Nólsoy (, previously also ''Nölsoy''; ; ) is an island and village in 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 ...

, 4km east of the capital

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 ...

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 ...

Description

Nólsoy is the lowest of the Faroes; the highest point is Eggjarklettur (372 m) on the mountain ''Høgoyggj''. The southern coast contains two capes, each with 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 ...

(Øknastangi on the south-east, Borðan on the south). The lighthouses were built in the late 18th century to aid smugglers working against the unpopular trading monopoly imposed by Denmark. In 2005, the National Bank of Denmark issued a 20 DKK

commemorative coin A commemorative coin is a coin issued to commemorate some particular event or issue with a distinct design with reference to the occasion on which they were issued. Some coins of this category serve as collector's items only, while most commemora ...

for the lighthouse. There is only one settlement on the island, also called Nólsoy, on the north-west coast on the Stongin peninsula which is attached to the rest of the island by a metres-wide

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

. The small coastal village is made up of colourful homes and buildings, placed extremely close to each other to help shelter each other from storms. The island is accessible by a 20-minute ferry journey from Tórshavn. As many as 40 people that live in Nólsoy go to work in Tórshavn each morning. In recent years many young families have moved from Tórshavn to Nólsoy where the houses are cheaper than in Tórshavn. This way it is possible to live "in the country" and still be only 20 minutes from the capital. Nólsoy is the most populous of the Faroe islands not to have an existing or planned road connection to the rest of the archipelago. Ruins in Korndalur (Corn Valley) are associated with the legendary Princess of Nólsoy.

Etymology

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''nór'' (genitive nórs) refers to a narrow stretch of land in a body of water.

People from Nólsoy

Nólsoy has an annual civic festival called Ovastevna, held at the beginning of August. Ovastevna is similar to Ólavsøka in Tórshavn only smaller. Ovastevna is held to commemorate Ove Joensen from Nólsoy. He rowed from the Faroe Islands to Denmark in a traditional Faeroese boat in 1986. In 1987 Ove drowned in Skálafjørður-inlet where he fell overboard. The profit from the festival is used to build a swimming pool for the children in Nólsoy. Ove originally started this project after his row to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Nólsoyar Páll Nólsoyar Páll (originally, Poul Poulsen Nolsøe) (11 October 1766 – 1808 or 1809) is a Faroe Islands, Faroese Folk hero, national hero. He was a Sailor, seaman, trader, poet, farmer and boat builder who tried to develop direct trade betwe ...

came from Nólsoy. He is recognized as a kind of freedom fighter and national hero. He fought to end the Royal Trade Monopoly in the beginning of 19th century. The Royal Trade Monopoly was exhausting and impoverishing the people of the Faroe Islands from 1271 to 1856. Nólsoyar Páll carried trade between Denmark and Faroe Islands in his ship ‘Royndin Frida’. His ship was the first Faeroese ocean-going vessel since the early Middle Ages.

Climate

Wildlife

Nólsoy has one of the world's largest colonies of European storm petrels (50,000 pairs).

Mountain hare The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a species of Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. Evolution ...

s and house mice were introduced by humans, and Nólsoy has its own subspecies of house mouse ''Mus m. domesticus faroeensis'', one of the largest in the world. Nólsoy is also home to the first known wild population of

common frog The common frog or grass frog (''Rana temporaria''), also known as the European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frog, European Holarctic true frog, European pond frog or European brown frog or simply the frog, is a semi ...

s in the Faroe Islands.

Important Bird Area

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 European storm petrels,

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 (30,000 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 (100 pairs).BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Nólsoy. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-02-23.

Nólsoy on Faroese stamps

Nólsoy has featured on a number of stamps from Postverk Føroya: File:Faroe stamp 114 steffan danielsen.jpg, ''Winter day''
Artist:

Steffan Danielsen Johan Steffan Danielsen (3 September 1922 – 28 May 1976) was a Faroese painter. Life and work The self-taught artist Steffan Danielsen was born in Nólsoy, Faroe Islands. He found most of the inspiration for his pictures in his home villag ...

Issued: 3 June 1985
Engraving: Czeslaw Slania File:Faroe stamp 115 lighthouse bordan.jpg, ''Lighthouse of Borðan, Nólsoy'' 1893
Issued: 23 Sept 1985 File:Faroe stamp 201 steffan danielsen - nolsoy.jpg, ''Nólsoy, Faroe Islands''
Artist: Steffan Danielsen
Issued: 8 Oct 1990 File:Faroe stamp 202 steffan danielsen - nolsoy.jpg, ''Nólsoy, Faroe Islands''
Artist: Steffan Danielsen File:Nólsoy.3.jpg,

Nólsoy Nólsoy (, previously also ''Nölsoy''; ; ) is an island and village in central Faroe Islands, 4km east of the capital Tórshavn in Streymoy. Description Nólsoy is the lowest of the Faroes; the highest point is Eggjarklettur (372 m) on the moun ...

village File:Nólsoy.8.jpg, Nólsoy's whale-bone arch File:Nólsoy.6.jpg, Seafront at Nólsoy File:Nólsoy.7.jpg, Faroese flag flying in Nólsoy village

Gallery

File:Nolsoy village on Faroe map.png, Position of Nólsoy village File:Nolsoy map.jpg, Nólsoy File:Faroe stamp 375 nolsoy.jpg, Nólsoy File:Pumice from Nólsoy, Faroe Islands, by Omar Hoftun.jpg,

Pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of extremely vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicula ...

from Nólsoy

References

External links

faroeisland.dk

tourist info website">http://visitnolsoy.fo/ "official" tourist info website

with 6 aerial photos of Nólsoy
personal website of Jens-Kjeld Jensen
- mainly about nature and wildlife on the Faroe Islands; also contains information about Nólsoy. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nolsoy Islands of the Faroe Islands Important Bird Areas of the Faroe Islands Populated places in the Faroe Islands