The Faroe Islands have four underwater tunnels.
51 years ago, the first stamps appeared from an archipelago that was until then relatively unknown to many. The Faroe Islands, belonging to Denmark and situated between Scotland, Iceland, and Norway.
On April 1, 1976, the islands became postal independent with the establishment of 'Postverk Foroya'. This event was commemorated this year with a block.
During the Second World War, the islands were occupied by the British. This was to prevent German authority, which by then had occupied motherland Denmark, from spreading to the Faroe Islands. From a philatelic perspective, we have the overprinted stamps shown below remaining from this period.
The stamps of these islands have undoubtedly led to greater fame. Certainly among philatelists.
The islands are prosperous and have a good infrastructure, currently featuring four underwater tunnels. These remarkable tunnels were all commemorated at their opening with a series of stamps.
In 2002, the Vágatunnilin was opened. It connects the airport on Vágar with the main island of Streymoy, where the capital Tórshavn is located.
In 2006, the Norðoyatunnilin was opened. It connects the islands of Eysturoy and Borðoy, making eastern Klaksvik accessible from now on by road from Tórshavn or the airport without a ferry.
The Eysturoy Tunnel was opened in 2020. This is a unique tunnel with a junction for which the world's first underwater roundabout was built. From Tórshavn, you can now quickly reach Klaksvik, Runavik, or Eysturoy via this tunnel. Until 2020, you had to take a detour via the more northerly Streymin Bridge to do so (postage stamps showing the tunnel are shown below, and the Streymin Bridge is below that).
The newest tunnel was opened in 2023 and connects the island of Sandoy with Tórshavn. This tunnel has a length of no less than 11 kilometers.
| Tunnel | Connects | Length | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| vágatunnilin | Streymoy – Vágar | 4,9 km | 2002 |
| The North Sea Tunnel | Eysturoy – Borðoy (Klaksvík) | 6,3 km | 2006 |
| The Eysturoy Tunnel | Streymoy – Eysturoy | 11,2 km | 2020 |
| Sandoyartunnilin | Streymoy – Sandoy | 10,8 km | 2023 |
In 2015, I personally took a particularly beautiful tour of the Faroe Islands and drove through the first two tunnels. Have you ever been to the Faroe Islands, or do you have plans?
Click here to view stamps from the Faroe Islands at PostBeeld
From July 1st, we must pay import duties for the delivery of stamps from the Faroe Islands.
This is how philately is being destroyed in our country.
“The Faroese” have already destroyed that themselves. A year's collection of 25 stamps for €100.
And it is European regulation, so not just in our country. So much is ordered online across the border that governments now want to get a piece of the pie (a few euros).
Nice new layout of Freestampcatalogue.
Can someone explain to me what happened to all the articles on Postzegelblog in the past?
Can those be found anywhere, or have they been forwarded to the trash?
The majority of the articles, at least those from after 2016, can now simply be found on Freestampmagazine. Everything is now also available in six languages.
Indeed, efforts have been underway for some time to make it unattractive for collectors to buy stamps from non-EU countries. Since July 1st, measures have been taken a step further. An example:
Bought three stamp booklets (new releases) at Canada Post. Prices CAD 7.44 – 12.40 and 9.92.
Customs clearance costs:
– VAT 9% (21% is often mistakenly charged)
– handling fee € 10.00
– import duties 3x € 3.00.
So, all together it was €21.46. For a shipment with a nominal value of €18.77 (apparently, the conversion had been done using US dollars).
Unacceptable!! But what can you do about it?