Romania kept getting bigger up through the first half of the 20th century. They scooped up new territory from the Ottomans, Bulgaria, and Hungary. As can be imagined, many had to move. Why not show however good stewardship by building the longest bridge in Europe. Nobody would expect to find that in Romania, and having it designed by a Romanian would show the possibilities. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
This stamp issue celebrated Romania obtaining the province of Dobruja from Bulgaria 50 years before. The stamps show the port of Constanta on the Black Sea that was so important to Romania, an ancient monument to show the history, King Carol I who obtained the area, and the then King Carol Bridge in Cernavoda that was Romania’s great achievement in the area. Stamps can help a country to put their best foot forward and this issue was definitely doing that.
Todays stamp is issue A80, a 10 Lei stamp issued by the Kingdom of Romania on October 25th, 1928. It was a seven stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $3.25 unused.
The region of Dobruja was awarded to Russia in the Treaty of San Stefano of 1878 from Bulgaria after Russia defeated the Ottomans. They then traded the area to Romania for land in present day Moldavia. The area was about half Romanian but also contained Bulgars, Turks, Russian Tartars, Gypsies, and Germans. The port of Constanta on the Black Sea was very important and would be more so if it could be connected more directly to Bucharest.
Anghel Saligny was born in 1854 the son of a French educator who operated a boys boarding school in Focsani. He was able to continue his engineering education in Germany and was later employed designing railways in Saxony. Soon he was back in Romania designing railways and working on the facilities of the port of Constanta. A bridge over the Danube at Cernavoda was quite daunting due to the needed length and the bridge was initially bid out. Instead Romania decided to trust Saligny with the 8600 foot bridge. The bridge was built in five years and named for then King Carol.
In World War I the bridge very nearly saw its end. Bulgarians with German support were advancing through Dobruja toward Bucharest. The government considered blowing the bridge to slow the advance. Instead a new General was appointed as commander of the Romanian Second Army. He suggested that the government blow up the previous commander instead of the bridge. The bridge was made temporarily impassable but the Romanian 2nd Army was able to hold the line along the wide Danube. After the fall of the Royal Government in 1948, the bridge was renamed after Anghel Saligny.
In the 1980s a new slightly longer bridge was built nearby the Anghel Saligny Bridge. It was also designed in Romania and handled rail and road. The older bridge has not been taken down due to it’s historic signifigence. The new one may be slightly bigger but is not so handsome. The new bridge got a stamp in 1989 but that stamp is only worth 25 cents.
Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Anghel Saligny. His work was considered on the same level as Gustave Eiffel, whose firm had also put in a bid on the project. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.