Toftir
Encyclopedia
Toftir is a village in Nes Municipality
on the island of Eysturoy
, in the Faroe Islands
.
Toftir is part of a chain of villages stretching over a distance of 10 kilometres on the east side of Skálafjørður
(fjord
) on Eysturoy.
The highest hill in Toftir, called Húkslond, is only 129 metres high, and Nes Municipality
is the only area in Faroe, which has no mountains (above 200 metres).
The Toftavatn lake area was the first area to becoma a Nature reserve
in the Faroe Islands back in the 1980's, and in 2006 Nes Municipalcy in cooperation with neighbouring Runavík
Municipalcy joined a network of local authorities in the Nordic countries
, who would carry out specific projects that aimed to halt the loss of biodiversity
in their local areas.
Toftir is served by Bus no. 440 which is linked to Bus no. 400 for Tórshavn
on Skipanes
Junction
.
period. According to local lore, only one woman survived the Black Death
(1348-1350) which left the village in ruins; hence the name Toftir, meaning ruins. The village name prior to the Black Death is said to have been Hella, meaning slope, which refers to the gradual sloping hillside on which the village is built.
with late opening hours, one cafe
Í Hópinum which serves liquor and a shop
Navia which sells products made of wool and also souvenirs. The limited shopping options are explained by Toftir's close proximity (3km) to Runavík
which is the main shopping town on Eysturoy Island.
Toftir has a relatively big harbour with a big filleting-plant that was started in 1969. The harbour is also home to the headquarters of Faroe Fish Market, the only real Fish Auction
in the Islands. A number of new industries have also been built on the harbour in recent years .
) was built in 1994.
Other local religious communities include the Inner mission
which is a revivalist movement
of the Church of the Faroe Islands
, the Plymouth Brethren
and the Bahá'i Community
.
, the first of its kind to be built in the Faroe Islands.
Like most Faroese towns, Toftir used to participate in the National Rowing
sport of the Faroe Islands, but ceased participating in this sport in the 1980's.
The village's football team is B68 Toftir
, it was established in 1962 and has won the Faroese league 3 times, in 1984, 1985 and 1992.
The local swimming
club Flot was established in 1984; it participates in the national swimming competitions in the islands.
In 2009 a Volleyball
team was established in Toftir, in 2010 the name Ternan was chosen for the team.
Toftir is also home to one of the pioneering Chess
clubs in the islands, Tofta Talvfelag which has won the Islands' Chess Championships once.
Toftir Boat
Association Bátafelagið was established on the 13'th of March 2005, and two months later the first Boat Festival was held in Toftir, and is now held every year in the first week-end of May.
Nes Municipality
Nes Municipality in the Faroe Islands comprises three villages, Nes, Toftir and Saltnes....
on the island of Eysturoy
Eysturoy
Eysturoy means East island and is the second-largest of the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, both in size and population. It is separated by a narrow sound from the main island of Streymoy. Eysturoy is extremely rugged, with some 66 separate mountain peaks, including Slættaratindur, the...
, in the 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...
.
Toftir is part of a chain of villages stretching over a distance of 10 kilometres on the east side of Skálafjørður
Skálafjørður
Skálafjørður, also known as Kongshavn is a fjord in Eysturoy. It is the largest fjord in the Faroe Islands...
(fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
) on Eysturoy.
The highest hill in Toftir, called Húkslond, is only 129 metres high, and Nes Municipality
Nes Municipality
Nes Municipality in the Faroe Islands comprises three villages, Nes, Toftir and Saltnes....
is the only area in Faroe, which has no mountains (above 200 metres).
The Toftavatn lake area was the first area to becoma a Nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
in the Faroe Islands back in the 1980's, and in 2006 Nes Municipalcy in cooperation with neighbouring Runavík
Runavík
Runavík is a comparatively urbanised village in the Faroe Islands. It lies on the south half of the isle of Eysturoy. The municipality of the same name incorporates 14 settlements including Æðuvík, Rituvík, Saltangará, Glyvrar, Lambi, Lambareiði, Søldarfjørður, Skipanes, Skáli, Skálafjørður,...
Municipalcy joined a network of local authorities in the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
, who would carry out specific projects that aimed to halt the loss of biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
in their local areas.
Toftir is served by Bus no. 440 which is linked to Bus no. 400 for Tórshavn
Tórshavn
Tórshavn 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...
on Skipanes
Skipanes
Skipanes is a village on the Faeroese island Eysturoy in the Runavíkar municipality. The 2005 population was 59. Its postal code is FO-665. Skipanes was founded in 1841.It is home to Terji Skibenæs, the guitarist of the Faeroese Viking Metal group Týr....
Junction
Junction (traffic)
A junction, when discussed in the context of transport, is a location where traffic can change between different routes, directions, or sometimes modes, of travel.-Historical significance:...
.
History
The settlement of Toftir dates back to the landnámLandnám
Landnám is old Norse which literally translates to taking land. It is used in the North Atlantic to describe the time when land and islands in this area were first populated.Landnám may refer to:* Landnámabók* Landnám of Iceland...
period. According to local lore, only one woman survived 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...
(1348-1350) which left the village in ruins; hence the name Toftir, meaning ruins. The village name prior to the Black Death is said to have been Hella, meaning slope, which refers to the gradual sloping hillside on which the village is built.
Local economy
Toftir has one major storeRetail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
with late opening hours, one cafe
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
Í Hópinum which serves liquor and a shop
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
Navia which sells products made of wool and also souvenirs. The limited shopping options are explained by Toftir's close proximity (3km) to Runavík
Runavík
Runavík is a comparatively urbanised village in the Faroe Islands. It lies on the south half of the isle of Eysturoy. The municipality of the same name incorporates 14 settlements including Æðuvík, Rituvík, Saltangará, Glyvrar, Lambi, Lambareiði, Søldarfjørður, Skipanes, Skáli, Skálafjørður,...
which is the main shopping town on Eysturoy Island.
Toftir has a relatively big harbour with a big filleting-plant that was started in 1969. The harbour is also home to the headquarters of Faroe Fish Market, the only real Fish Auction
Fish market
A fish market is a marketplace used for marketing fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both...
in the Islands. A number of new industries have also been built on the harbour in recent years .
Churches
The new church in Toftir, Fríðrikskirkjan (Frederick's Church: CotFIChurch of the Faroe Islands
The Church of the Faroe Islands was a diocese of the Lutheran Church of Denmark until it became independent on 29 July 2007, as the smallest of the world's few remaining state churches....
) was built in 1994.
Other local religious communities include the Inner mission
Inner mission
The Inner Mission was a movement of German evangelists, set up by Johann Hinrich Wichern in Wittenberg in 1848 based on a model of Theodor Fliedner...
which is a revivalist movement
Christian revival
Christian revival is a term that generally refers to a specific period of increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or many churches, either regionally or globally...
of the Church of the Faroe Islands
Church of the Faroe Islands
The Church of the Faroe Islands was a diocese of the Lutheran Church of Denmark until it became independent on 29 July 2007, as the smallest of the world's few remaining state churches....
, the Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
and the Bahá'i Community
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
.
Sport
The major sport venue in Toftir is an atletics stadium, called SvangaskarðSvangaskard
Svangaskarð is a multi-purpose stadium in Toftir, Faroe Islands. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 6,000 people...
, the first of its kind to be built in the Faroe Islands.
Like most Faroese towns, Toftir used to participate in the National Rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
sport of the Faroe Islands, but ceased participating in this sport in the 1980's.
The village's football team is B68 Toftir
B68 Toftir
B68 Toftir is a Faroese football club, playing in the village of Toftir in Vodafonedeildin. After being promoted to the 1. deild in 1980, they have won the league 3 times. . In 2004 they were relegated. 2005 saw them bounce back to top flight with a no 1 placement in the second best division...
, it was established in 1962 and has won the Faroese league 3 times, in 1984, 1985 and 1992.
The local swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
club Flot was established in 1984; it participates in the national swimming competitions in the islands.
In 2009 a Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
team was established in Toftir, in 2010 the name Ternan was chosen for the team.
Toftir is also home to one of the pioneering Chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
clubs in the islands, Tofta Talvfelag which has won the Islands' Chess Championships once.
Toftir Boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
Association Bátafelagið was established on the 13'th of March 2005, and two months later the first Boat Festival was held in Toftir, and is now held every year in the first week-end of May.
Noted natives and residents
- Fróði BenjaminsenFróði BenjaminsenFróði Benjaminsen is a Faroese international footballer who plays professionally as a defender for HB Tórshavn. Benjaminsen previously played for B68 Toftir, Fram Reykjavík and B36 Tórshavn, and made his international debut in 1999....
, footballer - Hans Jacob HøjgaardHans Jacob HøjgaardHans Jacob Højgaard , School Teacher and Choir Leader, he was one of the most productive Composers in the Faroe Islands in the 20'th century.- Works :...
, 1904-1992, ComposerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Jógvan Martin OlsenJógvan Martin OlsenJógvan Martin Olsen was the head coach of the Faroe Islands national football team. He has since 2009 been the manager of Víkingur Gøta.- Manager career :...
, footballer - Júst í Túni entrepreneurEntrepreneurAn entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
- Jóan Símun EdmundssonJóan Símun EdmundssonJóan Símun Edmundsson is a Faroese footballer who currently plays for Newcastle United, and the Faroe Islands national team.-Club career:Edmundsson started his career with B68 Toftir...
, footballer - Øssur HansenØssur HansenØssur Hansen is a Faroese football midfielder/defender who currently played for B68 Toftir in the Faroese Premier League. Hansen is amongst the 10 most capped players of the Faroe Islands national team with 51 matches.-Club career:...
, footballer
External links
- Faroeislands.dk: Toftir Images and description of all cities on the Faroe Islands.
- Nes Municipality
- B68 FC-Toftir
- Nes Municipality Antiques Society & Museum
- Framtak