Saturday, January 6, 2018

Lithuania, Coat of Arms



Lithuania has issued several stamps which feature the coats of arms of various regional areas. In 1999 the post issued a set of three. The high-value in this set of three was the coat of arms for Rokiskis. This town of some 16,000 is in the northeast of the country. The arms on Scott 644 is comprised of 4 sections, three of which represent ruling families in the history of the area. The LL quadrant features an organ, specifically that in the St Matthias Church in Rokiskis. The instrument in the church doesn't look much like the representation on the stamp.

This site for Lithuanian organs does not have a listing for Rokiskis (yet).

I was able to find this information about the Matthias Church, including the organ:

The church was finished in 1877, but the interiors. Soon count Tyzenhauzas died. His sister Marija/Marry continued financing and supervising the works. She decided to slightly rebuild the church from the outside too - to make it even more grandeur. She met an Austrian architect Werner Georg from Tyrol, then an architect of Vienna, who prepared a project. The main altar was made in Paris in the workshop of French P. Puossielgue – Rusand. Wooden canopy was made in Belgium, the workshop of Goyers. Much of other altars were too made by Goyers and P. Puossielgue – Rusand workshops. The organ was made by Germans Walcker, workshop in Ludwigsburg, Württemberg. Czech from Austria - Rudolf Liehmann (a son of Antonín Liehmann - the teacher of Antonín Dvořák) was invited to play the organ. With him, more Czechs came to Rokiškis and the musical school was was opened in the town, an orchestra started, that played concerts every weekend. By the way, R. Liehmann married in Rokiškis and stayed to the end of his life there. He is buried in Rokiškis cemetery. 




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