
Poland Post has joined the other European Postal Services and issued a special stamp to enter Europa 202 philatelic competition. The issue is devoted to the Vistula river – the longest and the largest river of Poland, which has served as the main postal route of the country for many years. The stamp was designed by Maciej Jędrysik.
The Vistula is the main river in Poland, which flows from the mountains in the south to the Baltic Sea in the north. The importance of the Vistula is justified by the large catchment area. Alongside significant political and economic development of Poland in 15th and 16th century, the Golden Ages, the Vistula with its tributaries connected royal cities situated on its banks, like Kraków, Sandomierz, Warszawa, Toruń, Elbląg, Gdańsk and other parts of the country as well as Europe and Asia. Royal and private merchant postal systems of letter carriers and horse rides had been functioning since the Middle Ages, finally resulted the establishment of the public postal service founded by the king Sigismund II Augustus in 1558.
See also other Europa 2020 stamps.