COVER N. 628 - POLAND

Postmark: Gdansk 50 - KE - 14.07.205

Posted on the 14th July; Received on the 11th August 2025

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A very fine cover, as usual, from Roman. Dziękuję bardzo!

As usual, Roman took the time to write a few explanatory and highly appreciated notes regarding the stamps he used on the cover.

The very beautiful 3,90  Zloty stamps with a dancer in traditional costume (which also featured in cover #372) were issued on 08NOV202 in commemoration of the 75 years of the celebrated Mazowsze Ensemble  - Państwowy Zespół Ludowy Pieśni i Tańca "Mazowsz -  The Polish National Song and Dance Folk Ensemble, founded in 1948.

In his notes, Roland included this photo of the Group, singing Carrols in the Polish Parliament in 2013...

... and he adds that the costumes are typical of the Lowicz region, a town located  between Warsaw and Lodz.

While on the theme, Roman also included a postcard evocative of the Chodsko Folk Festival, the most important and oldest such event in the Czech Republic. (Previous note here saying it was in Poland was incorrect as my good friend Michal (Moc děkuji, Michal) let me know.

Quoting Michal directly: "Chodsko" is the name of a border region near the German border. It is an area of great historical significance. In the Middle Ages, the inhabitants of this region enjoyed many privileges precisely because they guarded the turbulent border with the German lands of the time.

Today, the area is known for its folklore, bagpipe music (the picture shows a typical bagpiper from Chodsko), and really famous folklore festivals.

Postage was completed with 2 more stamps:

-  20 grosz definitive stamp of the flowers and fruits series,  issued on 06JUL2016, bearing the image of a Saffron plant, Crocus sp, one of my favourite flowers.

- 2 Zloty stamp commemorative of the 150th anniversary of UPU - Union Postale Universelle, issued on 30OCT2024, remarkable in the fact that it does not follow the general design standard of the various stamps issued by several postal administrations to mark the occasion.

As usual with Roman's sendings, the postmark hails from Gdansk.