The Ha'penny Bridge, an old iron footbridge over the River Liffey, officially named Liffey Bridge, is one of the most photographed sights in Dublin and is considered to be one of city's most iconic landmarks. Built in 1816 from cast iron, it was originally called the Wellington Bridge (after the Duke of Wellington). Before the Ha'penny Bridge was built there were seven ferries, operated by a William Walsh, but these were in a bad condition and Walsh was informed that he had to either fix them or build a bridge.
Walsh chose the latter option and was granted the right to extract a half penny toll from anyone crossing it for 100 years. Initially the toll charge was based not on the cost of construction, but to match the charges levied by the ferries it replaced. A further condition of construction was that, if the citizens of Dublin found the bridge and toll to be "objectionable" within its first year of operation, it was to be removed at no cost to the city.
Ha'penny Bridge is part of The Historic City of Dublin, submitted on the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, about which I wrote here.
About the stamps
The stamp is a special edition stamp, a joint issue France-Germany that marks the Élysée Treaty’s 50th anniversary, issued on January 21, 2013. The image on the stamp was designed by Tomi Ungerer, and the stamp itself was designed by Thomas Serres.
The sender had glued also on the postcard an additional stamp, one already previously cancelled, which of course I enjoyed. It is part of a set of two, issued on January 10, 2013, which continue the series Treasures of German Museums, designed by Stefan Klein & Olaf Neumann:
• Queen Nefertiti, c.1340 BC
• Ischtar Gate, 605-562 BC - It's on the postcard 0930
References
Ha'penny Bridge - Wikipedia
Sender: Anna (postcrossing)
Sent from Herne ( North Rhine-Westphalia / Germany), on 19.12.2013
Photo: Karl-Heinz Raach
Your Card comes from Herne. Kind Regards, Anna
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