[press release]
Exploring five streams and rivers with stamp series

The Hague, 22 May 2017 – This year’s Beautiful Netherlands – PostNL’s annual stamp series – focuses on stream and river valleys. New stamp sheetlets will come out today on the Dommel (North Brabant) and the Geul (Southern Limburg), as well as the collection sheet from this stamp series. This collection sheet also features the previously issued stream and river valleys: the Drentsche Aa (Drenthe), the Reest (Overijssel) and the Linge (Gelderland).

Since 2005, PostNL has brought out new stamps in this series covering the local history, cultural wealth and natural beauty of the Netherlands. In recent years, stamps have featured fortified towns, ceramics, folk costumes, historic country estates and fishing villages.

Based on characteristic elements
On each stamp sheetlet of this Beautiful Netherlands series, designers Sonja Haller and Pascal Brun opted to focus on the meandering course of streams and river valleys, the cultural and historical landscape, along with a striking national monument. The stamps on the Dommel and the Geul, which came out today, feature the centuries-old Ferryhouse ’t Vaantje in Sint-Michielsgestel and a characteristic timbered house along the Geul valley.

The Netherlands at its best
“For this Beautiful Netherlands series, we wanted to make sure we had the five streams and rivers as a line on the stamps from start to finish, including on the collection sheet. That allows the twists and turns of the waters, which seem to have a mind of their own, to largely determine the look and feel of the stamp sheetlet. We also show how interesting the areas are: lots of nature, at times flat and desolate, at times forested and hilly and always with a gorgeous striking national monument. Hopefully, it will make people want to go to these stream and river valleys,” Sonja Haller says.

Availability
The five ‘Beautiful Netherlands: Stream and River Valleys’ stamps are marked ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for mail within the Netherlands. These stamps will be available from 22 May 2017 at all Bruna shops and via Collectclub.nl. As of today, the stamp sheetlets on the Dommel and the Geul are also for sale in their respective local areas. The stamps are valid until further notice.