350th ANNIVERSARY OF KRISTIANSAND

The full index of our ship stamp archive
Post Reply
aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

350th ANNIVERSARY OF KRISTIANSAND

Post by aukepalmhof » Tue May 26, 2020 9:33 pm

To commemorate Kristiansand's 350th anniversary, two postage stamps were issued by the Norwegian PTT on 16 April 1991.

The stamp of 3.20 NKr shows Kristiansand (called Christiansand until 1888), which was founded in 1641 by a decree of King Christian IV (1577-1648). The town was built on the sandy coast near the estuary of the river Otra to improve trade, shipping, and defense of the Norwegian south coast. The city was built and designed according to the latest European developments of the time.

The Christiansholm Fortress built from 1662 to 1672 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiansholm_Fortress , became one of the three main fortresses of Norway. The fortress is depicted on the right side of this stamp. On the left is shown a galley of the Danish-Norwegian navy.

In 1686, the main base of coastal defense was established in Kristiansand, and a shipyard was built.
From 1700 -1719, the Dano-Norwegian Navy maintained 22 galleys used for coastal surveillance and defense. 11 Galleys which came from the Norwegian yards, 8 were built in Kristiansand and 5 in Denmark, the others were captured from the Swedish navy in 1715-1716, no information is known about the last 5 galleys.
The galley depicted on the stamp is the smallest type. The galleys built in Norway were 60 to 97 feet long, with room for 22 to 40 rowers. The crew of the smallest galleys consisted of 12 soldiers and rowers, the largest galleys had up to 203 men on board. Outside the rowers, the galleys could also sail, they were equipped with Latin sails. Even though the galleys were equipped with sails, they were considered from the constructive point of view more like a rowing boat which had a small freeboard with a slender and light hull. They were sometimes equipped with a ram bow. The armament ranged from 5 - 14 guns. These were from 2 to 36 pounds.
After the end of the Norwegian war in 1720, the galleys were sold or returned to Denmark.

The 5.50 NKr stamp shows us the Kristiansand of today, a modern city with 62,640 inhabitants in 1986, and with an area of 276 square kilometers.
Shipbuilding and ship repair is of great importance, as is the metal and wood industry. The airport and the connections with Denmark make the city a traffic hub of the area.
Many tourists visit the south coast of Norway and when passing or staying in Kristiansand, one of the main tourist attractions to visit is the Christiansholm Fortress in this city. This fortress is also depicted on the stamp. Of the yachts in the foreground not any information.

Source Norway Post information leaflet.
Norway 1991 3.20 and 5.50Nkr. sg1090/91, scott 991/992.
Attachments
1991 Kristiansand.jpg
1991 Kristiansand. 5.50 jpg.jpg

Post Reply