Two faces. Together they form a heart, or should we say one heart. The subject of this year’s St. Valentine’s Day stamp is the perfect accompaniment to a message of love. St. Valentine’s Day has captured hearts all over the world, and Norway is no exception. This is the day when we express our love and are a bit more attentive to people we care about.
Norwegian motorsport fans were jubilant when Rally Norway achieved WRC status for 2007. Competition is keen around the world to host a round in the World Rally Championships, and this is the first time one is being held in Norway. The world’s rally elite will compete for three days in February, in midwinter conditions, on 18 spectacular stages totalling 1128 kilometres through forest and mountain areas between Kongsvinger and Lillehammer.
When King Olav died on 17 January 1991, he was succeeded by Crown Prince Harald, the first Norwegian-born
prince in 567 years.
His parents already had two daughters, princesses Ragnhild and Astrid, but under the Norwegian Constitution neither of them
could succeed to the throne. Thus, the birth of Prince Harald ensured the line of succession.
The International Polar Year 2007-2008 is co-sponsored by the International Council of Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The IPY is envisioned as the dawn of a new era for multidisciplinary and international polar research. The research will cover both polar regions and identify links between these regions and the rest of the globe.
The Red Squirrel(Sciurus vulgaris) occurs all over Norway where there are coniferous forests, particularly
spruce forests.
It is also often found in built-up areas, for example in parks even if these mainly consist of broad-leaf trees. With its
bushy tail, ear tufts and springy movements, the squirrel is a familiar and delightful member of Norwegian fauna.
Until the middle of the 17th century, Porsgrunn was the name of a small island on the east side
of the Porsgrunn River. It
was renamed Tollbodøya when the Customs House was moved there in 1661. Porsgrunn was then little more than a cluster of buildings,
26 on the east and 12 on the west side. The Customs House was a gathering place and
centre of activity provided by timber
exports, commodity imports, small-scale trading and an inn. By 1801 the population had
grown from about 200 to 1600 and in 1807 King Christian VII granted Porsgrunn municipal privileges.
Theodor Kittelsen (1857-1914) grew up in Kragerø. His father died at
an early age, leaving
a wife and 8 children in straightened
circumstances. Theodor was only 11 years old when he was apprenticed
to
a watchmaker. Many people realised, however, that he possessed a
rare artistic talent and they helped him, at the age
of 17, to travel
to Christiania (Oslo) where he took drawing lessons with architect
Wilhelm von Hanno.
Near Kragerø, at the tip of the Levang peninsula, lies Portør. This ancient outport was first mentioned
in the 12th century
in the saga of King Sverre. Sailing vessels could shelter there from the storms and quickly get back on course when the weather
improved. There is little shelter outside Portør and sailing conditions can be difficult. Portør was once an important pilot
port. Today, it is one of Kragerø’s most popular spots.
Fish of the mackerel family have slender, streamlined and spindleshaped bodies, with a row of finlets
between the second dorsal
fin and tail and between the anal fin and tail. The first dorsal fin has strong spiny rays. Mackerel are found in the East
Atlantic from the Canary Islands in the south to the Kola coast and Iceland in the north. They also occur in the Mediterranean,
Black and Baltic seas. There are forty-eight species of mackerel.
The Church of our Lady (Vår Frue kirke) in Trondheim is one of Norway’s largest medieval churches. It is said to have been founded in 1207. As the name suggests, the church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. After a fire in 1681, the walls of the church were the only structure left standing in the area. A new, right-angled town plan was drawn up, placing the church on the south side of Kongens gate, one of the city’s two main streets, and close to the new marketplace.
In the summer of 1907, a summer camp was arranged for twenty boys on Brownsea Island off the south coast of England. The boys were divided into packs and given instruction in cooking on a bonfire, hygiene, first aid, nature study and civics. It was an experiment organised by Robert Baden-Powell. The world’s first scout camp can celebrate its hundredth birthday this year.
In the past year the dream of appearing on a stamp has come true for many Norwegians. The launching of personalised stamps has been a tremendous success for Norway Post. We have delivered about 400,000 stamps so far, and this innovation has brought positive attention both to stamps and to letters.
The Riksmaal Society was founded in 1907 on the initiative of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. The previous year the adherents of New Norwegian (Nynorsk) had founded their own organisation (Noregs Mållag) and won a significant victory when the Parliament resolved to include a compulsory essay in New Norwegian in the higher school leaving examinations.
Two new subjects have been chosen for Norway Post’s lighthouse series. They are the Ona lighthouse in Romsdal and the Tungeneset lighthouse in Ersfjorden near Senja in Troms. Norway’s first lighthouse lantern was lit in autumn 1655 on Lindesnes in the south of Norway.
Halldis Moren Vesaas (1907-95) is regarded as one of Norway’s most prominent female lyric poets. A stamp has been issued to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of her birth. Her husband, the poet Tarjei Vesaas, was honoured in the same way in 1997. A husband and wife on separate stamps is not an everyday occurrence!
The Pink Shrimp or Aesop shrimp (Pandalus montagui) belongs to the same family as the deepwater shrimp, which is fished commercially in Norway. It has a transparent shell, with reddish brown stripes and spots. It usually has numerous small round, yellow pigment spots on its back. It can grow to a length of 160 mm.
After the discovery of silver there in 1623, the silver mines at Kongsberg became Norway’s first significant mining operation. At their peak around 1770, the mines had 4000 employees and were Norway’s largest industrial workplace. The mines were opened up by German engineers recruited by King Christian IV, who had good contacts with German princes.
Caspar brought gold, Balthazar frank-incense and Melchior myrrh. The Three Wise Men from the East had followed the Star to Bethlehem where they found Jesus lying in a manger. Later it was concluded that the three men must be kings and the first non Jewish worshippers of Jesus. They soon became a favourite theme in Christian art. A picture of them was painted on the walls of a catacomb as early as the second century.
The rock carvings at the head of the Alta Fjord are the largest known collection in Northern Europe and are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The oldest carvings date back to the period 4200-3600 BC and the youngest to 100 BC – 200AD.