0361 BELARUS (Brest) - Kamyanets Tower

0361 Kamyanets Tower

Kamyanets Tower is located in the town with the same name in Belarus, at about 40 km north from Brest. Erected in 1271–1289 by the architect Oleksa, on the order of Vladimir Vasilkovich, Prince of Volhynia, as a keep (donjon) of a frontier stronghold on the northern border of the principality, on the stony steep bank of the Liasnaja (Lysna or Leśna) River, it was later named Belaya Vezha (the White Tower), probably because its proximity to Belavezhskaya Pushcha, not from its color.

Entirely built of bi-colored bricks, dark red and yellowish (that makes it unique), the tower is 30m high, has 13.5m in outer diameter, and the walls have about 2.5 m thick. Unlike the narrow loopholes on lower levels, the pointed big lancet windows and niches on the upper floor are an excellent example of early Gothic architecture in Belarus. The upper part was furnished with battlements and a pattern of surface modeling of the brickwork. On the postcard can be seen also Saint Simeon Orthodox Christian Church, buit in 1914.

About the stamps
The first stamp, depicting the tulips (Tulipa gesneriana), is part of the 12th series of definitive stamps Garden flowers series, about which I wrote here.

The following stamps are part of the 14th series of definitive stamps Architectural monuments, issued on March 2, 2012:
• Mahiliou Town Hall, 17th-20th centuries, 2008 (50 BYR) - It's on the postcard 0476
• Kamianets Tower, 13th century (100 BYR) - It's on the postcard 0967
• Niasvizh Castle, 16th-18th centuries (200 BYR) - It's on the postcard 0361
• Church of Epiphany in Polatsk, 1761-1777 (500 BYR) - It's on the postcard 0361
• Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace in Homel, 18th-19th centuries (1000 BYR)
• Mir Castle, 16th-20th centuries (2000 BYR) - it's on the postcard 1185
• Main Post-Office in Minsk, 1949-1953 (2000 BYR)
• Lida Castle, 14th century (2000 BYR)
• Bernardine monastery in Budslau, 18th century (20000 BYR)
• Kosava Palace, 19th century (А)
• Red Church in Minsk, 1908-1910 (Н)
• Church-fortress in Muravanka, 1524 (Р)

References
Tower of Kamyanyets - Wikipedia
Kamyanets Tower - Wikipedia
Fourteenth definitive issue "Architectural monuments" - Belpochta

Sender: Alena Kavaliova (direct swap)
Sent from Minsk (Belarus), on 20.04.2012
Photo: S. Plytkevych