Leirvík (Settlement) – Trap The Faroe Islands

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

In 1989, the intermunicipal company IRF built an incineration plant in Leirvík. Waste from the municipalities is transported to the plant where it is incinerated. The local company Faroe Marine Products utilises part of the waste heat from the incineration plant for drying fish products that are exported to Nigeria. ÓLAVUR FREDERIKSEN, 2020

Leirvík has 1,004 inhabitants and covers 32 merkur, 8 gyllin and 11 skinn. 27 merkur and 8 gyllin are copyhold land distributed between six copyhold tenants, and 5 merkur and 11 skins are freehold land. In addition to traditional sheep farming, the settlement also has a dairy producer. The sheep population consists of 700 animals.

Leirvík, which used to be an independent municipality, merged with Gøtu Kommuna in 2009 to become Eysturkommuna.

The village is located on the northern side of the Gøtunes peninsula at Leirvíksfjørður in a low coastal area surrounded by the mountains Ritafjall at 641 m, Knúkur at 463 m and Sigatindur at 612 m. The village was formerly divided into the three býlingar Toftanes, uttan Á and við Garð, which today constitute a coherent village. Archaeological investigations between 1982 and 2001 have documented a Viking Age farm in Toftanes dated to the 8th-10th century and a Viking Age settlement at Húsbak við Garð as well as another settlement from the 18th century in Toftanes.

Archaeological investigations were carried out between 1987 and 1999 in Uppistovubeitinum in connection with construction work, and several buildings were excavated which can be dated to the 12th-14th centuries. Leirvík has the Faroe Islands’ best-preserved prayer house ruin, Bønhústoftin, with cemetery walls from the Catholic period.

Leirvík had a permanent road along the coast around 1935. This unsafe road is now only open to light traffic and was replaced in 1985 by the 2,238-m long Leirvík Tunnel between Norðragøta and Leirvík. The 6,186-m undersea tunnel between Leirvík and Klaksvík, Norðoya Tunnel, was opened in 2006. An emergency station, which is crucial in connection with the undersea tunnel, was established in 2019.

The port has been expanded in stages with a quay facility for large ships at the end of World War II and a fishing port in 1973, where a car ferry berth was also established. However, this lost its usefulness after the establishment of the Norðoya Tunnel. The port was expanded again in 1985, and in 2012, also with a marina with space for 70‑80 boats.

The fish filleting factory Frost was established in the port area in 1957. It closed during the economic crisis in 1992, but reopened under the name Tavan, which today makes products from argentine, herring and mackerel. Faroe Marine Products has since 2001 been a pioneer in air-drying fish products such as fish heads, which are exported to, e.g., Nigeria, and utilising the waste heat from the incineration plant in Leirvík in its production. Fofish/Norðfra produces several fish products for the local market as well as for export, while Prima Fisk mainly produces for the local market.

In 1989, the waste management company IRF (Interkommunali Renovatiónsfelagsskapurin) built the Brennistøðin á Hagaleiti incineration plant in Leirvík. IRF receives waste from all municipalities except Tórshavnar Kommuna.

The church in Leirvík was built in 1906 by builder Johan Andreas Petersen from Mikladalur. The walls are built of stone, and the church bell is from the same year and cast by De Smithske Støberier in Aalborg, Denmark. In 1980, the church was expanded with a chapel and new tower, and also had a new altarpiece, painted by the local artist Jóannis Kristiansen. In 1988, the church had a new 17-stop organ built by Kristian Kruse. In 2003, the church was repainted by Tummas M. Smith.

Leirvíkar Missiónshús has been in the settlement since 1924. A new mission house with the same name opened in 1990. the Brethren congregation had its first assembly hall in 1933, Hebron, which was replaced by another in 1967, and a new one is under construction.

The first school with teachers’ accommodation was built in 1883, and in 1929, a new one with two classrooms was put into use. It was since been expanded with more classrooms and a gym in 1961. A swimming pool, library and other facilities were added in 1980.

Since 1986, the Bygdarhúsið village hall has been the setting for various local activities. Adjacent to the Effo petrol station, there is a restaurant with bowling facilities.

On the initiative of shipowner Osmund Justinussen, Leirvík opened a local museum, Báta- and Listasavnið, in 2000. The museum has a fine collection of boats with equipment and other maritime objects. It also has a large collection of works by the local visual artists Jóannis Kristiansen and Sámal Toftanes. Osmund Justinussen has since gifted the museum to Eysturkommuna.

Football is the most important sport in Leirvík. A football field was established in 1931‑32 and was upgraded with artificial grass in 1995. In 2008, the local sports association, LÍF, founded in 1928, merged with the sports association GÍ in Gøta to become Víkingur.

At the roundabout on the way into the Norðoya Tunnel stands an artwork by Fridtjof Joensen from 1980, which depicts a sinking boat and large wave. The work was erected in memory of residents from Leirvík who have perished at sea.

Further reading