Schloss Birseck - Arlesheim, BL, Switzerland - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

The stamp is a semi-postal stamp of the 2006 castles series for Pro Patria. It is 100+50, i.e. 1.00 for postage, 0.50 for the Pro Patria foundation for nature and cultural heritage protection.

Burg Birseck is a spur castle built 1243/44 on a hill south-east of Arlesheim. The castle was used as a residence by the Prince-Bishops of Basel for some decades. It was damaged in the great earthquake of 1356 and pledged to Ramstein until 1435. Then it was used by administrators of the bishop and changed and extended several times until the 18th century when the decay began. It was abandoned in 1763 and in 1794 the ruin was sold and used as quarry. The canon of Arlesheim bought the ruin in 1808 and it was restored in neogothic style, so much of the current structure is not authentic.

Eremitage is located at the southern slope of the hill of Birseck Castle. It is Switzerland's largest English landscape park. It was built by Balbina von Andlau-Staal and canon Heinrich von Ligerz and opened in 1785. The park with many romantic features like chapels, fountains, caves and bridges became an early tourist attraction soon and was visited by many famous travelers. After the French revolution it was almost completely destroyed by peasants and looting French troops in 1792 and 1793. The founders returned from their exile in Germany in 1812 and rebuilt the garden to what we know today. In 1999 it was listed as a nature site of national significance.

The stamp is called Burg Birseck and is was part of a castles series, but the castle and the park are two independent complexes, although both owned by the same non-profit foundation. The larger picture on the stamp is the Proserpina Grotto in Eremitage and also the official documentation of the stamp only talks about the park and does not even mention the castle. So the grotto is the waymark location, the view to the castle is about 300 meters further west.

Stamp Issuing Country: Switzerland Date of Issue: 2006 Denomination: 1 CHF Color: Green Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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