Hestur () is an island in the central

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

, to the west of

Streymoy Streymoy (, ) 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 includes the ...

and the south of

Koltur Koltur is an island in the Faroe Islands, located to the west of Streymoy and to the north-west of Hestur. The name 'Koltur' means ' colt', in contrast with the name of the larger island to the south-east, 'Hestur', which means 'horse'. The islan ...

. ''Hestur'' means ''horse'' in Faroese. On the west coast is a

guillemot Guillemot is the common name for several species of seabird in the Alcidae or auk family, part of the order Charadriiformes. In Europe, the term covers two genera, '' Uria'' and '' Cepphus''. In North America the ''Uria'' species are called mu ...

colony. In the north there is moorland with four small lakes, of which Fagradalsvatn is the largest. At Hælur, Hestur's southernmost tip, there is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

. The island has one settlement, a village also named Hestur on the east coast. The village enjoys the view over to

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 islan ...

and

Velbastaður Velbastaður () is a village on the island of Streymoy in the Faroe Islands. It is a part of Tórshavn Municipality and is considered among the oldest settlements in the islands. There are two schools and one kindergarten in the village, with chi ...

on Streymoy. There is a ferry link to the port at Gamlarætt.

History

The island has been settled since Viking times; the old settlement was at Hælur, the southern tip of the island. Due to it being the sunward side of the island, cereal ripened better there than anywhere else on the island. But due to extreme difficulties in landing boats there, the village was abandoned and the current village of Hestur was established. In 1919 a fishing accident resulted in the deaths of one-third of Hestur's men. In an attempt to fight the depopulation of the village, a swimming pool was built on the island in 1974. On the southern part of the island by the lake Fagradalsvatn, one can camp. Hestur's postal code is FO 280. Since 1 January 2005 the island has been part of the municipality of

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; ; Danish language, Danish: ''Thorshavn''), 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 th ...

Important bird area

The coastline of the island has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because of its significance as a breeding site for

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s, especially

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family (biology), family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found ...

s (25,000 pairs),

European storm petrel The European storm petrel (''Hydrobates pelagicus''), also known as British storm petrel, or just storm petrel, is a species of seabird in the northern storm petrel family, Hydrobatidae. The small, square-tailed bird is entirely black except f ...

s (5000 pairs) and

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

s (50 pairs).BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Hestur. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-02-23.

Mountains

The island has the following four mountains

Gallery

File:Hestur.2.jpg, Hestur File:Hestur.1.jpg, Hestur

References

External links