Toftir (Settlement) – Trap The Faroe Islands

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

Map of districts and municipalities. KF.FO AND PEDER DAM, 2022

Toftir has 900 inhabitants and covers 20 merkur, of which 16 are copyhold land distributed between seven copyhold tenants. There are 4 merkur of freehold land. The sheep herd consists of 633 animals.

The name Toftir, which means ruins, could indicate that the village has been deserted and has since been repopulated. Tofte can also mean »separate piece of land near the farm«. Place names such as Krossbakki, the hill of the cross, originate from Catholic times.

From having two farms in 1584, the village grew from the latter half of the 19th century as large parts of the outfield were cultivated into traðir, at the same time that the outlying villages of Saltnes, Rituvík and Æðuvík were established.

After free trade was introduced, fishing and the production of dried cod became very important here and elsewhere in the Faroe Islands, leading to the establishment of trading stations and businesses. Until the mid-20th century, the trading and shipping company D.P. Højgaard’s Eftf. was one of the country’s leading companies.

In 1968, the Nykur fish filleting factory was established in the port area, and it remained the village’s most important workplace until the early 1990s. The port facility has been expanded in several stages to be able to accommodate more fishing and shipping companies, including M.J. Saltsøla, which sells salt to ships and companies. It is also the headquarters of Fiskamarknaður Føroya (Faroe Fish Market), which was established in 1993.

The first school was built in Toftir in 1895. The current school is designed by Niels Pauli Hansen and opened in 1958. It has since been rebuilt and renovated, most recently in 2008, and has classes from 1st to 10th grade.

The municipality’s new church, Fríðrikskirkjan, was consecrated in 1994. Both the building and the interior are designed by Høgni Larsen. The Home Mission has the Tabor mission house, and the Brethren congregation has the Nebo meeting house.

The old-age and nursing home Eldrasambílið Vesturskin opened in 2004 and is part of the municipal cooperation organised under the joint institution Roðin. The home has 16 places.

The village’s sports facility at Svangaskarð, which is a combined athletics and football facility, was completed in 1992 and initially served as the home ground for the Faroese national football team. The facility is now a training and course centre for the Faroese football association as well as the home ground for the local football club.

In the same area, you can also find a kindergarten and a nursery.

Further reading