Poland of the 21^st century in the eyes of a child

Over 14 thousand works were sent for the very popular competition. All of them will be transferred to the Museum of the Post and Telecommunication in Wrocław, where they will be exposed.

The stamps represent awarded works by:

PLN 1.00 - Marcin Kuroń from the Group of Special Schools in Mielec
PLN 1.90 - Agata Grzyb from the Primary School no. 38 in Lublin
PLN 2.00 - Joanna Sadrakuła from the plastic workshop of Małgorzata Duda from Gorzyce.

On the day of introducing the stamps into the market, there will be sold a first day envelope (FDC) with a special date seal in the Post Office Warsaw 1.

75^th anniversary of the foundation of (the) Polish State Railways (PKP)

First railways were built in the Polish territory during the first half of the 19th century, i.e., at the times when Poland was under partitions. The railway network had been developing separately in each of the three partitions until the outbreak of the First World War. The Polish state revived in 1918 inherited three very poorly connected communication systems, whose unification into one technically and organizationally uniform network was a task of a state importance.

The Polish State Railways were founded on the basis of a resolution of the President of the Republic of Poland of September 24th, 1926. A direct supervision over them was exercised by Minister of the Railway and by the Minister of Communications since 1932.

The trains were usually steam ones before the Second World War. The locomotives were exploited until the end of the 1980s. You can see them functioning only in railway museums, e.g., in Wolsztyn, nowadays.

The electrification of the Polish railways was started in 1918. Professor Roman Podoski presented a pioneering program of an electrification of the Warsaw region and three main routes in Poland: from Warsaw to Cracow and Katowice, from Warsaw to Poznań, and from Cracow to Lvov via Przemy¶l. The first local electric trains were started from Warsaw to Otwock and Pruszków in 1936.

After the Second World War, the Polish Railways faced the problem of the reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure again. It was possible to launch the utilization of the first electric line at the route Warsaw - Katowice - Gliwice only in 1957.

PKP has been modernized since 1990. First EuroCity and InterCity trains were introduced in 1992, along with a computer-based system of selling tickets.

On the day of introducing the stamps into the market, there will be sold a first day envelope (FDC) with a special date seal in the Post Office Warsaw 1.

Exhibition in the Museum of the Polish Army "And One Century Passes it Over to Another Century"

The exposition was organized on the basis of the most precious monuments of the Polish culture collected in Polish museums and libraries. It will be possible to admire, among others, collections from the Art Gallery and Historical Museum in Lvov.

At this occasion, the Polish Post will introduce a stamp into the market, representing a breast-plate of the hussar's armor of Stanisław Skórkowski, Secretary of King Władysław IV of the first half of the 17th century, as well as fragments of a picture by Stanisław Batowski - Kaczor "The Battle of Chocim". There is a rosette of an armor with the picture of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception at the background.

On the day of introducing the stamps into the market, there will be sold a first day envelope (FDC) with a special date seal in the Post Office Warsaw 1.

Quo vadis

The novel was translated into the film language several times. We will soon be able to admire its Polish version directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz.

At this occasion, the Polish Post will introduce six postal stamps into the market, each one of the face value of PLN 1.00. The whole series will be published in the form of an ornamental publishing sheet, containing various sets of photographs from the film set (just like those represented in the stamps). It was our ambition to have the six chronologically ordered stamps render the film's idea.

Thus the individual stamps depict the following persons and events:

- Ligia, Vinicius, Petrinius against the Roman architecture at the background,

- singing Neron in one of the scenes of a feast,

- Peter the Apostle in the Roman catacombs during secret prayers of the Christians and a scene of the baptism of Chilon Chilonides,

- Chilon Chilonides against the great fire of Rome,

- Ligia tied to the back of the aurochs and Ursus, after a victorious fight with the auroch, holding Ligia in his arms, with Christians in the amphitheatre in the background,

- Peter the Apostle, Vinicius and Ligia blessed by Peter.

On the day of introducing the stamps into the market, there will be sold 3 types of first day envelopes (FDC) with a special date seal in the Post Office Warsaw 1.

European Philatelic Exhibition in Lubin - EURO CUPRUM 2001

The Polish Post will introduce four stamps, including one of them in the form of a block into the market on the day of the opening of the said exhibition. They have been designed in the convention of a copper engraving manually colored. From the substantial and stylistic point of view, they refer to drawings from the Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Crafts, Industry, and Liberated Arts by Diderot, published in Paris in the 18th century. The huge collection of the iconographic documentation renders metallurgical technologies of the Enlightenment epoch in details.
Individual stamps represent:

PLN 1.00 - a furnace for melting copper with huge bellows moved with the force of water. The metallurgists take out the characteristic copper "plates" from the furnace in the first plan.

PLN 1.90 - a scene in a rodding workshop: an engraver during engraving and workers manually dressing the sheets.

PLN 2.00 - copying the engravings in a copper engraving press, workers apply paint on the plate and swipe off its excess.

PLN 3.00 - a panoramic view of Lubin of the 18th century and an engraving stylet.

On the day of introducing the stamps into the market, there will be sold 2 types of first day envelopes (FDC) with a special date seal in the Post Office Lubin 1.

Development of the God's Mercy Sanctuary in Cracow-Łagiewniki

The Sanctuary is located in a plot belonging to the Nuns of the God's Mercy. The monastery was founded by Prince Aleksander Lubomierski. He gave Cardinal Albin Dunajewski a big fund for charity purposes, with which there were purchased several hectares of a field in Łagiewniki village near Cracow, and then an institution for girls was constructed there.

During the inter-war period there lived and died the blessed Sister Faustyna Kowalska (1905-1938), whose relics are in the altar under the picture of Jesus of Mercy famous for its pity.

The dynamically developing cult of the God's Mercy according to forms shown by Sister Faustyna blessed on April 18th, 1993, and the growing fame of the holiness of her life attract bigger and bigger numbers of pilgrims to this place and hence there resulted the necessity to construct an new shrine and buildings allocated for the pilgrims.

The model of the development of the sanctuary was presented to the Pope John Paul II, who signed it, on June 7^th, 1997

On the day of introducing the stamps into the market, there will be sold a first day envelope (FDC) with a special date seal in the Post Office Cracow 1.

ST. MARY'S SANCTUARIES: St. Mary of the Beautiful Love, St. Mary of LudĽmierz - Queen of Podhale, St. Mary the Winner from Mariampol

Value PLN 1.00 - the picture of St. Mary of the Beautiful Love from the Concathedral of St. martin and Nicolas in Bydgoszcz, the oldest church in this city, dating back to 1466. It has been worshipped by the believers for many centuries and it was coronated in 1966 by Stefan Kardynał Wyszyński, Primate of Poland.

Value PLN 1.00 - the picture of St. Mary of LudĽmierz - Queen of Podhale from the Small Basilica of the Assumption of St. Mary in LudĽmierz. The cult of the "GaĽdzina of Podhale" has lasted for 600 years. The picture was coronated by Stefan Kardynał Wyszyński, Primate of Poland, in 1963.

Value PLN 1.90 - the picture of St. Mary the Winner from Mariampol from the church of St. Mary in Piasek in Wrocław, brought by repatriants in 1945 and devoted to the church in the oldest part of the world, Ostrów Tumski. It was coronated by cardinals: Józef Glemp, Franciszek Macharski, and Henryk Gulbinowicz in 1989.

On the day of introducing the stamps into the market, there will be sold 3 first day envelopes (FDC) with a special date seal in the Post Office Bydgoszcz 1, LudĽmierz, and Wrocław 55.

60^th anniversary of the death of St. Maksymilian Maria Kolbe

During his stay in Rome, he founded the Knighthood of the Immaculate, sort of a brotherhood of persons wishing to convert the sinners and unreligious.

Father Kolbe was ordained on April 28^th, 1918, and he came back to independent Poland in 1919. He started to found the Knighthood of the Immaculate in Poland. He also undertook steps to start a publication of the Catholic press. He perceived a chance to oppose the bad and popularize the Evangelics with the help of mass media. "Rycerz Niepokalanej" issued by him reached the publication of 750 thousand copies, "Rycerz Niepokalanej" for children was published in 221 thousand copies, and "Mały Dziennie" in 137 thousand copies.

Maksymilian Kolbe founded a monastery-publishing house called Niepokalanów to commemorate Mary in Teresin near Warsaw. A radio station started to function there in 1938 and it was planned to launch television as well.

After the breakout of the Second World War, Father Kolbe was arrested together with other monks by the Germans. He was in Amtlitz and Ostrzeszów concentration camps, in Pawiak prison, and then he was transferred to O¶więcim, where he offered his life for an unknown co-prisoner Francieszek Gajowniczek, convicted to a hunger death at the end of July 1941.

Maksymilian M. Kolbe died on August 14^th, 1941, killed with an injection with phenol by the Germans. Pope John Paul II canonized him on October 10^th, 1982.

On the day of introducing the stamps into the market, there will be sold a first day envelope (FDC) with a special date seal in the Post Office O¶więcim 5.

100^TH BIRTHDAY OF CARDINAL STEFAN WYSZYŃSKI, PRIMATE OF THE MILLENNIUM

He was sought by Gestapo on the basis of a wanted notice during the war.

He was appointed Archbishop of Gniezno and Warsaw and the Primate of Poland after the death of the Primate of Poland August kardynał Hlond on October 22nd, 1948.

He was imprisoned by the communist authorities for two years in 1954.

During the 1960s, the Primate of Poland participated in the works of the 2nd Vatican Oecumenical Council. While striving for a friendship between two big Christian nations: Polish and German, he appealed to German bishops together with the Polish Episcopate in 1965 with a letter, which caused a sudden reaction of party and state authorities.

When the Pole Karol Wojtyła was appointed head of the Holy See in 1978, the Primate did not hide his joy and emotion. A great social movement started since that time. It was called Solidarity. The Primate undertook the role of the mediator between state authorities and Solidarity.

He died on May 28th, 1981.

He managed the Church in Poland for thirty-three years and it was the longest primate pontifice.

On the day of introducing the stamps into the market, there will be sold first day envelopes (FDC) with a special date seal in the Post Office in Zuzela.

WILD ANIMALS AND PLANTS - SPECIES THREEATENED WITH EXTINCTION

In order to limit the trade in these animals, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also called as 'Washington Convention' or CITES, was signed at Washigton, D.C. on 3 March 1973.

The Polish Post will introduce a series of postal stamps into the trade, representing species of plants and animals under protection in Poland and covered by the Washington Convention on July 10th, 2001. They are the following:

PLN 1.00 - common snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis L.), Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx )

PLN 1.00 - Apollo Butterfly (Parnassius apollo), brak nazwy ang. - orchid (Orchis sambucina L.)

PLN 1.00 - Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo), spring adonis (Adonis vernalis L.)

PLN 1.90 - ladies slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus L.), Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)

PLN 1.90 - Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), brak nazwy ang. - orchid (Orchis pallens L.)

PLN 1.90 - orchid (Orchis latifolia L.), Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra)

PLN 2.00 - the stamp represents the logo of CITES against the background of the map of the world.

On the day of introducing the stamps into the market, there will be sold 4 first day envelopes (FDC) with a special date seal in the Post Office Warsaw 1.