Time for a look at the Faroe Islands 2025 stamps. Yes, very late, and the program is now complete, but that doesn’t take the joy away. 

I’ve been a bit ill in the past year, which has seriously damaged my ability to write. Feeling better and will try and push out articles I had started prior to being laid up. Nice to be writing again. To reboot (again) new posts, I couldn’t think of any country other than the Faroe Islands.

This little country brings me a lot of joy when I look at their yearly program. Primarily because it’s like looking through a small bite of life on the Islands. Its all about everyday people, events and landscape. Oh the landscape. Northern, rugged and beautiful. This year didn’t disappoint, offering two stamps featuring Faroe Islands stunning scenery. 

No yearly catalogue would be complete without at least one design by master engraver Martin Mörck, one of the world’s greatest stamp artists and engravers. His second stamp of the year, Columnar Basalt also offers collectors the rare chance to own an unusual black print of the Basalt. Only 1,500, numbered prints are available and side-by-side offer an fascinating counterpoint. The black print allows us to see all the detailed engraver strokes that make up the image. My only quibble with this is, its a shame it wasn’t offered in poster size.  

Faroe Islands offers a tidy little program, easy for new collectors to start with and jammed pack with the best stamps the hobby has to offer. Yes, I’m very fond of the Islands. 

 February

The Ocean’s Depths
Franking Labels 2025 

4 franking labels, 5 FDCs, cancel
Flexo printing

This is an interesting set of stamps, stylistic speaking. Artist Teitsdóttrir uses a technique that employs thousands of dots of paint and lets your eyes pull the image together. 

Turið’s artwork is primarily inspired by the life and creatures inhabiting the unseen depths of the ocean. Her distinctive style is defined by delicate layers of watercolor, vibrant palettes, and an intricate constellation of dots that breathe life into this submerged, hidden world. “Each painting often consists of thousands of dots. The dots have become my artistic signature, a defining element in my work,” she notes. Stamps.fo

She goes on to explain she draws the “often-overlooked details that quietly persist beneath the surface” and how everything, no matter how tiny, is interconnected. 

Artist: Turið Teitsdóttrir
“I made stamps and I’m so so so proud of that!”

Release date: February 1, 2025

Landscape: Víkar

1 stamp, FDC, cancel, maxicard, postcard
offset

The village of Víkar was abandoned in 1910, after 70 years of habitation. It once was home to about 130 people until they left because of the difficulty getting to and from this tiny place. 

Life in Víkar was harsh, and this small village had only a short lifespan. The population slowly but steadily decreased, and by 1910, only three men remained from the third generation. By the end of the year, they too had left, and the village was abandoned.
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Víkar was featured on a Faroe Island stamp in 2005, 20 years ago. Designer/artist: Eli Smith.

Photographer: Thomas Vikre
Danish-Norwegian photographer Vikre makes his home on the Islands. His photographs have previously appeared on stamps in 2021 and 2022.

Release date: February 24, 2025

Handball in the Faroe Islands

2 stamps, 3 FDCs, cancel
offset

Although the Hondbóltsamband Føroya (Faroese Handball Association) was formed in 1980, people on the Island have been playing the sport since the 1920s. 

Stamp one features Jana Mittún who is with Danish club Viborg HK. 
Stamp two features Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu who currently plays with THW Kiel in Germany. 

It was women who first started playing handball in the Faroe Islands. Girls at the Secondary School in Tórshavn began playing handball in the schoolyard in 1928-29, when a young Danish teacher was working as a substitute in Tórshavn for a short period. She introduced the sport to the Faroese girls. Gradually, the boys joined in, and the first club, Neistin, was founded on 21st March 1931. The interest in the sport quickly spread, and several more clubs were established throughout the 1930s.
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Photographers: Álvur Haraldsen and Uroš Hocevar/kolektiff

Release date: February 24, 2025

Famous Pilots in the Faroe Islands

2 stamps, 3 FDCs, cancel, booklet
offset

This set looks at two famous early aviators who visited the Islands. 

Antonio Locatelli, 1924 – was the first pilot to land on the islands. Tórshavn Bay August 1924. Seaplanes had previously visited, but none touched down on land. 
He earned his pilot’s license (# 548) on June 18, 1915 and like many pioneer aviators, served in WW1. 

Charles Lindbergh, 1933 – while working with Pan American Airways, looking for new routes between Copenhagen and New York City, Lindbergh briefly touched down in Trongisvágsfjørður on August 23. Much to the surprise and delight of the gathering crowd, when Lindbergh came out, he was accompanied by his wife Anne Morrow, who acted as his navigator and telegraph operator. Their visit was very subdued and quiet. Their son had been kidnapped and murdered just a year previous so celebrations were kept to a minimum. 

Artist: Janus Dam Guttesen
Janus also created the art for last year’s Motorized Boats ATM Stamps.
Janus D. Guttesen | Tekningar, illustratiónir og tekniskeið

Release date: February 24, 2025

50 Years of Faroese Stamps

1 stamp on souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel 
Offset + PMS

Faroe Islands issued their first stamp on January 30, 1975. 19 stamps in total were released including a set of maps and landscapes.

First Faroe Island stamps. Engraved by Slania
image courtesy Faroe Islands post office

In a tribute to both the first stamps and the great engraver Czeslaw Slania (who created many of the Island’s most notable stamps), Faroe Island used 2 of the Island’s iconic stamps – Traditional Dance Ring and Rams Head. 

1979 engraved Ram’s Head by
Czeslaw Slania

From Faroe Islands EUROPA / C.E.P.T.: Folklore and Feasts 1981.
Engraving by Slania

Designers: Faroese Post office using works by Cz. Slania. 

Release date: February 24, 2025

May

Sepac 2025 – Architecture
Eystur Townhall

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

This stamp features Eystur Townhall by Ósbjørn Jacobsen Arkitektar / Henning Larsen Architects, a Faroe Island based architect.  The design won numerous awards for both its unique shape and how it compliments the natural landscape. Jacobsen won first prize in the Public Building category of 2018 Rethinking the Future’s Global Architecture and Design Awards.

“A central theme in more traditional Faroese architecture is the blurred line between nature and building, the fact that the spectator has difficulties distinguishing where the landscape ends and the building begins. The primary conceptual idea behind the design of the Town Hall is driven by the notion of this fleeting line between landscape and building,” says Partner and Design Director at the Faroe Islands, Ósbjørn Jacobsen.
Eystur Town Hall | Henning Larsen

Photographer: Nic Lehoux
This is the first time Lehoux’s photographs have appeared on a stamp. 

Release date: May 26, 2025

Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)

2 stamps, 3 FDCs, cancel, maxi and postcards are also available. 
offset

With a wingspan of nearly two meters, the northern gannet is the largest breeding bird in the Faroe Islands. It breeds on the westernmost island, Mykines, nesting on cliff ledges and broad rock columns. However, it can be seen throughout the country as it forages in fjords and the straits between the islands. Northern gannets are also observed far out at sea, often near fishing vessels. Tradition has it that they return to land on St. Paul’s Day on 25th January and settle at their breeding sites on 24th February.

 

The northern gannet dives from great heights, reaching speeds of up to 100 km/h, plunging into the sea and diving as deep as 20 meters in search of food. Just before hitting the water, it tucks its wings back, forming a shape like an arrow. It feeds on pelagic fish such as mackerel and herring but can also take capelin, cod, and other fish species. Its beak is uniquely adapted to expand, allowing it to swallow relatively large fish. 
Silas Olofson Stamps.fo

The Northern Gannet appeared on a Faroe Island stamp in 1978. Designed by Holger Philipsen and engraved by T Beyer.

Photographer: Silas Olofson
These are Faroe Islands based photographer Olofson’s first stamps. 
In addition to being an ornithologist, Silas is a bird photographer and spends a lot of time in the wild observing and photographing birds. For many years, he has purposefully photographed birds in the Faroe Islands.About:: birding

Release date: May 26, 2025

Europa 2025: National Archaeological Discoveries
Viking Age  (AD 800–1050) 

2 stamps, 3 FDCs, cancel, booklets of 6
offset

This year’s EUROPA stamp also showcases Martin Mörck’s talents. In this set, he uses a much more delicate approach to the design than in the broader, more sweeping Columnar Basalt stamp. 

Archaeological investigations in the Faroe Islands indicate that the first Norse settlement began in the 8th century, and by the 9th century, permanent settlements had been established across the islands. Analyses of barley grains suggest that human activity on the Faroes predates this period. By dating burnt barley grains found beneath a Viking-age house in the village of Sandur, we can confirm activity in the 4th and 6th centuries as well as in the 6th and 8th centuries. However, the dating cannot determine the extent of this activity, or the origins of the people involved.
Ph.D. Ann Sølvia Selmarsdóttir Purkhús Stamps.fo This is a good, brief overview of Viking life on the Faroe Islands. 

Artist: Martin Mörck

Release date: May 26, 2025

Oyggjarnar (The Islands) 120 Years

1 stamp on souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel
offset

Faroese-born actor, editor and journalist Súsanna Helena Patursson is featured on this stamp. 

Oyggjarnar was published from 1905 to 1907, becoming the first women’s magazine on the Islands. 

At the time, fishing was emerging as a lucrative industry in the Faroe Islands, which began to challenge traditional ideals of women in the agrarian society. Oyggjarnar advocated for women’s education, suffrage, and home improvement, emphasizing that everyone—not just men and boys—needed nutritious food. The magazine published recipes for new dishes and articles on cultivating vegetables suited to the Faroese climate.

 

Instead of focusing on traditional roles like tending cows, working with wool, and making clothing, the magazine elevated housekeeping as a central task. Homes were to be neat and clean, with advice on how curtains and rugs could make living rooms cosy. However, the magazine not only rejected the traditional roles of rural women but also criticized the new working roles of women as “fishwives” and “fish girls,” warning that they risked losing their “grace and modesty.”
Stamps.fo

Patursson appeared on a stamp in 2008

Designer: Kári við Rættará
Kári’s first stamps, 135th Anniversary of the Faroese Fishing Fleet, appeared in 2019. Oyggjarnar is his 5th stamp.

Release date: May 26, 2025

Caring Hands

1 stamp on souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel
offset

Many have held someone’s hand on their final journey beyond this life, and there is a Faroese saying that goes: “It is comforting to feel the warmth of the hands of those who let go,” – from those who came before us. The warmth of adult hands that once took our small hands and safely guided us onto life’s right path. The same hands that gave us hugs and gently comforted us when something – big or small – made life difficult. Hands can speak and often say more than words ever could.
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Artist: Sigrun Gunnarsdóttir

Sigrun Gunnarsdóttir (b.1950) was born and raised in Eiði, a village of approximately 700 inhabitiants. The village lies at the north-westerly point of Eysturoy, second largest island in the Faroe Islands. Here Sigrun has developed a pictorial universe which resembles little else we have seen. About – Sigrun Gunnarsdóttir

Faroe Posta showcased Gunnarsdóttir’s art on two stamps in 2020. Breyðið, Sum Mettar Svongd  (2014) and Móðir Teresa á Eiði (2019)

Release date: May 26, 2025

September

Columnar Basalt

1 stamp on souvenir sheet, black print limited edition, FDC, cancel
offset & intaglio

This set offers collectors a rare opportunity to own both the completed stamp and a print of the engraving. It is an amazing chance to see the detailed engraving work. 

Have you ever stood wondering about a cliff face that looks like long carved columns, as if cut by hand? Why does the wall look like that? These columns are called columnar basalt and resemble true works of art, built directly into nature. In the Faroe Islands, there are many fascinating examples of columnar basalts.

 

What is columnar basalt and how does it form?

Columnar basalt forms, for example, when a lava flow spreads out over the landscape and cools in a very particular way. As the lava cools, it contracts slightly and cracks into regular columns – from the bottom upwards (perpendicular to the cooling surface, which is the substrate).

 

What is especially fascinating about columnar basalt is the shape of the columns themselves. In most cases, they are hexagonal, meaning the columns have six sides. They look almost unnaturally perfect. And there is a reason for this beautiful shape.

Stamps.fo

Artist and engraver: Martin Mörck

Release date: September 17, 2025

Dove of Peace

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
embroidered 

This is the first time Faroe Post has issued an embroidered stamp. It part of the UN, EU and UPU initiative The Dove of Peace Project. This common design was used by a number of European post offices this year. 

In September 2025, the Universal Postal Union (UPU), together with 11 postal organizations, issued the embroidered Dove of Peace stamp and a matching collectible to mark the International Day of Peace and highlight the universal nature of this message.

Alongside the UPU, the participating postal operators are: the United Nations Postal Administration, Armenia, Austria, Barbados, Cyprus, Denmark – Faroe Islands, Denmark – Greenland, Finland – Åland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Such a collective initiative is a rare occasion, emphasizing its strong symbolic significance.

The stamp features a white embroidered dove carrying an olive branch outlined in blue – a universal emblem of peace. With its wings spread wide, the dove conveys a message that transcends borders, religions, and ideologies, serving as a postal ambassador of unity.
Dove of Peace

Designer: Iris Hämmerle with Hämmerle & Vogel Gmbh & Co KG, Austria who specialise in turning stamps into embroidered works of art. 

Release date: September 17, 2025

October 

100 Years of Telephone Communication on the Faroe Islands

2 stamps on souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel
offset

The first telephone connection on the Islands was established in 1905. Its an interesting and rather extensive history, and as always Faroe Post has provided an top notch write up Stamps.fo. 

Designer: Anker Eli Petersen

Release date: October 20, 2025

The Pixies’ Christmas

2 stamps, FDC, cancel, booklets, maxi and postcards are also available
offset

Yes, it’s time for Christmas! And Faroe Post is celebrating it with Pixies.

In the Nordic countries, pixies have been known for hundreds of years. The first written mention dates to the 14th century, and the oldest known drawing of a pixie appears in a book by Olaus Magnus from 1555.

 

Pixies are small-around 20 to 30 centimetres tall-and are usually dressed in green or brown clothing, with a long, pointed hat.

 

In the Faroe Islands, pixies usually live high up in the mountains, where few people ever go. There, they care for sheep, birds, and hares in distress. They also tend to the plants that grow on the mountainsides.

 

Some pixies live closer to humans-beneath remote houses or on farms. There, they look after livestock such as sheep, cattle, and horses, and help out with tidying and chores.

If you are lucky enough to have a pixie living nearby, you must take great care not to upset it. It is important not to shout at or annoy the pixie-and above all, to remember to leave out a bowl of porridge at Christmas. In return, the pixie will protect your home and bring good fortune.
Stamps.fo

Artist: Janus á Húsagarði
Janus created Faroe Island’s EUROPA 2010 stamp – Children’s books stamps.. 

Release date: October 20, 2025