• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Philatelic Society
    • Member services
    • Renew your membership
    • LPS appraisal service
    • LPS expertizing service
  • Provisionals Register
  • Forgeries Register
  • Exhibits Archive
  • Philatelic Directory
    • Philatelic links
    • Stamp auctions
    • Ended auctions
    • Hot auctions watch
    • Stamp shop
    • Stamp Supplies
    • Who is this member?
  • Forums
  • Contacts

Lithuanian Philately

a destination for advanced and beginner collector

  • Sitemap
  • News / Events
  • Postal History
  • Provisionals
  • Local stamps
  • Stamp forgeries
  • Stamp auctions
You are here: Home / Provisional Postmarks / Krekenava 1919-1920

Krekenava 1919-1920

August 4, 2010 By Vytautas Doniela

Krekenava lies half-way between Panevėžys and Kėdainiai. In World War One, during the first battle of Šiauliai, Krekenava (as Krakinow) was briefly touched by squadrons of Bayerische Kavallerie-Division on May 6, 1915 and, during the second battle, was secured by the same division on July 24.

After the German withdrawal from Russia at the end of 1918, Red Army units came to Krekenava area in the first half of January 1919 and in February clashed with Lithuanian troops. By April – May 1919 Krekenava was one of the bases for Lithuanian regulars to continue pushing Bolshevik formations out of Aukštaitija.

In the czarist period Krekenava had had a post office (Krakinovo) but none during the German occupation. A Soviet postal facility (planned or active ?) is mentioned in a document dated March 1919. Although there is no surviving evidence of its activity, a local member of its staff, Leonardas Virvičas stayed on, as from June 20, 1919, to continue working for a Lithuanian post office.  A postmaster (įgaliotinis), Antanas Vainauskas, was appointed for Krekenava on July 16, 1919.

Krekenava was supplied with Fourth Berlin Issue followed by the Sėjėjas Issue, but most likely had had neither any Vilnius nor Kaunas Issues.

In the absence of a regular postmarker, cancelling was done in manuscript, as “Krekenava” for domestic mail or “Krakina[o]w” for foreign destinations.

Krekenava cancelling by MS

No other provisional markings have yet been noted.

Krekenava cover to USA

A standard calendar-type postmarker was provided in the second half of 1920.

Known provisional markings:

Cancelling in MS:
19 IX 19 cover to USA, Berlin IV 60 [colln. Bubnys]
29 / XI/ [19] single, Berlin IV 10 [colln. Doniela]
no date, single, Berlin IV 10 [colln. Brazdeikis]

Filed Under: Provisional Postmarks Tagged With: provisional cancels

Copyright © 2008–2023 · LithuanianPhilately.com