New Germany stamps: World heritage Sites of UNESCO

The German Post has issued a set of two stamps illustrating two famous world heritage sites of UNESCO - Yakushi-ji Temple of Nara (Japan) and old town of Regensburg (Bavaria, Germany).

Yakushi-ji is one of the most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples in Japan. The temple is the headquarters of the Hosso school of Japanese Buddhism. The main object of veneration, Yakushi Nyorai, also named "The Medicine Buddha", was one of first Buddhist Deities to arrive in Japan from China in 680, and gives the temple its name. The chosen stamp's theme shows the main hall and the eastern and western pagodas of the Great Sermon Hall.

The Old Town of Regensburg was registered in 2006. The occasion was unique for Germany: Romanesque and Gothic buildings of Regensburg represented an authentic image of a single European trading city of the Middle Ages. The valley is dominated by the Gothic Old Town of Regensburg with the Cathedral of St. Peter. Other major landmark of the city is a stone bridge built in 1135-1146, a masterpiece of Roman engineering and a long time the only brick bridge crossing Danube. Another interesting finding is the Old Town Hall, one of the most important medieval, local secular buildings in Germany. The stamp illustrates St. Peter's Cathedral surrounded by medieval buildings.