our neighbours
Germany issue a lot of special cancellations each year. There are also some,
although few, permanent postmarks. On 8 April 2017 a permanent pictorial postmark
was issued for the island Neuwerk in Hamburg. The postmark will be put on mail
that is put into the mailbox on the island. Apparently it is not possible to
send requests for a postmark to Neuwerk. At the Sonderstempelstelle in Berlin collectors
could get their mail postmarked for 28 days, but only with the first day of
use.
Neuwerk (3 km²,
39 inhabitants) is a tidal island in the Wadden Sea on the German North Sea
coast. Neuwerk is located 13 km northwest of Cuxhaven, between the Weser and
Elbe estuaries. The distance to Hamburg's center is about 120 km. Administratively,
Neuwerk forms a homonymous quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany, which is
part of the borough Hamburg-Mitte. This quarter includes the islands of
Scharhörn and Nigehörn, which are bird sanctuaries and closed to the public.
All three islands and the Wadden Sea around them form the Hamburg Wadden Sea
National Park.
On the island is
a lighthouse. The first fortified tower was built by Hamburg merchants in
1299-1310 as the new work (Neuwerk). The current tower dates to around 1370. In
1648 the tower received a beacon fore that was lit at night. The tower was
converted into a lighthouse in 1814.
For this
postmark I used the normal 90 cent definitive from the flower series.
Page about
Neuwerk on the website of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (in German): hamburg.de/neuwerk.
Date sent: 18
April 2017
Date postmark: 8
April 2017
Date received: 2
May 2017
Number of days:
14
Envelope in
collection: 25
No comments:
Post a Comment