Gøta (Settlements) – Trap The Faroe Islands

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

Blásastova in Norðragøta is one of the many old houses around the country that have been converted into a local native museum. These museums and the surrounding buildings have been preserved as a significant cultural heritage at the initiative of the Gøtu Fornminnisfelag. ÓLAVUR FREDERIKSEN/TRAP FAROE ISLANDS, 2021

Gøta, mentioned in Hundabrævið, is a collective name for the three markatal settlements of Norðragøta, Gøtugjógv and Syðrugøta, which face the Gøtuvík bay, as well as the outlying village Undir Gøtueiði at Skálafjørður. Together with Leirvík, they make up Eysturkommuna.

The altarpiece in Gøtu Kirkja in Gøtugjógv is a glass mosaic by visual artist Tróndur Patursson from 1995. JENS CHRISTIAN TOP/RITZAU SCANPIX, 2017

In Eysturkommuna, 1st to 3rd graders go to school in Leirvík, and 4th to 7th graders go to school in Gøtugjógv. After the 7th grade, the pupils continue in Fuglafjarðar skúli.

Like other large villages, Gøta has gone from being a farming community to a fishing community, but it also holds a special place in the oldest history of the Faroe Islands. The Viking Age chieftain Tróndur í Gøtu, who is one of the central figures in Færeyingasaga, lived here and had farms in both Syðrugøta and Norðragøta.

Today, Gøta is world-renowned for the annual G! Festival in July, where Faroese musicians are joined by musicians from all over the world. The festival takes place partly on the sandy beach in Syðrugøta, partly in elsewhere in Gøta.

The road connection from Gøta to Fuglafjørður was established around 1925 and, around 1935, the villages at Skálafjørður could also be reached by road.

In 2004, the nursing home Gøtubrá opened in Norðragøta with places for ten residents, plus six relief places.

The day-care facility Gjái, which can accommodate 80 children, is located in Gøtugjógv. It also serves as an after-school facility for children in the 1st and 2nd grade.

Gøta’s church has been located in Norðragøta for centuries. In 1995, a modern church was built in Gøtugjógv, which now serves as the parish church. However, the old church from 1833 is still used on special occasions. It is one of several preserved buildings, which the Gøtu Fornminnisfelag has preserved as a cultural-historical and unique museum environment from the 19th century.

Further reading