COVER N. 213 -  GERMANY

Postmark: Zugspitze - Schneefernerhaus 82475 - 03.02.2023

Posted on the 3rd February; Received on the 13th February 2023

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A simple, yet very interesting cover makes for a  fine surprise. Thanks a lot Alex, this was totally unexpected, so it tastes twice as good 😀.

Pictorial cancelations are great since they add an extra grain of interest to a cover. Alex tells me that the one on the cover he sent me from Zugspitze is currently the only permanent such postmark in Germany. 

Zugspitze is the highest point in all Germany. Located in the Bavarian Alps, the crest of the mountain serves as the border line between Austria and Germany and the summit is easily reachable by cable car, being a rather sought tourist attraction. 

The image on the postmark not only shows the summit with its golden cross, but also another distinctive feature of the place, the Schneefernerhaus, a former hotel built in 1931 which now is an environmental research station, where I also believe is located the  post office for postal code 82475, Germany's highest located one, responsible for the beautiful postmark.

The biggest stamp on the cover, with a face value of 1 Euro, was issued by Deutsche Post on 07JUL2022 honouring Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski, (1922-2005) an influential member of the SPD with a long political career that would see him hold office as minister of the German government for several times. Well connected in the Arab world he would play a vital part in the negotiations with the RAF - Rote Armee Fraktion during the troubled period of 1977 that would go down in history as the German Autumn  which saw the assassination of several people including the industrialist Hans-martin Schleyer and the episode of the highjacking of a Lufthansa Boeing whose pilot would end up being shot by the highjackers, his body being thrown into the tarmac at Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

The 0.10€ stamp comes from the "flowers" series initiated in 2005. It was issued on 08JUN2017 and it depicts a Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis).