Friday, 17 February 2012
LIGHTHOUSE POSTCARD FROM NORWAY
Slettnes Lighthouse is located on the Barents Sea, at
the Nordkyn peninsula, near the fishing village of Gamvik, Norway (71.05.03N 28.13.10E). It is considered the northernmost
mainland lighthouse of the world. The 39 m (128 ft) round cast iron tower was
first lit on September 15, 1905. During World War II the Germans used the
lighthouse as an observatory position, but in October 1944, the German Army in
full retreat, blew up the lighthouse station. The new station was designed by
architects G.Blakstad and H. Munthe-Kaas and was completed in 1948. The new
tower was painted red with two white horizontal bands, has 9 storeys and a
spiral 139-steps staircase. Electrified in 1956 and automated in 2005 the
lighthouse is protected by a 1998 cultural heritage act, and is situated in a
nature reserve rich in migratory birds and Arctic vegetation. From the end of May to mid July, many tourists visit
Gamvik to see the natural phenomenon of the midnight sun and it is possible to
book accommodation at the Slettnes light station buildings.
Norway Post issued on April 27, 2007 its famous annual
tourist stamps presenting unique landscapes in a set of six stamps. The
self-adhesive A (Priority Worldwide) stamp features the beautiful village of
Reine on the Lofoten island of Moskenesøya.
The area is known for its picturesque mountains, much like an alpine
landscape which offers many rock climbing and mountaineering opportunities. The
main areas for mountaineering and climbing are on Austvågøya and Moskenesøya.
Sunday, 5 February 2012
LIGHTHOUSE POSTCARD FROM RUSSIA
Murmansk is a city and seaport in the extreme
north-west part of Russia, on the Kola Bay. A memorial in honor of the 85th
anniversary of the city was opened near Lake Semyonovskoye in 2002. The
memorial includes a 28 m (92 ft) hexagonal cylindrical tower, painted with red
and white horizontal bands, the Lighthouse Monument. This lighthouse is not a
genuine aid to navigation. There is a Memorial Hall in the basement part of the
lighthouse, each wall of the hall is devoted to the memory of fishermen who
perished at sea in peacetime, to sea transport workers, to military seamen, and
to pilots of shipborne aviation. There is also a Memorial Book containing the
names of those who did not return from the sea. These include the crew of the
nuclear submarine Kursk, pride of the Northern Fleet, which sank with the loss
of all 118 on board in the Barents Sea in 2000 - Russia's worst peacetime naval
disaster and a tremendous blow to national pride.
The 8.00 stamp shows the Svyatonossky Lighthouse located
at the west side of Svyatoy Nos peninsula, between the White Sea and the
Barents Sea. The 22 m (72 ft) yellow-orange octagonal wood tower was first lit
in August 1863 and is considered a national historic monument.
LIGHTHOUSE POSTCARD FROM JAPAN
Hinomisaki is a
port town located at the north coast of Shimane Prefecture facing the Sea of Japan. The Izumo Hinomisaki
Lighthouse stands on a steep and rocky cape and is the tallest lighthouse in
Japan. The construction of the tower stated in 1900 by the Scottish engineer Richard
Brunton and the Japanese engineer Yoshihiko Aya. Aya designed a building
structure known as “double shell” resistant to earthquakes and the 44 m (145 ft) round stone tower was first lit on April 1, 1903 during the Meiji
Period. The lighthouse survived to the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923, World
War II air strikes and the Great Hanshin earthquake (or Kobe earthquake) in
1995. Electrified in 1918 and automated on March 31, 1974 the Hinomisaki Light
receives many tourists daily attracted to the panoramic view of the Sea of
Japan and the beautiful sunset seen from the upper gallery (over 150 steps). The
former lighthouse keeper' cottage now houses a visitor center and a gift shop.
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