Saturday, August 4, 2012

15 Fairytale Villages of Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group and archipelago under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark, situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland. This archipelago has 18 main islands and 50,000 people, divided into exactly 123 villages. Villages of the Faroe Islands are like a fairytale - the houses are very colorful, grass roofed and located in beautiful natural surroundings.

1. Porkeri
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Population: 362
Porkeri is a village in the Faroe Islands, situated northeast of Vágur on Suðuroy's (island) east coast. As of 2008 it had a population of 362, and it has been inhabited at least as early as the 14th century.
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Tradition says that once in the old days a dispute of field boundaries between Porkeri and the neighbouring village Hov was sorted out by a walking-race between one man from each village. [link, map]

2. Funningur
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Population: 70
Funningur is located on the north-west coast of island of Eysturoy. To the west of the village rises the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands: Slættaratindur (882m or 2,900ft).
The wooden turf-roofed church dates from 1847 and stands at the water's edge.  link 
About 70 people live in Funningur on both sides of a cascading stream in a compact cluster of houses around a small bay. [link, map]

3. Bøur
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Population: 70
Bøur is a small village on the west-side of island of Vágoy on the north side of Sørvágsfjørður, Faroe Islands. It has a magnificent view over the sea and the rocky islet Tindhólmur with its many peaks, Gáshólmur and the two "drangar", (tall, pointed clifftops sticking up from the sea). This motif is famous on many paintings and photographs.
Turf (grass roofed) house link
The old houses in the village are bunched together with narrow lanes between them, and at the western end stands the cozy church, which was built in 1865. [link, map]

4. Gjógv
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Population: 49
Gjógv is a village located on the northeast tip of the island of Eysturoy, in the Faroe Islands and 63 km (39 mi) north by road from the capital of Tórshavn. The village was named after a 200-metre (650 ft) long sea-filled gorge that runs north to the sea from the village.
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The village was first mentioned in 1584, but it seems to have existed long before then. It has long subsisted on fishing and selling dried and salted fish. [link, map]

5. Kirkjubøur
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Population: 80
Kirkjubøur is the southernmost village on Streymoy, Faroe Islands and the country's most important historical site. It is located on the west coast and has a view towards the islands Hestur and Koltur.
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During the Middle Ages, the village had about 50 houses. The majority of these houses were washed away by a fierce storm in the 16th century. [link, map]

6. Saksun
Turf (grass roofed) houses in Saksun  link
Population: 34
Saksun is a village near the north-west coast of the Faroese island of Streymoy. This village lies in the bottom of what used to be an inlet of the sea, surrounded by high mountains. 
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The inlet formed a good deep natural harbour, until a storm blocked the inlet with sand. This made the old harbour become a unaccesible seawater lagoon (only accessible by small boats on high tide). [link, map]

7. Vágur
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Population: 1,361
Vágur (meaning Bay) is a village on the island of Suðuroy, part of the Faroe Islands. It is situated on the east coast of the island on the Vágsfjørður fjord, and was founded in the fourteenth century. The port area, which is 14 m (46ft) in depth, is situated on the northern part of the fjord. [link, map]

8. Gásadalur
Gásadalur is located in the pristine natural environment  link
Population: 17
Gásadalur is located on the west-side of Vágar, Faroe Islands, and enjoys a panoramic view over the island of Mykines. This village is located on the edge of Mykinesfjørður, surrounded by the highest mountains on Vágar.
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The landing site is very poor, because it is located somewhat higher than the seashore. So if the residents wanted to fish they were obliged to keep their boats near Bøur (neighboring village). In order to reach any of the other villages, they had to take the strenuous route over mountains more than 400 metres (1,300 ft) high. This explains why the village population has become smaller and smaller. In 2002 there were only sixteen people living in Gásadalur, and several of the houses stand empty today. [link, map]

9. Múli
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Population: 4
Múli lies on the outermost northern edge of Borðoy's east coast. Its settlement can be dated back to the 13th century. Múli became the last community in the archipelago to receive electricity in 1970. It was lated connected with Norðdepil by Road 743 in an attempt to stop depopulation. Nevertheless, Múli has been considered abandoned since 2002, though there are still four registered residents. During the Summer months some of its former residents use their old houses as vacation homes. [link, map]

10. Fámjin
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Population: 108
The village of Fámjin is looking directly out to the harsh sea, although partly protected by a stone reef, which becomes visible at low tide. The village is surrounded by the beautiful natural scenery of the highest mountains on Suðuroy.
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The highest mountain, Gluggarnir is located north of Fámjin. The mountains Borgarknappur and Borgin are south-east of the village. There are several inland lakes and waterfalls. One of the waterfalls is named Fossurin Mikli. Only one road leads to the village, it goes through Øravík (neighboring village). [link, map]

11. Eiði
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Population: 669
Eiði is a village located on the north-west tip of Eysturoy, Faroe Islands. Its name means isthmus in the Faroese language. The town has a population of 669 inhabitants. In the center of the village there is a large stone church from 1881. It was built in connection with the village's centennial. [link, map]

12. Dalur
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Population: 142
Dalur is located on the east-side of Sandoy (island). The village lies in the bottom of a relatively large valley. Dalur means valley in Faroese.
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A little road leads from Dalur to the south-tip of the island. From there it is possible to walk to the bird cliffs Skorin. The church in Dalur was built in 1957 and this is the only church that has ever been here. [link, map]

13. Elduvík
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Population: 23
Elduvík is a small village in the Faroe Islands. Elduvík is located in the Funningsfjørður-inlet on Eysturoy's (island) northeast side. The village which has a population of 23 is split into two parts by a small river.
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The church in Elduvík dates from 1952. Visible from Elduvík is the nearby island of Kalsoy. [link, map]

14. Tvøroyri
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Population: 1,785
Tvøroyri lies picturesquely on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður (fjord) on the east coast of Suðuroy, Faroe Islands.
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The church in Tvøroyri rises high above the village and can be seen from far away. It was constructed in Norway as a building set, moved to Tvøroyri and then built here in 1907, ready to use in 1908. The old church was moved to Sandvík (neighboring village). [link, map]

15. Sandavágur
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Population: 825
The village of Sandavágur lies on the south coast of the Faroese island of Vágar, and has been voted the most well-kept village in the Faroes twice. The name Sandavágur means sandy creek and refers to the beach down by the inlet. From one point in Sandavágur you can get a view of all the southern islands in the Faroes.
Church in the Sandavágur  link
The beautiful red-roofed Church has a distinctive architecture and was built in 1917. A memorial was erected outside the church to one of the many ships that were sunk during the Second World War. [link, map]
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8 comments:

  1. The last village is labeled as Hvannasund, but contains photos of Sandavágur. The church in Sandavágur is quite distinctive.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Also, Tvøroyri and Vágur are towns and not villages.

    ReplyDelete
  3. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/713/363/082/stop-faroe-island-whale-slaughter/ just check it out, how nice these people are-.-

    ReplyDelete
  4. so? did your ancestors not eat mammoths? those are mammals that neither are protected nor endangered, they live a free and happy life and die a fast traditional death. unlike the cows and swine in factory farming you eat in your mc donalds and wendys burgers. watching a lot of whale wh0res lately? cmon youre smarter than that.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Piemaksājiet man miljardu, es šeit nedzīvotu, lai cik jaukas mājiņas.

    ReplyDelete
  6. A land without MacDonalds, Ish*t and stuff? I'm going!

    ReplyDelete
  7. fantastic. I wonder what the people are like? what do they do for a living? how,uh, "modern" are they?

    ReplyDelete

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