Húsavík (Settlement) – Trap The Faroe Islands

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

Surf at the rocky beach near Húsavík. In the foreground are three *gróthús*, which are stone houses with turf roofs intended for storing provisions and in some places also peat. ÓLAVUR FREDERIKSEN, 2017

Húsavík, mentioned in Hundabrævið, has 65 inhabitants and covers 31 merkur. Of these, 26 merkur are copyhold land leased by a single copyhold tenant, and 5 merkur are freehold land. The sheep herd consists of 641 animals.

One of the distinctive features of Húsavík is the almost 10-km long stone walls that encircle the village. This was where húsfrúgvin í Húsavík lived, the rich and powerful Guðrun Sjúrðardóttir, about whom it is said that she revived the village after the Black Death. Several archaeological traces are attributed to her. At the east-facing bay, you can see an almost 500 m long sandy beach with two groups of very old stone houses called á Tumbakka.

The church in Húsavík was built of stone with a turf roof with a partially open roof truss and wooden pews in 1863. It is whitewashed both on the outside and the inside. After a gentle renovation, the church was put into use again in 1991 with a new altarpiece by Sven Havsteen-Mikkelsen.

In 1943, the youth organisation Sólaris was established with its own meeting house, which is still the setting for much of the social life in the village.

In the 1980s, Húsavík had a new boat port built by J&K Petersen Contractors in collaboration with Tróndur Patursson, who was in charge of the decorating of the port with scenes from the sea.

Further reading