115th anniversary - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 2012 - 70 Euro Cent

The present brand block represents a philatelic premiere, as it is the first joint issue between Austria and the Kingdom of Thailand. The theme is the 115th anniversary of the historic meeting of Emperor Franz Josef I with the Thai King Chulalongkorn the Great, Rama V, who stood at the head of his country from November 11, 1868 to October 23, 1910. About the person: Chulalongkorn was crowned as the eldest son of King Mongkut, Rama IV, who died of malaria. He was only 15 years old. At the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Chakri Dynasty in 1882, only 14 years after the death of the father, five important achievements of King Chulalongkorn for Thailand were mentioned: the equality of certain classes of slaves, the abolition of prostitution the King's guarantee of government officers to give written notice to the King, the improvement of relations with foreign countries, and the extension of Wat Phra Kaeo, the temple in the Royal Palace of Bangkok. In addition, the young king had already initiated an education reform, supported the creation of new rice fields and stimulated the economy by digging new channels. From an early age Chulalongkorn was interested in the situation abroad. As the first Thai king, he made good contacts with the European royal families, including Emperor Franz Josef. Two trips, 1897 and 1907, led Chulalongkorn to Europe - and it was exactly this in 1897, when a solemn meeting with the Austrian Emperor took place, as the new special stamp block now reminds us. At this historic gathering, King Chulalongkorn, Rama V., presented Emperor Franz Josef with a saber as a gift of honor as part of a court table in Schönbrunn Palace. In return, the emperor gave the king his photograph in a valuable setting, and in addition sent him a Lipizzaner gray stallion called "Siglavy Batavia", who arrived safely in January 1898 in Bangkok. The trident pictured on the brand block, however, came into the possession of the Austrian imperial family several years before the royal tour of Europe. As a reminder and in gratitude for the shipment of a casket with photographs of craft objects taken at the Vienna World's Fair in 1873, King Chulalongkorn had a royal trident made for Emperor Franz Josef and transmitted to Austria by the consuls. Incidentally, the corresponding accompanying letter is in the Austrian State Archives and dated 15 May 1878.   Emperor Franz Joseph never even wrote his name mif f, even after the orthography reform of 1902.