Germany 

Deutsches Reich

21st June 1938 

Stamp from a set issued for the German Gymnastics and Sports Festival in Breslau (since 1945 Wrocław in Poland).

The stamp depicts the "Cathedral Island" (German: Dominsel; Polish: Ostrów Tumski), the oldest part of the city of Wrocław in south-western Poland. It was formerly an island between branches of the Oder River.

The first wooden constructions on Cathedral Island were built in the 10th century by the Piast dynasty. The first stone building was St. Martin's chapel, built in the eleventh century by Benedictine monks. Boleslaw I made the island his capital in 1163. In 1315 Cathedral Island was sold to the church. Since the island ceased to be under secular jurisdiction, it was often used by those who had broken the law as a place of sanctuary. Nicolaus Copernicus resided on Cathedral Island in the scholastic Church of the Holy Cross. In 1766 Giacomo Casanova also lived there.

Michel Catalogue Number: 665

Scott DE 486
Yvert et Tellier DR 608
Stanley Gibbons DR 653
AFA number DR 660
Unificato DR 608

1938, 21. Juni. Deutsches Turn- und Sportfest, Breslau. Ansichten von Breslau: Dominsel.