Sunda Municipality – Trap The Faroe Islands

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

The markatal settlements of Norðskáli and Oyri and the outlying village of Oyrarbakki on the other side of the sound formerly constituted Sunda Kommuna. The bridge across the sound between Eysturoy and Streymoy significantly improved the infrastructure in the area, and it was at about the same time that it was decided by the authorities to merge the small municipalities. Following a referendum, this resulted in the merger of Norðskáli, Oyrarbakki, Oyrar and Gjógv, all municipalities on Eysturoy, with Hósvík, Hvalvík, Streymnes, Saksun, Haldarsvik and Tjørnuvík on Streymoy into the new Sunda Kommuna in 2005.

The merger meant that several small village schools were closed, and three schools eventually had to cover the entire municipality: the schools in Hósvík and Hvalvík and the mixed school Skúlin við Streymin in Oyrarbakki, which was built in 1969 and expanded in 1973. The first two schools only cover the youngest grades, while the mixed school covers all grades. The old schools are used for leisure-time education and other after-school activities.

The villages of Hósvík, Hvalvík and Oyrarbakki have kindergartens and nurseries. The old Garnhúsið á Oyri, the yarn house, has become a youth centre, and Sunda and Eiðis Kommuna are both involved in the Norðljómur music school. Together with the neighbouring municipalities of Vestmanna, Eiðis and Kvívíkar Kommuna, Sunda Kommuna has entered into the VEKS collaboration, a joint institution which manages old-age care such as home care, health care services and food delivery.

For the municipality as a whole, the large villages have grown considerably, while the small and remote villages have stagnated, and in some places the population has declined.

Further reading