POSTCARD N.131 - CZECH REPUBLIC

Postcard sent on the 13th February; received on the 16th February 2024

Postcard image: Šumava National Park; Polednik Tower.
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Šumava National Park... hiking in the mountains and getting the opportunity to climb to an even higher vantage point than that already offered by the terrain to enjoy the views... what's not to like.....it was great to hear from a friend again and I'll keep the card as reference for the future.... maybe one day I'll be able to climb to that tower..... Bardzo dziękuję, Michal!

Polednik tower used to be a lookout post for an air defence base back in the days of the Warsaw pact and of Czechoslovakia. Today, after having been totally refurbished and reconverted, it serves a much nicer purpose with its 37 metres of height serving as a belvedere platform for visitors on a day out in the Šumava National Park.

Šumava National Park was established in 1963 as a protected landscape area and has acquired National Park Status in 1991, after having been declared by the UNESCO a Biosphere reserve, in 1990.

The Park occupies an area of 680.64 km2, located along the border with Germany and Austria, in the South of the Czech Republic and within its borders several uncommon or even rare fauna and flora species thrive, like the marsh orchid or the black stork, to name but two.

Michal sent the postcard from the town of Ceske Budejovice; judging from the postmark used to cancel the "Pampeliška" (Dandelion) Tariff E definitive, issued on 23MAY2019, part of the definitive series started in 2002, dedicated to the beauty of flowers.

Of note is also the nice Cachet of the Polednik tower included in the card, which itself  already contained a printed Sumava National Park cachet.