The castle in the postcard was the seat of the dukes of Pomerania-Stettin of the House of Pomerania (Griffins), who ruled the Duchy of Pomerania from 1121 to 1637. Actually the Duchy of Pomerania and House of Pomerania are one and the same thing, because the duchy originated from the realm of Wartislaw I, a Slavic Pomeranian duke, the founder of the House of Pomerania, and ceased to exist in 1637, with the death of Bogislaw XIV, the last member of the house, when it was partitioned between Brandenburg-Prussia and Sweden. Located on the south shore of the Baltic Sea, between the rivers Recknitz in the west and Vistula in the east, after the WWII Pomerania was partitioned between East Germany and Poland.
Barnim the Great erected the castle in 1346. It was partially reconstructed for Bogusław X's wedding in 1490, and again between 1573 and 1582, in the Mannerist style, being added two new wings, which closed the courtyard. In 1648, after the Peace of Westphalia, when Sweden received Western Pomerania, so also Szczecin, the castle become the seat of Swedish governor. Before 1705 another reconstruction occurred to prepare it for Queen of Poland - Catherine Opalińska, who lived here with her daughters Anna and Marie Leszczyńska (future Queen of France), and from 1711 also with her husband, king Stanisław Leszczyński. After the Great Northern War, in 1720, the city passed to Prussian rule, who devastated many of the renaissanse elements in the castle. During WWII about 60% of the castle was destroyed, but between 1958 and 1980's it was restored to its original 16th century appearance, according to 1653 engraving by Matthäus Merian.
About the stamp
The stamp is part of the series Lighthouses of the Polish Sea Coast, issued on July 15, 2007 and containing the following lighthouses:
• Gdańsk New Harbour (1.35 PLN)
• Rozewie (2.40 PLN)
• Kołobrzeg (3 PLN)
• Hel (3.55 PLN)
This is a post for Sunday Stamps #118, run by Viridian from Viridian’s Postcard Blog. The theme of this week is Lighthouses, or other public structures. Click on the button to visit Viridian’s blog and all the other participants.
References
Ducal Castle, Szczecin - Wikipedia
Szczecin - Official website
sender: Agnieszka Brambor (direct swap)
sent from Szczecin (West Pomerania / Poland), on 23.01.2012
photo: Dariusz Krakowiak; proj. Krzysztof Gaszewski
I like the light and the red tones in this stamp. As well as the lighthouse :)
ReplyDeleteThe castle looks very large indeed. the stamp is pretty too. Thank you for joining us this week.
ReplyDeletegreat postcard and stamp - I love the colors of the lighthouse stamp.
ReplyDeleteI love the dawning color of the stamp. It is so beautiful to look at.
ReplyDeleteWilla @ Postage Journal: My Sunday Stamp - Lighthouse
It looks like quite a 'stout' lighthouse. I like it! And agree with everyone about the nice reddish tones of the stamp - they are very appealing.
ReplyDeleteAs others said, I like the colours. I'd like to visit the Polish lighthouses one day!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful postcard and stamp.
ReplyDeleteThe lighthouse looks as fortified as the castle.
ReplyDelete