New stamps on Light Houses

 

Iceland Post issued a set of  stamps on Lighthouses . This issue consists of two stamps that depict the most famous and old lighthouses of the country. The stamps were released and put into circulation on the 11^th of September.

The Dyrhólaey lighthouse. The first lighthouse in Dyrhólaey was erected in 1910. This was a Swedish ironframe lighthouse, the first of its kind to be built in Iceland. In 1927 a concrete lighthouse was erected in the island. It is 12.7 m in height, 123 m above sea level and fitted with a Swedish cylindrical lantern, 4,7 m in height, with a catadioptric revolving lens, 1000 mm

in diameter, using gas lighting. The lighthouse was powered by a lighting machine in 1964. Architect Guðjón Samúelsson made the first design which was later modified.

The Akranes lighthouse. There are two lighthouses on Skipaskagi in Akranes. The older one is a concrete tower which was constructed in 1918. The more recent lighthouse was erected in 1943–1944 based on design by engineer Axel Sveinsson. It was taken into use in 1947. Gas lighting was used at first, the light being amplified by a 500 mm catadioptric lens.

In 1956 the lighthouse was powered by electricity. The Swedish lantern is 3,5 m in height. The Akranes lighthouse is a conical tower, 19,2 m in height and stands on a concrete octangular base.

Sturla Thordarson – Great Poet and Historian from Iceland

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Date of issue : 11 September 2014

Iceland Post issued another commemorative stamp on 11th September to mark the 800^th anniversary of its great writer – Sturla Thordarson. This talented person was also a chieftain, a poet and an historian.

The main sources on his life are to be found in the Saga of Icelanders which he himself composed. He was one of the most powerful men in Iceland and witnessed many of the dramatic events that he later described. Sturla was the nephew of Snorri Sturluson.

After Snorri’s execution in 1241 Sturla became the one of the most influential leaders of the Sturlungs who sought his advice and support. His power base was mainly around Breiðafjörður in the west. Sturla wrote about the two main battles in the Age of the Sturlungar: the battle of Örlygsstaðir 1238, in which he himself participated, and the burning of Flugumýri in 1253.

His accounts of these events are among the most terrifying and dramatic composed in the 13th century. Sturla excels in describing characters, battle scenes and dreams and prophecies predicting major events. Sturla is reputed to have written the saga of Grettir the Strong and other sagas. The stamp motif is the Saga of Hákon King of Norway which Sturla wrote, a stylized Viking helmet and a quill point.