Railway line - Pinkafeld to Szombathely

An envelope from my dear friend in Austria - re enacting a history 130 years later ! 

Szombathely is the oldest recorded city in Hungary. It was founded by the Romans in 45 AD under the name of Colonia Claudia Savariensum (Claudius' Colony of Savarians), and it was the capital of the Pannonia Superior province of the Roman Empire. 

Pinkafeld is a city in Burgenland in Austria and the second largest settlement (after Oberwart) in the district Oberwart. The federal state of Burgenland is the smallest of Austria’s nine states . Until 1921 the area was part of Hungary, but was transferred to Austria as a result of WWI ( after some fighting and a plebescite in Sopron).

 

In hungarian times it was somewhat of a backwater, very rural. At the end of the 19th century, after a series of calamities claimed the lives of the people there,  the Habsburg empire decided to relocate Germans to the area, since they were good at farming and also built railways to make it easier to bring the agricultural products to the cities. 

The railway line was established towards the end of 1880s and ran from Pinkafeld till Szombathely. But after WWI, Burgenland became part of Austria, while the larger cities like Sopron or Szombathely remained in Hungary. The railway had to cross an international border. After WWII and with the communist regime in Hungary cross border travel completely stopped. Today the line isn' t used anymore, but there are some talks to re-open it.

A special postmark was issued by Austria on 31-Jan-2019 commomerating the 130 years of the Szombathely Pinkafeld Railway line. The stamp is a private ( Personal Stamp ) one for the occasion. They are printed by the Austrian Post and are officially valide but are not for sale at post offices. This service is mostly used by communities or, like here , by the stamp collecting club of Pinkafeld, to commemorate a local event. The envelope was posted at Pinkafeld to Szombathely ( delivery postmark on the reverse ). It is interesting that the cover has not been claimed and resent to the sender .

Thanks Tom for this special cover :) 

Gandhi and Hungary

A first day cover from Hungary 🇭🇺 

Hungary issued a stamp for 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma on 21-02-2019 

• Designer: Eszter Domé
• Printer: Pénzjegynyomda Zrt
• Process: Offset
• Colours: 4 Colours
• Size: 30 x 40 mm

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was known to his followers by the honorific name Mahatma Gandhi (meaning“great soul”), was a lawyer, politician and spiritual leader of India, who became a key figure in the movement to achieve Indian independence through non-violent protest. He was born in the state of Gujarat in British India in 1869. He sought to achieve his aims only through peaceful means and advocated abstinence, forgiveness and love. His name is synonymous with the quest for and love of peace. In 2007 the United Nations declared Gandhi’s birthday to be the International Day of Non-Violence.

The miniature sheet contains four identical stamps on which Mahatma Gandhi is giving a namaskar, the greeting of respect made by pressing the palms together. The first day cover and the special postmark likewise depict Gandhi conducting activities typical of him: walking and weaving. The latter is interesting as he himself wove and encouraged the revival of traditional crafts in India including weaving.

Hungary Post has issued stamps on Gandhi and several other Indian leaders and the Hungarian Parliament celebrated the Mahatma’s birthday on October 2, 2018 with floral tributes . The Royal Palace was lit up with the Indian flag 🇮🇳 colour lights - deep saffron , white and green for the occasion ! 

Thanks Krisztina ( and her husband) for this cover ! I appreciate the efforts you took to get this cover in time and neat too :) 

Frama labels of Hungary

A cover from Hungary with frama labels of Sopron city , Hungary 🇭🇺- the postage cost of 550 Ft is printed on the label 

Another interesting label is the Air Mail label with priority written in Hungarian - Elsöbbség 

Hungarian is a Finno-Ugric language spoken in Hungary and several neighbouring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Linguistic connections between Hungarian and other Uralic languages were noticed in the 1670s, and the family itself (then called Finno-Ugric) was established in 1717, but the classification of Hungarian as a Uralic/Finno-Ugric rather than Turkic language continued to be a matter of impassioned political controversy throughout the 18th and into the 19th centuries.

Thanks Tom for this cover and bringing the Hungarian language’s uniqueness to my attention :) 

Karácsony from Hungary

A beautiful cover from Hungary that screams “ Merry Christmas “ 

Being in India, I really don’t know how the Christmas season is in the snow laden countries. They are all images I have read from books , magazines and those that I have seen in movies. 

I had asked a friend how the Christmas season is in her country , and she sent me this envelope with a note inside about how it’s celebrated in Hungary and also a recipe for a cake :) 

The festive stamp of 2018 depicts a snowman while the first day cover shows children and animals decorating a Christmas tree together. The special postmark is a storybook reindeer motif. The stamp was designed by the graphic artist Edit Szalma and was produced by Pátria Nyomda Zrt.

The stamp design of 2015 Christmas stamp shows reindeer prancing playfully in a snowy winter landscape. The stamp was designed by the graphic artist Ágnes Berta and produced by Codex Értékpapírnyomda Zrt. 

The Christmas 2013 stamps are shaped stamps and one of them is angel shaped stamps 

Thanks Christina for this lovely envelope ! Karácsony ! 

The postal service of Hungary

A vintage cover with new stamps from Hungary ! 

The cover was sent by Christina , who had bought the cover from an old lady who had got it herself when she was very young !! So the cover must be surely more than 60 years old :) 

The stamps on the cover is based on the postal theme - featuring the postman hat, carriage , letterbox , postmen and Postcrossing stamp 

The HUF 10 stamp depicts a horse-drawn parcel delivery cart which served areas not covered by the railway network. In cities it collected letters and delivered parcels from the start but its use gradually declined until it was finally phased out (in Budapest in 1958).

The main motif of the HUF 30 stamp is a post box with an emptying mechanism, which was introduced in 1894 and significantly accelerated the collection of mail. These post boxes became such characteristic items of the Hungarian Post due to their red colour and distinctive shape with a tent roof and ridge decoration that similar post boxes are still in use today.

The HUF 200 stamp shows a cap of the uniform introduced for postal carriers. It was made of dark blue cloth and was modelled on the shako, the military cap of the Hungarian hussar. A golden button bearing the crown and post horn is linked by a metal thread braid to the rosette, which is also made of a metal thread and is decorated with the Hungarian royal crown. The metal control number sewn above the black peak served to identify deliverymen in the capital city and was in use until the Second World War.

The three stamps are part of the Hungary definitives of 2017 - on Postal History 

Designer :Barnabas baticz 

Production: Pàtria Nyomada Zrt

The 120 Ft stamp is part of a miniature sheet issued to comommerate the 150 years of Hungarian post depicting the various postal vehicles used through this period of time 

The stamp on our cover is the third stamp on the top row - depicts postmen setting off on their rounds by Csepel bicycle. The bicycle has been used as a mail transport vehicle, mainly by delivery workers, since the 1890s.

2018 - Postcrossing stamp 

Have already written in detail in this blog about this stamp including the postman , the bridge and monuments on this stamp :) 

A beautiful cover with different aspects of postal system in Hungary ! 

Post from Hungary

I love the Hungarian Postcrossing stamp. It has so much detail and probably the entire cityscape of Budapest in it :) 

Buda and Pest are cut across by the river Danube over which lies the Liberty bridge ( constructed towards the end of 19th century ) by Emperor Franz Joseph. After the WW2 it was renamed as Liberty bridge to honour the Soviets who liberated Hungary from the Axis powers ( though sentiments changed in a span of 10 years ) 

On the Buda side is the Gellért Hill on top of which is the Liberty statue honouring the Soviets ! The stamp shows a Hungarian postman carrying his mail on a bicycle riding on the Pest side of the Liberty bridge with the Liberty statue and the hill in view :) 

I received the cover together with this postcard showing a very similar view - Thanks Christy ! 

This is a postcard of the Hungarian parliament building on the banks of Danube , probably as seen from the Gellért Hill ! Thanks Zsolti for the cover and postcard ! 

Designer : Zsolt Vidak 

Date of issue : 02-feb - 2018

Face value : HUF 120 ( for a domestic postcard ) 

War in Hungary ...

A surprise cover from Hungary ! 

A good friend from Austria lives very close to the Hungarian border. Knowing that I love world war stamps and history , he went across the border to post this beautiful cover with three stamps - all related to the wars of Austria Hungary Empire ! 

1. World war -1 broke out 100 years ago - The main motif of the stamp is a mounted officer's medal group, and a part of a contemporary map can be seen on the background print. The First World War - due to its widespread nature - made it necessary to change and extend the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy's system of Orders, Decorations and Medals in several respects. 

The medals are suspended on trifold ribbons characteristic of Austro-Hungarian honours, in the following order:

 Imperial Austrian Order of Leopold, 

Knight's Cross with War Decoration and Swords;

 Imperial Order of the Iron Crown,

 3rd Class with War Decoration and Swords;

 Cross of Military Merit, 3rd Class with War Decoration and Swords; 

Silver Medal of Military Merit with War Ribbon and Swords; 

Bronze Medal of Military Merit with War Ribbon and Swords; 

Charles' Troops' Cross; 

Wound Medal, with two strips indicating two wounds on its ribbon.

• Issue Date: 28.07.2014
• Designer: György Kara

2. 90th stamp day - the other two stamps were issued in 2017 for the 90th stamp day. 

The first commander-in-chief was the cavalry general Archduke Joseph Karl (1833-1905), who was awarded the Military Merit Cross with War Decoration for his achievements in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War, and from 1898 could wear a special version mounted with gems. This valuable medal and its wearer are depicted on the HUF 120 stamp.

Two historic objects inextricably linked with the cavalry are shown on the HUF 155 stamp. The Hungarian Royal Defence Forces adopted the 1869 M shako, a type of military cap used by the joint Austro-Hungarian Army.The Hungarian shako (the one shown is from 1890) had a badge with arms, a white horse-hair hackle, and gold braid and trimmings interwoven with deep red to distinguish them from the joint army’s.

• Issue Date: 03.11.2017
• Designer: Barnabás Baticz
•   The entire cover is filled with so much history of the AustriaHungary Empire during the early 1900s- a favourite period of history for me ! 
• Thanks Tom ! Thanks a ton ! This cover is really special to me :)