Fámjin (Settlement) – Trap The Faroe Islands

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

The original of the first Faroese flag Merkið hangs in the church in Fámjin. ERIK CHRISTENSEN/CREATIVE COMMONS/WIKIMEDIA, 2009

Fámjin, referred to in Hundabrævið, covers 24 merkur, of which 2 merkur and 2 gyllin are copyhold land divided between three copyhold tenants, and 21 merkur and 11 gyllin are freehold land. The village has 86 inhabitants. The sheep herd consists of 1,120 animals.

The village is located on the west side of Suðuroy and is an independent municipality. A little further away is the lake Kirkjuvatn.

In the past, Fámjin has supposedly been called Vesturvík, and the origin of the name Fámjin is uncertain. However, legend has it that men from the village once robbed two women from a French ship, and the sailors were heard shouting femme mienne, ‘my woman’. This is therefore believed be the origin of the village name.

In Fámjin, the infield was replaced already in 1928, but here, as elsewhere on the island, agriculture play no significant role, apart from the hobby sheep farming. Most people work outside the village.

The old wooden church with a turf roof was built in 1826, and it was replaced in 1876 by a new stone church with a slate roof. The master builder was the Icelandic Guðbrandur Sigurðsson. In the church hangs the original of the first Faroese flag, Merkið, which was composed by Jens Oliver Lisberg and two other Faroese students. Jens Oliver Lisberg died in 1920 and is buried in Fámjin. In the church there is also a runic stone found in the village’s cemetery.

The village had its first school in 1886, and it was rebuilt in 1984. In 2021, there was only one pupil who was in the 6th grade.

There is a road to Fámjin crossing the mountain, and a bus company provides transport throughout the northern part of Suðuroy. A tunnel to the village is in the design phase, and the village has a small harbour to the west, allowing small boat fishing.

Further reading