Postverk Føroya
Encyclopedia
Posta is the postal service
of the Faroe Islands
and was founded on 1 April 1976 under the Home Rule of the Faroe Islands. On 16 December 2005, it became a public joint stock company
under the name P/F Postverk Føroya (retroactive from 1 January 2005).
About 290 clerks work for Posta. There are 34 post offices, and 90 postal carriers supporting the country's 17,000 households and 48,000 inhabitants.
The Faroese
name Postverk Føroya uses the genitive form of the country's name Føroyar (Faroes), thus Føroya without the final r. The name means literally "Postal works of the Faroes", while the word for post or mail is postur.
In 2010 Postverk Føroya changed name to Posta.
Many synonyms are officially allowed for the Faroese post:
The Skjúts system was actually introduced in around the mid-1860s, with the first Skjúts Act coming into force in 1865. Skjúts charges were laid down by the Løgting
, the Faroese Representative Council, for 5 years at a time. There were three types of Skjúts:
The charges for Skjúts varied, with official being the cheapest and Private the most expensive. There was no charge for Skjúts prior to 1865. All healthy males of between 15 and 50 years of age were liable for Skjúts, i.e. they could not refuse without incurring a fine. It was never an easy task to transport mail from one island to another across perilous waters where there were often powerful currents.
Peter S. Johannesen, who was one of the first post carriers, tells of a letter delivery from the days of Skjúts. The letter, which had to go from Tórshavn
to Hvalba
on Suðuroy
, was marked K.T. (i.e., Kongelig Tjeneste – On His Majesty's Service) and bore the endorsement Uopholdelig Befordring (For Immediate Delivery): i.e. it had to be dispatched as soon as the weather permitted.
The Skjúts system existed right up until around World War I, but was not used as much by then, as the Post Office's rates were relatively low and so represented a reasonable alternative.
The first Faroese post office
was opened in Tórshavn
on 1 March 1870. The local sýslumaður
at the time on the southern part of Streymoy
, H.C. Müller, was in charge of the management of the post office for the first several years. On 1 March 1884, the post office on Tvøroyri
was opened. The third post office on the Faroes was opened in Klaksvík
on 1 May 1888. Both on Tvøroyri and in Tórshavn, the management of the post was conducted by the local sýslumaður.
In the 19th century, there were only these three post offices. After the turn of the century, the pace picked up. In 1903, seven post offices were opened. During the following twenty-five years, post offices were opened in essentially all of the settlements on the Faroes. Most of them were opened in 1918, when fifteen new post offices were added. Starting in the late 1960s and continuing up to the present, a number of post offices have been closed. Postal service for the inhabitants of these settlements is now conducted by service agents. This change is part of the efficiency policy which the Faroese post office has been pursuing for the last few years.
Until 1 April 1976, the Faroese postal system was under the direction of Post Danmark
(Post and Telegraph System). At that time the Faroese postal system was organised so that it had a post office (Tórshavn Post Office) managed by a postmaster. Then came the postal clerks with the so-called postal agents as managers. The postal clerks were located in the following settlements: Klaksvík, Tvøroyri, Vágur
, Vestmanna
and Saltangará
. All the other post offices were divided into two groups. The larger ones were called "letter collection sites", and the smaller were called "postal exchange sites".
Together with Tórshavn, these five post offices are still the main post offices.
in November 1974, the government decided that the postal service in the Faroes should be taken over by the Faroese Home Rule. In 1975, the Danish government and the Faroese government began negotiations on the take-over issue. The results of these negotiations led to the Faroese government taking over the postal service in the Faroes as of 1 April 1976. This new institution received the name Postverk Føroya (Post of the Faroes). A ram's horn was chosen as the institution's logo.
As a natural consequence of the take-over, two new departments were established within the Faroese postal system:
Work was being done on restructuring the Faroese postal system, with the intent being for Postverk Føroya, which was a public institution, to be reorganised into a type of joint-stock enterprise. The postal system however continued to be a public company.
Having used Danish stamps since 1870, the Faroes finally began their own issues on 30 January 1975 when the Danish postal system began issues with the caption FØROYAR. Since 1 April 1976, the Postage Stamp Department of Postverk Føroya has assumed full responsibility for all Faroese postage stamps including production and issue.
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
of the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
and was founded on 1 April 1976 under the Home Rule of the Faroe Islands. On 16 December 2005, it became a public joint stock company
Joint stock company
A joint-stock company is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company...
under the name P/F Postverk Føroya (retroactive from 1 January 2005).
About 290 clerks work for Posta. There are 34 post offices, and 90 postal carriers supporting the country's 17,000 households and 48,000 inhabitants.
Name
Faroese language
Faroese , is an Insular Nordic language spoken by 48,000 people in the Faroe Islands and about 25,000 Faroese people in Denmark and elsewhere...
name Postverk Føroya uses the genitive form of the country's name Føroyar (Faroes), thus Føroya without the final r. The name means literally "Postal works of the Faroes", while the word for post or mail is postur.
In 2010 Postverk Føroya changed name to Posta.
Many synonyms are officially allowed for the Faroese post:
- Postverkið (The Postwork)
- Føroya Postverk (Faroes' Postwork)
- Postur (Post)
- FøroyaPostur (FaroePost)
- PosturFøroya (PostFaroe)
- Posturin (The Post)
- PostFaroe or even FaroePost
- Posta
Skjúts
Before regular boat service was established between the islands, a special transport system was required to enable people from the different islands to exchange messages. This system was called Skjúts. It involved a Skjútsskaffari, or agent, being appointed in every village with the duty of organising a crew to transport people, letters or parcels from one village to another.The Skjúts system was actually introduced in around the mid-1860s, with the first Skjúts Act coming into force in 1865. Skjúts charges were laid down by the Løgting
Løgting
Løgting is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, a self-ruling dependency of Denmark.The name literally means "Law Thing" - that is, a law assembly - and derives from Old Norse lǫgþing, which was a name given to ancient assemblies. A ting or Þing has existed on the Faroe Islands for over...
, the Faroese Representative Council, for 5 years at a time. There were three types of Skjúts:
- Official
- Clerical
- and Private.
The charges for Skjúts varied, with official being the cheapest and Private the most expensive. There was no charge for Skjúts prior to 1865. All healthy males of between 15 and 50 years of age were liable for Skjúts, i.e. they could not refuse without incurring a fine. It was never an easy task to transport mail from one island to another across perilous waters where there were often powerful currents.
Tórshavn
Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...
to Hvalba
Hvalba
Hvalba is a village and a municipality, which consists of Hvalba, Nes-Hvalba and Sandvík. The total population of Hvalba Municipality was 723 as of 1 January 2010; the population of Hvalba and Nes was 626 and the population of Sandvík was 97. Hvalba is one of the larger villages in the Faroe...
on Suðuroy
Suðuroy
Suðuroy is the southernmost of the Faroe Islands. The island covers 163.7 km². In 2010 there were 4763 inhabitants, but there has been a gradual decline in the population numbers ever since the 1950s....
, was marked K.T. (i.e., Kongelig Tjeneste – On His Majesty's Service) and bore the endorsement Uopholdelig Befordring (For Immediate Delivery): i.e. it had to be dispatched as soon as the weather permitted.
The letter was first given to the Skjúts agent in Tórshavn, who immediately got hold of a man liable for Skjúts. The man walked from Tórshavn to KirkjubøurKirkjubøurKirkjubøur is the southernmost village on Streymoy, Faroe Islands and the country's most important historical site.It is located on the west coast and has a view towards the islands Hestur and Koltur.-History:...
, where he handed the letter over to the Skjúts agent in the village. The agent got a boat with eight men to carry the letter to SandoySandoySandoy is a small island that is part of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. The largest population center on the island is the village of Sandur with a population of six hundred....
– to where the village of SkopunSkopunSkopun is a town in the Faroe Islands situated on the northern coast of Sandoy, Sand Island. Skopun is the second largest town on the island.*Population: 499 *Postcode: FO 240...
lies today. One of the men in the boat then had to walk to the village of SandurSandur (Faroe Islands)Sandur is a village on the south coast of the island of Sandoy in the Faroe Islands. The Sandur hoard, dating to the end of the 11th century, suggests the long history of the village. In January 2010 the population stood at 558....
with the letter and hand it over to the village's Skjúts agent, after which he returned to the boat, which was still waiting for him. The Skjúts agent in Sandur then got a man to walk to DalurDalurDalur is a village in the Faroe Islands. Dalur is located on the east-side of Sandoy.The village lies in the bottom of a relatively large valley. Dalur means valley in Faroese.A little road leads from Dalur to the south-tip of the island...
with the letter, after which it was carried by boat from Dalur to Hvalba on Suðuroy. Here the letter was handed over to the priest. Owing to strong currents and bad weather the Skjúts crew were unable to row back to Dalur that evening. The weather worsened during the night and the men had to stay on the island for two weeks.
The Skjúts system existed right up until around World War I, but was not used as much by then, as the Post Office's rates were relatively low and so represented a reasonable alternative.
First post offices
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
was opened in Tórshavn
Tórshavn
Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...
on 1 March 1870. The local sýslumaður
Sýslumaður
Sýslumaður is an office or title created in Iceland when it submitted to the King of Norway in 1262-1264. This sort of office had already been established in Norway, called sysselmann in contemporary Norwegian...
at the time on the southern part of Streymoy
Streymoy
Streymoy is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The capital, Tórshavn is located there. The name means "island of currents".- Geography :...
, H.C. Müller, was in charge of the management of the post office for the first several years. On 1 March 1884, the post office on Tvøroyri
Tvøroyri
Tvøroyri lies picturesquely on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy, Faroe Islands....
was opened. The third post office on the Faroes was opened in Klaksvík
Klaksvík
Klaksvík is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands.The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands ....
on 1 May 1888. Both on Tvøroyri and in Tórshavn, the management of the post was conducted by the local sýslumaður.
In the 19th century, there were only these three post offices. After the turn of the century, the pace picked up. In 1903, seven post offices were opened. During the following twenty-five years, post offices were opened in essentially all of the settlements on the Faroes. Most of them were opened in 1918, when fifteen new post offices were added. Starting in the late 1960s and continuing up to the present, a number of post offices have been closed. Postal service for the inhabitants of these settlements is now conducted by service agents. This change is part of the efficiency policy which the Faroese post office has been pursuing for the last few years.
Until 1 April 1976, the Faroese postal system was under the direction of Post Danmark
Post Danmark
Post Danmark A/S is the company responsible for the Danish postal service. Established in 1995 following political liberalization efforts, it has taken over the mail delivery duties of the governmental department Postvæsenet ; it was turned into a public limited company in 2002...
(Post and Telegraph System). At that time the Faroese postal system was organised so that it had a post office (Tórshavn Post Office) managed by a postmaster. Then came the postal clerks with the so-called postal agents as managers. The postal clerks were located in the following settlements: Klaksvík, Tvøroyri, Vágur
Vágur
Vágur meaning Bay is a town on the Faroe Islands of Suðuroy, it is situated on the east coast of the island on the Vágsfjørður fjord, and dates from the fourteenth century. Expansion has meant that the nearby town of Nes is now a suburb of Vágur...
, Vestmanna
Vestmanna
Vestmanna is a town in the Faroe Islands on the west of the island of Streymoy. It was formerly a ferry port, until an undersea tunnel was built from Vágar to Kvívík and Stykkið. The cliffs west of Vestmanna, Vestmannabjørgini are very popular for excursions by boat.A 'Vestmann' was a "Westman",...
and Saltangará
Saltangará
Saltangará was founded in 1846 and is situated on the eastern side of Eysturoy Skalafjordur-inlet between Rituvík and Søldarfjørður....
. All the other post offices were divided into two groups. The larger ones were called "letter collection sites", and the smaller were called "postal exchange sites".
Founding of Postverk Føroya
After the election for the LøgtingLøgting
Løgting is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, a self-ruling dependency of Denmark.The name literally means "Law Thing" - that is, a law assembly - and derives from Old Norse lǫgþing, which was a name given to ancient assemblies. A ting or Þing has existed on the Faroe Islands for over...
in November 1974, the government decided that the postal service in the Faroes should be taken over by the Faroese Home Rule. In 1975, the Danish government and the Faroese government began negotiations on the take-over issue. The results of these negotiations led to the Faroese government taking over the postal service in the Faroes as of 1 April 1976. This new institution received the name Postverk Føroya (Post of the Faroes). A ram's horn was chosen as the institution's logo.
As a natural consequence of the take-over, two new departments were established within the Faroese postal system:
- The Postage Stamp Department.
- The Post Office Giro.
Work was being done on restructuring the Faroese postal system, with the intent being for Postverk Føroya, which was a public institution, to be reorganised into a type of joint-stock enterprise. The postal system however continued to be a public company.
Philatelic history
See also
- List of postal codes in the Faroe Islands
- Postage stamps and postal history of the Faroe IslandsPostage stamps and postal history of the Faroe IslandsThe postage stamps and postal history of the Faroe Islands began in the 1860s with a message exchange system called Skjúts, which was before a regular boat service was established between the islands...
External links
- AskPhil – Glossary of Stamp Collecting Terms
- Encyclopaedia of Postal History
- Postur.fo Homepage (Faroese)
- Stamps.fo Philatelic Office (English, French, German, Danish and Faroese)
- Stamps.fo "Abstract of the Postal History" (Public Domain source for this article)
- Faroestamps.fo "25 years of the Faroese Postal Service" (Public Domain source for this article)
- Faroe Islands Study Circle A philatelic society specialized in this area