The cultural heritage is looked after and managed by a number of cultural institutions, most of which were established by Løgting acts in the years after 1948, when the Faroe Islands were given home rule, and where archives, libraries and museums became special Faroese affairs. Some of the cultural institutions, however, date back to before the home rule arrangement.
Tjóðsavnið
Tjóðsavnið (The National Museum) was established in 2018 by merging the country’s national museums of culture and natural history. The museum has departments of archaeology, ethnology, building culture, plants, terrestrial animals and marine animals. Its administration is located in Kúrdalur in Hoyvík on the outskirts of Tórshavn and includes an open-air museum. Nearby is the museum’s storage facilities and exhibition building at Brekkutún 6, whose permanent exhibition offers an experience of the natural and cultural history of the Faroe Islands. The natural history part includes the Faroe Islands’ geological origins, birds, fish, whales, benthic animals, terrestrial animals, plants and lichens.
Landsbókasavnið
Landsbókasavnið (National Library of the Faroe Islands) is located at J.C. Svabosgøta 16 on the fringe of the centre of Tórshavn. The building from 1980 was designed by J.P. Gregoriussen. It has its origins in Færø Amts Bibliotek (the Faroe County Library) from 1828 and is considered the Faroe Islands’ oldest cultural heritage institution. In 1931, the library moved into the newly built library building on Debesartrøð.
Tjóðskjalasavnið
Tjóðskjalasavnið (National Archives) is located near Landsbókasavnið, with offices in the old postmaster’s house and with a reading room and archives across the street. It has its origins in Færø Amts Arkiv (the Faroe County Archives), which was established in 1932, when the archives, togetherwith Færø Amts Bibliotek (the Faroe County Library) and the Historical Collection, moved into the library building on Debesartrøð. In 1952, Landsskjalasavnið (National Archives) was established by a Løgting Act. In 2018, Landsskjalasavnið changed its name to Tjóðskjalasavnið, and at the same time the archives act was amended to also include digital records.
Further reading
- Building style on the Faroe Islands
- Churches on the Faroe Islands
- Gøtu Fornminnisfelag (Museum Association)
- Havnar Kirkja (Tórshavn Cathedral)
- Landsbókasavnið
- Líkhús
- Literature on the Faroe Islands
- Religion and religious communities on the Faroe Islands
- The bishop’s palace complex
- The Magnus Cathedral
- The parish church in Kirkjubøur
- Tjóðsavnið
- Tjóðskjalasavnið
- Tradition and tales on the Faroe Islands
- Visual arts on the Faroe Islands
Read more about Culture on the Faroe Islands