product description
Nordic Autonomous Territories 2025/2026
Content: Åland, Faroe Islands, Greenland. (Excerpt from the MICHEL Europe series)
Description:
The MICHEL Northern German Autonomous Territories provide you with a summary of three popular collection areas in one inexpensive volume – Åland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which is actually named Kalaallit Nunaat: three territories in which there is an interesting political-cultural tension between autonomy and belonging. The recording follows the Europe Volumes 11: Åland – and 10: Faroe Islands and Greenland. The status of editing and recording of novelties corresponds to the 2025/2026 Europe catalogues.
On the one hand, the territories are – as stated by the title of this volume – politically mainly autonomous. On the other hand, each of these three territories has numerous aspects that show its closeness or even affiliation with Finland, respectively with Denmark.
The autonomous status of Åland was decided at the League of Nations meeting on the 24th of June 1921. The Faroe Islands were granted a similar status through the Autonomy Act of 1948 and the Treaty of Fámjin of 2005. Greenland has had an autonomous administration since the introduction of the “Hjemmestyre” (Home Administration) as a form of government in 1979, which was replaced by the “Selvstyre” (Self-Government) in 2009.
Said autonomy becomes apparent in various areas. These include treaty-based political powers. It also shows in the respective official languages of the three territories: Swedish in Åland, which belongs to Finland; Faroese in the Faroe Islands; and Greenlandic – or rather Kalaallisut – in Greenland. Finnish is rarely spoken in Åland, and Danish is only a lingua franca in the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Moreover, the autonomous territories are associate members of the Nordic Council. Apart from the language they boast a wealth of cultural independence, such as the celebration of their own national holidays.
Last but not least, these tensions in which the Åland, Faroe, and Greenland territories operate are reflected in the stamps they issue, which depict their shared cultural identity as well as their separate cultural identities. Examples of this are the Åland issues MiNo. 53, “70 Years of Autonomy”, and MiNo. 304, “200 Years of Åland’s Membership in Finland”. Thus the collection areas of Åland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland offer a fascinating insight into their cultural and political identities.
Information:
Edition: 1st
Pages: 252
Format: 155 mm x 230 mm, Hardcover
Publishing House: Schwaneberger Verlag
First Day of Sale: 7 November 2025
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