Sandavágur (Settlement)

Sandavágur has 973 inhabitants and covers 48 merkur. Of these, 2 merkur and 8 gyllin are copyhold land, which is distributed between six copyhold tenants, and 45 merkur and 8 gyllin are freehold land. The sheep herd consists of 2,222 animals.

From 1555 and until the old Løgting closed in 1816, the Steigargarður farm was the official residence of the lawman. It was here that V.U. Hammershaimb, vicar and founder of the Faroese written language, was born. A memorial has been erected in his honour in the village. He was the son of lawman Jørgen-Frantz Hammershaimb.

After free trade was introduced, Sandavágur developed like other places on the islands. As in the other two villages, merchants also became shipowners and invested in fishing vessels and trawlers. For many years, the largest and most wide-ranging company was J.E. Thomsen. Part of this old production environment has today been restored with a warehouse and surrounding stone-paved fiskastykkir where salted cod used to be dried. Today, the warehouse houses the café Fiskastykkið, which serves Faroese food made from local ingredients.

In addition to traditional sheep farming, Sandavágur had, until the summer of 2021, the island’s only farm with dairy production.

Sandavágur has a small marina and has now also been authorised as a hvalvágur, a place where pilot whales can be killed. That happened after conditions in Miðvágur worsened due to the expansion of the port.

The current church was built in 1917 based on drawings by Magnus Jacobsen, who was a master builder in Tórshavn, and is considered one of the most beautiful churches in the Faroe Islands. The altarpiece is painted by Lucie Ingemann, who was married to the vicar and poet B.S. Ingemann. The seven paintings on the choir wall inspired by the Catholic Way of the Cross are unusual in a Faroese context.

The municipality’s community school, Skúlin á Giljanesi, is located in this village.

From 1975 to 2008, there was a market garden and flower production with greenhouses. After 2008, the company reduced its activities and its premises were rented out for other purposes.

Salmon farming has become a very important industry in Sandavágur. Hiddenfjord has a breeding centre for salmon fry at Fútaklettur.

The tunnel connection between Vágar and Streymoy, which opened in 2002, has meant that more people have moved to the village and built houses there, but the newcomers generally work in other villages.

The Runic Stone of Sandavágur

In 1917, a runic stone was found at the abandoned settlement of Eingjartoftir with the inscription (translated into English): ‘Torkil Onundarson, an easterner from Rogaland, built this place first’. The stone is dated to the 13th century and is the longest runic inscription found in the Faroe Islands. Since then, Sandavágur has considered the Norwegian Torkil Onundarson from Rogaland in Norway to be the first to settle in the village.

Further reading

• Bøur (Settlement)
• Gásadalur (Settlement)
• Miðvágur (Settlement)
• Sørvágur (Settlement)
• Vatnsoyrar (Settlement)
• Vágar (Island)

Read more about The islands, towns and settlements