Wishing to add new postage stamps to the rich collection with the “Romania’s Cities” theme, Romfilatelia introduces into circulation a new issue having as topic the presentation of a historical fortress, which, later, became the city of Giurgiu.
Under the generic title Romania’s Cities, Giurgiu, the issue is composed of four postage stamps, a philatelic perforated souvenir sheet and a First Day Cover. The products of the issue will be available for purchase from Romfilatelia stores, starting on Thursday, February 15th, this year.
The representative monuments belonging to the city of Giurgiu, whose images can be found on the issue of postage stamps, are: “Nicolae Bălănescu” Athenaeum, the River Station ,“Ion Maiorescu” National College, Giurgiu Railway Station and the Clock Tower.
“Nicolae Bălănescu” Athenaeum, image of the postage stamp with the face value of Lei 4.60, represents a place of culture, built in 1940 on the initiative and with the financial support of the lawyer Nicolae Bălănescu. The facade, inspired by the model of a Greek temple, provides an added architectural preciousness for the building which houses a space dedicated to cultural activities, which offers a performance hall with more than 300 seats and a conference hall with 90 seats.
The River Station, image of the postage stamp with the face value of Lei 5, represents a port arrangement started as early as the 16th century, being a port mainly intended for the export of grain to the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires. In 1870, with the achievement of the railway, having the port of Giurgiu as its terminus, a direct connection with the capital Bucharest was ensured.
The current River Station (Ramadan River Palace) was built according to the project of the architect Petre Antonescu, to whom other construction projects of public interest also belong: the Arch of Triumph, the current headquarters of the Capital City Hall, the Kretzulescu Palace in Bucharest, the Administrative Palace in Craiova, etc.
“Ion Maiorescu” National College, image of the postage stamp with the face value of Lei 12, shows the facade of the building of the oldest high school in the city, educational institution which bears the name of the reformer and revolutionary of 1848. The school, founded in 1869, became a high-school in 1919. Ion Barbu (Dan Barbilian) taught Mathematics at this high school and among the graduates, it is worth mentioning the conductor George Georgescu, the philosopher and historian Tudor Vianu, the painter Nicolae Dărăscu.
The Giurgiu Railway Station, image of the postage stamp with the face value of Lei 13, was the first Romanian railway station inaugurated in the presence of Prince Carol I, on September 7th, 1869, marking the completion of a project initiated in 1865 by the ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The “Călugăreni” locomotive, which inaugurated the first ride and was used until 1900, is at the Railway Museum in Bucharest.
It should be mentioned that the Giurgiu Railway Station and “Ion Maiorescu” National College also celebrate an anniversary event, 155 years since the inauguration.
The Clock Tower, reproduced on the image of the postage stamp of the perforated souvenir sheet (face value of Lei 33) and on the First Day Cover, represents a symbol also found on the city’s coat of arms. Located in the center of the Giurgiu City, it was built of stone, as an observation pavilion, by the Turks, in the 18th century. Modifications made after the end of the Ottoman occupation also added a clock to the tower. The location of the tower represents the main point around which the port city of Giurgiu was built over time.
Romfilatelia thanks Mr. Marius-Robert Cazanciuc, the Vice-President of the Romanian Senate, the representatives of the Diocese of Giurgiu, of N.C.The Administration of the Danube River Ports SA Giurgiu, of the “Teohari Antonescu” History Museum, the Professor Mădălina Lazăr and the photographers Andrei Sfetcu and Emil Pălăngean, for their collaboration within this issue of postage stamps.
