Royals On Stamps Of Eastern Europe

What do Queen Marie of Romania, King Tutankhamen, Czar Nicholas of Russia, Saint Vladimir of Ukraine, and Princess Diana of England have in common? They are all represented on stamps of Eastern Europe. When  the various countries of Eastern Europe Intersect with their far reaching monarchies, the result can be a fascinating plethora of philatelic offerings. Please join us in exploring Royals, our newest collection.

Kings

On stamps have been issued by Eastern European countries for multiple centuries. One of the earliest postal stamps issued by Hungary was of beloved King Franz Joseph, emperor of Austria and King Of Hungary 1867-1917, which is a rare find for country philatelists, while the recent issuance from Hungary celebrating the Discovery of King Tutankhamun  is a delight for topical collectors.

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Czars and Sultans

Czar Nicholas ll was the last Emperor of Russia, while also having the titles of King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He ruled from 1894 until his abdication in 1917 and ended the Romanov dynasty.

Czar Nicholas II

Sultan Sulieman (Sulieman The Magnificent) is often revered as one of the greatest Ottoman rulers as the Empire reached the peak of its political and military power when he was a Sultan.

Turkey Sulieman The Magnificient

The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and most long-lasting empires in history. At its greatest extent, the empire extended to three continents — stretching from the Balkans in southeastern Europe across Central Asia, Arabia, and North Africa, thanks in large part to the Ottoman military and its use of gunpowder.

Queens and Empresses

On stamps of Eastern Europe present impressive and enduring female rulers.

Catherine the Great was the Empress of Russia (1762 -1796) and the longest ruling female ruler of Russia. The period of her rule, The Catherinian Era is considered the Golden Age of Russia. She came to power following a coup d’etat to overthrow her husband. She was considered an “enlightened” despot. She led crushing victories over the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish wars, accessed territories along the Black and Azov seas and partitioned what is present day Poland placing it under control of Russia.

Maria Teresa was Queen of the Hungarians, Czechs, Croatians and Archduchess of Austria reigning from 1740-1780. As the wife of Francis I (Holy Roman Emperor) she held the title of Empress, becoming the only female to reign the Hapsburg Monarchy. She was regarded as an enlightened ruler, abolishing torture and witch hunting and improving the position of peasants. Her lineage may be her most significant legacy impacting many of the rulers of Europe. Of her 11 daughters and 5 sons, three became famous rulers including Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, Leopold ll (of Belgium)  and King Joseph ll (Emperor of Hungary and Austria).  A joint philatelic issue celebrating the 300th Anniversary of the Birth of Maria Teresa was issued in cooperation with Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Ukraine.

Queen Marie was the wife of King Ferdinand l and the last Queen of Romania. Born into the British royal family, Marie of Edinburgh, was Queen Victoria’s niece. She married Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania, in 1892. Her first years on the Romanian throne were dedicated to learning the Romanian language and culture. During the first two years of World War I, Romania was neutral. On 27 August 1916, Romania enters into World War I on the side of the Allied Powers, pitting Ferdinand against his own native land, Germany. Queen Marie knew the war was the only possibility for Romania to fulfill the dream of a grand national union. Historians are convinced that King’s Ferdinand decision to enter the war on the side of the Allied Powers was influenced by Queen Marie.

By December 1918 the dream of the Romanian nation is accomplished for Romanians but must be confirmed with the rest of the world. Queen Marie leads the delegation to the Allied Peace conference that will determine Romania’s fate on the international stage. Queen Marie’s visit to French Prime Minister Clemenceau becomes very popular. At a time when women’s involvement in politics or society is not very much appreciated, Queen Marie dares to ask the French statesman for help to recover Romania’s provinces. Although she did not have the same success with all the delegates, Queen Marie of Romania managed to tilt the balance in favor of her country at the Peace Conference in Paris. On October 15, 1922, King Ferdinand and Queen Marie are crowned king and queen of all Romanians.

Princes

On stamps of Eastern Europe include Bogdan lll The One-Eyed from Moldova, Prince Svatopluk of Moravia (modern day Slovakia), and Prince Danylo Romanovych of Ukraine. The prince stamp issuance from Bosnia (Serb) is a unique display of The Sad Prince, a children’s story. 

Stamp offerings of Prince Vlads range from Kvivan Prince St. Vladimir to the Romanian Prince Vlad of Transylvania, or Count Dracula!

Princesses

On Eastern European stamps, range from the daughters of Kings Bela of Hungary depicted in the Saints and Blessed series, the character from the animated film The Stolen Princess, Ruslan and Ludmila issued by Ukraine, Hungary’s offering of the Gypsy Princess to the issuances of Princess Diana from Azerbaijan, Romania and Moldova.

Crowns & Coats of Arms

Saint Stephen’s Crown, venerated crown of Hungary, is the symbol of Hungarian nationhood. This crown is what ensured true acceptance of the sovereign by the Hungarian people. Pope Sylvester II made Stephen the gift of a crown when he became King of Hungary on Christmas Day in the year 1000. During  World War II and into the Soviet Era, the Crown was entrusted to a U.S. Army unit by a Hungarian honor guard to keep it from being seized by first Nazi then Soviet troops. It remained in U.S. guardianship at Fort Knox until it was returned in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter.

Coats Of Arms

Royals on Stamps of Eastern Europe can take on many metamorphosis and  be represented by Sports Royalty, Music Royalty and even Religious Royalty.

Music Royalty

Issuances of Music Royalty have depth and a wide range on the stamps of Eastern Europe, from Ukraine’s  Jamala, Winner of Eurovision Song Competitions, to Hungary ‘s Composer Béla Bartók’s Opera Bluebeard’s Castle, to jazz icons Ella Fitzgerald and Elvis “The King”.

Of special interest is the haunting 2020 joint issuances of Beethoven by Ukraine, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Macedonia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Romania and Poland.

Sports Royalty

On Eastern European stamps include Olympic athletes, World Cup skiers, weight lifters, boxers, wrestlers, ice hockey, tennis, soccer and swimming champions.

Of special note is the Hungary Souvenir sheet of the 1956 Olympics. This sheet commemorates the brave Hungarian athletes who competed during the Hungarian Revolution. The water polo team in particular fought a “bloody match” against the Soviet Russian team while the brave Hungarian patriots stood their ground in the streets of Hungary against Soviet oppression. The Hungarian water polo team won their famous “Blood in the Water” match against the Soviet Union 4-0.

Hungary 1956 Olympic Champions

Religious & Social Activist Royalty

Eastern European stamp issuances include the beautiful Saints and Blessed Series from Hungary issued over several years.

Included in the series is one of the most important figures in the foundation of the Church in Hungary. Saint Astrik was a Benedictine monk, the abbot of several monasteries, ambassador, bishop and archbishop. He was summoned by King Stephen in 1000 to accomplish his most important diplomatic mission, to bring a crown and permission to establish an ecclesiastical organization in Hungary from Pope Sylvester II in Rome. In the summer of 1001 he acted as a papal nuncio in Hungary and was appointed arch bishop of Kalocsa by the he first Hungarian king, Saint Stephen. Astrik was invaluable in establishing Christianity in Hungary and he constantly strove for the salvation of souls by leading an exemplary holy life.

Modern day religious royalty on stamps of Eastern Europe include Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II.

There are some Royalty On Stamps of Eastern Europe that supersede any one category as they are really personalities that have changed the World.

Moldova Personalities That Changed The World :
Mother Teresa, Raffaello Sanzio, Florence Nightingale, Ludwig van Beethoven

From all of us here at the Hungaria Stamp Exchange we hope you have enjoyed viewing the highlights of newest collection Royals on Stamps of Eastern Europe.

With our sincere wishes for a peaceful holiday season of Easter, Passover and Ramadan.

Sincerely,

The Bauer Family

Eastern European Philatelic Potpourri of New Issues

It’s finally 2021 and  time for Hungaria Stamp Exchange to share our philatelic celebration of the potpourri of new issues from Eastern Europe. We at HSE hope our philatelic friends both Country and Topical collectors alike will delight in some of the exciting new issues of 2020. 

Our Country collectors will find full 2020 Year Sets available for Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Belarus with a special HSE welcome this year to Armenia.

Topical collectors can find Cats (including “The Terror”), music (from Beethoven to Rock), Covid-19 and first responder philatelic issuances. Not to mention that many of us are delighted to find the continuation of some of our favorite series such as Europa with Ancient Postal Routes, Gastronomy and Viticulture, Saints and Blesseds and Social Action: Climate Change and Children’s World Stop Bullying.

An extremely important offering we can all enjoy this year is the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations from Slovakia. While the adventurer inside all of us can enjoy newly issued Crypto stamps from Croatia, the humorist will enjoy the cartoon stamp from Armenia.

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Eastern European Stamps of Women

Dear Friends and Philatelists,
Summertime is a traditional time for taking a family holiday or perhaps visiting another country or city. The summer of 2020 finds many of us not currently able to do this given these challenging times.  It is, however, an opportune time to reconnect with our stamp collections and continue our philatelic travels, perhaps to new countries or with new topics or themes. And of course, we can continue to connect with family and friends, if even at a distance. Now is certainly time to pay tribute to our many brave front-line workers.

Monarchs, Saints, Performers, & Scientists and Social Activists

Eastern European Stamps of Women span a wide range of topics, from monarchs to saints and scientists, artists and performers, to social activists and heroines. The Hungaria Stamp Exchange hopes you enjoy reading our blog post and viewing some of the stamps in our on-line store.

Monarchs

Two of the most influential female Eastern European monarchs whose combined reigns lasted almost 75 years were Catherine the Great of Russia and Maria Teresa, ruling the Hapsburg Empire. Both of these extraordinary rulers are depicted on Eastern European stamps.   

Catherine the Great   (born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst;  May 1729 –November 1796) was Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796 and the country’s longest-ruling female leader. She came to power following a coup d’état that she organized, resulting in her husband, Peter III, being overthrown. During her reign Russia was revitalized; it grew larger and stronger and was recognized as one of the great powers of Europe and Asia.

In her accession to power and her rule of the empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favorites, most notably count Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Assisted by highly successful generals such as Alexander Suvorov  and admirals such as Fyodor Ushakov, she governed at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and diplomacy. In the south, the Crimean Khanate was crushed following victories over the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish wars. Russia colonized the territories of Novorossiya along the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas. In the west, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ruled by Catherine’s former lover, King Stanisław August Poniatowski, was eventually partitioned with the Russian Empire gaining the largest share. In the east, Russia started to colonize Alaska, establishing Russian America.

An admirer of Peter the Great, Catherine continued to modernize Russia along Western European lines. The economy and military conscription continued to depend on serfdom; increasing demands of the state and of private landowners intensified the exploitation of serf labor. This was one of the chief reasons inciting several rebellions including the large scale Pugachev Rebellion of Cossacks and peasants. Cossacks were a group of Russian military warriors who established free self-governing communities in exchange for their military service. When their privileges were threatened they revolted, with the most famous being Pugachev.

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