Named after the town of Lüneburg, Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony. It has typical of those that covered most of the North German countryside until about 1800, but which have almost completely disappeared in other areas. Most of the area is a nature reserve, and also a historic cultural landscape, created by the intervention of man.
Lüneburg Heath was always relatively sparsely populated due to the poor soils. The region was dominated by heath farming which was a less intensive form of land usage necessary for its large areas of barren terrain and heathland. The villages were usually encircled by small tracts of woodland, sometimes interrupted by fields or meadows, and merged without clear boundaries into the surrounding landscape. In order to prevent cattle trampling flat the gardens attached to the houses, village roads were enclosed with wooden fences and, later, with stone walls.
The typical design of farmhouse was the Fachhallenhaus, a large timber-framed single building, in which people and animals lived under a single roof. It is built as a large hall with bays on the sides for livestock and storage and with the living accommodation at one end. Each village had relatively few farms, but very large. In Wilsede all the features of a heath village described here may still be seen. Wilsede Heath Museum was established in a Fachhallenhaus and it gives an insight into the working and living conditions of a heathland farm around 1850.
About the stamps
The first stamp, depicting an aster, is part of the series Blumen, about which I wrote here.
The second stamp, designed by Thomas Mayfried, was issued on June 8, 2017, to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Heinz Sielmann. Heinz Sielmann (1917-2006) was a wildlife photographer, biologist, zoologist and documentary filmmaker.
References
Lüneburg Heath - WikipediaSender: Uta / uttia4a (postcrossing) DE-9006943
Sent from a Walsrode (Lower Saxony / Germany), on 19.02.2020
Photo: Uwe Steffens
No comments:
Post a Comment