Alongside distinctive landscape features such as the Rhine, the Eschnerberg and the Dreischwestern massif it is above all Liechtenstein’s castles and castle ruins which are the Principality’s defining symbols: they are immovable witnesses to their time which have outlasted the centuries and become romantic symbols of the Alpine monarchy. But in two cases appearances are deceptive! Gutenberg Castle and Vaduz Castle, the residence of the Princes Liechtenstein, were given their characteristic form just 100 years ago. Of course the original buildings go back a long way, Gutenberg to the 12^th century and Vaduz to the 13^th, but until the renovations at the beginning of the 20^th century they were just unprepossessing semi-ruins. The pictures on which the stamps designed by Adolf Tuma are based, show how these buildings looked towards the end of the 19^th century. These paintings are probably all by the Vaduz artist Moriz Menzinger (1832–1914). The first stamp shows “Gutenberg” Castle in Balzers (face value CHF 1.00). On the second stamp the “Schellenberg” ruins (face value CHF 1.40) can be seen. As there are two ruined castles in the Liechtenstein community of Schellenberg, here the older of the two is meant. The “Schalun” ruin (face value CHF 2.00) in the Vaduz Forest, steeped in legend and also known popularly as the “Wildschloss” (“Castle in the wild”), is featured on the third stamp. The fourth stamp in this issue is “Vaduz” Castle (face value CHF 2.60) viewed from the north. The distinctiveness of this issue lies in the four first-day postmarks, which – contrary to the established practice of always having only one postmark per issue – show for each pictured castle a corresponding coat of arms. On the “Gutenberg” stamp this is the arms of the Counts of Werdenberg-Heiligenberg, on the “Schellenberg” stamp the arms of the Lords of Schellenberg, on the “Schalun” stamp the arms of the Counts of Montfort-Werdenberg and on the “Vaduz” stamp the arms of the Counts of Sulz.