Sandur (meaning ''sandy beach''; da, Sand) is a village on the south coast of the island of

Sandoy Sandoy ("Sand Island") is the first of the five southern islands that make up the Faroe chain, the fifth biggest of all the Faroe Islands, an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. It also refers to the region that includes this island alon ...

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 ...

. The Sandur hoard of silver coins, dating to the end of the 11th century, attests to the long history of the village. In January 2020 the population stood at 532. The Municipality of Sandur consists of the village of Sandur only. It is the most populous place on the "Sand Island", and is situated on a peninsula between the lakes of Gróthúsvatn in the northwest and

Sandsvatn The Sandsvatn is the largest lake on the island of Sandoy and the third largest in the Faroe Islands, measuring 0.8 km2 with a depth of 5 metres. It is situated in a valley between Skopun and Sandur, just north of the latter on Road 30. At ...

in the northeast, facing the inlets of Grótvík and Sandsvágur in the south.

History

Sandur is an old site of the

thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

where every year the local Várting was held. Excavations here have unearthed a

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts a ...

from the 11th century, where today there is a typical Faroese wooden church with grass roof. In 1988 the modern church suffered a devastating fire in which all of the church's silver melted. The fire turned out to be arson. In the following year the church was restored, just in time for its 150th anniversary. Sandur church

In 1863 while extending the churchyard a treasure of silver was found consisting of 98 coins from the 11th century, half of them of German origin. Furthermore in 1989 archaeologists discovered a pagan burial ground from the times of

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 ...

occupation. The burial included the well-preserved skeleton of a woman from the Faroe Islands in a grave 150 cm long. The grave also included three beads of

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

, a blue glass bead, and a knife. In the open-air museum of the Danish national museum close to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

one can see a water-mill which originally, in the 18th century, was installed in Sandur. The local museum Sands Bygdasavn is open in summer. It displays objects of everyday life belonging to the ancestors of the local inhabitants.

Transport and tourism

Sandur can be reached from

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 ...

via the ferry ports

Gamlarætt Gamlarætt is a ferry port in the Faroe Islands. It is situated on the southwestern side of the island of Streymoy, the largest island in the Faroes, between the villages of Velbastaður and Kirkjubøur. It accommodates ferry services to the isl ...

and

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 ...

. From there along the lake

on Road 30 to Sandur. All villages on the island can be reached by bus from Sandur. They are therefore suitable for day trips. Due to the topography of the island walking-tours are suitable for casual strolling and cyclists. Popular trips are to Søltuvík on the west coast,

Skarvanes Skarvanes ( da, Skarvenæs; lit. 'cape of shags') is a village on Sandoy, in the Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territor ...

in the south (with slightly more demanding hiking) and

Húsavík Húsavík () is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the north coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,307 inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsavík is s ...

on the east coast. The small passenger only ferry MV ''Sildberin'' departs Sandur for

Skúvoy Skúvoy or Skúgvoy ( da, Skuø) is an island in the central Faroe Islands, located to the south of Sandoy. It is named after the large number of great skua present on the island (who have a habit of attacking intruders). There is only one se ...

, an island to the south. Particularly interesting is the tour in the Faroese rowboat ''Hvíthamar'' from Sandur to the bird rocks on the west coast or to Skúvoy. Boatbuilder Jóan Petur Clementsen himself is rowing. The campsite ''á Munkinum'' is one of the camping sites on Sandoy. The other two camping sites are in

and

Dalur Dalur ( da, Dal) is a village in the Faroe Islands. Dalur is located on the east-side of Sandoy. The village lies in the bottom of a relatively large valley. ''Dalur'' means ''valley'' in Faroese. A little road leads from Dalur to the south-tip o ...

. In addition Sandsvatn and Gróthúsvatn are attractive places for fishing. The Hotel Ísansgarður has been reconstructed. The tourist information in Sandur provides up-to-date information on private accommodation and holiday homes.

Climate

Sands Listasavn Art Museum

The Art Museum of Sandur is open from May to October every day except for Monday from 14:00-16:00. In wintertime it is open Sundays from 14:00-16:00. The museum and the art works in it were a present from Sofus Olsen. It was built in 2005 and handed over to the municipality of Sandur in December 2005, on Mr Olsen's 92nd birthday.

Sport

Sandur is best known for its

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

B71 Sandoy B71 (Sandoy) (B71 being short for Bóltfelagið 1971 – literal translation: "Ball Club 1971") is a Faroese sports club, playing their home games '' Inni í Dal'', Sandur. Teams are made up of players from all the towns on the island of S ...

, which has enjoyed modest success in both the

Faroe Islands Premier League The Faroe Islands Premier League (also known as ''Betri deildin menn'' for sponsorship reasons) is the top level of football in the Faroe Islands. It was founded in 1942 as Meistaradeildin, and it is played in current format since 2005, when Prem ...

and

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

Gallery

Image:Ferry Sandur-Skuvoy.JPG, Harbour scene in Sandur. The ferry MV ''Sildberin'' to one of the southern islands:

. Image:Sandur, sandsvagur beach.JPG, The inlet Sandsvágur and the sandy beach after which the village is called. This is the only beach on the Faroe Islands with

dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

and beach grass. Image:Sandur old house.JPG, Sands Bygdasavn, the local museum in Sandur, traditional wooden houses with grass roof. File:Sands kirkja.jpg, Church of Sandur, Faroe Islands. File:West of Sandur, Faroe Islands.JPG, West of Sandur on Sandoy, Faroe Islands. File:Sandur, Sandsvagur.JPG, Sandur, view from the bay Sandsvágur in the Southeast. File:Sandur aerial 2.jpg, Sandur seen from a helicopter.

References

External links

Sandur.fo Municipality of Sandur
Official website
Visitsandoy.fo Visit Sandoy
Official tourist information
Photos from Sandur
On

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...

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