Skúvoy is an island in central Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

, located to the south of Sandoy

Sandoy

Sandoy is a small island that is part of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. The largest population center on the island is the village of Sandur with a population of six hundred....

. It is named after the large number of skua

Skua

The skuas are a group of seabirds with about seven species forming the family Stercorariidae and the genus Stercorarius. The three smaller skuas are called jaegers in North America....

 present on the island (who have a habit of attacking intruders). There is only one settlement on the island: Skúvoy

Skúvoy, Skúvoy

Skúvoy is a small village on the East coast of the island of Skúvoy, Faroe Islands. It has a population of about 57 people. It can be reached by ferry and helicopter from the other islands.-See also:* List of towns in the Faroe Islands...

 on the east coast. There are two mountains: Knúkur

Knúkur

Knúkur is marginally the highest point of Skuvoy in the central Faroe Islands. Located on the western side of the island, the hill has a height of 392 or 393 metres. Heyggjurin Mikli towards the south of Skandvoy is marginally lower at 391 metres....

 (392 m) and Heyggjurin Mikli

Heyggjurin Mikli

Heyggjurin Mikli is marginally the second highest point of Skuvoy in the central Faroe Islands. At a height of 391 metres the area is hilly. Knukur the highest mountain on the isle is only 1 m higher at its highest point of 392 metres....

 (391 m).

There are 300–400 m cliffs along the west coast, which are home to many guillemot

Guillemot

Guillemots is the common name for several species of seabird in the auk family . In British use, the term comprises two genera: Uria and Cepphus. In North America the Uria species are called "murres" and only the Cepphus species are called "guillemots"...

. Egg collections take place in early June, though this occurs in the first week only so as to allow the guillemots to make another.
The Black Death

Black Death

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...

 in the 14th century killed all the inhabitants except one woman - . Her cottage can still be seen.
Skúvoy was also the home of Sigmundur Brestisson

Sigmundur Brestisson

Sigmundur Brestisson introduced Christianity to the Faroe Islands in 999. He is one of the main characters of the Færeyinga saga.According to the Færeyinga Saga, emigrants who left Norway to escape the tyranny of Harald I of Norway, settled in the islands about the beginning of the 9th century...

, the hero of the Færeyinga Saga

Færeyinga Saga

The Færeyinga Saga , the Norse saga of Faroemen, is the story of how the Faroes were converted to Christianity and became a part of the Kingdom of Norway.-Summary:It was written in Iceland shortly after 1200...

(Saga of the Faroese).

External links

• personal website with 9 aerial photos of Skúvoy