Kvívík (Settlement) and Kvívíkar Municipality

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

The uncovered Viking Age house plots in Kvívík have been preserved as a monument of the past. ÓLAVUR FREDERIKSEN, 2010

Kvívík, mentioned in Hundabrævið, has 403 inhabitants and covers 48 merkur, of which 22 merkur and 4 gyllin are copyhold land distributed between 12 copyhold tenants. 25 merkur and 10 gyllin are freehold land. The sheep population consists of 1,280 animals.

Kvívík and the markatal settlements of Leynar and Skælingur as well as the outlying villages of Stykkið, Válur and Nes by Vestmanna constitute Kvívíkar Kommuna.

People have lived in the settlement since the Viking Age as proven by the excavation of house ruins from Viking Age houses. In the mountains, there are traces of sentries and hiding places where people in the 17th century sought refuge from pirates when their ships were discovered off the coast.

From Kvívík, there is a short distance to the good fishing spots, but since the village is a brimpláss, the surf is frequent and heavy. However, the construction of seawalls around the small boat port has improved the conditions.

The current church was built in 1903 by builder P.C. Johannesen of hewn, plastered and whitewashed stone with a red roof of corrugated iron. The church was expanded and renovated in 1989‑90, at which point it was given a slate roof and a new church spire. The vicarage á Kirkjuteigi dates from 1852.

The village’s first school was built in 1907. A new school with gym and swimming pool was opened in 1976 and has since been extended. After the 7th grade, the pupils continue in Vestmanna Skúli. The school has included a kindergarten and after-school facility since 2016, which the municipality has decided should be free. The municipality has a green profile, and since 2020, a water mill has generated sufficient energy to heat the public buildings in the village.

The village hall, Glæman, serves as both a dance hall and a local amateur theatre. Rowing is a popular sport among the residents. Kvívíkar Kommuna’s central location on Streymoy means that the vast majority of residents commute to work outside the municipality, particularly to Tórshavn.

Viking age houses in Kvívík – Niðri á toft

During the construction of a house between the village and the coast in 1887, traces of an earlier settlement were found on the site. When the house was to be extended in 1941, new, even older finds were encountered, and the archaeologist Sverri Dahl started an excavation of the site in 1942.

The excavations uncovered Viking Age house plots dated to around the year 1000. They were ruins of two curved longhouses oriented north-south called skáli, which are also known from other excavations in the North Atlantic. The largest of the houses was closest to the stream and consisted of one 22 x 6 m room. The second was both shorter and narrower, and it was built together with other smaller houses with animal stalls and a barn. Such a separation of the stable from longhouse, which was a dwelling with a fireplace, was unusual for the Landnam period and may be from a later period.

Viking age houses in Kvívík – Niðri á toft

Further reading