0114 DENMARK (Faroe Islands) - ...bygði þenna stað fyrst (...lived in this place first)

I received this wonderful maxicard issued by Faroe Islands from Kajo, which is Finnish and apologizes that had no maxicard from his country within reach and therefore he sent me this one. No problem, Kajo, the maxicard looks so good, that I make an exception, so to speak. And how an exception is followed, as is well known, by another, the maxicard arrived to me in envelope, so it wasn't circulated normally, as I like it. But if you look on her back, you will notice that couldn't otherwise, so this exception isn't even an exception.

If I had to say a single phrase about the Faroe Islands, I would say that they are an island group situated approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland, first inhabited in the 6th century by the Gaelic monks, then, at the end of the 9th century, by the emigrants who had fled Norway to escape from the tyranny of King Harald I, so that finally on the 11th century the king of Norway to impose his domination, gradually lost in favor of Denmark during the union with that country, initialed in 1380 and ending in 1814, when Denmark retained possession of the islands, which continue even today. I handled well?

I think so, but must add that Faroe Islands is a self-governing country since 1948 and probably the declaration of independence will not delay much, since on 2011 the most recent draft Faroese constitution has been declared by the former Danish Prime Minister as incompatible with Denmark's constitution. The fact that the Faroe Islands is de facto independent was clearly demonstrated on 1973, when they declined to join Denmark in entering the European Community (now European Union) because the fishing limits imposed by this, which threatens the islands development, in the context in which the Faroese economy was almost entirely reliant on fishing. In ‘80s the Faroese was one of the world's highest standards of living and so it's even now, because the fishing industry recovered after the fall of the early '90s, and in addition nearby has been discovered oil.

About the stamp
In 1981 the Faroe Islands issued only three stamp series, the last ones, Historic Writings, on 19 Octomber. At the information specified on the back of the postcard, I would add what shows the 5 stamps, namely:
● Rúnasteinur - Runen stone (10oyru)
● Music Notes, 1846 (1KR)
● Seyðabrævið - The Sheep Letter, 1289 (3KR)
● Innsiglislakk - Seal , 1533 (6KR)
● Lucas Jacobsøn Debes: Færoæ et Færoa Reserata, København: 1673; London: 1676; Kopenhagen und Leipzig: 1757; Tórshavn: 1963 (10KR)

All the stamps have benefited from maxicards, one of them, namely the first one, reaching, behold, to me. It shows a Runen Stone from the vikings' age (13th century) found in 1917 in Sandavágur (Sandy Creek), a little town on the island Vágar, but the Runic inscription in the background is from the Kirkjubøur stone. Runen Stone from Sandavágur, currently being in the town's church, bears an inscription stating that the Norwegian Viking Torkil Onundarson from Rogaland (Western Norway) was the first settler in this area. The Kirkjubøur stone was found in 1832 in the Saint Olav's church in Kirkjubøur (Church-Farm), in medieval times the episcopal centre of the Streymoy Island, the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands.

As regards the stamps pasted on the envelope, the first one is a cross-shaped self-adhesives about which I wrote here, and the second is one of the two with little boys elf designed by Kaarina Toivanen and issued by Posti in November 7, 2011, for the Christmas greetings.

Sender: Kajoniemi / Kajo (postrossing)
Sent from Kouvola (Finland), on 27.12.2011