0957, 2502 FRANCE (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) - Dombes

0957 Dombes

Posted on 10.01.2014, 29.04.2016

The Dombes is an area in South-Eastern France, bounded by the rivers Saône, Rhône, and Ain, which forms an undulating plateau with a slight slope towards the north-west. Due to the fact that is characterized by an impervious surface consisting of boulder clay and other relics of glacial action, it has a large number of rain-water pools, artificially created by proprietors who saw a surer source of revenue in fish-breeding than in agriculture. The resulted diseases and depopulation forced the Legislative Assembly to decide to reduce (at the end of the 18th century) the area of the pools. Large numbers of fish, principally carp, pike, and tench are still reared profitably. The pools are periodically dried up so the ground can be cultivated.

2502 Dombes: 1. A pond at sunset;
2. A common kingfisher; 3. Ducks on the pond;
4. The church in Ars-sur-Formans;
5. Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne.

 

The Dombes once formed part of the Kingdom of Arles. From 1032, when this kingdom passed to the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II, effective authority in the region was exercised by local lords. After 1378 it was under the nominal authority of the kings of France but was actually ruled as an independent principality by the Bourbon family. Francis I of France seized it from the Bourbons in 1523, and, although Dombes was later restored to the House of Bourbon-Montpensier (1561), it ultimately returned to the French crown in 1762.

About the stamp
On the postcard 0957
The stamp is part of the definitive series Marianne et l'Europe, about which I wrote here.

On the postcard 2502

The first stamp, Great French Achievements - Charles de Gaulle Airport, designed by Pierre Forget, was issued on  March 18, 1974.

The second stamp is part of the series Art Series 1965, issued on March 13, 1965:
• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec "The English Barmaid at the Star in Le Havre"
• Eight Centenary of Notre-Dame de Paris - It's on the postcard 2502
• Tapestry of the Apocalypse, Angers
• Eight Centenary of the cathedral of Sens
• Raoul Dufy "The Red Violin"

The third stamp is part of the series 1974-1975 - French Red Cross - Seasons, designed by Pierrette Lambert:
01.12.1975 - Spring - It's on the postcard 2570
02.12.1974 - Summer - It's on the postcard 2502
01.12.1975 - Autumn
02.12.1974 - Winter 

The fourth stamp, depicting Charlemagne, is part of the large series France History, issued between 1966 and 1980. The fifth stamp is part of the series Liberté de Gandon d'après Delacroix, about which I wrote here.

The last stamp is part of the series Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble 1968, designed by Jacques Combet, and issued on January 29, 1968:
• Jumping and cross country skiing (0.30+0.10 F)
• Ice Hockey (0.40+0.10 F)
• Olympic flame (0.60+0.20 F) - It's on the postcard 2502
• Figure skating (0.75+0.25 F)
• Slalom (0.95+0.35 F)

References
Dombes - Wikipedia

Sender 0967: Agnès / sengali (postcrossing) FR-345388
Sent from ?? (Rhône-Alpes / France), on 23.12.2013
Sender 2502: Jean-Yves Gerlat
Sent from Meylan (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes / France), on 25.04.2016