Issue date: 21 Apr, 2017
EUROPE
Every year, the European postal authorities and companies belonging to PostEurope issue the Europe series with a common theme. This year, the theme relates to the iconic castles to be found in each country.
Spain is issuing a stamp depicting the castle of Manzanares el Real in Madrid.
Construction of this castle began in 1475 by order of Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 1st Duke of the Infantado, and was completed under the direction of the architect Juan Guas, who also built the Palace of the Infantado in Guadalajara, when the Duke was Íñigo López de Mendoza.
Built over a Romanesque-Mudejar chapel in honour of Santa María de la Nava, the Mendoza palace-fortress is one of the best preserved of its kind in Spain.
The castle has a square plan with cylindrical elements at each corner, except for the keep. On its east side, an adjoining building with a rectangular plan includes the apse of the former church.
It has large semicircular arched windows, a rectangular courtyard and two galleries supported by octagonal columns.
The building has four towers at its corners, decorated with spheres in the purest Isabelline style.
The interior houses a permanent exhibition dedicated to Íñigo López de Mendoza, Marquis of Santillana, one of the finest poets of 15th-century Spain. It also has splendid collections of tapestries and armour.
The stamp shows an image of the imposing castle framed by one of its arches, against a splendid blue sky.
The castle of Manzanares el Real is one of the most spectacular in Spain, and will represent the country in this annual series, designed to encourage stamp collecting while publicising European culture, customs and history.
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.