1000th birthday of Bishops Bernward and Godehard - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1960 - 20 Pfennig

A thousand years ago the bishops St. Bernward (960 - 1022) and St. Godehard (960 - 1038) were born. They are among the greatest German church princes of the Middle Ages and one of the outstanding representatives of the epoch that contributed significantly to the development of Western culture. The thousandth year of birth gives the German Federal Post Office the occasion to publish a commemorative stamp. The artists commissioned to draw up the drafts had the choice of either presenting the two bishop figures themselves or working with suitable church symbols. For both possibilities they were given pictures. Walther Bergmann and Bert Jäger each received a draft. Ernst Göhlert delivered two, Prof. Eduard Ege three and F. G. Boes six solutions. The Episcopal Vicariate General in Hildesheim, where the two ecclesiastical dignitaries had long been meaningful, also submitted a proposal. Below was a whole series of good graphic achievements. Very soon, the consideration focused on the proposal of Prof. Eduard Ege, who, with wise restraint of the artistic means, limited himself to the pure black-and-white effect. Yet this is the source of a wealth of form and content that make this brand a jewel in graphic art. The emblems of the two bishops float above the Hildesheim Cathedral, which is shown in a strictly simplified arrangement according to the type of Merian townscapes. The crossed rods fit into the quiet overall design as diagonal braces and catch the play of falling bands. Their synchronization with the roofing of the middle dimples gives the composition bond and hold. In its strict legality and solemnity, this mark is a worthy representative of its kind and related to the art of the coat of arms. The Federal Minister of Posts and Telecommunications has approved the proposal of the Art Advisory Council and ordered that the commemorative stamp be executed according to this draft. It has been produced in the technique of intaglio printing in the Bundesdruckerei Berlin in a red color.