January 28, 2020

3401 SLOVENIA (Slovene Littoral) - The repairing of the wooden boats in the škver of Seča

 

In Seča (former Sveti Jernej - the Slovene name of Saint Bartholomew), a settlement not far from Piran,  at the end of Jernej's channel, the wooden boats are still renovated in škver. A škver (from Italian squero) is a small craft workshop or shipyard for the production, renovation and maintenance of exclusively small wooden vessels (up to 25 meters), in the traditional, manual manner. Škver was also named the most important accessory in the construction of each new wooden boat, a strong, flat beam rigidly fixed to the floor, which served as the base for the keel on which the entire boat was then built.

Škver and the technology of work in them have changed over the centuries. Initially, there were no tools in škver, and every shipbuilder brought it with him; only later did they equip them with the necessary tools and machines. Similarly, in the past, some škver didn't store the boat's timber (to be provided by the contracting authority), while others had their own warehouses and were searching, ordering, preparing and stocking the timber themselves.

The Istrian coast was once very rich in the number of different wooden vessels, and the craft craftsmanship was well developed in this area. Here, the northern Adriatic lagoon style of construction was mixed and mastered by native Italian builders, who immigrated mainly after WWII, being replaced by Dalmatians. In škver of Seča, some pieces of equipment and tools are probably dated back to the late 19th century.

About the stamp


The stamp is the participation of Slovenia to the 2015's issue of the EUROMED Postal Joint stamps project, Boats of the Mediterranean, designed by Matjaž Učakar and issued on July 9, 2015. Established in March 2011 with its headquarters in Malta, the Postal Union for the Mediterranean (PUMed) forms part of the Universal Postal Union, and marks the Mediterranean region as a political, economic and social area. The EuroMed Postal Joint stamp project is a commitment which is intended to be held annually. The intention behind this idea was to keep on a similar project of the Europa Stamp, wherein a theme will be chosen and all member countries will submit their design. Each member will then be free to issue the design prepared by it.  This for the exception of the first stamp issued in 2014, where all members were obliged to have the same design.

Sender: Slavica Radej (direct swap)
Sent from Brestanica (Styria / Slovenia), on 29.08.2017
Photo: Ubald Trnkoczy / Zaloznik: Katika Vukovic   

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