Druja-Dūkštas Railway post 1937

Well, unfortunately it is a damaged stamp... but I have my reason why I do keep this stamp preciously in my album. This stamp has a 1937 polish T.P.O. postmark of the line Druja (now Друя / Druya, Belarus) - Dukszty (now Dūkštas, Lithuania)! I have few books and documents talking about Polish railway post that operated in Vilnius region but none of them mention about this Druja - Dukszty line for some reason which I have absolutely no clue. According to the list of Polish railway post line, the line Druja - Dukszty existed and the number was 491 which supposed to be shown on the bottom of the postmark (it is missing on my copy). Philatelically speaking, that's about all the information I've got so far.
This narrow gauge line linked Dukszty / Dūkštas and Druja, the northernmost Polish railway station ever existed in Polish history, via Браслаў /Brasław (Breslauja in Lithuanian), the most populated town along this railway line. Originally, it has been built by the German during WWI which the Poles took over and converted to a 750mm narrow gauge line. There were some interruptions during WWII but the line was used until the late 1960's during the Soviet rule.

The line Druja - Dukszty on a 1929 Polish map

 Only 5 stations were actually in the present Lithuanian territory: Dukszty / Dūkštas, Berżeniki / Beržininkai, Rymszany / Rimšė, Biernaty / Bernotai and Czepukany / Čepukai (part of what used to be Czepukany extends on the Belarussian side as well). For more informations, look at the thread in miestai.net, the link is HERE

Klaipėda-Šiauliai Railway post 1930

Postmark of the T.P.O. (Pašto vagonas) line Klaipėda - Šiauliai

This is a cover sent in 1930 by the railway post (Pašto vagonas) line Klaipėda - Šiauliai to Berlin, Germany. Unfortunately I don't know where is it sent from because the sender have not written any return address. 30 centas was the postal rate for the domestic letter but this rate also applied to Germany, Latvia and Estonia. To other countries, is was 60 centas.

Riga-Kybartai Railway post 1928 - Postcard of Dainų šventė in Kaunas 1924

Dainų šventė in Kaunas 1924 (high resolution)

T.P.O. (Pašto vagonas) Ryga - Kybartai 1928

This is postcard send in 1928 by the railway post Ryga (Lithuanian spelling for Riga, the Latvian capital city) - Kybartai from Kėdainiai to France. It is a real picture postcard and shows the Lithuanian traditional song festival called Dainų šventė. The one on the picture is the first one held in Kaunas in 1924, the Lithuanian version of Wikipedia for the entry "Dainų šventė" shows a picture of the same event taken from a slightly different angle.

Mažeikiai-Riga Railway post 1912

Муравьево / Muravjevo (now Mažeikiai, Lithuania) - Riga

Альт-Ауц / Alt-Autz (today Auce, Latvia)

This is an Imperial Russian postal stationery with a railway post cancel of 1912, line 86 between Муравьево / Muravjevo (now Mažeikiai, Lithuania) and Riga which was also a part of Russia at that time. The destination of the card is Альт-Ауц / Alt-Autz, a German place name spelled in Russian alphabet. It sounds a bit weird but it was perfectly normal because the gubernia of Kurland was German speaking despite being part of the Russian Empire. The town  of Альт-Ауц / Alt-Autz is today simply called Auce, part of Latvia, just 5 km from the Lithuanian border and 25 km north east of Mažeikiai. I had been curious if "Neu-Autz" exists. If "Alt-" does, why not the "Neu-", and yes! it does actually. Wikipedia tells me it is Jaunauce which is literally the "New Auce", located just 4 km west of Auce.

Vilnius 1915

This is a postcard sent in 1915 from Вильно/Vilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania) to... somewhere in Russia, I'm not really sure. The picture is a nice panorama of Vilnius during the reign of Russia, most probably taken from the top of the bell tower of the university towards the direction of the present hill of the crosses. The postmark is the oval railway post Вильно Вокзаль / Vilno vokzal (Vilno railway station). It is very interesting that some of the Russian cancels show Вильно/Vilno, the Polish name of the city, but there are also Вильна / Vilna in Russian.

Warszawa-Vilnius Railway post 1935

This is an express letter sent in 1935 by the railway post line number 7 Warszawa - Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania) to Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia), Germany. I'm not sure where exactly this letter has been sent from but the sender's address is on the back and it's Slonim, today a town in Grodno region, Belarus. This TPO line 7 ran from Wilno (Vilnius) - Grodno - Białystok - then to Warszawa, so my guess is that it has been sent from Grodno then changed the line at Białystok then to Königsberg via Grajewo. Two arrival cancels on the back as well, one is Königsberg - Telegraphenamt and the other is Königsberg 5.

Smalininkai 1906

Schmalleningken (now Smalininkai) - Hotel Deutsches Haus and the pier

TPO Bahnpost Pogegen - Schmalleningken / Pagėgiai - Smalininkai

This is a postcard sent in 1906 from Schmalleningken (now Smalininkai, Lithuania), East Prussia to Санкт-Петербург / Sankt-Peterburg, Russia. Schmalleningken was an important center on the eastern edge of Memelland having a pier facing Memel / Nemunas River and a railway connection. The postmark is a railway post (Bahnpost) of the line Pogegen (now Pagėgiai, Lithuania) - Schmalleningken. The picture of the postcard is also interesting as well, with the large steam boat "Herold" with lots of passengers getting ready to leave the pier in front of the hotel Deutsches Haus.

Daugavpils-Šiauliai Railway post 1977

ПВ Даугавпилс - Шяуляй / Daugavpils - Šiauliai

I know it's not really a beautiful looking cover but it definitely has a very attractive postmark: ПВ (Почтовый Вагон / Pochtovy Vagon) Даугавпилс - Шяуляй / Daugavpils - Šiauliai. The cover has been sent in 1977 from Rokiškis railway station to Vilnius. ПВ (Почтовый Вагон) literally means "postal wagon" which is used to designate TPO. I have posted in the past on this blog, a Soviet railway postmark of Panevėžys-Šiauliai, the one I'm posting today is the extension of the same line.

Railway map of Šiauliai to the direction of Daugavpils

Virbalis 1911

TPO Вержболово/Verzhbolovo - С.П.Бург/S.P.Burg (St.Petersburg) 1911

This is a postcard sent in 1911 from Вержболово / Verzhbolovo (now Virbalis, Lithuania) to Berlin, Germany. Virbalis appears in many languages, Wirballen in German, Wierzbołów in Polish, due to its important factor, having a railroad station on the border of 2 powerful nations in the region: the German Reich and the Imperial Russia.

The church in the picture Virbalis Evangelical Lutheran Church was built in 1844 for the German Protestant community in the town. The church has been destroyed during WWII and only the ruin of it remains today. The German community left the town after the war so there are no one left to rebuilt or need this Protestant structure.

The postmark is also nice, it is a 1911 railway postmark between Вержболово / Verzhbolovo and С.П.Бург/S.P.Burg (St.Petersburg).

Cancellations of the Railway post - 01

Bahnpost (Railway post) ZUG 10 Insterburg (now Черняховск/Chernyakhovsk, Russia) - Memel (now Klaipėda, Lithuania) 1922, during the Memelgebiet period under the French administration.

P.V. (pašto vagonas) Nr. 20 Smalininkai (former Schmalleningken, Memelgebiet) - Pagėgiai (former Pogegen, Memelgebiet) 1928, during the Lithuanian First Republic.

Railway post Warszawa - Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania) 1938, during the Polish occupation of Vilnius region.

Cancellations of the First Republic - 02

Here are some of my recent acquisitions of postmarks from the First Lithuanian Republic.

Laižuva P.A. (Pašto agentūra/Post agent) 1921. Not in the best condition but how can I pass Laižuva P.A. 1921? Nooo way! 

Virbalis 1925 

Saugai 1929. Recently I give much attention to those former Memelgebiet towns. German name: Saugen 

Šakiai 1931 

Railway post Klaipėda-Kybartai 193? Possibly, The longest route in Lithuania.

Definitely not so common Vilnius 10! I was lucky for this one. Postmark date: 26.3.1940

Berezwecz-Panevėžys Railway post 1914

Railway post ПоневѢж / Ponevezh (now Panevėžys, Lithuania) - Березвеч / Berezvech (now Беразьвечча / Berazvechcha, Belarus)

I have previously posted the Imperial Russian 1902 railway postmark No.201 Švenčionėliai-Panevėžys (you can find the link HERE), and this No.202 which I'm posting today, is the same line but in the opposite direction. The postmark is from 1914 between ПоневѢж / Ponevezh (now Panevėžys, Lithuania) and Березвеч / Berezvech (spelled Berezwecz in Polish, now Беразьвечча / Berazvechcha, Belarus). In 1905, the railway postal service has extended from Švenčionėliai to Berezwecz. Berezwecz was once famous for its magnificent Church which no longer exists. It was one of the finest example of Vilnius Baroque style architecture in the former Vilna Gubernia. Fortunately, an exact replica has been rebuilt in Białystok, Poland in 1996 and you can witness once again the glory of Berezwecz. You can find the Wikipedia link to Berezwecz with the picture of the church of the Resurrection in Białystok HERE (it is in Polish. It has not been translated in english yet).

Anykščiai Railway post line No. 201. 1902

Very rare railway postmark line No. 201 Švenčionėliai-Panevėžys

Arrival cancellation of Уцяны / Utsyany (Utena)

This is a very nice registered cover sent in 1902 from  Оникшты / Onikshty (now Anykščiai, Lithuania), Ковен. г./Kovenskaya Guberniya (Kaunas Gubernia) to Уцяны/Utsyany (now Utena, Lithuania) also in the same Kaunas Gubernia. There is also a railway postmark (Почтовыи вагон/Pochtovyi vagon) of the line No.201 running from Ново-Свенцяны / Novo-Sventsyany (Švenčionėliai) to ПоневѢж / Ponevezh (Panevėžys), which stopped at both, Anykščiai an Utena. 

Zemgale-Vilnius Railway post 1939

Zemgale - Wilno, to some people it might seem strange to see "Zemgale" on a Polish postmark. Indeed, Zemgale is a name of a Latvian region. But according to the train time table (link to the time table is HERE) from that time, there are twice daily train that departs from Warsaw to Turmont (Zemgale) via Wilno/Vilnius. Turmont (now Turmantas, Lithuania) is a border town with a railway station and not part of Latvia. Then why would they add "(Zemgale)" to it?

Zemgale station (upper) and Turmont station (lower)

The answer is quit simple when you look further to the time table. Zemgale was a Latvian border station just 2km north of Turmont/Turmantas station and was the real final destination of the train. According to Wikipedia, Zemgale station does not exist anymore and the station building serves as a Catholic church today (Russian Wikipedia LINK, as it has not been translated to english yet). Zemgale served as a border custom and also as a connecting station to further direction towards Daugavpils. The express train from Warsaw was officially named "Gwiazda Północy", the Northern Star, but most of the people called it "Latający Wilnianin". Latający meaning flying and Wilnianin designates the people of Wilno (if I would be forced to translate it, I would say "Flying Wilnians". HERE is the Wikipedia link). Funny name.. The sender of this cover seems to have posted in Ignalino/Ignalina, a town between Wilno and Zemgale with also a railway station which explains the use of this postmark. 

Daugavpils-Radviliškis Railway post 1913

Railway post Двинcк / Dvinsk (now Daugavpils, Latvia) - Радзивилишки / Radzivilishki (now Radviliškis, Lithuania)

This is a postal stationery sent in 1913 with a railway post cancellation of the line Двинcк / Dvinsk (now Daugavpils, Latvia) - Радзивилишки / Radzivilishki (now Radviliškis, Lithuania).

Panevėžys-Šiauliai Railway post 1962

This is a railway post cover sent to Klaipėda in 1962 during the Soviet period with a cancellation "Паневежис-Шяуляй/Panevėžys-Šiauliai". There is an arrival cancellation of Klaipėda on the back. The sender's address was in Joniškėlis which was an important railway junction at that time. Here is a link of railway map provided by the Siaurojo Lietuvos Geležinkelio Rėmėjų Sąjunga (Union of Supporters of the Lithuanian Narrow Gauge Railway) website: link (click "Max" on the upper right corner to zoom the map)