GREENLAND ~ Ruins of Garðar - Igaliku - UNESCO ~

... Great view of one of the well-preserved remains of Garðar... the religious heart of the Norsemen in Greenland... for some 250 years, Garðar was the residence of the bishops, making it one of the important Norse setttelements here... over some 40 ruins around Igaliku have been identified as being part of Garðar archaeological complex... Igaliku is a small farmer village with only 60 permanent residents... Thanks a lot Som!【ツ】 

Kujataa located at the Edge of the Ice Cap is a cultural landscape across five different sites in South Greenland. It celebrates both the Norse and the Inuit farming cultures, which have simultaneously shaped the people and land in the area for over 1000 years.

The area represents the expansion of Norse culture outside Europe and the early introduction of agriculture to the Arctic region.

Despite the diversity of these cultures, they have been able to live on the same land. Only time has separated them, though they also lived in the area at the same time for a period. 

In 2017 five areas were inscribed in the UNESCO WHS list. They all have their unique characteristics.The areas are: Qassiarsuk, Igaliku, Sissarluttoq, Tasikuluulik, Qaqortukulooq.

© Manfred Horender

Stamps:

3X Queen Margrethe II 

(Issued 22-10-2012)

Artwork in National Collection 

(Issued 18-05-2020)

GREENLAND ~ Flag ~

... Great flag view from the FOTW postcard series... coming from the biggest island on Earth and the least-densely populated country... a simple, but beautiful flag... with a lovely selection of stamps and nice fish postmark from Tasiilaq.... Thanks a lot Nina!!【ツ】

The Greenlandic flag was hoisted for the first time on June the 21st 1985 which is the national day of Greenland. It was designed by Thue Christiansen, a native of Greenland. The flag is called Erfalasorput, which literally means “our flag” in Greenlandic.

The flag has two colours, red and white, which symbolizes it's relationship with Denmark. The flag is split by a horizontal line and has a circle a little bit to the left of its middle. The circle represents the sun and its warmth as it returns in midsummer. The white is symbolic of the ice and snow that covers most of the island.

The flag of Greenland is the only national flag of a Nordic country or territory without a Nordic Cross.

Stamps:

Culture
(18-08-2000)

Merry Christmas
(Issued 20-10-2003)

 Arctic vikings
(Issued 25-08-1999)

GREENLAND ~ HM Queen Margrethe II ~

... Great postcard showing HM the Queen Margrethe II of Denmark ( and Greenland), dressed in Greenlandic national costume at her 70th birthday and 40th jubilee... she is an artist, archaeologist and an accomplished translator (she speaks five languages)...  and makes an effort to get closer to her people, popping up without fanfare at art exhibits, the theater, in shops... Queen Margrethe is still a popular monarch in a world where the relevance of royalty is under constant review... The Queen’s motto is "God’s help, the love of The People, Denmark’s strength"... Thanks a lot Rosmarie!! (✿ ♥‿♥)

Photo: Steen Bogaard
 Margrethe II was born on 16 April 1940 at Amalienborg Palace as the daughter of King Frederik IX († 1972) and Queen Ingrid, born Princess of Sweden († 2000)

On 10 June 1967, the Heir Apparent married Henri Marie Jean André, Count of Laborde de Monpezat, who in connection with the marriage became Prince Henrik of Denmark.  Prince Henrik passed away on 13 February 2018.

Margrethe Alexandrine Þorhildur Ingrid, Her Majesty The Queen was crowned in 1972, but had not initially been expected to become sovereign due to Salic law preventing the crown from passing to a woman. A constitutional amendment was passed in 1953 to allow this after it became clear that her father, King Frederick, was unlikely to have any male heirs.

The Queen has two children, HRH Crown Prince Frederik André Henrik Christian, born 26 May 1968, and HRH Prince Joachim Holger Waldemar Christian, born 7 June 1969.

Stamp:

Sports in Greenland
(Issued 23-01-2017)

GREENLAND ~ Disko Bay ~

... Beautiful view of a world of natural wonders... ice, dogsleds and stunning scenery... Disco Bay attracts the largest number of tourists to Greenland...  despite having a land size of over 2 million square kilometers there are no roads or railway system... all travel between towns is done by plane, boat, helicopter, snowmobile or dogsled... with great matching dogsled stamp and lovely fish postmark from Tasiilaq... Big Thanks Rosmarie!!【ツ】

© Photo Ivars Silis
Disko Bay is a region on the western coast of Greenland. The bay constitutes a wide southeastern inlet of Baffin Bay and is is the largest open bay in western Greenland.

Greenland is the largest dependent territory by area in the world bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Greenland Sea, the Arctic Ocean and Baffin Bay. Nuuk is the capital and largest city.

The biggest part is covered by the great inland ice. Only about 16% of the island are free of ice. Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica.

The native land mammals in Greenland include the polar bear, arctic fox, reindeer, arctic hare, musk ox, lemming, ermine, and arctic wolf.

Stamp:

Sports in Greenland
(Issued 23-01-2017)

GREENLAND ~Harp Seal~

WOW!! First unexpected postcard from Greenland...Thanks a million Rod for this little gem in my collection... Wish I could visit at least a few of all the places Rod has been to...

...We hear so much disturbing news about Greenland's ice melting...global warming... ...definitely a concern for all...so sad.:(

With wonderful whale stamp!!
It is the second issue of three in the series “Norden, Coastline sceneries”, which began in 2010. Greenland’s contribution to this year’s joint Nordic issue consists of two stamps with designs created by Bodil 'Buuti' Pedersen. Buuti was inspired by the seal and whale filled waters near her South Greenlandic hometown.

Greenland is the world's largest non-continental island, in the far northeast of North America, largely within the Arctic Circle. Although it is still part of the Kingdom of Denmark, it was granted self-government effective in 1979. Greenland has the world's lowest population density.

The Pagophilus groenlandicus, means "ice-lover" from Greenland. Adult harp seals grow up to be 1.7 to 2.0 m (5 to 6 feet) long and weigh from 140 to 190 kg (300 to 400 pounds).In normal dives harp seals come up to breathe every five minutes. They can and will dive to a depth of 600ft. and stay down thirty minutes.