On 21 July 1969, 600 million people held their breath, their eyes glued to their black-and-white televisions. Six seconds before, Neil Armstrong radioed the line “The Eagle has landed” back to Space Center Houston. The astronaut then climbed out of the lunar module and took humankind’s very first step on the Moon, a step which also happened to be a giant leap. The first man on the Moon, a true marvel of human ingenuity! From then on, everything seemed possible.

That is now half a century ago. The anniversary stamp “50 years manned Moon landing” is the highlight of the current issue. Its motif is an astronaut walking on the Moon. The stamp resembles the image people would have seen on their television screens at the time. The motif was initially created as a pencil drawing and then reworked digitally. There is also a sheet to go with it, which illustrates just how the Moon landing was followed by so many Swiss households 50 years ago. Even though the broadcast is late at night (3:56 a.m. CET), the whole family is gathered in front of the TV.

Homage to winegrowing

The three special stamps for this year’s “Fête des Vignerons” are also steeped in history. This huge festival attracts half a million visitors and offers a true party atmosphere. No wonder: the Confrérie des Vignerons association honours the achievements of local winemakers east of Lausanne only once in a generation. The Lavaux is regarded as one of Switzerland’s best wine regions. Here the grape is a cultural asset, and those who know how to cultivate it are artists. The large-scale event, which will run from 18 July to 11 August 2019, reflects this attitude, paying homage to the winegrowing culture of an entire region. Swiss Post’s three stamps can also be seen in the same light. The three related stamps combine to form a successful whole. The three motifs were created by Lausanne-based designers Priscilla Balmer and Ivo Hählen and resemble the official poster of this year’s event.

Trains and ships side by side

From Lake Geneva, we travel to Lake Constance, where there is a double celebration coming up: “150 years Lake Line + train ferry”. This may sound technical, but it is actually very important to the region. In 1869, railway carriages were loaded onto boats for the first time, with connections to Romanshorn and over national borders to Friedrichshafen and Lindau. The train ferry transport continued until 1976. Closely linked to it is the first section of the railway line from Romanshorn to Rorschach, which also opened in 1869. The Lake Line still exists and is the lifeline of an entire region. The 150-year shared history of ship and railway is illustrated by two special stamps – one with a motif from yesteryear and one from today.

You can find information on other motifs in the current issue and details on the new stamps in the latest edition of the collector’s magazine “Focus on stamps”.

Information:

Erich Goetschi, Media Spokesperson, 058 341 37 42, presse@swisspost.ch