Mikladalur (Settlement)

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur
Hans Pauli Olsen’s statue The Seal Woman, standing by the surf and looking towards land, was erected in 2014. It is a significant tourist attraction, but at the same time it has raised questions about representation and symbolism: Should she, in fact, have looked out towards the water and thus turned her back on the village and her abuser instead of turning her gaze towards them? ÓLAVUR FREDERIKSEN, 2015

Mikladalur has 27 inhabitants and covers 24 merkur and 14 gyllin, of which 13 merkur and 2 gyllin are copyhold land and 11 merkur and 12 gyllin are freehold land. The copyhold land is divided between four copyhold tenants. The sheep herd consists of 709 animals. The village has had a church since 1592, maybe even earlier.

The church in Mikladalur was built in 1859, but was rebuilt in 1915.

In Faroese folklore, Mikladalur is particularly known for the legend of the seal woman, and in 2014, the sculpture The Seal Woman, made by the artist Hans Pauli Olsen, was placed by the beach facing the sea, so that the surf sometimes washes over it.

Further reading

Read more about The islands, towns and settlements

  • Hans Andrias Sølvará

    (b. 1962) PhD in History and MA in History and Philosophy. Professor and dean of the Department of History and Society at the University of the Faroe Islands.