The Hague, 25 February 2019. The well-known 'Mooi Nederland' ('Beautiful Netherlands') stamp series will be dedicated to the Dutch Frisian Islands in 2019. Today the second stamp sheetlet from this series was published, paying ample attention to Vlieland's nature and architecture. Stamps about Texel were published last month and later this year PostNL will put the spotlight on Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. There will also be an assembled stamp sheetlet about all five islands.
Since 2005, the 'Beautiful Netherlands' stamp series has drawn attention to local history, cultural wealth and scenic beauty. This year's new series about the Dutch Frisian Islands was designed by Birza Design from Deventer.
In the design of 'Beautiful Netherlands 2019: Vlieland', the island shape plays the leading role. This is reflected in the map of Vlieland, which the designers have positioned in miniature on the stamps and in large on the stamp sheetlet. The stamps show recognisable images of the island: the lighthouse on Vuurboetsduin, a whale jaw as a gravestone, the rescue house on the Vliehors nature reserve and a house with a blue wooden gable on Dorpsstraat. The typical shape of the island is also reflected in the design in other ways. For example, the font of the captions is a 'stencil font', made up of elements that are separate from each other.
Almost all of the photographs used were taken during a working visit to Vlieland by graphic designers Ingmar and Carla Birza in the sunny summer of 2018. Carla Birza describes Vlieland as an island "characterised by an abundance of nature, but without fences. Visiting Vliehors is a special experience due to its vastness, which sometimes makes it difficult to work out where the horizon is. That is something I have experienced almost nowhere else. The north-eastern point from which you can see Terschelling is also beautiful. Of course, with so much nature, you have to be careful when constructing new buildings. On Vlieland, they handle this issue very carefully."
HThe 'Beautiful Netherlands 2019: Vlieland' stamp sheetlet features five identical stamps with ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for mail in the Netherlands. The stamps are available from 25 February 2019 from PostNL locations on the island of Vlieland and online at postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels. The stamps can also be ordered by phone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number +31 (0)88 - 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.