{"id":58683,"date":"2025-02-09T23:40:58","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T22:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=58683"},"modified":"2026-02-10T07:34:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T06:34:40","slug":"the-landscapes-of-the-faroe-islands-a-beautiful-danish-archipelago-in-the-north-atlantic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/02\/09\/the-landscapes-of-the-faroe-islands-a-beautiful-danish-archipelago-in-the-north-atlantic\/","title":{"rendered":"The landscapes of the Faroe Islands, a beautiful Danish archipelago in the North Atlantic"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the North Atlantic, between Norway, Iceland and Great Britain, there is an archipelago that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.<\/p>\n

The incredible lighthouse of Thridrangar: a place not suitable for people with vertigo or claustrophobia<\/a><\/rel>
\nExploring one of the torfb\u00e6ir, the turf houses of Iceland, abandoned since 1986<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

The Faroe Islands were discovered by the Irish Catholic monk Brendan of Clonfert in the 6th century,<\/strong> although it is believed that the islands were already populated before that. In the 9th century the islands were colonised by the Vikings<\/strong> (the current Faroese are descended from them), and were Christianised around the year 1000. In 1035 they became part of the Kingdom of Norway, which in 1380 formed a single kingdom with Denmark. In 1814, following the separation between Denmark and Norway, the Faroe Islands came under Danish sovereignty,<\/strong> a situation that remains today, under broad autonomy, as is the case with Greenland.<\/p>\n

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The lighthouse on the islet of Mykinesh\u00f3lmur, west of Mykines, the westernmost island of the Faroe Islands. The lighthouse was built in 1909 (Photo: Philipp Waldhauer<\/a>).<\/div>\n

The archipelago consists of 18 main islands<\/strong> (in total, the Faroe Islands have 779 islands and islets of various sizes). Of the 18 main islands, one is uninhabited, L\u00edtla D\u00edmun. The capital of the Faroe Islands is T\u00f3rshavn<\/strong> (meaning \"Port of Thor\", the famous Viking god of war), where just over 14,000 of the 48,000 inhabitants of the archipelago reside. The capital is on Streymoy<\/strong>, the largest and most populated of the islands in this archipelago. The official language of the islands is Danish.<\/p>\n

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The impressive stone cliffs of Drangarnir, between the island of V\u00e1gar and the islet of Tindh\u00f3lmur, in the west of the archipelago (Photo: Sebastian Boring<\/a>).<\/div>\n

The Faroe Islands have a subpolar climate, so it is cold all year round.<\/strong> Average temperatures in summer are usually around 10 or 11 degrees Celsius on average, dropping to 3 or 4 degrees in winter. It must be said that the islands are not usually extremely cold<\/strong>, unlike what happens in other countries at those latitudes. However, they are windy and rainy islands<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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The M\u00falafossur waterfall on the island of V\u00e1gar (Photo: Rog\u00e9rio Toledo<\/a>).<\/div>\n

One of the main tourist attractions of these islands is their spectacular cliffs and beautiful green landscapes,<\/strong> abundant in grass but lacking in trees. Among its landscapes there are some truly spectacular waterfalls, the largest of which is M\u00falafossur,<\/strong> located on the island of V\u00e1gar and with a height of 30 meters.<\/p>\n

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Kallur Lighthouse on Kalsoy Island. It was built in 1927 next to a huge cliff (Photo: Marc Zimmer<\/a>).<\/div>\n

In addition to its natural landscapes, another of the most striking features of the Faroe Islands are its turf houses<\/strong>, very similar to the Icelandic torfb\u00e6ir that we already saw here<\/a>. In both cases, it is a traditional construction that dates back to the Viking era and had a very practical purpose, using turf on the roofs as insulation against the cold and rain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Turf houses in Saksun village, Sunda municipality, located on the northwest coast of Streymoy Island (Photo: Lynn Fae<\/a>).<\/div>\n

If you want to see the landscapes of the Faroe Islands without leaving home, a good way is this terrific one-hour video published by Scenic Relaxation<\/a>, which covers different natural landscapes of the islands:<\/strong><\/p>\n