Sunda is a municipality in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, loosely centered around the

Sundini 280px, The Streymin Bridge crosses the Sundini at its narrowest point Sundini is the northern section of the sound separating the islands of Streymoy and Eysturoy in the Faroe Islands. The southern section of the strait is named Tangafjørður. ...

sound between the islands of

Streymoy Streymoy ( da, Strømø) is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The capital, Tórshavn, is located on its southeast coast. The name means "island of currents". It also refers to the largest region of the country that also i ...

and

Eysturoy Eysturoy (pronounced estroimeaning 'East Island') is a region and the second-largest of the Faroe Islands, both in size and population. Description Eysturoy is separated by a narrow sound from the main island of Streymoy. Eysturoy is extremely ...

History

Sunda is an amalgamation of the former municipalities of Hósvíkar, Hvalvíkar, Saksunar, Haldarsvíkar, (former) Sunda and Gjáar kommuna, which merged in 2005. The mayor as of 2020 is Heðin Zachariasen, who was also the first mayor, from 2005 to 2009.

Geography

The region in which Sunda kommuna is situated is referred to as Sundalagið, centered around the

(''The Narrows'') between the islands of

and

. The region also includes Eiðis kommuna, while strictly speaking Gjógv does not belong to Sundalagið, though is part of Sunda kommuna. The villages

Selatrað Selatrað ( da, Selletræ) is a village on the west coast of the Faroese island of Eysturoy in Sjóvar Municipality. The name ''Selatrað'' refers to ''a breeding place for seals''. The 2010 population was 38. Its postal code is FO 497. The vill ...

Morskranes Morskranes ( da, Morskrenæs) is a village on the west coast of the Faroese island of Eysturoy in the Sjóvar Municipality. The 2013 population was 28. Its postal code is FO 496. Morskranes can translate roughly as "Moors of the Corner". Externa ...

and Kolbeinagjógv are also situated on the Sundini but not considered part of Sundalagið region. Sunda kommuna contains the following villages: *

Hósvík Hósvík ( da, Thorsvig) is a village in the Faroe Islands. It has a population of 335 and is located on a bay on Streymoy's east-coast. The ferry to Selatrað on Eysturoy island used to go from Hósvík, but was superseded by the Streymin Brid ...

Norðskáli Norðskáli is a settlement in the Faroe Islands on the island of Eysturoy, a few kilometres north of Oyri. Its name means ''north dwelling'' and its population is 331. The 226-metre Streymin Bridge crosses Sundini from the island of Streymoy b ...

Hvalvík Hvalvík ( da, Kvalvig) is a village in the Faroe Islands, located in a valley on the east coast of the island of Streymoy. It is the southern half of a twin-village situated on both sides of the valley. The villages are divided by the river St ...

Streymnes Streymnes ( da, Strømnæs) is a village on the eastern coast of the Faroese island of Streymoy in Sunda Municipality. The 2015 population was 270. Its postal code is FO 435. It is near the site of a former Norwegian whaling station active from ...

Haldórsvík Haldórsvík ( da, Haldersvig), also Haldarsvík, is a village located on the north-east coast of Streymoy in the Sunda Kommuna municipality. In the centre of the village there is a small waterfall. The stone church in the village is from 185 ...

Oyri Oyri is a village on the central west coast of the Faroese island Eysturoy in the Sunda municipality. The 2005 population was 142. Its postal code is FO 450. The village is south of the Eysturoy-to- Streymoy bridge, and is home to a large fish pr ...

Oyrarbakki Oyrarbakki is a village on the west coast of the Faroese island of Eysturoy in the Sunda municipality, between Norðskáli and Oyri. In 2005 the population was 97. Its postal code is FO 400. The nearby 226-metre Streymin Bridge across to the i ...

Tjørnuvík Tjørnuvík ( da, Tjørnevig) is the northernmost village on Streymoy in Sunda Municipality, Faroe Islands. As of the 2006 census, the population has a total of 71 people. The town uses the Stakkur sea stack for sheep grazing, accessed by cabl ...

Gjógv Gjógv (pronounced , literally: ''gorge'', ''geo'') 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 2 ...

Langasandur Langasandur ( da, Langesand) is a village located on the Faroese island of Streymoy in the municipality of Sunda. The village was settled in 1938, the name Langasandur means Longbeach. Whaling station In 1894, the first whaling station in ...

Saksun Saksun is a village near the northwest coast of the Faroese island of Streymoy, in Sunda Municipality. Geography Saksun lies in the bottom of what used to be an inlet of the sea, surrounded by high mountains. The inlet formed a good deep natur ...

Nesvík Nesvík is a village on the east coast of the Faroese island of Streymoy, located in the Sunda municipality. In 2020 its population was 0 with the last inhabitants leaving in 2016. Nesvík is home to a religious camp of the conservative Inner Mis ...

The municipality is centrally located in the country, situated in the middle of highway 10 between capital Tórshavn and second city Klaksvík. Both cities are 40 kilometers by road from Oyrarbakki. The eastern and western bank of Sundini are connected by the

Streymin Bridge The Streymin Bridge ( Faroese: Brúgvin um Streymin; in short Brúgvin), is an important highway bridge in the Faroe Islands. It connects the two biggest and most populous islands of Streymoy to the west and Eysturoy to the east. Crossing the Sun ...

. This is the only road link between these islands until the

Eysturoyartunnilin The Eysturoyartunnilin (in English the Eysturoy Tunnel, earlier known as the Skálafjarðartunnilin) is a large undersea road tunnel under the Tangafjørður sound in the Faroe Islands, connecting the island of Streymoy to the island of Eysturoy ...

has finished and opened in 2021. National bus service 400 connects Tórshavn, Oyrarbakki and Klaksvík up to 11 times on weekdays in either direction, with less frequent routes to Tjørnuvík, Eiði and Gjógv operating from Oyrarbakki weekdays-only. How Sunda will be connected to Tórshavn and Klaksvík by public transport in the future, when the

has rearranged route 400, remains unknown. A free citizen-only bus service operated by Sunda kommuna connects all villages except Saksun and Gjógv.

Population

As of January 2020, there were 1,811 inhabitants. The population is steadily rising, up from 1.386 in 2000. The Sundalagið as a whole (including Eiðis kommuna and Gjógv) had 2,572 inhabitants in 2020. The area is popular for its central location in the country, at commuting distance from all major towns.

Photos

Image:Cleft of Gjógv, Faroe Islands.JPG, The boat harbour in the gorge of

, north

. Image:Gjógv, Faroe Islands (2).JPG, The village of Gjógv, the island

Kalsoy Kalsoy ( da, Kalsø) is an island in the north-east of the Faroe Islands of Denmark between Eysturoy and Kunoy. The name means man island; by contrast with the parallel island to the east, Kunoy, the name of which means woman island. The northern ...

is in the background. Image:Saksun Kirkja.Streymoy.fo.3.jpg, The church of Saksun in north

Image:Saksun.10.jpg,

Image:Hósvík, Faroe Islands (4).JPG, Waterfall in

Image:Tjørnuvík, Faroe Islands.JPG,

in north

. Image:Tjørnuvík, Faroe Islands (3).JPG, Old wooden houses with turf roof in

. Image:Church of Haldarsvík, Faroe Islands.JPG, The octagonal church in Haldarsvík in north

References

External links

Website of Sunda kommuna
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunda Municipalities of the Faroe Islands Streymoy Eysturoy