Issue date: 01 Mar, 2019
12 MONTHS, 12 STAMPS. BURGOS
In March the Burgos will feature in the series 12 Months, 12 Stamps, which covers a total of 14,269 square km, or 2.83% of the area of Spain. The province of Burgos, as currently defined, dates from the mid-19th century, but the history of this territory goes back to the pre-Roman peoples and beyond, including Europe’s oldest hominid settlement, the Paleolithic remains of the Sierra de Atapuerca. Occupied in its time by Romans and Muslims, this is the land where the kingdom of Castile began to take shape.
This province is one of Spain’s most beautiful territories, with its own strongly marked personality, with its wide variety of landscapes and climates, rivers, waterfalls, forests, canyons and plains, and the ever-present mountains. A few elements of this rich diversity have been chosen for the stamp:
The rose window of the Cathedral of Santa María, which in 2021 will celebrate 800 years as the Peninsula’s first Gothic cathedral. The Romanesque cloister of the monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos, which has always been the centre of monastic life, with its famous cypress tree in the centre.
A fragment of a 1962 stamp depicting El Cid, an iconic historical figure from Burgos.
And, of course, the famous local dishes, such as Morcilla de Burgos (a black pudding made with onion, pig’s blood, lard and rice, with flavourings usually including salt, pepper, paprika and oregano), and wine from Ribera de Duero.
It also references Fresno de Río Tirón, home both to griffon vultures and to places of peace and meditation like the Convent of San Vitores.
At the bottom, on a background of purple, one of the colours of the flag of Burgos, we see the silhouettes of buildings including the Burgos Post Office and City Hall.
This stamp is a foretaste of the attention the province will be receiving in 2019, as this May the city of Burgos will host JUVENIA. A series of events and interactive activities are being planned to publicise philately and make it more accessible to young people, while not forgetting the new effects…
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.