Issue date: 15 Apr, 2004
A new stamp has been issued to commemorate the 150 th Anniversary of the Public Department of Technical Engineering Works , a department that has always been closely linked with the development of infrastructure projects in Spain.
The Department of Technical Engineering Works dates back to the Royal Decree of 12 April 1854, which created a second tier of management personnel in the Public Works Department and approved the regulations governing personnel services. This Decree, inspired by the more effective organisational systems already in place in neighbouring countries, regulated the duties of individual workers and established the categories of Public Works Assistant, Auxiliary and Foreman. Under the new regulations, Assistants were placed in a category immediately below engineers and above the remainder of Public Works employees, thus becoming the forerunners of today's technical engineers in this department. The Royal Decree of 4 February 1857 resulted in the creation of the Special College for Public Works Assistants (Escuela Especial de Ayudantes de Obras Públicas), with support from the Minister, Claudio Moyano. This college was associated with the College of Civil Engineers (Escuela de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos), and both were run by the same director. Courses lasted two years, and in order to gain a permanent appointment students had to work for a further year in the planning, management and inspection of works, under the instructions of the Highway Engineering Department. Over the past 150 years, public works in Spain have taken great strides forward in the construction of roads, motorways, ports, high-speed trains, hydraulic dams, lighthouses, airports, etc., and the original Special College for Public Works Assistants has adopted different course programmes and regulations, as well as being renamed. In 1957 it became the Specialist College for Public Works (Escuela de Peritos de Obras Públicas), taking its current name, the University School for Public Technical Engineering Works (Escuela Universitaria de Ingeniería Técnica de Obras Públicas) in 1972. The stamp carries a picture of Saint Dominic, patron saint of Public Technical Engineering Works, who is shown with a cockerel, a hen and a length of rope in his hand, signifying the miracle in which he revived a hanged man. The engineering works in the background include a bridge and a walled city.
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.