After finishing up last year’s releases, I hopped right to the Lithuanian 2023 stamps. I know, I promised no more rabbit jokes last month, but I’m incapable of passing up a bad pun. I was in a rush to post Lithuania’s stamps because friends are now on a plane, winging their way to Lithuania. And after deciding it would be fun to post the stamps for each country they visit over the next 3 weeks, I realised I hadn’t even laid down the first draft of 2022, let alone 2023, hence my mad rush to post both years. By tomorrow, they’ll be strolling the streets of historic Vilnius and both 2022 and 2023 posted. I’m living vicariously through their trip and looking forward to any photos they send. They couldn’t ask for a better time to visit – it’s Vilnius’ 700th Anniversary! And if I’m good, maybe they’ll bring back the January 20th souvenir sheet.
For the 2022 program, I wrote how fun it was learning about new artists and designers. That hasn’t changed. 2023 has already introduced me to a new face, Irmos Balakauskaitės. It has also seen the return of “old friends” – artists I’m becoming familiar with like Artūras Slapšys. But, the real treasure for this year will be 13 year old artist Ada Šiaučiulytė and her winning portrait of her pet rabbit.
Winning entry for Lithuania Post’s art contest for children 3-16 Artist: Ada Šiaučiulytė
Ada was one of 3 winning entries in the 2022 Children’s Drawing contest. I am dubious any stamp issued for the rest of the year will top this highly detailed piece of art. If Lietuvos paštas is smart, they’ll turn this into a poster. It’s a real shame Lithuania didn’t issue a high quality scan of this stamp so you could blow it up and see the exquisite detail from nose to tail. I can’t wait to see the other two winning entries.
And once again, I apologise for the erratic sizes for some of the covers. Lithuania post doesn’t always publish high rez scans of their covers and souvenir sheets, so it can be a bit hit and miss with the quality. I’ll do the best I can, but I’m sure you’ll share my disappointment when you see a teeny FDC.
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January
Republican Panevėžys Hospital Centenary
Topics: civic | history
1 stamp, FDC, maxicard, cancel
The Panevėžys opened December 1923. To celebrate this centenary, the hospital did a giveaway of this set.
Titular – Public Institution Republican Panevėžys Hospital (panevezioligonine.lt)
Unless you poke around the Lithuanian press releases (or visited a post outlet), you might have missed this stamp.
No designer listed
Release date: January 1, 2023
Vilnius, 700th Anniversary
Topics: history| UNESCO heritage
4 stamps on souvenir sheet
offset
Vilnius Turns 700 Years Old in 2023: 7 Thing… | Go Vilnius
The name of the capital of Lithuania was mentioned for the first time in a letter from the Grand Duke Gediminas to European cities. In this way, the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania invited artisans, knights and farmers from various fields from Western European cities to come to Vilnius, thus contributing to the prosperity of the Lithuanian capital. Happy birthday, Vilniau – postage stamps dedicated to the 700th anniversary of the capital were issued | Lithuanian Post
Vilnius was placed on the UNESCO Heritage Site list in 1994. Vilnius Historic Centre – UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Designer: Vladas Polikša
Release date: January 20, 2023
February
Centenary of the Annexation of Klaipėda (Memel) to Lithuania
Topics: history
1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset
Designer: Irmos Balakauskaitės
Trained as a painter, Balakauskaitės now explores the world through a variety of mediums including graphic arts, sculpture and puppet theatre (mechanical theatre). Irma Balakauskaitė – Theme – LRT offers a number of articles about the artist and her work.
Release date: February 10, 2023
Grand Dukes Vytenis, Algirdas and Kęstutis
Definitives
Series: Rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Topic: history | rulers of Lithuania
3 stamps, FDC, cancel
offset
This series started in 2021
- Vytenis – Grand Duke of Lithuania from c. 1295 to c. 1316 Vytenis – Wikipedia (alquds.edu)
- Algirdas – Grand Duke from 1345 to 1377 Algirdas Lituaniae (1296 – 1377) – Genealogy (geni.com)
- Kęstutis – Grand Duke from 1381–1382 Kęstutis | duke of Lithuania | Britannica
Artist/designer: Artūras Slapšys
Slapšys’ first stamp design was the 2009 World Regatta of Great Sailboat. Previous stamps include the 2010 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and 2011 The 775th Anniversary of the Battle of Saule. He designed 3 stamps for the 2023 program.
Release date: February 24, 2023
March
Children’s Drawings – My Pet
Topics: art
1 stamp
offset
Ada Šiaučiulytė was the winner of the 2022 Children’s Drawing contest with this complex drawing of her pet rabbit At the time of this entry, Ada was 13 years old.
3 winners were picked or this competition. The remaining winners will be featured on stamps in 2024 and 2025.
Artist: Ada Šiaučiulytė
Release date: March 17, 2023
April
150th Anniversary of the Birth of Jurgis Baltrušaitis (1873-1944)
Topics: literature | history
1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset
Lithuanian poet, essayist, diplomat.
“I only write what comes to my mind as a deep inner necessity. I consider everything else to be a thing of “empty” art, no matter how beautiful, alive and realistic it may be.”
March 17, 1904 in a letter to Alexander Djakonov
Jurgis Baltrušaitis is considered one of the most famous Lithuanian symbolists. Some of his works have a particularly vivid theme of Lithuania’s survival, using various images of rural life and nature. It is lithuanian fairy tales, songs and submissions that are based on all the symbolic poetry of J. Baltrušaitis.
Born and raised during the occupation of Tsarist Russia, J. Baltrušaitis wrote part of the works in Russian.
Poet and essayist Jurgis Baltrušaitis will be immortalized in a new postage stamp | Lithuanian Post
Designer Ugnė Žilytė
Žilytė designed the 2022 Culinary Heritage – Šakotis stamps
Release date: April 27, 2023
May
EUROPA 2023: PEACE
Topics: EUROPA
1 stamp, FDC, cancel, sheets of 10
Designers Peace knot: Linda Bos / Runa Egilsdottir, Esch-sur-Alzette
Release date: May 9, 2023
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