Finland postage stamps January 2000

Helsinki

The first stamps of Finland in the new millennium are dedicated to the city of Helsinki. A booklet containing eight stamps is issued with two sheetlets of four stamps. The first sheet presents remarkable buildings in Helsinki and the other one urban events.
The four buildings featured in the stamps are: The Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, the Cathedral, the Glass Palace (cinema and media centre) and Finlandia Hall (concert hall and congress centre).
The following events were selected for the other sheetlet in the booklet: The search for the Lost Crown (an adventure tour for children), concerts in Kavopuisto, the Herring Market and Forces of Light event.

Helsinski Day

In reference to the 450th anniversary of the city, the main celebration will be held on 12 June, the traditional Helsinski Day. The events include a festive procession with music and performances connecting to the history, present and future of the city.
Besides stamps, the booklet also includes illustrated text pages. The texts are in Finish, Swedish and English. The booklet and stamps were designed by Ms Päivi Vainonpää. The postal value of each stamp is 3.50m.

Helsinki stamp in detail

Date of issue: 12 January 2000.
Size: 140 x 90mm (booklet).
Designer: Päivi Vainonpää.
Print: Ofset by Walsall Security Printers Ltd England.

Herring Market

One of the stamps included in the Helsinki Booklet is also issued on normal sheets. The herring market is the oldest traditional event in Helsinki.

Herring Market stamp in detail

Value: 3.50m.
Date of issue: 12 January 2000.
Size: 42.5 x 25.65mm.
Designer: Päivi Vainonpää.
Print: Ofset by Walsall Security Printers Ltd England.

With Friendship

The friends do some space travel in the stamps of the With Friendship booklet. This booklet, conveying feelings of empathy, care and co-operation, contains six stamps, each with a face value of 3.50m. Greetings and messages, to be affixed on the letter, are printed along the edges of the sheetlet.

Stamp depicting the Earth, the Sun and the Moon

The designer explained: "I arranged space in such a manner that the coldest and most distant planets, Neptune and Pluto, are farthest to the right, and the last planets to be used are the ones closest to the sun, the Earth and Mars." In the stamp depicting the Earth, the Sun and the Moon, the traveller carries the Earth on his back towards the heat and the Light. The traveller carries his companion as well: the stronger carries the weaker. The Moon is important to the Earth, so it's not left behind."

Frindship stamp in detail

Value: 3.50m (all six stamps).
Date of issue: 12 January 2000.
Designer: Tiina Kuoppala.
Size: 32.76 x 27.03mm (stamps), 80 x 54mm (booklet).
Print: Ofset by Setec Oy.

Fortress Suomenlinna

The sea fortress Suomenlinna will feature on a stamp of 7.20m. This corresponds to the postage for letters up to 100 g to EU countries. The stamp was designed by professor Erik Bruun and artist Ms Sinnikka Bruun. The stamp shows a view of Kustaanmiekka. The king's Gate is in the foreground, and flanks, parapets and cannon in the background.

Suomenlinna, built on six islands connected with bridges just outside Helsinki, is a famous historical monument. It is on UNESCO's World Heritage List as a unique monument of military architecture.
Besides being a historical site and a tourist attraction, the fortress is a very popular leisure area of the local population, particularly in the summertime. It also has a population of 900 people all year around.
The building of the fortress, then called Sveaborg, in Finnish Viapori, was started in 1748, after the Treaty of Turku. Lieutenant Colonel Augustin Ehrensvärd was appointed leader of the building project. In the course of some 40 years, a fortress rose a good half mile from the shoreline of Helsinki. At the end of the Swedish rule the population of the fortress was larger than that of the town.
A new era in the history of the fortress commenced in 1917, as Finland became an independent republic. A new Finnish-language name, Suomenlinna, the Fortress of Finland, was adopted. In 1973 Suomenlinna received a civil administration.

Fortress stamp in detail

Value: 7.20m.
Date of issue: 12 January 2000.
Design: Erik and Sinnikka Bruun.
Size: 26.1 x 36mm.
Print: Offset by Joh. Enschedé Security Printers The Netherlands.