By Denise McCarty

A Christmas stamp from Switzerland reproduces Martin Magli’s photograph of Kandersteg Church, located in an alpine valley.

This 100-centime (1-franc) stamp is one of four issued Nov. 15 by Swiss Post.

The 85c denomination depicts the 13th-century Bottmingen water castle. Magli entered this photograph in a stamp-design contest and won. He then provided three other photographs for Swiss Post to use for the designs of its Christmas stamps.

In addition to the aforementioned 85c and 100c stamps, the Christmas set includes a 1.50fr stamp showing Bedretto, a village at the foot of the Nufenen Pass in Ticino; and a 2fr stamp picturing the 18th-century stone bridge in St. Ursanne, a medieval town in northwestern Switzerland.

Swiss Post describes all four designs as depicting buildings “in a winter wonderland, photographed in the ‘blue hour,’ shortly before nightfall.”

Cartor Security Printing printed the stamps by offset in sheets of 20.

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