0186 NORWAY (Møre og Romsdal) - West Norwegian Fjords (UNESCO WHS)

0186 Geirangerfjord

Located in the southwestern part of the county of Møre og Romsdal, at about 100km from the town of Ålesund, the Geirangerfjorden is a fairytale landscape with its majestic, snow-covered mountain tops, wild and beautiful waterfalls, lush green vegetation and the deep, blue fjord. It is actually a 15km-long branch of the Storfjorden (Great Fjord), one of the longest and deepest fjords in the world, and has a S shape. Along the fjord's sides there lie a number of now abandoned farms, the most visited among these being Skageflå, Knivsflå and Blomberg. Foaming waterfalls plunge into the fjord from jagged peaks, the best known being the Seven Sisters, the Suitor (located face in face across the fjord), and The Bridal Veil.

About the stamps
The first stamp is part of a tourist stamps set issued on April 15, 2011, which shown buildings with a special architectural style. The three stamps in the series are:

• Svalbard Global Seed Vault (A-Priority domestic) - it’s on the postcard
• Visitors’ Center Borgund Stave Church (A-Priority Europe)
• Preikestolen lodge (A-Priority worldwide)

The stamp issue marks the centenary of the National Association of Norwegian Architects. The Year of Architecture 2011 was Norway’s largest architectural event ever, a nationwide project with over 100 small and large events.

The second stamp belongs to the Norwegian Popular Music 2010 series, devoted to the Eurovision Song Contest, which held in Oslo between 25 and 29 May 2010. The stamps shows the three Norwegian winning acts - Bobbysocks! (1985), Secret Garden (1995), Alexander Rybak (2009) and Jahn Teigen. The latter was selected through a public vote. This release not only marks the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, but also the 50th anniversary of the Norwegian national selections, better known as Melodi Grand Prix. On the postcard is that with Alexander Rybak.

References
Geirangerfjord - Wikipedia
West Norwegian Fjords - Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord - UNESCO official website

Sender: Oddbjørg Nyhus (direct swap)
Sent from (Møre og Romsdal / Norway), on 09.04.2012
Photo: Bård Løken / Samfoto