Hvalvík (Settlement)

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

Hvalvík, mentioned in Hundabrævið, has 248 inhabitants and covers 24 merkur. 14 merkur are copyhold land divided between two copyhold tenants, and 10 merkur are freehold land. The sheep herd consists of 792 animals.

Hvalvík has grown together with Streymnes, and until 2005 they constituted an independent municipality, after which they became part of Sunda Kommuna.

The landscape around Hvalvík and Streymnes is both flat and hilly, and Stórá, which separates Hvalvík from Streymnes, drains off around half of the 12 km long Saksunardalur. The land is perfect for agriculture, and there are no bird cliffs and relatively far to the fishing grounds. Sea fishing became very important to the development of the village.

The church dates from 1829 and is one of the oldest wooden churches in the Faroe Islands. The building material partly came from the Scottish barque Broon, which ran aground in Saksun in 1828. The pulpit was originally made for the church in Tórshavn in 1609.

The school was built in 1962 by the local builder Jóannes Olsen. After the 7th grade, the children continue in the central school in Oyrarbakki.

P/F Norðsetur, which has manufactured model houses of various kinds since 1980, is one of the village’s largest workplaces. The village has a small port.

Further reading

Read more about The islands, towns and settlements

  • Jóan Pauli Joensen

    (b. 1945) D.Phil. in History and D.Phil. in Ethnology. Professor Emeritus and adjunct professor at the University of the Faroe Islands and former rector of the University of the Faroe Islands.