Germany - Erfurt - Philatelie-Shop

Deutsche Post has established special philately windows in 26 major post offices throughout the country. Each uses a datestamp with the letters 'ps' in it to distinguish it from normal datestamps. The letters ps stand for Philatelie-Shop. There seems to be one exception and that is the one in Erfurt. When the envelope had arrived back to me I noticed that on the card there was a second imprint of the postmark and on the back was the text "Wir haben nur diesen Stempel am Phila-Schalter" ("We have only this postmark at the philatelic window").

The Philatelie-Shop in Erfurt can be found in the Postbank building at Anger, the central square in Erfurt, lying between Erfurt Cathedral and the central station. Erfurt Cathedral houses Gloriosa, the world's largest free-swinging bell, made by the Dutch bellfounder Geert van Wou in 1497.

The address for postmark requests is: Anger 66, 99084 Erfurt, Germany. Opening hours: Mo-Fr 10.00-18.00 h., Sat 10.00-13.00 h.

For the envelope I used the new definitive 90 cent stamp from the flower series, issued on 11 May 2017 that I bought at the Philatelie-Shop in Essen on the first day of issue.

Date sent: 11 May 2017

Date postmark: 17 May 2017

Date received: 20 May 2017

Number of days: 9

Envelope in collection: 90