The new stamp in the series Latvian Architecture depicts one of the largest water towers in Riga, which is located at Gaujas Street. The print run of the stamp is 100,000 copies and its face value is €1.00, which corresponds to the postage of letter-post items in the weight class up to 20 grams within Latvia. The release of the stamp is accompanied by the issue of a special cover with a print run of 1,000 copies. The stamp and the cover have been designed by the artist A. Naumovs, professor and former rector at the Art Academy of Latvia. 

 

The water tower at Gaujas Street, also known as the Čiekurkalns Water Tower, was built to improve the water pressure on the outskirts of Riga. In 1912 the construction project to build a 54-metку-high water tower with a 2,000-cubic-metre metal water reservoir was developed and supervised by the architect Wilhelm Bockslaff (Vilhelms Bokslafs). The building permit was issued on the 29^th of May 1912, and the construction work was completed in 1913. The water tower was the fourth and at the same time the last water tower built at the commission of the Riga City Municipality at the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

 

Over time the architecture of the water towers of the city of Riga has also acquired a cultural and historical significance: the water tower at Gaujas Street is architecturally designed in the Art Nouveau style, and it has been granted the status of an architectural monument of national importance.

 

The stamp series Latvian Architecture has been released since 2010, highlighting the most significant historical buildings or modern new developments. The stamps issued in previous years feature Dailes Theatre, the Concert Hall Cēsis, the Academic Centre for Natural Sciences of the University of Latvia in Torņakalns and other Latvian pieces of architecture. The first stamp dedicated to water towers in this series was issued in 2019, and it depicted the water tower at Matīsa Street, Riga, while the second stamp dedicated to this theme features one of the oldest water towers in Riga, located at Alīses Street. All stamps in the series Latvian Architecture can be viewed here.

 

The new stamp and the cover Water Tower at Gaujas Street, Riga are available for viewing here.

 

The first day stamp cancellation is not being held at post offices during the spread of COVID-19 infection, so stamp collectors and those interested in philately are invited to contact the Stamp and Philately Department of Latvijas Pasts regarding stamp cancellation options by writing to the e-mail address: filatelija@pasts.lv.

 

The new stamp will first be available for purchase at Riga post office No. 10 at 14/43 Elizabetes Street, Riga post office No. 50 in the shopping centre Origo at 2 Stacijas laukums, post centre Sakta at 32 Brīvības bulvāris, Riga, as well as in the e-shop of Latvijas Pasts https://veikals.pasts.lv/.  

 

The next philatelic release is scheduled for the 21^st of May. 

 

 

 

Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with around 3,200 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.

 

 

Vineta Danielsone | Senior Public Relations Project Manager

E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; vineta.danielsone@pasts.lv

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