A postage stamp dedicated to the theme “Europa 2017. Castles” was put into circulation on Monday, July 10.

The postage stamp was cancelled by Vahan Martirosyan, Armenian Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies, Piotr Świtalski, Ambassador, Head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, Vassilis Maragos, Head of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Eastern Partnership Unit, DG NEAR, European Commission, Juan Pablo Gechidjian, Managing Director of HayPost Trust Management B.V., and Hovik Musayelyan, President of the Union of Philatelists of Armenia.

The stamp is issued in the framework of EUROPA international programme of the Association of European Postal Operators (PostEurop).

The postage stamp depicts the ancient Armenian castle Amberd, which means “fortress in the clouds”. There's a medieval-styled inscription of the castle’s name on the postage stamp in Armenian and English. With nominal calues of AMD 350, the postage stamp is printed in Cartor printing house in France. HayPost designer Vahagn Mkrtchyan has authored the stamp.

Amberd is one of the best-preserved castles of Armenia which dates back to X-XIII cc. The castle is surrounded and protected by a gorge on three sides and only the northern side remains unprotected. According to some sources, the castle used to serve as a summer residence for Armenian Kings and Princes. It is situated at the height of about 2300 meters above sea level and is a one-hour drive from Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.