Städte auf Briefmarken Thema DDR BRD

The german weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT publishes a themed germany map in its magazine supplement each week. For a new map we did a research about cities on german stamps (since 1949) during the last 12 months. As an extension to the map we will publish the complete list of cities here. We start with the Top 20 and a little evaluation of the results.

As was to be expected most german stamps are referring to Berlin, the capital, which had its own branch of the federal german post Berlin during the times of West-Berlin (1949-1990). However, even without this whole set Berlin is still the top city on stamps of the GDR as well as for FRG/Germany.

Runner Up is Leipzig, the second largest city in Eastern Germany. 95% of the stamps referring to Leipzig were issued in the GDR (DDR) before 1990 and half of those were referring to the Leipzig Trade Fair (Leipziger Messe), which was a stamp theme twice a year during the spring and autumn fairs. Dresden in 3rd place was predominantly mentioned in regards to its museums and art collections as well as its baroque buildings (mostly during GDR times as well). The Staatl. Mathemat.-Physikal. Salon Dresden (Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments) was a subject for three stamp series on its own. Munich is leading the list of cities on FRG (BRD) stamps before 1990 (followed by Hamburg and Berlin). A major subject during the 1970s was the Olympic Games of 1972 in Munich – to this day still the only Olympic Games in Germany after WWII. On 5th place we find Erfurt. The capital of the state Thuringia was the regular location of the largest gardening and park exhibition of the eastern block – the IGA, which was another regular subject on GDR stamps.

total GDR (DDR) FRG (BRD)/Deutschland Berlin
1 Berlin 1268 356 99 813
2 Leipzig 313 297 16 0
3 Dresden 157 133 22 2
4 Munich (München) 72 6 65 1
5 Erfurt 40 35 5 0
6 Hamburg 37 0 36 1
7 Frankfurt/Main 35 0 32 3
8 Saarbrücken 34 0 6 0
9 Weimar 30 25 5 0
10 Bremen 28 7 20 1
10 Chemnitz (Karl-Marx-Stadt) 28 26 2 0
10 Magdeburg 28 24 4 0
10 Rostock 28 25 3 0
14 Halle 27 22 5 0
14 Meissen 27 25 2 0
16 Potsdam 23 15 6 2
17 Jena 22 22 0 0
18 Stuttgart 22 0 22 0
19 Cologne (Köln) 21 2 19 0
20 Hanover 20 0 19 1

Following up on 6 and 7 are Hamburg and Frankfurt (Main), both cities with a wide variety in subjects on stamps. On position 8 we find Saarbrücken, the capital of the Saarland which plays a special part in this list. Between 1947 and 1959 the Saarland issued its own stamps in french Franc. So besides the stamps of the Deutsche Post der DDR (1949-1990), the Bundespost Berlin (1949-1990) and the Bundespost BRD/Deutschland (1949-today) the Saarland is the fourth collection field of official german stamps that we included in this investigation. We started in 1949 and ended in 2017. That is because before the GDR and the FRG were founded in 1949 the publishing of local stamps in Germany was a very fragmented affair.

Amongst the next cities there are some more subjects that stand out. Meissen has been mentioned mainly in series about the famous Meissner Porcelain (the first in europe), Jena has been mentioned in connection with the optics company Carl Zeiss, Hanover has often been mentioned when the EXPO 2000 was held and Bremen can thank the popular fairy tale of the Bremer Stadtmusikanten.

Obviously there is an over-representation of east german cities. Where this is coming from becomes obvious when looking into the total numbers. The GDR was not only publishing more stamps each year than the FRG – in total numbers we found 1444 city mentions on GDR stamps compared to 980 on stamps of the FRG/Germany (only 343 of those before 1990) – further more all those GDR stamps relating to cities were spread over fewer cities in the smaller country. Such details of the results will be looked into in further blog posts…

part I – international cities on german stamps

21 Freiberg (Sachsen) 18
21 Suhl 18
23 Bonn 17
24 Schwerin 16
25 Oberhof (Thüringen) 13
25 Wittenberg 13
27 Nuremberg (Nürnberg) 12
27 Stralsund 12
29 Augsburg 11
29 Eisenach 11
29 Markneukirchen (Vogtland) 11
32 Cottbus 10
32 Dortmund 10
32 Düsseldorf 10
32 Frankfurt/Oder 10
32 Heidelberg 10
32 Kiel 10
32 Oranienburg (bei Berlin) 10
39 Gera 9
39 Kassel 9
39 Mainz 9
39 Neubrandenburg 9
43 Altenberg (Erzgebirge) 8
43 Dessau-Roßlau 8
43 Greifswald 8
43 Markkleeberg 8
43 Naumburg (Saale) 8
43 Plauen 8
49 Aachen 7
49 Arnstadt (Thüringen) 7
49 Essen 7
49 Hildesheim 7
49 Lübeck 7
49 Ratisbon (Regensburg) 7
49 Sassnitz (Rügen) 7
49 Trier 7
57 Freiburg 6
57 Friedrichroda (Thüringen) 6
57 Fürstenberg (Havel) 6
57 Helgoland 6
57 Quedlinburg 6
57 Schneeberg (Erzgebirge) 6
57 Wiesbaden 6
57 Wuppertal 6
65 Bamberg 5
65 Bayreuth 5
65 Bremerhaven 5
65 Eisleben (Sachsen-Anhalt) 5
65 Flensburg (SH) 5
65 Freital (Sachsen) 5
65 Lorsch (Hessen) 5
65 Nordhausen 5
65 Wernigerode 5
65 Würzburg 5

All these cities with 5 or more mentions have made it onto the germany map of the ZEIT magazine. Often it was popular buildings that resulted in mentions for cities like the Wartburg in Eisenach, the Bauhaus in Dessau, the roman Porta Nigra in Trier, the monastry in Lorsch, Castle Moritzburg or Castle Neuschwanstein, which is located in the bavarian town of Schwangau.

Another repeated subject, especially on GDR stamps, was the remembering of the concentration camps. In Oranienburg near Berlin (position 32) there had been even two of those, the KZ Oranienburg and the KZ Sachsenhausen. Also frequently found on german stamps are half-timbered houses and lighthouses. While the first are always found inside a city or town, the latter are not always found in a location that is part of a municipality.

Briefmarken aufkleber Leipzig Berlin London Paris Breslau

No official stamps. These decorative stamps produced by ourselves in 2012 present Leipzig and Berlin next to London, Paris and Wroclaw.

Finally the complete list of all 480 cities mentioned on german stamps:

75 Annweiler am Trifels (RP) 4
75 Bielefeld 4
75 Brandenburg (Havel) 4
75 Brunswick (Braunschweig) 4
75 Darmstadt (Hessen) 4
75 Duisburg 4
75 Ellwangen (Jagst) (BW) 4
75 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 4
75 Gotha 4
75 Hoyerswerda (Sachsen) 4
75 Insel Hiddensee (MVP) 4
75 Karlsruhe 4
75 Koblenz 4
75 Münster 4
75 Neustadt an der Weinstraße (RP) 4
75 Schleswig (SH) 4
75 Schwangau (Bayern) 4
75 Speyer 4
75 Weißenburg in Bayern 4
75 Wismar 4
75 Zwickau 4
96 Altötting (Bayern) 3
96 Annaberg-Buchholz (Sachsen) 3
96 Bautzen 3
96 Braubach (RP) 3
96 Brohltal (RP) 3
96 Dornburg-Camburg (Thüringen) 3
96 Eisenhüttenstadt (Brandenburg) 3
96 Fehmarn (SH) 3
96 Gersheim (Saarland) 3
96 Glücksburg (SH) 3
96 Goslar 3
96 Halberstadt (Sachsen-Anhalt) 3
96 Hohenstein Ernstthal 3
96 Jonsdorf (Sachsen) 3
96 Limburg an der Lahn (Hessen) 3
96 Lüneburg 3
96 Messel (Hessen) 3
96 Mönchengladbach 3
96 Moritzburg (Sachsen) 3
96 Oberammergau (Bayern) 3
96 Oranienbaum-Wörlitz (Sachsen-Anhalt) 3
96 Osnabrück 3
96 Pforzheim 3
96 Putgarten/Rügen (MVP) 3
96 Rheinsberg (Brandenburg) 3
96 Schwedt/Oder (Brandenburg) 3
96 Seiffen / Erzgebirge 3
96 Soest (NRW) 3
96 Tangermünde (Sachsen-Anhalt) 3
96 Witzenhausen (Hessen) 3
96 Wolfsburg 3
127 Ahrensburg (SH) 2
127 Alsfeld (Hessen) 2
127 Altenburg (Thüringen) 2
127 Aschaffenburg 2
127 Bad Doberan (MVP) 2
127 Bad Frankenhausen/Kyffhäuser (Thüringen) 2
127 Bad Münstereifel (NRW) 2
127 Bad Muskau (Sachsen) 2
127 Bastorf (MVP) 2
127 Bernkastel-Kues (RP) 2
127 Bingen am Rhein (RP) 2
127 Blaubeuren (BW) 2
127 Bochum 2
127 Borken (NRW) 2
127 Boxberg/Oberlausitz (Sachsen) 2
127 Calden (Hessen) 2
127 Celle (Niedersachsen) 2
127 Coburg (Bayern) 2
127 Donaueschingen (BW) 2
127 Eichstätt (Bayern) 2
127 Fulda (Hessen) 2
127 Gießen 2
127 Göhren (Rügen) 2
127 Görlitz 2
127 Grimma (Sachsen) 2
127 Güstrow (MVP) 2
127 Hartenstein (Sachsen) 2
127 Harzgerode (Harz) 2
127 Homburg (Saarland) 2
127 Horn-Bad Meinberg (NRW) 2
127 Inzlingen (BW) 2
127 Johanngeorgenstadt (Sachsen) 2
127 Kleve (NRW) 2
127 Konstanz (BW) 2
127 Krefeld (NRW) 2
127 Kröslin (MVP) 2
127 Kühlungsborn (MVP) 2
127 Landshut (Bayern) 2
127 Lauchhammer (Brandenburg) 2
127 Lengenfeld (Vogtland) 2
127 Leuna (Sachsen-Anhalt) 2
127 Lichtenstein (Württemberg) 2
127 Lindau (Bayern) 2
127 Lüdinghausen (NRW) 2
127 Ludwigsburg (BW) 2
127 Ludwigslust (MVP) 2
127 Maifeld (RP) 2
127 Mannheim (BW) 2
127 Mansfeld (Sachsen-Anhalt) 2
127 Mespelbrunn (Bayern) 2
127 Minden (NRW) 2
127 Mühlhausen (Thüringen) 2
127 Neunkirchen (Saarland) 2
127 Neuss (NRW) 2
127 Norderney (Niedersachsen) 2
127 Oberharz am Brocken (Sachsen-Anhalt) 2
127 Oberstdorf (Bayern) 2
127 Oberwiesenthal (Sachsen) 2
127 Ortenberg (Hessen) 2
127 Osterburg/Altmark 2
127 Oybin (Sachsen) 2
127 Passau 2
127 Perleberg (Brandenburg) 2
127 Putbus (Rügen) 2
127 Radebeul (Sachsen) 2
127 Radeburg (Sachsen) 2
127 Raisting (Bayern) 2
127 Reichenbach (Vogtland) 2
127 Rendsburg (SH) 2
127 Reutlingen (BW) 2
127 Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Bayern) 2
127 Sankt Johann (bei Mayen) (RP) 2
127 Schierke (Sachsen-Anhalt) 2
127 Schleife (Sachsen) 2
127 Schwarzenberg / Erzgebirge 2
127 Sehmatal / Erzgebirge 2
127 Stade (Niedersachsen) 2
127 Stechlin (Brandenburg) 2
127 Straubing (Bayern) 2
127 Südharz (Sachsen-Anhalt) 2
127 Thallichtenberg (RP) 2
127 Ulm 2
127 Worms 2
127 Wurzen (Sachsen) 2
127 Xanten (NRW) 2
127 Zella-Mehlis (Thüringen) 2
127 Zittau (Sachsen) 2
214 Alfeld (Leine) (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Allstedt (Sachsen-Anhalt) 1
214 Altenholz (SH) 1
214 Amt Wachsenburg (Thüringen) 1
214 Andechs (Bayern) 1
214 Anklam (MVP) 1
214 Apolda (Thüringen) 1
214 Arnsberg (NRW) 1
214 Bad Arolsen (Hessen) 1
214 Bad Blankenburg (Thüringen) 1
214 Bad Elster (Vogtland) 1
214 Bad Gandersheim (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Bad Hersfeld (Hessen) 1
214 Bad Homburg vor der Höhe (Hessen) 1
214 Bad Liebenstein (Thüringen) 1
214 Bad Reichenhall (Bayern) 1
214 Bad Säckingen (BW) 1
214 Bad Tölz (Bayern) 1
214 Ballstädt (Thüringen) 1
214 Bärenstein / Erzgebirge 1
214 Bedburg-Hau (NRW) 1
214 Behrensdorf (Ostsee) (SH) 1
214 Belzig (Brandenburg) 1
214 Berchtesgaden (Bayern) 1
214 Bergen (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Bergen auf Rügen (MVP) 1
214 Bernau bei Berlin 1
214 Bexbach (Saarland) 1
214 Bietigheim-Bissingen (BW) 1
214 Binz (Rügen) 1
214 Böhlen (Sachsen) 1
214 Borkum (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Born am Darß (MVP) 1
214 Bornhagen (Thüringen) 1
214 Brühl (NRW) 1
214 Brunsbüttel (SH) 1
214 Bückeburg (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Büdingen (Hessen) 1
214 Burghausen (Bayern) 1
214 Büsum (SH) 1
214 Buxtehude (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Chorin (Brandenburg) 1
214 Cochem (RP) 1
214 Colditz (Sachsen) 1
214 Crostwitz (Sachsen) 1
214 Cuxhaven (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Dabel (MVP) 1
214 Dachau (Bayern) 1
214 Dahme (Holstein) (SH) 1
214 Deggendorf (Bayern) 1
214 Delitzsch (Sachsen) 1
214 Detmold (NRW) 1
214 Dillenburg (Hessen) 1
214 Dinkelsbühl (Bayern) 1
214 Dippoldiswalde (Sachsen) 1
214 Drei Gleichen (Thüringen) 1
214 Duderstadt (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Dülmen (NRW) 1
214 Emden (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Epfendorf (BW) 1
214 Eppingen (BW) 1
214 Erkrath (NRW) 1
214 Essing (Bayern) 1
214 Esslingen am Neckar (BW) 1
214 Falkenstein/Harz (Sachsen-Anhalt) 1
214 Fehrbellin (Brandenburg) 1
214 Feldberg (MVP) 1
214 Feldstein (Thüringen) 1
214 Flossenbürg (Bayern) 1
214 Forchheim (Bayern) 1
214 Forst (Lausitz) (Brandenburg) 1
214 Frankenberg (Eder) (Hessen) 1
214 Fraureuth (Sachsen) 1
214 Freising (Bayern) 1
214 Freyburg/Unstrut (Sachsen-Anhalt) 1
214 Friedland (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Fürstenwalde/Spree 1
214 Fürth (Bayern) 1
214 Furth im Wald (Bayern) 1
214 Furtwangen (BW) 1
214 Gager (Rügen) 1
214 Gaukönigshofen (Bayern) 1
214 Geyer (Erzgebirge) 1
214 Glauburg (Hessen) 1
214 Gorlosen (MVP) 1
214 Göttingen (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Hagen (NRW) 1
214 Hallenberg (NRW) 1
214 Halsbrücke (Erzgebirge) 1
214 Hameln (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Hanau (Hessen) 1
214 Hannoversch Münden (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Heidenau (Sachsen) 1
214 Heidenheim an der Brenz (BW) 1
214 Heilbronn (BW) 1
214 Heldrungen (Thüringen) 1
214 Herrnhut (Sachsen) 1
214 Hirschberg (Saale) 1
214 Hirschstein (Sachsen) 1
214 Hohnstein/Sächsische Schweiz 1
214 Hoppegarten (Brandenburg) 1
214 Hörnum (Sylt) 1
214 Höxter (NRW) 1
214 Idar-Oberstein (RP) 1
214 Illingen (Saarland) 1
214 Ingolstadt (Bayern) 1
214 Insel Poel (MVP) 1
214 Jacobsdorf (Brandenburg) 1
214 Kaiserslautern (RP) 1
214 Kamenz (Sachsen) 1
214 Kampen (Sylt) (SH) 1
214 Kaub (RP) 1
214 Kempen (NRW) 1
214 Ketzin/Havel (Brandenburg) 1
214 Kevelaer (NRW) 1
214 Kirchhain (Hessen) 1
214 Kirchheim (Bayern) 1
214 Kohren-Sahlis (Sachsen) 1
214 Königs Wusterhausen (Brandenburg) 1
214 Königswinter (NRW) 1
214 Köthen (Sachsen-Anhalt) 1
214 Krayenberggemeinde (Thüringen) 1
214 Kriebstein (Sachsen) 1
214 Kronach (Bayern) 1
214 Kyffhäuserland (Thüringen) 1
214 Langensalza (Thüringen) 1
214 Laufen (Salzach) (Bayern) 1
214 Lauffen am Neckar (BW) 1
214 Lauscha (Thüringen) 1
214 Laußig (Sachsen) 1
214 Leer (Ostfriesland) (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Leisnig (Sachsen) 1
214 Lippstadt (NRW) 1
214 Lößnitz / Erzgebirge 1
214 Lübbenau/Spreewald 1
214 Luckau (Brandenburg) 1
214 Ludwigshafen am Rhein (RP) 1
214 Lunzenau (Sachsen) 1
214 Marbach am Neckar (BW) 1
214 Marburg 1
214 Marxheim (Bayern) 1
214 Maulbronn (BW) 1
214 Mayen (RP) 1
214 Meersburg (BW) 1
214 Merseburg (Sachsen-Anhalt) 1
214 Merzig (Saarland) 1
214 Mettlach (Saarland) 1
214 Mettmann (NRW) 1
214 Michelstadt (Hessen) 1
214 Mittenwald (Bayern) 1
214 Möhnesee (NRW) 1
214 Montabaur (RP) 1
214 Mühlau (Sachsen) 1
214 Mühldorf am Inn (Bayern) 1
214 Mühlental / Vogtland (Sachsen) 1
214 Muldenhammer (Sachsen) 1
214 Murnau am Staffelsee (Bayern) 1
214 Nauen (Brandenburg) 1
214 Nebel (Amrum) (SH) 1
214 Nebra (Sachsen-Amhalt) 1
214 Neuhardenberg (Marxwalde, Brandenburg) 1
214 Neunburg vorm Wald (Bayern) 1
214 Neuruppin (Brandenburg) 1
214 Niederfinow (Brandenburg) 1
214 Nonnweiler (Saarland) 1
214 Nördlingen (Bayern) 1
214 Oberhausen (NRW) 1
214 Oberlungwitz (Sachsen) 1
214 Oberndorf am Lech (Bayern) 1
214 Oderwitz (Sachsen) 1
214 Oederan (Sachsen) 1
214 Offenbach (Hessen) 1
214 Ohrdruf (TH) 1
214 Olbernhau / Erzgebirge 1
214 Oldenburg (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Oschatz (Sachsen) 1
214 Ottobeuren (Bayern) 1
214 Ottweiler (Saarland) 1
214 Paderborn (NRW) 1
214 Panschwitz-Kuckau (Sachsen) 1
214 Parsteinsee (Brandenburg) 1
214 Peenemünde (Usedom) 1
214 Pegau (Sachsen) 1
214 Peiting (Bayern) 1
214 Pellworm (SH) 1
214 Plaue (Thüringen) 1
214 Plön (Schleswig-Holstein) 1
214 Pommerby (SH) 1
214 Pößneck (Thüringen) 1
214 Pottenstein (Oberfranken) 1
214 Rammenau (Sachsen) 1
214 Ranis (Thüringen) 1
214 Rastatt (BW) 1
214 Recklinghausen (NRW) 1
214 Reichenau (BW) 1
214 Remscheid (NRW) 1
214 Ribnitz-Damgarten (MVP) 1
214 Rötha bei Leipzig (Sachsen) 1
214 Rottweil (BW) 1
214 Rüdesheim am Rhein (Hessen) 1
214 Rudolstadt (Thüringen) 1
214 Ruhpolding (Bayern) 1
214 Saalburg-Ebersfeld (Thüringen) 1
214 Saarburg (RP) 1
214 Sankt Goarshausen (RP) 1
214 Schifferstadt (RP) 1
214 Schiffweiler (Saarland) 1
214 Schirgiswalde-Kirschau (Sachsen) 1
214 Schmiedefeld (Thüringen) 1
214 Schönau am Königssee (Bayern) 1
214 Schöneck / Vogtland (Sachsen) 1
214 Schönewalde (Brandenburg) 1
214 Schöntal (BW) 1
214 Schwäbisch-Hall (BW) 1
214 Schwarzach am Main (Bayern) 1
214 Schwarzburg (Thüringen) 1
214 Schwarzenbruck (Bayern) 1
214 Schwetzingen (BW) 1
214 Schwielowsee (Brandenburg) 1
214 Seeland (Sachsen-Anhalt) 1
214 Seelow (Brandenburg) 1
214 Senftenberg (Brandenburg) 1
214 Siegen (Hessen) 1
214 Silbitz (Thüringen) 1
214 Sögel (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Solingen (NRW) 1
214 St Ingbert (Saarland) 1
214 St. Egidien (Sachsen) 1
214 Stavenhagen (MVP) 1
214 Stendal (Sachsen-Anhalt) 1
214 Tönning (SH) 1
214 Torgau 1
214 Traben-Trarbach (RP) 1
214 Traunstein (Bayern) 1
214 Trebel (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Tübingen 1
214 Überherrn (Saarland) 1
214 Ursberg (Bayern) 1
214 Varel (SH) 1
214 Velbert (NRW) 1
214 Verden (Aller) (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Villingen-Schwenningen (BW) 1
214 Völklingen (Saarland) 1
214 Waldheim (Sachsen) 1
214 Walsrode (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Warendorf (NRW) 1
214 Weilburg (Hessen) 1
214 Weinbergen (TH) 1
214 Weingarten (BW) 1
214 Welschbillig (RP) 1
214 Wermsdorf (Sachsen) 1
214 Wertheim (Bayern) 1
214 Westerhever (SH) 1
214 Wiesenbad (Erzgebirge) 1
214 Wiesenburg/Mark (Brandenburg) 1
214 Wildeck (Hessen) 1
214 Wilhelmshaven (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Witten (NRW) 1
214 Wittlich (RP) 1
214 Woldegk (MVP) 1
214 Wolkenstein / Erzgebirge 1
214 Worpswede (Niedersachsen) 1
214 Wünschendorf (Elster) 1
214 Wurmlingen (BW) 1
214 Zeitz (Sachsen-Anhalt) 1
214 Zerbst/Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt) 1
214 Zeulenroda-Triebes (Thüringen) 1

This list is not claiming to be completed

Recherche Jörg Dietrich