Harbourmaster 28.5.1998

A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct operation of the port facilities.

A prime consideration for any Harbour Master is safety of navigation for any vessel that is utilising the port and its approaches. Harbour Masters regulate the manner in which vessels conduct their navigation in port. Most regulatory requirements are clearly set out in the form of Port Bye-Laws, General Directions, Pilotage Directions etc. and these clearly define what the “Rules of the Road” are in terms of safe navigation.

Nordic Stamps - Early Applied Art from Before The Twentieth Century 9.9.9.1980

NORDEN 1977 - Air and Water 2.2.1977

Thank you Merja.

Fishing industry in Denmark

These four stamps were issued in Denmark in 1978 to highlight the various facets of the Danish fishing industry, namely -

·         (0.70) Fishing boats in Harbour.

·         (1.00) Eel Traps.

·         (0.80) Ship on Slipway.

·         (2.50) Drying of Fishing Nets. 

The fishing industry in Denmark operates around the coastline, from western Jutland to Bornholm. While the overall contribution of the fisheries sector to the country's economy is only about 0.5 percent, Denmark is ranked fifth in the world in exports of fish and fish products. Approximately 20,000 Danish people are employed in fishing, aquaculture, and related industries.

·         Denmark's coastline measures about 7,300 kilometres (4,500 mi) in length, and supports three types of fishery industries: for fish meal and fish oil, pelagic fishery for human consumption, and the demersal fishery for white fish, lobster and deep water prawns. The key ports for demersal fishing are Esbjerg, Thyborøn, Hanstholm, Hirtshals, and Skagen. The North Sea and Skagen account for 80% of the catches.

·         The Danish fishing fleet is noted for its economic democracy: the value of the catch is shared by everyone on the ship according to a pre-set scale, and this system unites the whole crew's interest in returning the largest possible catch.  

Thank you Merja.

The 1978 World Men's Handball Championship

The 1978 World Men's Handball Championship was the ninth team handball World Championship. It was held in Denmark. West Germany won the championship.

The World Championship in team handball for men has been organized by the International Handball Federation since 1938.

The first World Championship took place in Germany in 1938, involving four teams from Europe. Throughout their history, the World Championships has been dominated by European teams, any medals have yet to be won by non-Europeans.
Over the years, the organization of the World Championships has changed. Initially, there were group games in both the preliminary and main rounds, but more recently a knockout system has been applied after the preliminary round.

Handball is a combination of Basketball, Soccer and Netball.   It is played indoors on a court about the size of two basketball courts.  At the each end of the court is a net which is 9 feet wide by 6 1/2 feet high.  The object of the game is simply to score more goals than the other team.

The ball is usually moved around the court by passing.  However, the ball can be dribbled, but like in basketball you cannot double-dribble. You can dribble for as long as you want (though you risk getting the ball taken away). You can only take at most three steps after catching a pass.  You cannot hold the ball for more than three seconds without passing it.  If a player is fouled he is allowed a free zone 9 feet wide to restart play.  Each team has 12 members, two of which are goalkeepers.  7 team members play and substitutions can be made at any time.  There is a halfway line on the court.  There is also a safety area that extends about 20 feet around the goal.  A player is not allowed to be in this area.  Shooters may leap into this area if they shoot before they land.

Thank you Merja.

Denmark 18.11.1976 – Glass Blowing - Danish Socialist Realism

The stamp on this FDC is one of a set of four stamps on Glass Blowing in Denmark.  Four different stages of the glass production at Holmegaard Glassworks. Design by Helle Jessen, and engraved by Cz. Slania.

Although the Danish Socialist Realism was never dictated by the government, there is no doubt that some of the Danish Socialist Realist artists were communists, and certainly approved the Soviet ideology in all its facets -- which is easy to do when one is not forced to, but has the artistic freedom of expression.  This is probably why the Socialist Realism in arts was to some degree maintained up to the 1970s by artists like Folmer Bendtsen (1907-1993, not represented on stamps) and his contemporaries.

The most blatant philatelic example I can think of in this style is in the set of stamps issued in 1976, showing glass blowers in various stages of their work, and idealizing the so-called society of workers and peasants.  

With the disintegration of the Communist Bloc in the late 1980s, Socialist Realism fell out of favour and instead began to be used ironically in some works as a means of attacking the old Communist system. 

Thank you Maria.

Denmark 16.5.1974 - Pantomime Theatre in the Tivoli Garden’s in Copenhagen

This Danish stamp issue of 16.5.1974 depicts the delightful Pantomime Theatre in the Tivoli Garden’s in Copenhagen.

The Pantomime Theatre (Danish: Pantomimeteateret) is an open-air theatre located in the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. As indicated by the name, it is primarily used for pantomime theatre in the classical Italian commedia dell'arte tradition which is performed daily. Besides this original function, the theatre leads a second life as a venue for ballet and modern dance.

The Pantomime Theatre is Tivoli's open-air silent stage (as depicted on the stamp). Every night, the Chinese Peacock Theatre presents a drama without words of the romantic love between Columbine and Harle-quin, with the foolish clown Pierrot as the eter-nal guardian of Columbine's virtue.

The pantomime came to Denmark from Italy in 1800 at a time when it was popular and widely performed all over Europe. Naturally, Tivoli also wished to introduce this attractive entertainment, and it has been a tradition in Tivoli since 1844.

As in silent movies, the humour is slapstick: blows and falls, silly mistakes and cunning rudeness. This is combined with graceful steps and a special sign language, which replaces dia-logue in Tivoli's pantomimes.

Many of the plays performed today are several hundred years old and date from the time when travelling troupes of actors toured Europe. Today, the Pantomime Theatre operates only in the summer season and for the rest of the year a majority of the performers are employed at the Royal Ballet.

Thank you Maria.

Denmark 18.10.1973 - 300th anniversary of Danish Royal Library

The stamp printed in the Denmark shows St. Mark, from 11th Century Book of Dalby. It was issued to commemorate the  300th anniversary of Royal Library, in 1973.

The Royal Library in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the national library of Denmark and the university library of the University of Copenhagen. It is the largest library in the Nordic countries.
It contains numerous historical treasures; all works that have been printed in Denmark since the 17th century are deposited there. Thanks to extensive donations in the past the library holds nearly all known Danish printed works back to the first Danish book, printed in 1482.

The library was founded 1648 by King Frederik III who seeded it with a comprehensive collection of European works. It was opened to the public in 1793. In 1989 it was merged with the prestigious University Library (founded 1482) (UB1) and in 2005 it was merged with the Danish National Library for Science and Medicine (UB2), now the Faculty Library of Natural and Health Sciences. The official name of the organization as of 1 January 2006 is The Royal Library, the National Library of Denmark and Copenhagen University Library. In 2008 the Danish Folklore Archive was merged with The Royal Library. Open to anyone above the age of 18 with a genuine need to use the collections. Special rules apply for use of rare and valuable items.

Thank you Maria.

Denmark 7.4.1988 - WHO 40 Years

Denmark 10.3.1988 - DanChurchAid

DanChurchAid (Danish: Folkekirkens Nødhjælp) is a Danish humanitarian non governmental organisation aimed at supporting the world's poorest people. It is rooted in the Danish National Evangelical Lutheran Church and is a member of ACT Development.
In 2011 it had a total income of DKK 528.7 million, including 107.3 million in EU grants. DanChurchAid’s stated aim is "to strengthen the world’s poorest people in their struggle for a life in dignity".
Thank you Merja.

Denmark 9.10.1986 - 450th Anniversary of Reformation

This stamp was issued by Denmark to commemorate the 450th Anniversary of Reformation on 9.10.1986.

The Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein was the transition from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism in the realms ruled by the Copenhagen-based House of Oldenburg in the first half of the sixteenth century. After the break-up of the Kalmar Union in 1521/1523, these realms included the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway and the Duchies of Schleswig (a Danish fief) and Holstein (a German fief), whereby Denmark extended over today's Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, Faroe islands, Skåneland and Gotland in Sweden, and Øsel (Saaremaa) in Estonia.

The Protestant Reformation was initiated by Martin Luther's 95 theses in 1517, and reached Holstein and Denmark in the 1520s. Lutheran protagonists like Hans Tausen gained considerable support in the population and from Christian II, and though the latter's successor Frederick I officially condemned the reformatory ideas, he tolerated their spread. His son Christian III officially introduced Lutheranism into his possessions in 1528, and on becoming king in 1536 after the Count's War, Lutheranism became official in all of Denmark-Norway. The Catholic bishops were removed and arrested, and the church was reorganized based on Lutheran church orders drawn under the aegis of Luther's friend Johannes Bugenhagen in 1537 (Denmark-Norway) and 1542 (Holstein).

The Lutheran order established during the Protestant reformation is the common root of the Church of Denmark, the Church of Norway, the Church of Iceland and the Church of the Faroe Islands. It also triggered Denmark's unsuccessful involvement in the Thirty Years' War under Christian IV, who led the defense of a Protestant coalition against the Catholic League's Counter-Reformation.

Thank you Merja.

Denmark 21.5.1985 - Farø Bridges

On 21^st May, 1985 Denmark issued this 2.80 kr stamp on the occasion of the Opening of the Farø Bridges. The Farø Bridges (Danish, Farøbroerne) are two road bridges that connect the islands of Falster and Zealand in Denmark by way of the small island of Farø which is approximately mid-way across the Storstrømmen sound. A smaller bridge from Farø provides access to Bogø and thence to the island of Møn.

The Farø Bridges were opened by Queen Margrethe II on 4 June 1985. They were built because of the increasing congestion problems on the old Storstrøm Bridge from 1937.

The high (south) bridge crosses Storstrømmen between Falster and Farø. It is a cable-stayed bridge. The bridge is 1726 metres long, the longest span is 290 metres, and the maximum clearance to the sea is 26 metres strung up on 95.14 meters high suspension towers, which was finished in 1984. It was one of the first cable-stayed bridge in Scandinavia (the first was the Strömsund Bridge). The two towers supporting the span are of 'diamond' shape construction, rising from a single point to either side of the roadway, then combining to one point above the centre of the bridge. There is only one row of suspension cables, along the centre of the roadway.
The low (north) bridge crosses Kalvø Strøm between Farø and Zealand. It is a beam bridge. The bridge is 1596 metres long, the longest span is 40 metres, and the maximum clearance to the sea is 20 metres.
Thank you Merja.

Denmark 6.9.1984 - Fisheries and Shipping

On 6^th September, 1984 Denmark issued a series of four stamps with the theme of “ Danish Fisheries and Shipping”. The stamp on this cover is one of the set.

The subject on the stamp symbolises the daily place of work of the fishermen – the fishing vessel and the sea, and the emptying the trawl bag on the deck of the boat.

Thank you Merja.

Denmark 12.4.1984 - Scouts & Guides

On the 12^th April, 1984, Denmark issued a scout stamp shown on the cover.

The scouts association in Denmark has about 100000 members. The Danish Scouts Association, the YMCA Scouts in Denmark, the YWCA Girl Guides in Denmark and the Danish Baptists Scouts Association work together. For example, on the “Scouts Relief”. The motto of the Scouts Relief is “Fit children help sick children”. 

Thank you Merja.

Denmark 21.11.1963 - Niels Bohr

These two stamps were issued by Denmark on 21.11.1963 on the 1st Death Anniversary and in Memory of the Great Scientist Niels Bohr.

Niels Henrik David Bohr (Danish: 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr was also a philosopher and a promoter of scientific research.

Bohr developed the Bohr model of the atom, in which he proposed that energy levels of electrons are discrete, and that the electrons revolve in stable orbits around the atomic nucleus, but can jump from one energy level (or orbit) to another. Although the Bohr model has been supplanted by other models, its underlying principles remain valid. He conceived the principle of complementarity: that items could be separately analysed in terms of contradictory properties, like behaving as a wave or a stream of particles. The notion of complementarity dominated Bohr's thinking in both science and philosophy.

Bohr founded the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of Copenhagen, now known as the Niels Bohr Institute, which opened in 1920. Bohr mentored and collaborated with physicists including Hans Kramers, Oskar Klein, George de Hevesy and Werner Heisenberg. He predicted the existence of a new zirconium-like element, which was named hafnium, after the Latin name for Copenhagen, where it was discovered. Later, the element bohrium was named after him.

During the 1930s, Bohr helped refugees from Nazism. After Denmark was occupied by the Germans, he had a famous meeting with Heisenberg, who had become the head of the German nuclear energy project. In September 1943, word reached Bohr that he was about to be arrested by the Germans, and he fled to Sweden. From there, he was flown to Britain, where he joined the British Tube Alloys nuclear weapons project, and was part of the British mission to the Manhattan Project. After the war, Bohr called for international cooperation on nuclear energy. He was involved with the establishment of CERN and the Research Establishment Risø of the Danish Atomic Energy Commission, and became the first chairman of the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics in 1957.

150th Anniversary of The National Museum of Denmark.

The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark’s largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main domicile is located a short distance from Strøget at the center of Copenhagen. It contains exhibits from around the world, from Greenland to South America. Additionally, the museum sponsors SILA - The Greenland Research Centre at the National Museum of Denmark to further archaeological and anthropological research in Greenland.

The museum has a number of national commitments, particularly within the following key areas: archaeology, ethnology, numismatics, ethnography, natural science, conservation, communication, building antiquarian activities in connection with the churches of Denmark as well as the handling of the Danefæ (the National Treasures).

These two stamps showing the Museum Building and one of the very important exhibits in the museum namely, the Sun Chariot. The stamps were issued to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of The National Museum of Denmark. A very impressive postmark adorns this first day cover as well.

The Trundholm sun chariot, is a late Nordic Bronze Age artifact discovered in Denmark. It is a representation of the sun chariot, a bronze statue of a horse and a large bronze disk, which are placed on a device with spoked wheels.

The sculpture was discovered with no accompanying objects in 1902 in a peat bog on the Trundholm moor in West Zealand County on the northwest coast of the island of Zealand (Sjælland) in Denmark, in a region known as Odsherred (approximately 55°55′N 11°37′E). It is now in the collection of the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.

King Frederick IX of Denmark

This definitive stamp issued by Greenland has the portrait of The Head of State namely, King Frederick IX of Denmark. It was issued on 1.12.1953.

Frederick IX (Christian Frederik Franz Michael Carl Valdemar Georg) (11 March 1899 – 14 January 1972) was King of the Kingdom of Denmark from 20 April 1947 until his death on 14 January 1972.

He was the son of King Christian X of Denmark and Queen Alexandrine, born Duchess of Mecklenburg, and the fourth Danish monarch of the House of Glücksburg.

Thank you Merja.

Centenary of the Danish Trade Unions

The stamps on this first day cover were issued on 22.1.1998 commemorate the Centenary of the Danish Trade Unions. The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions  was founded in 1898 and is an umbrella organisation (the largest of the three national trade union centers in Denmark) for 18 Danish trade unions. 

The Danish labour market is, to a great extent, regulated by the various players in the labour market themselves, as opposed to by legislation. Under the Danish model, employers and employees reach voluntary collective agreements on pay and working conditions. The trade unions play a pivotal role in the Danish labour market, and there is a high level of union membership among Danish workers.

Trade unions assist with cases regarding pay and working conditions and can help in connection with work-related injury cases, rehabilitation and much more. Some trade unions can also offer personal consultancy and career planning or offer discount schemes on petrol, shopping centres, insurance, etc. These offers vary according to the industry with which the trade union is associated. 

Thank you Merja.

EUROPA 1982 - Historic Events - Danish women were granted the right to vote on 3.5.1982

The theme for EUROPA stamps in 1982 was "Historic Events". And what could be more important than the event Denmark chose to portray on the special stamp and cover - Women's Right to Vote.

The stamp on this Danish first day cover commemorates that momentous day in 1915 when the tightening from 1866 was reversed, Women's suffrage was introduced in Denmark, and women were given the right to vote in Rigsdag elections.

Danish women were granted the right to vote on June 5, 1915. Female enfranchisement was part and parcel of a major overhaul of the 1849 Danish Constitution. To mark the occasion, more than 12,000 women marched in procession to the square in front of the Amalienborg royal palaces. A declaration signed by 36 leading women from a wide range of women’s societies was handed in to the King and the leader of parliament. The declaration included the statement:

“On this for us so momentous a day, when Danish women’s right to vote in parliamentary elections has become an irreversible reality, we speak on behalf of thousands of women in expressing to the Danish Government and Parliament our delight at the full political rights of citizenship granted to women by the new Constitution.” Kvinden og Samfundet (Woman and Society), no. 12, 1915.

The women who formulated the declaration had deliberately not used the word ‘thank’. They wanted to emphasise that parliamentary enfranchisement was a civil right and not a charitable act necessitating gratitude.

Women from all strata of society and from every grouping within women’s associations took part in the procession (shown graphically on the cover), which was the largest manifestation of women’s political activism in Denmark at the time.

The march on June 5 1915 was the culmination of a long and persistent struggle, both in and outside parliament, for women’s enfranchisement.

Thank you Merja.

Aarhus PO in Denmark

Aarhus was a beautiful and quaint town, with the oldest Post Office in Denmark. I am using the past tense simply because this card is dated 10^th September 1985. I am not aware at present, if this Post Office exists, and if modern life has permitted Aarhus to remain quaint in the next 24 years. If any visitors can throw light on the subject via e-mail or send me a picture postcard of present-day Aarhus I’ll be more than happy for the information, which will naturally be posted here.