Issue date: 27 Jan, 2011
A new stamp devoted to the Almería Railway Station has been added to the Architecture series. This emblematic building, perfectly integrated into the urban landscape of the city, is a singular example of the iron and glass architecture typical of civil and industrial works during the second half of the 19th century.
The station was opened in August 1895. It is ascribed to an unknown French disciple of Gustave Eiffel. The main facade is 54 metres in length and is formed by a three-part bay with the central portion in iron and glass. This part of the building, which provides access to the station itself, is graced by a spectacular latticed window flanked on both sides by towers in stone and brick lined with glazed ceramics. Construction of the station dates from a period of extensive use of iron, a material that was beginning to take the place of traditional materials such as wood, stone and brick, in bridges, public buildings, stations and frameworks. The outstanding example of this new architectural style was the Eiffel Tower, inaugurated for the Paris Universal Exposition in 1889. Another material used by this new architecture in order to achieve lighter, more diaphanous constructions for enclosure of walls and roofing was glass.
The building has been declared a "work of cultural interest" and is on the Ministry of Culture list for "National Heritage" status. Refurbishing and modernisation work was carried out towards the end of 1988 to improve services and facilities, and some changes were made to the original decoration. A twelve-square-metre mosaic by the painter Luis Cañadas, incorporating various railway motifs, was added to the vestibule. A mosaic of the city's patron, Our Lady of the Seas, is preserved on the upper wall of the same vestibule.
The stamp, based on a photograph by Domingo Leiva, shows the main facade of the Almería Railway Station.
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.