Hvalbiareiði is also called Fiskieiði, it is located on the west coast of

Suðuroy Suðuroy (literally South Island, da, Suderø) is the southernmost of the Faroe Islands. The island covers 163.7 square kilometres (63.2 sq mi). In 2018 the population was 4,601. Suðuroy region (sýsla) comprises this island and Lítla ...

, west of the village

Hvalba Hvalba ( da, Kvalbø) is a village and a municipality in the Faroe Islands, which consists of Hvalba, Nes-Hvalba and Sandvík. The village spreads around the bottom of a deep inlet, Hvalbiarfjørður, in the northeast of Suðuroy. Population Hv ...

History

Hvalbiareiði has been an important harbour for

. Hvalba is located on an isthmus in the northern part of the island of

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 ...

. Fishing boats from Hvalba had and still have the opportunity to choose between the east and the west coast when they want to go fishing in wooden Faroese boats. Now most of the men work on board the trawlers of Hvalba, which use the harbour on the east coast. In the old days, before the boats got engines, the fish harbour (Fiskieiði) on the west coast was very important for the village. There were many boats and boathouses, up to 23 boats.

Niels L. Arge stood for the work in 1895

In the 19th century men from

tried to use concrete to improve the facilities of the natural harbour, but they had problems with making it last. But in 1895 they asked Niels L. Arge from

Argir Argir ( da, Arge) is a village in the Faroe Islands. Argir most likely takes its name from Old Irish ''airge'' meaning ''summer pasture''.; several placenames in Faroe carry the same name with this meaning. Once a village south of Tórshavn, Arg ...

, whose father was from Hvalba, if he could help them. He came to Hvalba and made the work last. They used 40 barrels of cement and every boat gave 8 barrels of sand for the work without any charge.

Jens Marius Poulsen from Skopun and the stone harbour in 1924

In 1924 the men from Hvalba wanted to improve the harbour even more, and a great work started. It was Jens Marius Poulsen from

Skopun Skopun (pronounced ; da, Skopen) is a town in the Faroe Islands situated on the northern coast of Sandoy. Skopun is the second-largest town on the island. Skopun Municipality consists only of the town of Skopun. History Although the area has be ...

, who was in charge of the work on the stone harbour. The stone harbour is still in good condition. But rough seas have taken a part of the cliff away, so the men of Hvalba had to use concrete instead, where the cliff had been.

Wooden Stocks on the harbour from 1890–1973

In 1890 wood stocks were laid on the harbour of Fiskieiði, so that it would be easier to drag the boats to and from the sea. These stocks were there until 1973, when they were taken away, because they were in bad shape. The stocks from one of the gorges were replaced, but the ones from the other gorge were not replaced.

Road to Fiskieiði

The first road to Fiskieiði (Hvalbiareiði) was made in 1890, but not all the way, only to the so-called "Skallaportrið". The work continued on the rest of the road from time to time, but it was not all the way to the Fiskieði until after the first car had arrived in Hvalba in 1931. The road made it much easier for the fishermen, because they no longer had to carry the fish all the way back to the village. Hvalba was not connected with the neighbouring village of

Trongisvágur Trongisvágur ( da, Trangisvåg) is a village on the island of Suduroy in the Faroe Islands. Trongisvágur is the village in the bottom of Trongisvágsfjørður (fjord) on the east coast of Suduroy. Trongisvágur and the neighbouring villages ...

until 1963 through a road tunnel, and with the other neighbour village

Sandvík Sandvík (pronounced , "Sandy Bay"; da, Sandvig) is the northernmost village of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. It is situated on the northern side of a shallow fjord. The village was previously known as Hvalvík (''Bay of Whales'') ...

in 1969, also through a road tunnel. So cars or lorries in Hvalba in 1931 could only drive in the village, mainly to and from the coal mines and to and from the Hvalbiareiði on the west coast.

References

*Article from Myndablaði Nú.

External links

Hvalba.fo
The Municipality of Hvalba.
Visitsuduroy.foPhotos on Flickr tagged with Hvalbiareiði
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hvalbiareidi Suðuroy Cliffs of Suðuroy Tourist attractions in the Faroe Islands