#Iceland stamps
Iceland: The First Motorcycle
The first motorbike was brought to Iceland in the summer of 1905. This bike is featured in the background of the present stamp which commemorates this anniversary. The motorbike in the stamp's foreground is a Harley Davidson, 2004 Sportster Roadster XLR 1200 cm3. Iceland's first motorcyclist, an engineer by the name of Porkell P. Clementz, imported a bike of the type Motosacoche in June 1905. Litt
Iceland: Wild berries
A few species of wild berries grow in Iceland. Among them are bilberries, crowberries, brambleberries and rowanberries. The small blueberry (vaccinium uliginosum) shrub is darkgreen with hazel and round branches. The leaves are of various sizes and shapes. The berries are big, darkish blue and waxcoated on the outside. Their flavour is mild and the juice is colourless. Blueberries can be found all
Iceland: Occasional stamps
Occasional stamps are stamps that can be used for various festive occasions, i.e. birthdays, weddings, etc. These are the first stamps of their kind issued by Iceland Post. The flowers depicted on the stamps are the African daisy (gerbera jamesonii), the tulip (tulipa gesneriana), the rose (rosa "Red Berlin") and red calla (zantedeschia rehmannii). These are all popular gift flowers. All the stamp
Forsetation in Iceland
Organized forestation began in Hallormsstadaskogur in the east of Iceland 100 years ago when Stefan Kristjansson was hired as a caretaker of the area. Stefan had studied forestry in Copenhagen. Althingi, the Icelandic Parliament, approved a resolution on the preservation of the Hallormsstadur Forest in 1899. Four years later Althingi decided to buy Hallormsstadur from the Icelandic Church Authorit
The National Museum of Iceland
The National Museum of Iceland was founded February 24th 1863. Until that time cultural artifacts had been preserved in Danish museums. The National Museum is dedicated to communicating knowledge of Iceland's cultural heritage from the time of its pioneering settlement in 874 to the present day. The decision to build a museum in Iceland was taken by Althingi in 1944. 1998 saw the beginning of exte
The French Hospital
The middle of the 19th century up until 1914 was the time of the French fishermen in Iceland. In those times there were probably up to 5000 French fishermen in Icelandic waters annually. The last French sloop was in Icelandic waters just before World War II and the French had at that time been fishing in Icelandic waters for about 300 years. In 1897 the French built a small infirmary in Faskrudsfi
The Reykdal Power Station
Electrification in Iceland started in the beginning of the 20th century. Iceland's first encounter with electricity was in the late 17th century but the harnessing of hydro energy resources did not start until late in the 19th century. It was soon realized that hydro power was ideal for producing electricity. Ideas on the electric lightning of Reykjavik were introduced in 1894. The first motor gen
