Typically Swiss: mountains, edelweiss and folklore all feature on new stamps
This year’s third stamp issue reveals some of Switzerland’s better- and lesser-known facets, with a hiking boot that looks like a mountain, a stamp showing off some of the country’s iconic features, a train named after a speciality puff pastry, and high-altitude research. They will be available, together with all other new stamps, from 8 September.
Swiss PostReading Time 3 minutes
Mountains, nature, folklore – it doesn’t get much more Swiss than that...
Hiking is the most popular sport in Switzerland with 57 percent of the population over 15 years old saying they hike regularly. More than 65,000 km of well-maintained and clearly signposted footpaths allow the public to discover the most beautiful landscapes in Switzerland. The special stamp, “The popular sport of hiking”, was designed by Nicole Vögeli from Zofingen. The stamp is the result of a public competition held with voting on the Swiss Post website. Of the 600 or so proposals put forward, the public chose the design with a hiking boot depicting a mountain with a cable car running on it, i.e. a mountain boot in the literal sense of the word.
Mountains, nature, folklore – it doesn’t get much more Swiss than that...
A new postage stamp features the Matterhorn, the symbol of our country and one of the world’s best known peaks. Then there’s edelweiss – the most famous mountain flower of them all, and finally the alphorn, with the armailli shepherd who plays it. “Typically Swiss” is the name of the new A Mail stamp, which features all these iconic images of the country. However, not everything is as typical of Switzerland as you might think. Many people are unaware that the Matterhorn is actually a piece of African rock and that edelweiss only arrived in Europe during the Ice Age. Whether typically Swiss or not, the stamp is a must for all Swiss citizens who write letters and postcards as well as for all fans of our country and the Swiss Alps – no matter where they come from.
Public transport connecting Switzerland – for 175 years
On 9 August 1847, the first regular Swiss railway line came into operation between Zurich and Baden with the “Spanisch-Brötli Bahn”, the Spanish bun line, alluding to a Baden speciality puff pastry. This event marked the beginning of the development of coordinated public transport throughout Switzerland. The stamp issued to mark the 175th anniversary symbolizes the advent of this new era.