Europa 2012 - Visit the Faroe Islands

Stamp Name:Europa 2012 - Visit the Faroe Islands

Details:

It may seem peculiar for the untrained eye, that the Faroes, situated in the midst of the unforgiving North Atlantic Ocean, in fact is a very attractive tourist destination. No tropical beaches, no mass produced hotels for charter tourists and no water parks or other tourist-traps, which are so common at traditional tourist destinations.

However there are many valid reasons to visit the Faroes. Unspoiled environment and culture, well-established infrastructure and good accommodations are attractive for tourists who seek something different than just days in the sun. The rough beauty of the country is legendary and stimulates the senses. Hikes in the mountains, boat-cruises to inaccessible promontories and caves - or just to sit down on a boulder and let the mysterious nature flow into body and soul.

The EUROPE stamps by Faroe Islands this year give a tiny glimpse of what you could expect from an active holiday on the Faroes. Hikes and trips in the grandiose nature - by land or by sea. To take a peek into the abyss from a sharp mountain-edge on one of the northern islands - or a high speed and extreme cruise below the enormous bird-cliffs of Suduroy - just a couple of the exiting activities that wait for you.

Sea Anemones stamps from FAROE ISLANDS

Stamp Name:Sea Anemones stamps from Faroe Islands.

Details:

The Faeroese Post has issued a series of stamps dedicated to sea anemones also called flowers of the sea for their beauty.
Sea anemones are found in all oceans and at all depths, from just below the water surface to depths of more than 10,000 metres.
Both the great auk and the Dimun sheep were common in the Faroe Islands during the viking age, but are now extinct. The last great auk was taken in the Faroe Islands in July 1808, and the last Dimun Sheep was shot around 1860.

Animals of the Viking Age on stamps from Faeroe Islands

Stamp Name:Animals of the Viking Age

Details:

The Faeroese Post has issued a set of stamps featuring animals of the Viking Age - the Great Auk and the Dimun Sheep.

The Great Auk was a bird of the genus Alca and lived in the North Atlantic. The Great Auk was the large bird which could grow up to 70 cm in height. Some of the other Alca birds had bright or whitish abdomens and dark-black backs, with a characteristic white spot on each side of the head, between the eyes and eye socket. They were flightless birds, with wings that were as small as the South Atlantic penguin. It was fast in the water when hunting fish but very clumsy on land.

The bird's fate was sealed because it was easy to hunt and butcher. The Great Auk is an example of a bird that was hunted to extinction purely because of a lack of knowledge about its population distribution.

The Great Auk was a summer visitor to the Faroe Islands but there was never any evidence that it bred there. The last bird was taken at Stora Dimun on 1 July 1808.

The Dimun sheep were small black sheep and were called the goat-horned sheep, because both sexes have horns. Woollen garments recovered from Bronze Age burial sites have the same kind of wool and structure that is found on the Dimun sheep, so even at this early stage, wool from these sheep was being used.

The Dimun sheep were among the last of the original sheep in the Faroe Islands, and were perhaps brought by the Vikings. The Vikings brought their own sheep to Iceland and Greenland and almost certainly when they came to the Faroe Islands. These little black sheep were wiped out by hunting by 1860.(Source-Stamp News)