Slovenia 2022

Slovenia

Date of Issue: 27th May 2022

two stamps (1.33 & 1.46 €)

both stamps are issued in mini-sheets of 8 stamps + 1 vignette

 

The Giantess (Ajdovska deklica) is one of many mythological figures in a Slovene folk tradition that tells of a mountain-dwelling race of giants. These giants were said to have lived “long ago”, so stories about them are though to contain popular beliefs about the original inhabitants of the land. Stories about giants and giantesses vary considerably. People used to explain ancient material remains and prehistoric burial mounds as giantish structures. The former inhabitants of these structures were said to be trapped by enchantments in the ruins – or in some cases even in the walls of churches, as with the story of the giantess’s rib in the pilgrimage church at Crngrob near Škofja Loka. There are many tales and legends about giants and giantesses, but perhaps one of the best known is the story of the petrified giantess on the face of Prisank, a mountain near Kranjska Gora. According to the legend, a giantess prophesied that a hunter’s newborn son would grow up to be a hunter like his father and would one day shoot the golden-horned chamois known as Zlatorog. This prediction angered the other giantesses, who turned their fortune-telling sister to stone, trapping her on the side of a mountain, where she can still be admired today by the many visitors to Slovenia’s Julian Alps.

King Matjaž is a well-known figure in the literary folklore of Slovenia. The basis for many legends of King Matjaž is the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus (1458–1490), who distinguished himself in the defence against the Ottoman invaders and also ensured tolerable living conditions for Slovene peasants. Stories about King Matjaž do not have a basis in historical fact but have merely taken the king’s name. Similar stories are told in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Croatia. The first written texts about King Matjaž date from the sixteenth century. Over time, numerous other elements were added to the original tale. These were of Indo-European, Oriental and medieval origin and in some cases
can be linked to King Arthur, Charlemagne, Frederick Barbarossa and Frederick II. In amongst this multitude of elements of diverse origin, the version of the tale most commonly told in Slovenia is that of King Matjaž asleep with his army beneath a mountain (in this case the mountain is Peca/Petzen, which straddles the border between Slovenia and Austria). Legend has it that when he awakes and appears once again, good times will return. It seems that he will continue to sleep for a long time!

 

Andorra (Spanish post) 2022

Andorra (Spanish post)

Date of Issue: 16th May 2022

one stamp (1.65 €)

Our Lady of Meritxell - In the late 12th century, on January 6, a wild rose in bloom was found by villagers from Meritxell going to Mass in Canillo. It was out of season and at its base was found a statue of the Virgin and Child. The statue was placed in the Canillo church. However, the statue was found under the same wild rose the next day. The statue was taken to the church of Encamp. However, as before, the statue was again found under the same wild rose on the next day. As in similar legends elsewhere, the villagers of Meritxell took this as a sign and decided to build a new chapel in their town after they found an open space miraculously untouched by the winter snows. Source Wikipedia

Kosovo 2022

Kosovo

Date of Issue: 9th May 2022

two stamps (1.- & 2.- €) and one souvenir-sheet (2.- €)

NOTE - those stamps don't bear the official Europa stamps logo - Kosovo isn't a PostEurop member !

both stamps are issued in mini-sheets of 10 stamps

 

The sad sculpture of a woman represents the legend of Rozafa, who sacrificed herself for the castle to stand, and not to be continuously destroyed. Her request to leave half of her body outside the castle wall to feed and care for the little child is exactly what made this castle special.

Even today, in the gardens and fields, the villagers place a human image: with body, arms, legs and head, dressed in clothes, more often with rags. Gogomeli was set up to have good crops, but also to scare away pests of crops. It is also called the Elder of the Garden, the Elder of the Garden, the Bride of the Garden, the Surrat of the Field, Coli (Picar) etc.

The block represents the myth of the Shaking of the old women. According to legend, an old woman had gone to the mountains with cattle to enjoy the good, warm, sunny weather of early spring. She was greeting winter, when winter had sought loan days from February, to freeze the old woman who was harassing her. So from that early time water still springs from the rock in the form of an old woman, who is said to be the "old woman's tears".

NOTE : the stamps issued by Kosovo aren't recognized on an international level, not by the UPU nor by PostEurop.

Liechtenstein - Sepac 2022

Liechtenstein - Sepac

Date of Issue: 7th June 2022

one stamp (1.80 CHF)

this stamp is issued in a mini-sheet of 9 stamps

Faroe Islands - Sepac 2022

Faroe Islands - Sepac

Date of Issue: 16th May 2022

one stamp (29.- DKK)

 

Andorra (French post) 2022

Andorra (French post)

Date of Issue: 14th May 2022

one stamp (1.65 €)

Charlemagne was king of the Franks, Lombards and Emperor of the West and laid the foundations for the medieval kingdoms of Europe.
Legend has it that the emperor Charlemagne continued the task of driving the Saracens back to the Iberian Peninsula, which his grandfather Charles Martel had begun. His passage through the Pyrenees was a response to the request for help from the inhabitants of the Valira valley, who had had to flee before the arrival of the Arabs. After many battles, the emperor and his son Louis the Pious succeeded in liberating this territory with the help of its inhabitants. To thank them for their courage and help, the two rulers granted various prerogatives and privileges to the Andorrans, expressed in the Carta Pobla, including their sovereignty and the designation of these lands by the name of Andorra. From this document, Antoni Fiter iRossell, who was in charge of finding the origins of the country, made Charlemagne the founder of Andorra by taking up this legendary story that could have been legendary story, which may have been based on older accounts. Later, almost a century ago almost a century ago, the Carta Pobla was considered apocryphal.

NOTE : In 1980, the French post of Andorra already issued a Europa stamp depicting Charlemagne. The common theme was "Famous people" that year.

North Macedonia 2022

North Macedonia

Date of Issue: 10th May 2022

two stamp (2x 144.- MKD) and one souvenir-sheet (72.- MKD)

 

both stamps are issued in mini-sheets of 9 stamps