Sandur (Settlement) – Trap The Faroe Islands

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

Sands Kirkja in Sandur was commissioned in 1839 and is a traditional wooden church. Archaeological excavations have found several other churches before this. ÓLAVUR FREDERIKSEN, 2016

Sandur, mentioned in Hundabrævið, has 537 inhabitants and covers 96 merkur and 12 gyllin. 55 merkur and 8 gyllin are copyhold land, which is distributed between 24 copyhold tenants, and 41 merkur and 4 gyllin are freehold land. The sheep herd consists of 3,064 animals.

Central Sandur with important common facilities marked, 2021. From Sandur there is a ferry connection to Skúgvoy.
BASED ON UMHVØRVISSTOVAN

Archaeological investigations have documented settlement in the area as early as the 4th-6th centuries, meaning that Sandur is among the oldest villages in the Faroe Islands. The island’s old thingstead is located in Trøðum, where the Tingsteinurin with carved initials and the year 1789 can still be seen.

At the beach, you can see the protected dune formations, which are the only place in the Faroe Islands where marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) grow. Mowi has a salmon farm in the bay off the beach.

The classic wooden church with a turf roof was built in 1839. Archaeological excavations have documented that there have been several other churches before this one, and in 1863, a hoard containing 98 silver coins from around the year 1000 was found in the church area, several of these were coined by the Norwegian king Harald Fairhair.

Central in the village lies is the listed house Norðara Koytu, which serves as a native museum.

The Listasavnið á Sandi art museum was established in 2006 and houses art collector Sofus Olsen’s private collection of works by Faroese artists, which he has donated to the museum.

The youth association Virkið, which has its own meeting house, was founded in 1923. The sports association B71 shares sports facilities such as a football field with Sandoyar Meginskúli (Sandoy’s Central School). Sandur also has a kindergarten and a nursery.

One of Sandoy’s three old-age homes lies in Sandur, the second in Skálavík and the third in Skopun. The residents of the other municipalities have access to these institutions through a joint municipal agreement.

Further reading