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You are here: Home / Provisional Postmarks / Vyžuonos 1919-1921

Vyžuonos 1919-1921

August 25, 2010 By Vytautas Doniela

Vyžuonos is a township in Aukštaitija, 15 km north of Utena. In World War One, Vyžuonos was passed through by Bayersche Ulanen-Brigade on September 10, 1915 in the process of flanking Vilnius, which fell on September 18.

During the German withdrawal from Russia at the end of 1918, Red Army units appeared in Vyžuonos area soon after coming to Utena on December 23, 1918. In the War of Independence, Bolshevik troops were pushed out of Vyžuonos, on May 31, 1919, by Saxonian volunteers (Frw. Regiment 18) joining Lithuanian troops in their drive on Utena.

In czarist times, Vyžuonos had had a post office (Vizhuny) but none during the German occupation. A postal facility was planned or set up during the brief Bolshevik period (Vizhuny) but there is no surviving tangible evidence.

A mandate as Įgaliotinis to establish a Lithuanian post office was issued, as from July 22, 1919, to Jonas Kasniauskas who was still there as postmaster in 1920.

For stamps, Vyžuonos was supplied with Fourth Berlin Issue followed by the Sėjėjas Issue etc. It also had some values of Second Year Independence Issue.

In the absence of a postmarker, early cancelling may have been done in manuscript but so far there is no evidence. Eventually, cancelling was done by means of a boxed cachet, apparently first using violet ink, then red.

A standard calendar-type postmarker was provided in late 1921(?)

Known provisional markings:

Cancelling by boxed cachet:
No date single, Berlin IV 15, violet ink  [colln. Brazdeikis]
No date single, 2nd Year Independence 1a., red ink  [colln. Doniela]

Filed Under: Provisional Postmarks Tagged With: provisional cancels

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