Trade.Information

Company Name: POSTVERK FA,roya

Company Type: Faroese stamp issues

Company Profile

song "Lítið yvir Føroya Land" (Look out over the Faroes), the poet says of Nólsoy, among other things, that it is long and rather flat, but that it forms a fortress which protects Tórshavn bay from the waves coming from the east and south-east. There are about 270 people living on Nólsoy and 36 children attend the settlement school which provides grades 1 to 9. There is also a kindergarten in the settlement. There is a doctor's surgery where municipal doctors from Tórshavn visit at regular intervals. A swimming pool is under construction. The church of Nólsoy was built in 1863 and in addition to the church there is also a nonconformist chapel in the settlement. "Royndin" is the name of the youth group in charge of the settlement house and youth house. Many foreigners visit Nólsoy in the summer, and there is a cafe in the settlement where accommodation is available. Five small fishing vessels belong to the settlement. On the harbour square there are six sheds with cold stores. These are used to prepare the fishing tackle and for attaching bait. The fishing vessels of Nólsoy sell their catch at the fish auction in Toftir on Eysturoy. In the old fish fillet factory salmon fry are reared. About 300,000 fry are produced a year. There is also a certain amount of farming. This is mainly sheep-breeding, but there is also a small amount of milk production in the town. Many people from Nólsoy travel between their home settlement and Tórshavn every day. These are mainly young people going to school or people working in Tórshavn. The coasting vessel "Ritan", which provides a regular service between Tórshavn and Nólsoy, does 20 return runs a week. The first run every day is from Tórshavn at 7 a.m., and the last run is from Tórshavn at 6 p.m. These two departures are particularly popular. The number of passengers on these runs is around 30. Approximately 35,000 people travel on "Ritan" (38,478 in 1999) annually. In the summer months there are also many foreigners among the passengers. The sub post office in Nólsoy was established on 1st October 1918. The name of the first sub postmaster was Jógvan Joensen. He was a grocer, and the post office was established in his shop, which was built in 1868. This particular shop still houses the post office in the settlement. Jógvan Joensen was in charge of mail in Nólsoy until 30th June 1933. On that day Jens Hansen took over responsibility for the mail and held this position for 42 years. Since 1st April 1975 Høgni and Anna Juul Thomsen have looked after the interests of the postal services in Nólsoy. There is a postal service to and from Nólsoy every day except for Saturday and Sunday. The opening hours of the post office are Monday to Friday from 12.30 to 1.30 p.m. Delivery is made on the same day. There are 96 homes in the settlement. History has it that there was a postal exchange in Nólsoy long before the sub post office was established in 1918. Anna Juul Thomsen has been told by older inhabitants in the settlement that the mail, which was originally carried by rowing boat from Tórshavn, was delivered to a house called "á Botni". That was the postal exchange in the settlement until 1st October 1918. Later on the mail was carried by the milk boat "Dúgvan". Anna Juul Thomsen can remember the time when the milk boat could not moor in Nólsoy, and her father rowing out to the ship to exchange mail. In 1948 the Faroese Representative Council decided to build the ship "Ritan" for coasting trade. On 1st November 1949 "Ritan" was put into service between Tórshavn and Nólsoy. It also sailed to Hestoy and Sandoy. Nearly 20 years later - in February 1968 - the two coasting vessels "Ritan" and "Ternan" collided. The result of the collision, which happened at the approach to Tórshavn, was that "Ritan" sank. It was raised again, but was no longer seaworthy. The Faroese Representative Council decided to build a new "Ritan", which was put into service in 1971. On the southern tip of Nólsoy there is a lighthouse. The place where the lighthouse was built is called Borðan. The distance between Nólsoy settlement and Borðan is 8 km. The staff who were attached to the lighthouse received their mail via the sub post office in Nólsoy. An exchange of letters between the sub postmaster of Nólsoy, the Post Office of Tórshavn and the lighthouse keeper from October 1945 reveals that for a long time there was no regular postal service to Borðan. A man from Nólsoy by the name of Alberg Holm was given the job of walking between the sub post office and the lighthouse twice a week. This system continued until the lighthouse was modernised to such an extent that it was no longer necessary to have a permanent staff there. The last postman on this route between Nólsoy settlement and the lighthouse at Borðan, was Svenning Lindenskov from Nólsoy. He walked this route from 1969 to 1978. The man he succeeded was called Thorstein Thomsen. The last lighthouse keeper was from Sørvágur and was called Elias Lið. The staff left Borðan in 1977, but the lighthouse keeper stayed there until 1980, when his office was moved to Tórshavn

About Company

There will be changes to Faroese stamp issues in 2003. The changes will be aimed at adapting the stamp to our times and expanding the role of the stamp as a cultural mediator by linking it to the Internet. We are convinced that modern philately will consist in collecting knowledge of countries, art, nature, culture and heritage through stamps and sharing this knowledge with others on the Internet, at stamp exhibitions, etc. The purpose of the changes is as follows: Firstly, we would like to make the daily post more entertaining and educational by having stamps with varying themes and illustrations. Every stamp should be a challenge to go on the Internet and look for more information on the story it illustrates. Secondly, we would like to make it more entertaining and educational, and therefore more attractive, to collect Faroese stamps. Thirdly, we wish to achieve these goals without making it more expensive to collect Faroese stamps. Different stamps on the same sheet with the same value The new form of stamp will be more exciting and informative for stamp collectors and recipients of mail. It will consist of sheets with different themes, each containing six, eight or ten stamps with the same value, with all the stamps illustrating the chosen theme. The themed sheets will be issued for the most popular postage requirements, i.e. 1st and 2nd class letters in weight bands 1 and 2 for home and abroad. They will remain on sale for around 2 years. Examples of themed sheets in the future might be: - Illustrations of Faroese children’s songs. - Illustrations of William Heinesen’s book “The Lost Musicians” - Illustrations showing the plant and animal life of a stone wall - Paintings and graphics by young Faroese artists - An artist’s impressions of Suderø - Norse mythology, lays, legends and sagas about natural phenomena, superstitions, etc. Stamps for items of mail weighing over 100 g Postage requirements for letters weighing 100 g to 1 kg will be covered by ordinary sheets of 20 stamps. Higher-value issues will remain on sale for at least 5 years. Two books of stamps will also be issued annually. One book of stamps for the summer tourist postcards and one book of stamps for the Christmas mail. In short, our customers will find that there are more stamps for the most popular weight bands for letters weighing up to 100 g and fewer high-value stamps for letters weighing up to 1 kg. The cost of a year’s stamps will essentially be the same as for the stamp issues of recent years. The Internet As in the past, we will continue to provide information on the background to our stamps in our leaflets in connection with stamp issues. As a new departure, the stamps will be explained in more detail using words and pictures on our themed stamp portals on the Internet. The following themed stamp portals will be set up: - Stamp portal for islands, settlements, sights, etc. - Stamp portal for the history of the Faroe Islands and their postal service - Stamp portal for Faroese plants, animals, fish, insects, etc., from the peak of the highest mountain to the seabed. - Stamp portal for Faroese literature and art - Stamp portal for Nordic heritage, including Norse mythology, lays, legends and sagas Stamps.fo In addition to the creation of themed stamp portals, the existing Internet portal, stamps.fo, will be modernised and expanded into a proper stamp portal for stamp collectors. There will be links to philately organisations, stamp dealers, philately journals and other stamp portals around the world. There will also be links to a varied selection of stamp collections on the Internet, as well as a contact forum where stamp collectors will be able to exchange information, swap stamps, etc. In short, stamps.fo will be a service portal for stamp collectors and a place where people who do not already collect stamps can find the inspiration to start collecting in their own way to suit their own interests. We also hope to make everyday life a little more exciting for ordinary senders and recipients of mail by getting stamps to carry one or more stories into private homes and onto office desks every day. PS: The Völuspa sheet, which will be issued on 24 February 2002, is an example of the new type of stamp issue. In this connection new prose translations of the Völuspa plus descriptions and interpretations will be posted on www.tjatsi.fo together with enlargements of the stamps and an explanation of their individual details.