Bosnia and Herzegovina – Srpske Pošte

Multiview postcard from Banja Luka (Бања Лука), the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina after capital Sarajevo. The city, whose coat of arms can be seen in the upper left, has a long history dating back to Roman times, although it is probably better known for its role in the Bosnian War when most of the city's Croat and Bosniak population were expelled and its 16 Ottoman-era mosques demolished.

Stamp from the 2009 definitive series featuring local fauna; seen here the red fox, Vulpes vulpes. As I mentioned in my previous Bosnia and Herzegovina post, the country actually has three separate postal systems. Not sure why; I imagine its a relic of the post-War period, no doubt. Stamp here is from Srpske Pošte, the previous from BH Pošta, leaving me with just Hrvatska Pošta Mostar (Croatian administration) left to collect.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – BH Pošta

Postcard showing the famous Stari Most (Old Bridge) in the historic city of Mostar in southern Bosnia. The bridge was built by the Ottomans in the sixteenth century, but was sadly destroyed by shelling in 1993 during the Bosnian War. While the perpetrators claimed that the bridge was of strategic importance, others argue that the bridge held little strategic value and that its shelling was an example of deliberate cultural property destruction, act of "killing memory", in which evidence of a shared cultural heritage and peaceful co-existence were deliberately destroyed.

Plans were put in place immediately following the War to reconstruct the bridge as closely as possible to the original, using Ottoman techniques and even stones from the original bridge that were recovered by divers from the river. It reopened following a three-year reconstruction in 2004. Now a World Heritage site, the  reconstructed Old Bridge and Old City of Mostar serve as a symbol of reconciliation, international cooperation and of the coexistence of diverse cultural, ethnic and religious communities.

Stamp of carrots from the 2006 definitive series featuring vegetables. A bit annoyingly for us collectors, Bosnia and Herzegovina actually has three separate postal systems! I imagine there must be a reason for this, a relic of the post-War period, no doubt, but it does mean some extra leg-work for us.  Stamps here are from BH Pošta. I know I have a card send using Srpske Pošte (from the Serbian administration) somewhere else in my collection. That leaves me with just Hrvatska Pošta Mostar (Croatian administration) left to collect.