Suðuroy (literally South Island) is the southernmost of the
Faroe IslandsThe Faroe Islands, sometimes Faeroe Islands, Faroe, or Faeroes are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland...
. The island covers 163.7 km². In 2004 there were 5041 inhabitants, but there has been a gradual decline in the population numbers ever since the 1950s.
These are the settlements of Suðuroy (listed from north to south):
SandvíkSandvík is the northernmost village of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. It is situated at the bottom of a shallow fjord. The small village was known as Hvalvík until 1913....
(re-established as a settlement in the late 19th century)
HvalbaHvalba is one of the larger villages in the Faroe Islands.Hvalba spreads around the bottom of a deep inlet, Hvalbiarfjørður, northeast of Suðuroy....
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FroðbaFroðba is a village located farthest out on the north brink of Trongisvágsfjørður, an inlet on the east coast of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The village has eventually merged with the harbour-city of Tvøroyri....
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TvøroyriTvøroyri lies picturesquely on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy.The ferry from Tórshavn calls at Drelnes that is located on the opposite side of the inlet. The trip from Tórshavn to Tvøroyri takes 2 hours....
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TrongisvágurTrongisvágur is a village on the island of Suduroy in the Faroe Islands.*Population: 415*Postal code : FO 826*Location: *Municipality: Tvoroyrar...
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ØravíkØravík is a village on the east coast of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands.*Population: 35*Postal code : FO 827*Location: *Municipality: Tvøroyrar-External links:*...
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FámjinFámjin is a village, located in the middle of the coastline on the western side of Suðuroy, the southernmost island in Faroe Islands. The population of Fámjin is around 100...
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HovHov is a village located on Suðuroy’s east coast, in the Faroe Islands; it is frequently mentioned in the country's history.The wooden church in Hov was originally built in Vágur in 1862...
,
PorkeriPorkeri is a village in the Faroe Islands, situated north of Vágur on Suðuroy's east coast. As of 2004 it had a population of 332. It is located at.Porkeri has been inhabited at least as early as the 14th century....
,
VágurVágur meaning Bay is a town on the Faroe Island of Suðuroy, it is situated on the east coast of the island on the Vágsfjørður fjord, and dates from the fourteenth century. Expansion has meant that the nearby town of Nes is now a suburb of Vágur...
,
AkrarAkrar is a village in the Faroe Islands. It is located on Lopransfjørður, an inlet, which itself is part of Vágsfjørður, on the east-side of Suðuroy, and was founded in the year 1817.-Statistics:*Population: 28*Postal code : FO 927...
,
LopraLopra is a village on the island of Suðuroy with the postal code FO 926. In 2005 its population was 96. It is located in the Sumbiar municipality along with Akrar, Lopra, Sumba and Víkarbyrgi, constituting the southernmost settlements in the Faroe Islands...
and
SumbaSumba is the southernmost place of the Faroe Islands on the island of Suðuroy. It is located in the Sumbiar municipality.The municipality had 385 inhabitants. 258 of these people were living in Sumba. The other villages in the Municipality of Sumba are: Lopra , Akrar , Víkarbyrgi .Sumba is known...
.
One ancient settlement
VíkarbyrgiVíkarbyrgi is a former village on the Faroese island of Suðuroy. It no longer has a population. It retains a postal code and is located at N 61° 26' 34 W 6° 43' 28. The etymology of its name is reputed to be connected with an early settlement of Irish monks who predated the arrival of the Vikings...
was abandoned late in the 1990’s.
Suðuroy (literally South Island) is the southernmost of the
Faroe IslandsThe Faroe Islands, sometimes Faeroe Islands, Faroe, or Faeroes are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland...
. The island covers 163.7 km². In 2004 there were 5041 inhabitants, but there has been a gradual decline in the population numbers ever since the 1950s.
These are the settlements of Suðuroy (listed from north to south):
SandvíkSandvík is the northernmost village of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. It is situated at the bottom of a shallow fjord. The small village was known as Hvalvík until 1913....
(re-established as a settlement in the late 19th century)
HvalbaHvalba is one of the larger villages in the Faroe Islands.Hvalba spreads around the bottom of a deep inlet, Hvalbiarfjørður, northeast of Suðuroy....
,
FroðbaFroðba is a village located farthest out on the north brink of Trongisvágsfjørður, an inlet on the east coast of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The village has eventually merged with the harbour-city of Tvøroyri....
,
TvøroyriTvøroyri lies picturesquely on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy.The ferry from Tórshavn calls at Drelnes that is located on the opposite side of the inlet. The trip from Tórshavn to Tvøroyri takes 2 hours....
,
TrongisvágurTrongisvágur is a village on the island of Suduroy in the Faroe Islands.*Population: 415*Postal code : FO 826*Location: *Municipality: Tvoroyrar...
,
ØravíkØravík is a village on the east coast of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands.*Population: 35*Postal code : FO 827*Location: *Municipality: Tvøroyrar-External links:*...
,
FámjinFámjin is a village, located in the middle of the coastline on the western side of Suðuroy, the southernmost island in Faroe Islands. The population of Fámjin is around 100...
,
HovHov is a village located on Suðuroy’s east coast, in the Faroe Islands; it is frequently mentioned in the country's history.The wooden church in Hov was originally built in Vágur in 1862...
,
PorkeriPorkeri is a village in the Faroe Islands, situated north of Vágur on Suðuroy's east coast. As of 2004 it had a population of 332. It is located at.Porkeri has been inhabited at least as early as the 14th century....
,
VágurVágur meaning Bay is a town on the Faroe Island of Suðuroy, it is situated on the east coast of the island on the Vágsfjørður fjord, and dates from the fourteenth century. Expansion has meant that the nearby town of Nes is now a suburb of Vágur...
,
AkrarAkrar is a village in the Faroe Islands. It is located on Lopransfjørður, an inlet, which itself is part of Vágsfjørður, on the east-side of Suðuroy, and was founded in the year 1817.-Statistics:*Population: 28*Postal code : FO 927...
,
LopraLopra is a village on the island of Suðuroy with the postal code FO 926. In 2005 its population was 96. It is located in the Sumbiar municipality along with Akrar, Lopra, Sumba and Víkarbyrgi, constituting the southernmost settlements in the Faroe Islands...
and
SumbaSumba is the southernmost place of the Faroe Islands on the island of Suðuroy. It is located in the Sumbiar municipality.The municipality had 385 inhabitants. 258 of these people were living in Sumba. The other villages in the Municipality of Sumba are: Lopra , Akrar , Víkarbyrgi .Sumba is known...
.
One ancient settlement
VíkarbyrgiVíkarbyrgi is a former village on the Faroese island of Suðuroy. It no longer has a population. It retains a postal code and is located at N 61° 26' 34 W 6° 43' 28. The etymology of its name is reputed to be connected with an early settlement of Irish monks who predated the arrival of the Vikings...
was abandoned late in the 1990’s. Another settlement Akrarbyrgi was abandoned in medieval times, and legend has it that people in Hørg (in Sumba) can trace their ancestry back to this settlement, which was situated on the southernmost point of the island.
Two more settlements were started in the mid 20th century: Tjaldavík in a bay east of Øravík, and Fámará in a valley west of Vágur, but they have both been abandoned again.
Geography
The highest point of Suðuroy is the mountain
GluggarnirGluggarnir is a mountain in the Faroe Islands. At 610 metres, it is the highest mountain on Suðuroy....
(610 m), but the most famous peak is definitely the mountain of Beinisvørð west of the village of Sumba. The Beinisvørð and its beauty has been praised by the local poet Poul F. Joensen (1899-1970).
Sport
The oldest sports club in the Faroe Islands, the football club Tvøroyrar Bóltfelag, (TB) was founded in Tvøroyri on May 13th 1892, and is thereby the 9th oldest football club in the Danish Kingdom. There are three other football clubs in Suðuroy, Vágs Bóltfelag, (
VBVB may refer to:In people:* Victoria Beckham, English celebrity and designer, former member of the Spice Girls* Vanessa Beecroft, Italian artist whose performances are numbered VB01, VB02 etc.* Vanderbilt Family, prominent American Family...
), Royn from
HvalbaHvalba is one of the larger villages in the Faroe Islands.Hvalba spreads around the bottom of a deep inlet, Hvalbiarfjørður, northeast of Suðuroy....
and the football club from Sumba. These clubs all compete in the Faroese football divisions, and both TB and VB have won the National Championship (TB seven times, the last being in 1987, and VB once in the year 2000); but since the success is lacking in recent years, there is a growing debate about merging the four teams into one, (VB and Sumba have already joined forces for the second year running).
Tourism
Visitors to Suðuroy travel by ferry from Tórshavn. The crossing takes about two hours and if the weather is nice, the trip is beautiful and a fantastic experience in itself.
There are scenic views of nine of the total of eighteen islands that make up the Faroese archipelago. They will appear in the following order:
StreymoyStreymoy is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The capital, Tórshavn is located there. The name means "island of currents".- Geography :...
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Nólsoy* Municipality: Tórshavnar kommuna*Population-City: 252 *Postal code: FO-270*Location: N62°00'33 W6°40'7Nólsoy is an island and village in central Faroe Islands, located to the east of the capital Tórshavn in Streymoy. There is only one settlement on the island: Nólsoy on the north-west coast on...
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HesturHestur is an island in central Faroe Islands, located to the west of Streymoy and to the south of Koltur. Hestur means horse in Faroese. Located on the west coast is a large colony of guillemot. In the north of Hestur there is a moorland with four small lakes, of which Fagradalsvatn is the largest...
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KolturKoltur is an island in the Faroe Islands, located to the west of Streymoy and to the north of Hestur. The island has just one settlement: Koltur. It was abandoned in the 1980s by the sheep-farmers whose flocks grazed on the southern part of the island. Since then only two people have returned , and...
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SandoySandoy is a small island that is part of the Faroe Islands. The largest population center on the island is the village of Sandur with a population of six hundred.Other settlements include Skarvanes, Skopun, Skálavík, Húsavík and Dalur....
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SkúvoySkúvoy is an island in central Faroe Islands, located to the south of Sandoy. It is named after the large number of skua present on the island . There is only one settlement on the island: Skúvoy on the east coast...
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Stóra DímunStóra Dímun is an island in the southern Faroe Islands, sometimes only referred to as Dímun. The island is accessible from sea only during periods of clear and calm weather, but regular helicopter service is available twice a week through the whole year....
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Lítla DímunLítla Dímun is a small island between the islands of Suðuroy and Stóra Dímun in the Faroe Islands. It is the smallest of the main 18 islands, being less than 1 km² in area, and is the only uninhabited one. The island can be seen from the villages Hvalba and Sandvík.The southern 1/3 of the...
and Suðuroy.
As one travels past the two Dimun islands, the coastline of Suðuroy is in the background.
It is possible to go by bus from the harbour of Drelnes to Tvøroyri and all other villages on the island.
From Tvøroyri one can take a nice walk across the mountains to a valley called Hvannhagi. There is a view over the valley and the sea from above the valley. It is also possible to go down into the valley by following the track after the gate.
From Tvøroyri one can follow the coast street over the mountains to Hov, Porkeri, Vágur, Lopra, and from Lopra over the old mountain road to Beinisvørð,
AkrabergAkraberg is the southern tip of Suðuroy, 5 km south from the village Sumba, Faroe Islands. The name Akraberg derives from akur . Five kilometres south of Akraberg is the southernmost point of The Faroe Islands, a rock called Munkurin...
and Sumba.
Tvøroyri and Vagur take turns in hosting an annual civic-festival called Joansøka. It can be described as a smaller version of the Olavsøka held in
TórshavnTórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn. The city itself has a population of 19,000...
. It runs in late June.
External links