Åland Post proudly presents stamp year 2022. Eivor Granberg, business area manager of Åland Post Stamps & Postal services, and Gunilla Häggblom, communications officer at Stamps, present the stamp program. “The planning of this stamp year was marked by joy of storytelling, experimentation and collaboration with several new interesting artists. The celebration of the 100th anniversary of Åland autonomy can be seen in more than one issue in 2022, but we are equally pleased to present the first disc golf stamp in the world. We also pay attention to the important research into tick-borne diseases, and we have the pleasure of raising the profile of seven active contemporary Åland artists. We believe that everybody will find something to like”, Eivor Granberg, business area manager of Stamps & Postal services says.
The presentation has English subtitles.
1 February 2022
new series of self-adhesive franking labels kicks off the stamp year. The theme of the series is the anniversary year of Åland, the striking slogan of which, A century of willfulness, is also the name of the series. Graphic designer Annika Rehn Zetterqvist, who created the logo and visual profile of the anniversary year, has also designed the franking labels.
On the same day, we issue part two of the Veteran tractor stamp series that started in 2021. With these two tractor stamps, the series jumps forward a few decades. On one stamp, photographer David Lundberg has portrayed a home-built car-tractor built by Runar Karlsson of Ringsböle in Jomala in the beginning of the 1940s. The framework came off a Ford model A, and the tractor was later renovated by his grandson Kristoffer Karlsson. The second stamp shows a Finnish Old-Reliable, a red Valmet 20 from 1956, residing on the archipelago island of Sottunga. The owner Raul Petrell received it as a gift from his mother when he was 10 years old.
25 March 2022
In 2022, the ÅSS pavilion celebrates its 100th anniversary as tavern and clubhouse for the Åland Yacht Club ÅSS. Artist Carolina Sundelin took on the challenge to capture this popular architectural gem located in the western harbour of Mariehamn. The house in gingerbread style was drawn by Lars Sonck (1870–1956), one of Finland’s most high-profile architects in the early 1900s. The house was built 1895–1899 as summer villa and moved to its current location in 1922, where it serves as a popular restaurant today.
The second stamp issue on this day spotlights the growing sport of disc golf. Today, Åland has the highest density of disc golf courses in the world and an ambition of turning the island realm into the world’s largest disc golf park. In 2022, the disc golf course in the Badhusparken in Mariehamn celebrates its 40th anniversary. The stamp is a tribute to the happy 1980s and the anniversary of the course, showing the fifth disc golf basket, overlooking the entrance to the western harbour. With this stamp, Finnish illustrator Sanna Mander makes her debut as stamp artist for Åland Post.
The 2022 series of postal stationery cards, Say it with a card, will also be issued on 25 March. The series is designed by illustrator Amanda Valkonen of Mariehamn, who has created four playful cards suitable for congratulations, party invitations, friendly greetings and personal love notes.
9 May 2022
On Europa Day, we issue the annual stamp in the “Europa” series, organized by PostEurop, the cooperation body for European postal operators. The 2022 theme is Stories and Myths and, created by artist Lasse Harkkala, the Åland stamp illustrates the myth about the “sjörå”, a female water creature in Alandic folklore.
9 June 2022
The 100th anniversary of Åland autonomy on 9 June will be celebrated by Åland Post with the issue of a miniatue sheet by artist Jonas Wilén. The miniature sheet illustrates the essence of Åland, an island realm that grows and thrives between tradition and modernity. In honour of the occasion, Åland Post also issues a limited special edition of the miniature sheet with foiling and embossing.
The stamp booklet of the year, Åland Contemporary, holding seven stamp motifs is issued on the same day. The booklet presents the artwork of seven contemporary Åland artists: Barbro Eriksson, Erica Signell, Gunnar Sjöblom, Johan Karlsson, Kurt Simons, Minna Öberg and Tiina Tahvanainen. The selection of artwork was made in cooperation with the Åland Art Museum and Gallery Skarpans.
6 September 2022
20 October 2021
And lastly, we present part nine of the stamp series illustrating Chinese zodiac animals with an Åland twist. The Year of the Rabbit is in turn, and stamp artist Martin Mörck’s miniature sheet Hare features mountain hares in their winter-attire close to Havsvidden resort in Geta, northern Åland.