Åland Post released a special stamp to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Great Northern War – one of the most serious disasters that have happened in Åland. The item features the mass exodus and return to Åland. The islands were occupied by Russia in 1714, and the residents fled to Sweden. After signing the peace treaty in 1721, most islanders came back to the devastated and fire-damaged island.
Åland was attacked unexpectedly by Russia in the summer, 1714. A great number of islanders fled to Stockholm and Lake Malar archipelagos. Many of them settled by the coast making a living from fishing and seal hunting, but many suffered great hardship during their stay in Sweden. The peace was made in 1721 and the majority of the Ålanders decided to come back home where they faced many difficulties and problems. Only at the end of the 1700s Åland again have the same population as prior to the Great Northern War.
Artist Carl-Johan Listherby who designed this issue commented: “I made different attempts involving mirroring and rotations before I thought of letting layers of depth move the story within the image. Once I’d thought of it, I realized that paper, and the natural thickness of various types of paper, was a suitable technique for this particular idea.”
See also other war stamps.
