2018-12-05 Wed

Austria issued a special stamp on 23rd November commemorating the 200th anniversary of the famous devotional carol that’s sung worldwide today on the eve or Christmas, Silent Night. The 0.90 stamp features the Silent Night Memorial Chapel on a snow-clad mountain in Oberndorf, with starry night skies in the background.

The Carol was written by Joseph Mohr (1792-1848) and composed by Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863). Both these artists were Austrians and Silent Night was performed for the first time on the Christmas Eve of 1818, at St Nicholas Church in Oberndorf bei Salzburg. The Church was destroyed in floods but a small chapel (depicted on the stamp) was built in the same location.

Silent Night has been translated in more than 300 languages and dialects. It is also a part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, as a universal message of peace. The stamp was designed by Anna Rastl while it was printed by Joh. Enschede of the Netherlands, by offset in sheets of 50.

Austrian Mint has also released a coin to commemorate this wonderful occasion. Click here to read more about the coin.

Image Courtesy: Austrian Post