Germany - World Heritage Day 2017

Since 2005 Germany celebrates a UNESCO World Heritage Day. Every year on the first Sunday in June events are held in World Heritage sites across the country. A main event is hosted by one of the sites. The initiative came from the German UNESCO Commission and UNESCO World Heritage Sites Germany.

In 2017 the German Post was present at two events: Clausthal-Zellerfeld and Sassnitz. The first event was linked to the World Heritage stamp issued on 13 April 2017. At the time of issue there were two events in the Historic City of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg. The third part of the World Heritage site is the Upper Harz Water Management System that was the location of the World Heritage Day 2017. The Upper Harz water-management system, through its extensive surface area, including a large number of artificial ponds and ditches, together with drains and underground shafts, bears testimony to the importance of the management and use of water for mining purposes, from the Middle Ages until the end of the 20th century.

The postmark designed by Wolff in Berlin shows the Emperor William Shaft (Schacht Kaiser Wilhelm II). It was the central hoisting and man-riding shaft of the lead and zinc mine in Clausthal-Zellerfeld in the Upper Harz in central Germany. It was located on the Burgstatt Lode (Burgstätter Gangzug). The surface installations were located in the borough of Clausthal on Erzstraße 24, near the present-day mining institute of the University of Technology.

The second postmark shows the Jasmund National Park (Nationalpark Jasmund), a nature reserve on the Jasmund peninsula, in the northeast of Rügen island in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is famous for containing the largest chalk cliffs in Germany, the Königsstuhl. These cliffs are up to 161 m above the Baltic Sea. The beech forests behind the cliffs are also part of the national park.

Consisting of only 30 km², this is the smallest national park in Germany. The park was founded in 1990 by the last government of East Germany (DDR) prior to the German reunification. On 25 June 2011 the beech forest in the park was added to UNESCO World Heritage List as an extension of the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany.

The postmark shows the Königsstuhl. It was designed by Wolff in Berlin.

Date sent: 29 May 2017

Date postmark: 4 June 2017

Date received: 9 June 2017

Number of days: 11

Envelope in collection: 152

Date sent: 29 May 2017

Date postmark: 4 June 2017

Date received: 9 June 2017

Number of days: 11

Envelope in collection: 153