What is it that attracts foreign tourists to Luxembourg?
Without a doubt, it is the diversity of the landscape and the cosmopolitan character of the population. But there is more to discover, for example the architecture which, as a means of expressing identity and history, has fascinated visitors for a long time.
Studies have revealed that among the points made when one chooses one cultural destination over another, three elements prevail: cultural heritage, contemporary art, and design. The ‘Europa’ stamps, created for 2012 by the artist Linda Bos, trace precisely these three pillars of cultural tourism. The artist conceived the two stamps in such a way as to give the impression of a single image which on the left-hand side has the Monument au Souvenir ‘Gëlle Fra’ and, on the right, the watertower of Leudelange which features internationally renowned contemporary architecture. The two monuments are synonymous with the development of architecture in Luxembourg.
Contemporary architecture becomes ‘the index of creativity’ for an entire population. This awakening strongly influenced Linda Bos in the creative production of these two stamps. She chose buildings which are valued by international critics and the national avant-garde scene alike. The Mudam, Philharmonie and Centre des Arts Pluriels d’Ettelbrück (Cape) show that culture and architecture go hand-in-hand. Only architecture gives industry a clear face. The architecture of banking buildings or buildings housing European institutions become symbols of a landscape, or an activity. Industry also becomes a work of art in a public space as shown by the watertower of Leudelange. Students of this historic and contemporary architecture will find information on the two stamps on how to learn more about Luxembourg: www.visitluxembourg.lu. The contest for the best EUROPA stamp is an annual online event whose results are announced during the plenary assembly of PostEurop. The first contest took place in 2002. All the official stamps can participate in the contest. Each year, the EUROPA postage stamps have a general theme chosen by PostEurop. The participants themselves choose the design of their postage stamp which must fit within the framework of the general theme.
Each year, the Stamps and Philately working group of PostEurop selects the theme of the EUROPA stamp. The theme for 2012 is ‘Visit…’. Internet users are invited to vote for their favourite stamp from 1 April to 1 June 2012.
Visit the site www.posteurop.org to participate and vote.

Linda Bos, born on 7 January 1982 in the Netherlands, received her diploma in 2005 from the Design Academy of Eindhoven. She came to Luxembourg for personal reasons and worked for 4 years in a graphics studio. In 2010, she set up her own business under the name of PRETTY FOREST design + illustration. She still likes to draw sketches by hand, even though she knows that she will transpose her final work into a digital format. Still today, she begins each illustration with pencil and paper. Her manner of work is considered to be optimistic, full of colours and graphics.