Museums of cultural history and heritage on the Faroe Islands

In 2002, the exhibition Úr útlegd (Home from exile) opened at the National Museum in Brekkutún 6, after the Kirkjubøur chairs and other objects had returned to the Faroe Islands by agreement between the Faroese and Danish authorities. The Kirkjubøur chairs include 16 chairs or pew ends, two ends for a lectern or prie-dieu and a confessional. They are believed to have been made in a West Norwegian workshop and are among the finest examples of church furniture and Nordic woodcarving art. The chairs were made for the Magnus Cathedral in Kirkjubøur, but were later placed in the old parish church. In connection with a restoration of the parish church, the Kirkjubøur chairs were sent to Copenhagen in 1875. THOMAS BILLE, 2021

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

The photo shows one of the Kirkjubøur chairs with Eric of Pomerania and Queen Philippa’s coat of arms as the motif. They were married in the period 1406‑30, and the chair therefore dates back to this period. Under the coat of arms, Mary and Elizabeth from The New Testament are seen. ÓLAVUR FREDERIKSEN/TRAP FAROE ISLANDS

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

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  • Herleif Hammer

    (b. 1970) MA in History and Cultural History. Director of the Faroe Islands National Museum.

  • Armgarð Weihe

    (b. 1964) MA in Museum Studies and designer. Principal at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Culture.