Skálavík (Settlement)

Skálavík, mentioned in Hundabrævið, covers 42 merkur, of which 16 merkur, 8 gyllin and 14 skinn are copyhold land, which is divided between two copyhold tenants, and 25 merkur, 7 gyllin and 6 skins are freehold land. The village has 145 inhabitants. The sheep herd consists of 1,885 animals.

Skálavík, with its scattered settlement, is a distinct agricultural village with a large infield, where the farm Dalsgarður has the largest infield in the Faroe Islands. The association Veltan also grows vegetables in Skálavík for sale and local consumption.

The church from 1891 was built of stone with a turf roof, which was renewed in 1957. In 1922, the church was the first in the Faroe Islands to have a pipe organ. Three reliefs carved by Tróndur Petersen, called Tróndur á Trøð, depict the apostles and Balaam with the ass.

The Keldan village hall is the setting of much of the social life in the village.

Shipowner and skipper Eiler Jacobsen, who grew up in Skálavík, built the Depilin centre in Skálavík in 2011. It has served as a hotel, but since 2020, it has housed a Christian continuation school.

P/F Bakkafrost is building a breeding station in Skálavík for researchbased breeding work with a view to making the Faroese salmon strain resistant to infection and disease. The facility, which will produce approx. 70 million salmon roe, is expected to be completed in 2025 and will create jobs in the area.

The writer Heðin Brú and the vicar and writer Kristian Osvald Viderø were both born in Skálavík, where their statues have been erected.

Further reading

• Dalur (Settlement)
• Húsavík (Settlement)
• Sandur (Settlement)
• Skarvanes (Settlement)
• Skopun (Settlement)
• Sandoy (Island)

Read more about The islands, towns and settlements