Sandavágur
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Sandavágur ( da, Sandevåg) is a city on the south coast of the Faroese island of
Vágar Vágar ( da, Vågø) is one of the 18 islands in the archipelago of the Faroe Islands and the most westerly of the ''large islands''. With a size of , it ranks number three, behind Streymoy and Eysturoy. Vágar region also comprises the island ...
. The name ''Sandavágur'' means ''sandy bay'' and refers to the sandy beach which used to be much larger than present. From one point in Sandavágur you can get a view of all the southern islands in the Faroes. Sandavágur used to be a municipality until 1 January 2009, when it fused together with the neighbour village
Miðvágur Miðvágur ( da, Midvåg), is a village in the Faroe Islands on Vágar. It has been a municipality until 1 January 2009 when it fused with Sandavágur into Vága kommuna. Located on the south coast of the island of Vágar, Miðvágur is the ...
into the new
Vágar municipality Vágar Municipality (Vága kommuna) is a municipality in the Faroese Islands. It covers the eastern part of the island of Vágar (while Sørvágur Municipality covers the western part of the island). It was created on 1 January 2009 by fusing ...
. Data:


History

The town has an ancient history. A 13th century
runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...
, discovered in 1917, bears an inscription stating that the Norwegian
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
''Torkil Onundarson'' from
Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...
was the first settler in this area. The stone can be seen in Sandavágur Church. Excavations in the town have also uncovered ruins from the Middle Ages. ''Á Steig'' in Sandavágur was the residence of the Lagman, the lawspeaker and leader of the Faroese parliament, until 1816, when the office was abolished and the islands became a Danish administrative district. The clergyman V. U. Hammershaimb, who was born in Sandavágur in 1819 and became the father of the Faroese written language, was the son of the last law speaker. There is a freestanding rock to the east of the town called ''Trøllkonufingur'', which means ''Witch’s finger''. It is said to have been climbed only once, and the story goes like this: :''"
Frederick VII of Denmark Frederick VII (Frederik Carl Christian; 6 October 1808 – 15 November 1863) was King of Denmark from 1848 to 1863. He was the last Danish monarch of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg and the last king of Denmark to rule as an ...
visited the Faroe Islands in 1844, and a man climbed the Witch’s finger so that he could wave to the King as he sailed past. Later, when the man had come down, he realized that he had left one of his gloves on the top of the rock, so decided to climb it again. On his way to the top he fell and died."''


Buildings

The distinctive red-roofed Church 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.


Vestanstevna festival

Sandavagur takes turns in hosting a civic festival called ''Vestanstevna'' which takes place annually at the beginning of July. The other participating villages are,
Miðvágur Miðvágur ( da, Midvåg), is a village in the Faroe Islands on Vágar. It has been a municipality until 1 January 2009 when it fused with Sandavágur into Vága kommuna. Located on the south coast of the island of Vágar, Miðvágur is the ...
and
Sørvágur :''There is also a town called Vágur on Suðuroy.'' Sørvágur ( da, Sørvåg) is a village on the island of Vágar in the Faroe Islands. It is located at the landward end of Sørvágsfjørður. Sørvágur is the largest village in Sørvágur ...
. The festival is similar to ''Olavsøka'' in
Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...
but smaller.


Economy

''Kovin'', the canning factory in Sandavágur produces canned fish products: primarily
shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
, but also
roe Roe ( ) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked in ...
and normal fish meat. It also produces various kinds of
pâté ''Pâté'' ( , , ) is a paste, pie or loaf filled with a forcemeat. Common forcemeats include ground meat from pork, poultry, fish or beef; fat, vegetables, herbs, spices and either wine or brandy (often cognac or armagnac). It is often served ...
, for example from
salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
, shrimps and
tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: ...
.


Sports

The local football team was
SÍF Sandavágur SÍF Sandavágur is a Faroese Football club based in Sandavágur on the island of Vágar. History SÍF Sandavágur was founded in 1906; although the club is one of oldest in the Faroe Islands, SÍF only played in the top division (now Betri ...
until they merged with
MB Miðvágur MB, Mb or M. B. may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Mälarhöjden/Bredäng Hockey, a Swedish ice hockey club * Media Blasters, an American multimedia entertainment distributor * Mediobanca, and Italian company with Borsa Italiana sto ...
to form
FS Vágar 07 Vestur is a Faroese football club, which was founded in 2007. It is located in Sandavágur and Sørvágur on Vágar island. History The club was founded 18 December 1993 as FS Vágar. It was a merger of Vágar island teams MB Miðvágur an ...
in 1993. The merger collapsed in 2004 and the clubs separated again only for SÍF to become part of a newly formed club,
07 Vestur 07 Vestur is a Faroese football club, which was founded in 2007. It is located in Sandavágur and Sørvágur on Vágar island. History The club was founded 18 December 1993 as FS Vágar. It was a merger of Vágar island teams MB Miðvágur an ...
. The scorer of the only goal in the
Faroe Islands national football team The Faroe Islands national football team ( fo, Føroyska fótbóltsmanslandsliðið) represents the Faroe Islands in association football and is governed by the Faroe Islands Football Association (FSF). The FSF became a member of FIFA in 198 ...
s first ever competitive match, a shock win over Austria in 1990,
Torkil Nielsen Torkil Nielsen (, born 26 January 1964) is a former Faroese football midfielder. He is also one of the Faroe Islands' best chess players. Club career He played most of his career at SÍF Sandavágur and after they merged with MB Miðvágur he ...
, was born in Sandavágur.


Notable people

* V. U. Hammershaimb (1819–1909) - founder of the Faroese written language. *
Torkil Nielsen Torkil Nielsen (, born 26 January 1964) is a former Faroese football midfielder. He is also one of the Faroe Islands' best chess players. Club career He played most of his career at SÍF Sandavágur and after they merged with MB Miðvágur he ...
, scorer of the first goal ever of the
Faroe Islands national football team The Faroe Islands national football team ( fo, Føroyska fótbóltsmanslandsliðið) represents the Faroe Islands in association football and is governed by the Faroe Islands Football Association (FSF). The FSF became a member of FIFA in 198 ...
*
Samuel Jacob Sesanus Olsen Samuel Jacob Sesanus Olsen, commonly known as Jacob Olsen (1 October 1904 – October 13, 1994), was a Faroese teacher, writer and translator. He was deeply engaged in the local community and the Faroe Islands as a whole.Lærarfólk i Føroyum 18 ...
(1904–1994) - teacher, writer and translator.


Gallery

Image:Faroe stamp 511 vagar - sandavagur.jpg, Stamp FO 511 of
Postverk Føroya Posta is the postal service of the Faroe Islands and was founded on 1 April 1976 under the Home Rule of the Faroe Islands. On 16 December 2005, it became a public joint stock company under the name P/F Postverk Føroya (retroactive from 1 Januar ...
Image:Faroe stamp 059 runen stone.jpg, Runen Stone in Sandavágur, Stamp FR 59 of the Faroe Islands Image:Church of Sandavágur, Faroe Islands.jpg,
Sandavágur Church Sandavágur Church is a distinctive red-roofed church in the town of Sandavágur in the Faroe Islands. History The church of Sandavá was consecrated on April 29, 1917. It was the fifth in a series of churches built in the last 300 years. A mem ...


See also

*
List of towns in the Faroe Islands This is a list of villages (and towns) of the Faroe Islands. :fo:Býir í Føroyum :de:Liste der Städte und Orte auf den Färöern References {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Towns In The Faroe Islands Towns Faroe Islands The Faroe Isla ...
*
Vágar Vágar ( da, Vågø) is one of the 18 islands in the archipelago of the Faroe Islands and the most westerly of the ''large islands''. With a size of , it ranks number three, behind Streymoy and Eysturoy. Vágar region also comprises the island ...


References


External links

* Official website o
Vága kommuna
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandavagur Populated places in the Faroe Islands Vágar