The Faroese artist, Janus Guttesen has designed this year’s Christmas Seals.

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published December 30th, 2012

Naturally, the effects of this fact are primarily felt by the countries most dependent on the sea, such as the Faroe Islands.

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published March 29th, 2012

On 14 January 2012, forty years have passed since Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II became Queen of Denmark. Queen Margrethe is the constitutional head of the Kingdom of Denmark, which includes Denmark and the two autonomous regions: Greenland and the Faroe Islands. On this occasion the Faroese Posta, Post Denmark and Post Greenland issue a common stamp sheet.

Queen Margrethe was born on 16 April 1940 at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. Her parents were Crown Prince Frederik, later King Frederik IX, and Crown Princess Ingrid. In 1944 and 1946 the couple had two more daughters, respectively Princess Benedikte and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark.

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published January 7th, 2012

Landscape photography is universally appreciated by all, in part because all humans have a connection to the physical world our ancestors have walked for millennia. Of course, this connection to the environment in which we live is felt stronger by some, especially by outdoor photographers and by people who live more dependently off the land. The Faroese people, for example, have this deeper connection to the natural world; it is inescapable and unforgettable wherever one goes among the Faroe Islands. There are no big cities to get mentally lost in and forget about what lies beyond – only picturesque villages in idyllic settings nestled along the ocean and backed by mountains. (read more)

published September 25th, 2011

Of the more than 400 species of plants that make up the wild flowers of the Faroe Islands, only a few woody plants occur. Two of these ligneous plants are the juniper berry and crowberry.

Common juniper (Juniperus communis subsp. alpina)

Today, several species of conifer and shrub grow in the Faroe Islands. Most of these have been imported and planted here. The only indigenous plant species in the same family as conifers is the juniper. In some areas, the names “juniper” and “juniper berry” are used indiscriminately to describe these plants.  (read more)

published September 8th, 2011

This stamp issue is available at FACE VALUE at WOPA, For more information please visit the website:

http://wopa-stamps.com/

Annika of Dímun killed her husband and took one of the farmhands as her lover. She was condemned to death because of her crime but managed to get three men on the island of Dímun to guard and protect her and prevent the authorities from capturing her. The island was defended for three years until one of the men betrayed her and Annika was captured and drowned in Tórshavn harbour.

There is some uncertainty as to the identity of the real Annika of Dímun. The legend says she was the daughter of the Sheriff and niece to the priest on Sandur. She may well have been, but even though her family were fine, they weren’t necessarily good people because the legend explains that Annika’s father lost her in a game of cards to a peasant on Dímun. Even though she was already engaged to another man she was forced to live on Dímun. If this is correct we can understand her desire to take revenge on her unwanted husband. But whether she actually did kill him is another question.

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published May 11th, 2011

This year’s Europa Issue from Faroes is available to purchase at FACE VALUE on the WOPA website, for more information please visit the website :

http://wopa-stamps.com/

Forest Growth on the Faroe Islands Forests – not exactly what one associates with the Faroe Islands – rather the contrary. The North Atlantic archipelago is known for its treeless appearance. Climatic and geographic conditions, human influence and centuries of sheep-breeding have left the islands practically treeless.

Forests of the Past But it has not always been that way. If we go back to the volcanic period millions of years ago, we note that there have been periods of extensive forest growth. Charred wood residues, and prints from leaves and needles are found in the coal strata in Suðuroy and Mykines. These finds indicate more favorable times on the mini-continent, which the current Faroe then were part of. Cypress, yew and juniper, giant sequoia and various kinds of deciduous trees – it’s hard to imagine today.

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published May 7th, 2011

The stamps painted by Frida Zachariassen are available at FACE VALUE on WOPA, For more information please visit the website:

http://wopa-stamps.com/

Frida Zachariassen – a distinctive painter from Klaksvík

Frida Zachariassen was one of the most distinctive artists in the Faroe Islands during the 1950s. She developed her own personal style, characterised by geometric figures in compositions portraying landscapes, towns, villages and people.

Sometimes the colours in Frida Zachariassen’s paintings are clear and strong, but they also often feature blurred and thin colour tones; in some of the paintings, earth tones dominate.

In the 1930s and 1940s, her painting style focused on content and emotions leaning towards the romantic, with replication of the grandeur of nature, the sublime and the eternal. Around 1950, Frida Zachariassen began painting more abstractly. Landscapes and people were dissolved and reconstructed with squares, stripes and triangles. The main works are constructions made of lines and figures in colours such as saturated green and cool blue and grey, sometimes accompanied by black lines.

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published May 4th, 2011

This stamp issue is now available on WOPA at FACE VALUE. Please visit the website for more details:

http://wopa-stamps.com/

Red campion, Silene dioica

The plant is widely known as red campion, while its botanical name is Silene dioica. Red campion is a member of the carnation family, of the genus Silene. In addition to the red campion, its relative the moss campion (Silene acaulis) grows on the Faroe Islands. The Faroese name bjargablóma (mountain flower) is given to the flower because it is a mountain-dwelling wildflower that grows in attractive dense cushions with pink and occasionally white flowers. Only in the Faroe Islands is the word ‘mountain’ linked to the plant’s name, so the Faroese name is accepted as being original.

Red campion grows in steep rocky slopes and in inaccessible lower-mountain areas. Red campion is a rare plant. It is not found on any of the smaller islands or on Sandoy or Eysturoy. It is considered to be an indigenous Faroese plant, i.e. it was brought to the islands by the wind, ocean currents or birds and not by human activity.

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published April 28th, 2011

Bergithe Johannessen – watercolour painter from Vestmanna

Bergithe Christine Johannessen (1905-95) was the first Faroese to be admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Born in Vestmanna, she was the daughter of Madgalene and Niels Skaale Johannessen, merchant and grocer. Bergithe Johannessen was 18 years old when she travelled to London to study painting. She went to the Sidscup School of Art from 1923 until 1925 and specialised in watercolour painting. She then moved to Copenhagen, where she attended the School of Painting at Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1925 until 1931. After completing her studies, she continued living in Copenhagen, where she worked as a porcelain painter at the Royal Danish Porcelain Factory. In 1939, she married semi-skilled worker Arnold Rönnow Torp – Bergithe Johannessen was her artist name.

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published April 20th, 2011

The first seeds for equal rights between men and women were sown in the 18th century. There had certainly been sporadic calls earlier, among others, from Christine de Pizan, who in 1405 challenged the female opression in the society and argued that women and men had the same mental properties. But it was not before the ideas of Enlightenment about human equality and demands for general political, social and economic influence, that the demand for equality between men and women was made.

The First Wave But half a century went by before there was enough structure behind the demand for improved equality.  In the early industrial age, working people lived under unspeakable social conditions, which did not exactly leave much room for the struggle for gender equality.  But in the second half of the nineteenth century, a series of political and social reforms were carried out, and more and more women became aware of their position in society and lack of rights.  Women started to organize around the demands for basic rights and demanded legal, economical, political and educational equality.

The most prominent demand was voting right for women.

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published April 15th, 2011