Switzerland: New Swiss Definitive Stamps (Swiss Railway Stations)

On 8th September 2016 the Swiss Post issued a new set of definitive stamps with the theme of “Swiss railway stations”. The series will replace all definitive stamps by 2018. Brig, Lucerne, Bellinzona and Geneva are the first to be featured.

Bellinzona railway station (Italian: Stazione di Bellinzona) serves the city of Bellinzona, in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is on the Swiss Federal Railways' Gotthard line.

Stamp:
Swiss Railway Stations "Bellinzona" - Issued: 08-09-2016


UPDATE 08-10-2016:

Some days ago I received another cover with two other stamps of this definitives series.

The left one shows Brig railway station. It is an important railway junction in the municipality of Brig-Glis (French: Brigue-Glis), in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland. Opened in 1906, it is adjacent to the northern portal of the Simplon Tunnel, and is served by three standard gauge lines and two metre gauge lines.

The right one shows Lucerne railway station (German: Bahnhof Luzern). It is a major hub of the rail network of Switzerland, in the city of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne. It is a terminal station serving domestic and international traffic on several rail lines, and is situated in a city centre and waterfront location on the south side of Lake Lucerne.

Stamps:
left: Swiss Railway Stations "Brig" - Issued: 08-09-2016
right: Swiss Railway Stations "Lucerne" - Issued: 08-09-2016


Many thanks to Hansjürg for these nice Cover!

France: The 300th Anniversary of the Battle of Denain

The Battle of Denain was fought on 24 July 1712, as part of the War of the Spanish Succession. It resulted in a French victory under Marshal Villars against Austrian and Dutch forces under Prince Eugene of Savoy. The Mini Sheet Stamp shows a picture of Marshal Villars leads the French charge at the Battle of Denain. A picture from 1839 by Jean Alaux.

Stamps:
left: Chinese New Year "Year of the Tiger" - Issued: 15-01-2010
right: Minisheet The 300th Anniversary of the Battle of Denain - Issued: 12-05-2012


Many thanks to Jean for this nice Cover!

Germany: Siegen

Siegen is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region. The university town (18.600 students in the 2013–2014 winter semester) is the district seat. In 2015 the city population was about 103.000. On the card you see St. Nicholas’ church (Nikolaikirche) with its coronet, the city’s landmark.

Stamp:
Lighthouses "Staberhuk" (from a set of two) - Issued: 07-07-2016

Canada: University of Waterloo

The University of Waterloo (commonly referred to as Waterloo, UW or UWaterloo) is a public research university with a main campus located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The institution was established on 1 July 1957 as the Waterloo College Associate Faculties, a semi-autonomous entity of Waterloo College, then an affiliate of the University of Western Ontario. he university is co-educational, and as of 2016 has 30,600 undergraduate and 5,300 postgraduate students.

Stamp:
Canadian Photography "Grey Owl" - Issued: 13-04-2016


Many thanks to Nancy!

France: Calvi (Corsica)

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to France. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the Italian island of Sardinia. Calvi is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on Corsica. Calvi is also the capital of the Arrondissement of Calvi, which contains, besides the Canton of Calvi, three other cantons: L'Île-Rousse, Belgodère, and Calenzana. According to legend, Christopher Columbus supposedly came from Calvi, which at the time was part of the Genoese Empire. Because the often subversive elements of the island gave its inhabitants a bad reputation, he would have been expected to mask his exact birthplace.

Stamp:
Marianne (Blue) - Issued: 04-09-2015


Thanks to Ramona for this nice card!

USA: "Star Trek" 50th Anniversary

Exactly 50 years ago, on 8th September 1966, a science fiction television series called "Star Trek", debuts on NBC in the United States with its first episode, titled "The Man Trap". Since that Star Trek has been a cult phenomenon for decades. But did you know that after three seasons the original series was canceled in 1969 because of poor ratings? However, today the Star Trek franchise spans a wide range of spin-offs including games, figurines, novels, toys, and comics and addicted millions of so-called "Trekkies". Like Canada earlier this year, the US Postal Service commemorates this with special series of four stamps issued on 2nd September 2016.

I'm very lucky to receive these nice cards today. They show two of the main characters of the series. First, Mr. Spock (played by: Leonard Nimoy) and second Captain Kirk, aka: James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk (played by: William Shatner)

Stamps:
left: North American Wildlife (from a set of 50) - Issued: 13-06-1987
right:  "Star Trek" 50th Anniversary (from a set of four) - Issued: 02-09-2016

Stamps:

left: North American Wildlife (from a set of 50) - Issued: 13-06-1987

right: 2x "Star Trek" 50th Anniversary (from a set of four) - Issued: 02-09-2016 

UPDATE 27-01-2017:

Some days ago I received this nice card. It shows the most famous characters of the Star Trek TV Series. Top left is Nyota Uhura. The character was portrayed by Nichelle Nichols through the sixth Star Trek film. Top right shows Dr. Leonard Horatio "Bones" McCoy. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series.

Stamp:
"Star Trek" 50th Anniversary (from a set of four) - Issued: 02-09-2016 with First Day Postmark of the Hollywood, CA Poststation

Many thanks to Eric for these great Cards and Stamps with Cancellation on First Day!

Greece: Chania (Crete)

Chania (Greek: Χανιά) is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north coast of the island, about 70 km (43 mi) west of Rethymno and 145 km (90 mi) west of Heraklion. The official population of the municipal unit (the former municipality) is 53,910, while the municipality has 108,642 (2011) inhabitants. Besides others, the city is twinned with Wellington, New Zealand.

Stamp:
Tourism (from a set of three) - Issued: 08-08-2014

Germany: The Bayreuth Festival

The Bayreuth Festival (German: Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special festival to showcase his own works, in particular his monumental cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and Parsifal. Performances take place in a specially designed theatre, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. This year's Festival took place from 25th July to 28th August 2016.

Stamp:
Flowers "Convallaria majalis" - Issued: 06-05-2010 with special postmark

Liechtenstein: Flag-Card

I received this nice card some weeks ago from Rosmarie. It shows the flag of Liechtenstein. The flag consists of two horizontal blue and red bands charged with a gold crown at the canton. Adopted in 1921 after being officially enshrined into the nation's constitution, it has been the flag of the Principality of Liechtenstein since that year. The crown was added to the flag in 1937 after the country found out at the Summer Olympics held the previous year that their flag was identical to the flag of Haiti.

Stamp:
Archaeological Finds in Liechtenstein - Utensils (from a set of three) - Issued: 07-03-2016


Thanks to Rosmarie for this card!