The SCM #031

The Sub-Carpathian Messenger – Number 31 (November 2014) Page: 1

The Sub-Carpathian Messenger

Newsletter of the Study Circle for the Postal History of the Carpatho-Ukraine

Number 31 – November 2014

A Jewish Type


About us and the Newsletter The Study Circle is a loose group of persons who are interested in the postal (and general) history of the area known as Kárpátalja in Hungarian, as Podkarpatská Rus during the First Czechoslovak Republic, which had a short day of independence as Carpatho Ukraine, and later was integrated into the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union as the ‘Zakarpatskaja Oblast’. Since 1991 it is ЗАКАР-ПАТТЯ, the westernmost administrative district in the now independent Ukraine. The Newsletter came out of a meeting of a few collectors during the PRAHA 2008, its first number appeared in November 2008. As we can see from the access counts at the public web site, this Newsletter is read by far more than hundred people. Surprisingly, a number of unexpected contributions has come in after the last issue, so that your humble editor could fill another number of the »Messenger«. Many thanks to the authors for their very welcome articles. On a sad tone, we have to report that Gábor Voloncs, once one of the most famous and know-ledgeable collectors of Carpatho Ukraine in Hungary, has left this world for a better one. We send our warm welcome to our new member Dominick J. RICCIO (New York, USA) and our best wishes to the members of the Study Circle. Distribution method All issues of the »Sub-Carpathian Messenger« can be browsed at and downloaded from the Inter-net address

http://www.slideshare.net/subcarpathian For those who have no Internet access and/or no e-mail, the distribution method is still the same: you will receive a colour print-out by air/surface mail as you did in the past. Everybody can freely access the uploaded numbers of the Newsletter but the notification service for new numbers (including an easy download web datalink) will be limited to the members of the Study Circle. Rules and Regulations All articles in the Newsletter carrying the name of an author are the sole responsibility of this author and should not be taken to represent the common opinion of the Study Circle. Such articles are, if not marked otherwise, copyrighted by the respective author. Free use within the Study Circle is granted. We thank our authors for their much appreciated work and contribution. Participation in the Study Circle is not bound to a formal membership and does not include the duty to pay a membership fee. There is a moral obligation to support the Newsletter from time to time by sending some article, some interesting piece of information, some question, some answer or whatever. We will “print” everything even only loosely connected with our subject of interest so any contri-bution is certainly welcome. Please send it (as Word 2003 or 2007 document, graphical elements in JPEG, 300 dpi) to our editor’s e-mail address ([email protected]). His postal address, if you would need it, is:

Dr. Helmut Kobelbauer, Untergrossau 81, A-8261 Sinabelkirchen, Austria / Europe


Helmut Kobelbauer Auction News In his 84th Mail Auction ending September 18th, 2014, Petr Blaha from Brno offered (again) two lots that may (or may not) be connected with the famous field post flights of June 1919 to and from Užhorod:

Picture for lot 998.

Picture for lot 999.

Lot 998 was sold for 10.010 CZK (≈364 EUR or 461 USD), lot 999 for 12.005 CZK (≈436 EUR or 553 USD), each of them receiving 5 bids. The prices given do not include the auctioneer’s commission (another 15 per cent). Comments are welcome.


Helmut Kobelbauer Incoming Mail from the Papal States Since incoming mail has now become a theme of interest even in our modest Newsletter, I would like to show two letters from the Papal States to the Kárpátalja in the 1840s. The Pope of the Roman-Catholic church in the years 1831 to 1846 was Gregory XVI. The first letter is from the collection of our late Honorary Member Otto Hornung:

Letter to Bazil Popovics, the Bishop of the Greek-Catholic Eparchy of Munkács. From Rome, March 20th, 1841, to Munkács (April 3rd) and forwarded to Ungvár (April 4th).

With boxed “V | Stato Pontificio” in green. Ecclestiastical mail, ergo free of charge. A similar (although less prominent) letter was sold at the November 2012 auction of the HPSGB:

Letter in church matters, Rome, April 26th, 1845, to Bishop Bazil Popovics. With greenish-gray boxed “V | Stato Pontificio”. Free of charge.


Jan Rompes Incoming Mail from the Prestamp Period

In addition to the article from Andrew Cronin in the last SCM „Addenda to Pre-stamp and Stamp-less Mail from the Carpatho-Ukraine” and the supplementary pictures of pre-stamp letters pre-sented by our esteemed editor I would like to show some more covers addressed to the different bishops and church people. First of all another Bacsinszky letter written in Buda on May 21, 1785 and sent to Munkacs. It has the so called „adeliger“ postmark „Von Ofen”=Buda in gothic letters in use from 1782 - 1791 on a fully paid letter. On the reverse a taxmark 24 kr = 12 kr + 12 kr. paid by the sender. Traffic bet-ween more than one main post office [Buda and Kaschau]. Weight 1,5 Loth. Fully paid heavy letters from this period are very scarce !

Secondly two letters to Bishop Alexis Pócsy. The first one was written on December 20, 1826 in Nyirgyula and sent via the post office in Nyirbátor, where the fancy oval postmark was applied in use from 1826 - 1833, to Unghvar. The tax figure 16 kr. to be paid by the addressee on the front, indicates a double weight letter. Zone 4. Distance 10-12 postal stations.


The second letter is from Miskolcz sent on April 3, 1831 to Unghvar. The oval „adeliger” postmark with decorative lines „V. Miskolcz” was in use from 1818 - 1843. On the front in red crayon tax 12 kr. to be paid by the addressee. Again a double weight letter. Zone 3. Distance 7-9 postal stations. This letter is a couple of months „younger” than the letter shown by Helmut Kobelbauer in the previous SCM.

Finally one letter to Georgio Kritsfalussy sent from Szikszo with a boxed „adeliger” postmark „V. Szikszo” in use from 1825 - 1833 to Unghvar. On the front tax 6 kr. to be paid by the addressee. Zone 3. Distance 7-9 postal stations. Weight ½ Loth.


Another small contribution: Some additional comments and information concerning the registered letter from Beregszász which Helmut described in SCM 030. It is a prepaid [Bérmentes = paid] private letter sent to Mr. István Rába in the service of Count George Károlyi of Nagykároly. [The editor: I am sorry that – due to insufficient experience with such letters – I have mis-translated the text „bérmentesen”; of course, Jan Rompes is certainly right. The full cross indicates that the tariff has been fully paid.] The tarif mark on the reverse is 6/12 meaning 6 kr. Zone 2. Distance between 10-20 miles with a weight of ½ Loth as correctly described by Helmut. Registration fee 6 kr. and return receipt another 6 kr. In total 18 kr. paid by the sender. The return receipt cost the same amount as a ½ Loth weight letter - in other words 2, 6 or 10 kr. during the revolutionary period in those areas where the Hungarian Government was in charge. Below I will show a letter from the third zone [over 20 miles distance] to document this. It concerns an unpaid registered letter from Budavár to Debreczin to János Szabó, the director of the nitric acid production facility and subsequently potassium nitrate, an essential product to make gunpowder. In that period of vital importance to the Hungarian Government. On the front a tax mark 20 kr. for a double weight letter. On the reverse a tax mark 16 kr. = 6 kr. registration fee and 10 kr. for the return receipt.

Another private letter [see overleaf] dated December 28, 1842 involving Count György Károlyi was sent from Halmi with the straight line postmark in use from 1842 - 1847 to [Nagy] Muszaly - last post office Beregszász as explicitly written by the postmaster in Halmi. On the front tax 6 kr. Zone 1. Distance up to 10 miles for a ½ loth weight letter until March 1, 1843. Afterwards zone 1 was extended to 20 miles. Muzsaly is now called МУЖІЄВО (Muzhievo, ZIP code 98260) in the Ukraine.


Helmut Kobelbauer Pictures from Técső (Tiačevo, Тячево/Tiachevo)

Old (wooden) bridge over the Tisza river (approx. 1910).


Soldiers watching the bridge over the Tisza (early 1920s).

Kossuth street and Kossuth statue (1920).


The Roman-Catholic and the Reformist Churches (early 1920s).

Roman-Catholic church (card mailed in 1924).


Kossuth street.

Railway station (late 1930s).


Views from the town (June 1940).

View of the town (1940).


Miroslav Bachratý A Curious Censorship Mark of Czernowitz

Card, Rahó, August 5th, 1916, to Moravská Ostrava. With cachet “K. u. K. ETAPPENSTATIONS-KOMMANDO *” in violet and

censorship mark “K. u. K. MILITÄRZENSUR | CZERNOWITZ” in red.

The itinerary of the postcard shown on the picture above seems to be rather unlogic. It is dated by sender in RAHÓ (Rachov) on August 5th, 1916, and addressed to Moravská Ostrava (Moravia). According to the handwritten sender´s address he was a member of K. u. k. Landsturm (Territo-rial) Etappen-Bataillon 5/3 in Rahó, probably serving at K. u. k. ETAPPENSTATIONSKOMMANDO whose circle stamp can be seen on the piece. CDS Rahó was struck on August 5th, 1916. Surprisingly the mail was screened at K. u. k. MILITÄRZENSUR CZERNOWITZ (Bukovina) and not at the much nearer censorship office in Marámarossziget, lying in the transport direction to Moravia. But the long journey to Czernowitz was only imaginary. As we can read in Horst Thielk´s »Zivil-postzensur in Österreich-Ungarn 1914 - 1918« (2000), the censorship offfice in Czernowitz was evacuated during the third Russian occupation of the Bukovina (June 17th, 1916 until August 3rd, 1917) just to Marámarossziget where it resumed its work till October 1916. The described post-card was mailed exactly during this period and that is why it carries the censorship mark of Czernowitz [i. e., Schilling #007, March 1916 till October 1916, 6 points].

Reverse side of the picture card.


Helmut Kobelbauer Pictures of another ex-German Village According to Lelkes, the village Kékesfüred (also called Szinyák) in the Bereg county had (only) 162 German-speaking inhabitants in 1910. It had, of course, no post office of its own but was served through the post office in Szent Miklós (now Chinadievo).

Early picture postcard from Szinyák (1907). By Emil Bertsik – known also for early pictures from Munkács.

From the textual side – 5 fillér stamp and postmark of SZENT MIKLÓS.


The German name of the village was Sinjak or Blaubad (“blue bath”). Alex Popovych says in his book »Alte und neue Ortsnamen in Transkarpatien« (Uzhhorod, 2009) that the village was settled in the 1730s during the Schönborn resettlement from Franken (op cit., p. 46). Its name came from the river Syniavka (op. cit., p. 40). Today it is СИНЯК (Syniak); its Czech name was Siňák.

Picture postcard (Siňak), Mukačevo, August 8th, 1932, to Malé Gejovce.

In the Internet we find the following additional information:

Synjak (ukrainisch Синяк; russisch Sinjak, deutsch Blaubad, tschechisch Siňák, ungarisch Kékesfüred - älter Szinyák) ist ein kleines Dorf mit 200 Einwohnern im Rajon Mukatschewe in der Oblast Transkarpatien in der Ukraine.

Synjak ist berühmt für seine Kuranstalt und sein Heilwasser. Die Kuranstalt wurde 1783 zum ersten Mal schriftlich erwähnt, vorher hatten schon die Hirten, die hier ihre Tiere weiden ließen die heilende Wirkung des Quellwassers bemerkt. 1834 ließ Graf Philip Franz von Schönborn-Buchheim ein Sanatorium errichten, 1837 gab es schon mehrere Unterkünfte für die Gäste.

Oberhalb des Kurbades entstand 1838 eine Wassermühle, um diese herum entstand ab 1855 eine kleine Siedlung. Diese wurde durch Siedler aus dem Böhmerwald (Ober- und Unterzassau; heute Horní Cazov und Dolní Cazov) angelegt, insgesamt kamen 22 Familien auf die frisch gerodeten Flächen, sie waren hauptsächlich in der Forstwirtschaft beschäftigt. Der Großteil dieser Einwohner siedelte sich aber wegen Unrentabilität im günstiger gelegenen Nischnja Hrabiwnizja (Ніжня Грабівніця), heute Teil von Tschynadijowo, an. 1922 wurde eine Schmalspurbahn angelegt, die den Holztransport ins Tal übernehmen sollte.

Verwaltungstechnisch gehört der Ort zusammen mit Karpaty zur Siedlung städtischen Typs Tschynadijowo.


Bernd Reichwein Question: Who Knows More about the Pictured Village ?

What is the full name of the village ? Where does it lie ? Why is there a postmark of a Travelling Post Office from Czechoslovak times although the text on the card is in Hungarian ? Answers are kindly requested to the editor of the Newsletter.


Miroslav Bachratý Advertisements on Hungarian Telegram Forms In the years between the Great War and World War II, the Hungarian Postal and Telegraphs Ad-ministration (like other similar administrations) permitted advertisements to be printed on the reverse of their telegraph forms (printed form no. 830). At the end of the 1930s one can find here the announcement of the Hungarian Merchant Bank in Pest (PESTI MAGYAR KERESKEDELMI BANK) with a list of branch offices in all Hungary (see figures 1 and 1a).

Fig. 1 and 1a: Telegraph form printed May 1938.


The list of branch offices, of course, mirrored the historical development and later included those areas re-occupied by Hungary, amongst these the Kárpátalja (Carpatho Ukraine). Whereas the form of 1938 only showed names from Hungary, the form as printed in July 1939 also showed Munkács and Ungvár, returned in November 1938 (figures 2 and 2a).

Fig. 2 and 2a: Telegraph form printed July 1939.

Later printings (May 1940, April 1941, January 1942, February 1942 – see figures 3, 3a, 3b) addi-tionally showed Beregszász and Huszt where Huszt had been re-occupied with the second ex-tension in March 1939.


Fig. 3: Form printed May 1940.

Fig. 3a: Reverse side of this form.


Fig. 3b: Reverse side of the respective form as printed in 1942. As one can see, there was only one branch office on the area of Slovakia, i. e., Kassa. But from 1942 on (printings of March 1942, March 1943, May 1943 – see figures 4 and 4a) there were still the four mentioned places in the Kárpátalja but another four in the Félvidek - Dunaszerdahely, Érsekújvár, Léva und Losoncz.

Fig. 4: Telegraph form printed May 1943.


Fig. 4a: Reverse side of this form. All telegraph forms mentioned so far were printed centrally in the printing shop Athanaeum in Budapest. The last example (see figures 5 and 5a) was printed locally in Kassa (Győrffy Józsefné paper shop) and was used in 1944.

Fig. 5: Telegraph form printed locally in Kassa for use in 1944.


Fig. 5a: Reverse side with printing reference. I may also mention that the cheques of the state post office savings bank (takarékpénztár) had similar advertisements on their reverse sides (see figures 6 and 6a on the next page). By the way, these forms were printed in black or green colour. The text of the advertisement says: “It is absolutely irrelevant whether your business partner lives in Sopron – Kassa – Ungvár – Budapest – Nagykanisza – Szeged – Békéscsaba because if both partners, the debtor and the creditor, have a cheque account then there is only a handling cost of 5 fillér to pay the debt.” Other members of our Study Circle may be able to describe additional advertisements on the forms of the Royal Hungarian Post.


Fig. 6: Reverse side with advertisement. Fig. 6a: Money transfer through savings bank.

Gábor Nagy Translations for Cards from SCM #030 For the card shown on page 18, lower half of the page:

“How are you ? I am still here in Huszt. Many kisses Kálmán.”

For the card shown on page 19, upper half of the page:

“My beloved Margareth, I have received your kind card but you do not write whether or not you got the photograph. If you have got, please write how good it is. How are you ? I am still well. What news at home ? Here nowadays nothing. Today I have got two par-cels from home. It is appreciated. Many kisses Kálmán.”


Peter Cybaniak and Roman Dubyniak The “New” Post Office in Užhorod We are showing pictures of the “new” post office in Užhorod built in the 1930s – please see »The Sub-Carpathian Messenger« #025 (March 2013), page 22.

Picture postcard, Užhorod, March 10th, 1938, to Praha.

Picture postcard, Užhorod, August 21st, 1933, to Choceň.

The SCM #031

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