Faroe Islands information

April to September would be the best time to go. There is so much light in the summertime and very dark in at wintertime. It almost doesn't get dark at all around midsummer in late June, and the darkest time is in December, when many of the villages don't see the sun at all, it is dark when people go to work in the morning and in the late afternoon when they go back home again. But winter has its charm too. There is not much difference in temperature, it doesn't get very cold in winter and it doesn't get very hot in summer. The grass is most green in May, June and July, in August the grass is cut down and dried for the sheep to eat during winter. In June and July there are summerfestivals around the islands. The main festival is in Tórshavn in late July, 28th and 29th of July.

by eileen.sanda

The Faroe Islands or Faeroe Islands or simply Faroe(s) or Faeroes (Føroyar, meaning "Sheep Islands", Færøerne, Old Norse: Færeyjar) are a group of islands in Northern Europe, between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, roughly equidistant between Iceland, Scotland, and Norway. They have been an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1948, making it a member of the Rigsfællesskab. The Faroese have, over the years, taken control of most matters except defence (though they have a native coast guard), foreign affairs and the legal system. These three areas are the responsibility of Denmark.
The Faroes have close traditional ties to Iceland, Shetland, Orkney, the Outer Hebrides and Greenland. The archipelago was politically detached from Norway in 1814. The Faroes are represented in the Nordic Council as a part of the Danish delegation. (...) more....

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You can travel to the Faroe Islands by plane or by boat. There is only one airline company, which have flights to and from the Faroe Islands, it is Atlantic Airways, which have daily departures to Denmark all year (Copenhagen, Billund and Aalborg). Other countries, which Atlantic Airways flies to are: Iceland (Reykjavik), Norway (Oslo), United Kingdom (London or Aberdeen). You can buy your ticket directly on their website. More info on the website: https://www.atlantic.fo/
There is only one ferry you can choose, if you wish to travel by sea to the Faroe Islands, it is Norrøna, which is owned by Smyril-Line. Norrøna sails between three countries: Iceland, Faroe Islands and Denmark. This can change again, this is written in December 2009. Norrøna used to sail to Norway and Shetland Islands as well, but that changed in 2008. More info about Norrøna and sailing schedule etc. on the website: http://www.smyrilline.com/

by eileen.sanda

there are special Faroese foods. We have a tradition in drying or salting food and to eat what nature brings us. Faroese people eat dried lamb meat, boiled lamb head, dried fish, salted fish, and half dry fish, which we call Ræstur Fiskur (it smells terrible, most foreign people think). Whale meat and blubber has been a traditional food for thousand year, or as long as we know, but now the whale is too polluted, it is not healthy to eat any more, we can expect that it will be forbidden soon to kill whales, and this is of two reasons, the whale is polluted and many people find it offensive and put pressure on us to stop the whale killing. The whale blubber used to be eaten along with dry fish and half dry fish as well. Sea birds are also traditional Faroese food, especially the fulmar, which in Faroese is called Havhestur or Náti and the puffin. Goose is traditional in some villages, especially in Hov in Suduroy. Faroese people does not have tradition of using vegetables, but the potatoes were introduced in the Faroe Islands in the 18th century, and they became very popular, they go along with all traditional Faroese dishes. Fruit was not common in the old days, it would be rotten because of long transport, but now it does not take long time to get fruit and vegetables imported, and many people eat them daily. The young people eat more international food than the older generations. Pasta, pizza and burgers are very popular among young people, while the older generations rather will eat traditional Faroese food.

If there is a special beverage typical for the Faroe Islands, well, not that I can think of. We make our own beers, but they are not so different than in other countries. We have a very restrict law, which forbids the distillation of strong drinks, we may drink alcohol, but we may not distil it. The law became so strict in the beginning of the 20th century, because most men drunk too much and their wives didn't get any money, because their men drank alcohol for all of the money. That was when the women first time got to vote, it was to make the alcohol law more restrict. Still today one can’t go into a supermarket to buy a strong beer or a bottle of wine, you must go to the monopoly shop, which are all over the country, Rúsan, it is called, but the real name is Rúsdrekkasøla Landsins. One of the most popular alcoholic drinks in the Faroe Islands has been the Danish Aalborg Akvavit. It is a tradition to pour a "snaps" to gests at some parties or weddings, but not at weddings, where the bride and groom are against alcohol. Many people in the Faroe Islands are very religious and don't use alcohol at all, and they also belive it is a sin to dance the traditional Faroese chain dance. But people here are different as in all countries.

Coffee and English thee are very popular to drink in the Faroe Islands. And soft drinks as well. But there is not any typical Faroese beverage, as I can think of.

by adena

The Faroese Language

The official language in the Faroe Islands is Faroese; it has its origin from the Old Norse. It is a bit similar to the Icelandic language and to some Norwegian dialects. But it is not so long time ago, that Faroese was forbidden to speak in the schools and in the church. It was accepted as school language in 1937 and as church language in 1938, and as National Language in 1948. Faroese children learn several languages in the school, first their mother tongue, which is the Faroese language, then Danish in the 4th grade and English in 5th grade. In the 8th grade they can choose German, and later they can choose other languages as well, Spanish, French or Russian.

Faroese art, music and literature

Faroese Art

Faroese art has influence from other counties of course, most Faroese artists have studied art abroad, but many artists claim, that they use the special Faroese light in their art. Some of them use the Faroese landscape also. But they also get inspired by international art. I could mention some of the Famous Faroese artist: Sámal Joensen Mikines from the Mykines Island, Ruth Smith from Vágur in Suduroy, Ingálvur av Reyni from Tórshavn, Tróndur Patursson from Kirkjubøur, Bárður Jákupsson and Zacharias Heinesen. There are many good Faroese artists of a younger generation.

Musicians from the Faroe Islands

There are several good musicians in the Faroe Islands, both individual singers like Eivør, Teitur and Lena Anderssen and bands like Týr, which developed a new genre "Viking Metal", which is a kind of heavy metal music based on the old Faroese folk songs (kvæði). Two Faroese singers have won Danish song contest: Gudrun Jacobsen from Tvøroyri won the Danish National Televisions Song contest "Stjerne for en aften" (Star for one evening) in 2005, and Linda Andrews from Tórshavn won the Danish contest "X Factor" in 2009. A Faroese group called "The Dreams" are very popular in Denmark right now (2009), they also developed their own way to sing, they started in the Faroe Islands by singing older Faroese popsongs, but in a totally different way, they made soft pop songs into hard rock songs. They also write their own songs, both lyrics and poems. Orka is also a Faroese band, which has created their own, special kind of music. They decided to make music from tools and other stuff, which they found in a farmhouse or as waste in the nature. It sounds very special; they have performed in the Faroe Islands, but also abroad. They use for instance bottles wiht water, which they blow in, to make a specific sound. Orka means Energy in Faroese. A Faroese singer called Brandur Enni started at a very young age his career as a singer, he is now 20 years old and has released several CD's in the Faroe Islands and now also in Sweden, where he has been living the last years, while studying music there. The Faroe Islands have many talented people when it comes to music.

Faroese Language and Faroese Literature

The Faroese language is old, and yet it is so young, that is the written language is so young, the rules for how to write Faroese language were made in 1846 by V.U. Hammarshaimb. Faroese literature starts from 1909, except for the Folk Songs, which are much older but not written down before 19th century. Now all Faroese writers write in Faroese, but two famous Faroese authors who wrote in Danish were William Heinesen (1900-1991), who won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1964 and his friend Jørgen Frantz Jacobsen, who wrote the famous historical novel "Barbara". There are many good modern Faroese writers and poets today.

by adena

Faroese Chain Dance

The Faroese Chain Dance is of very old origin, it was probably common in many countries some centuries ago, but it is only preserved in the Faroe Islands. It is still a living tradition, although many people don't know how to dance or how to sing the many long folk songs, which we call "Kvæði". At most weddings in the Faroe Islands it is common to dance the Faroese Chain dance around midnight, at least to take one "kvæði", which is "Brúðarvísan" (the wedding song). In some villages and towns there are chain dance associations, which meet once a week or once every fortnight during wintertime. At festivals it is common to dance the chain dance, and at these occations people dress up in there fine national costumes. The biggest event is probably at Ólavsøka in a house called Sjónleikarhúsið, and after the midnight singing at Vaglið in Tórshavn at Ólavsøka, there has been Faroese chain dancing right after the singing is over. Ólavsøka is held at 29th of July and the days before.

Rowing competions - in Faroese called Kappróður

Rowing competition is in Faroese wooden rowing boats is a Faroese tradition, which is held all around the country from June to July, starting in Klaksvík at Norðoyarstevna and ending with the finals at Ólavsøka in Tórshavn.

Ólavsøka - The National Day

Ólavsøka is the national holiday, held in Tórshavn, it is named after the Norwegian Saint Olav. The Faroese Parliament, which is called Løgting is gathered at Ólavsøka and the Thing is opened after the summer holiday.

The Faroe Islands were under Norwegian rule and later Norwegian/Danish rule. The Kalmar Union started to be Denmark, Sweden and Norway with its overseas territories: Iceland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Shetland and Orkney from 1397-1523, in 1523 Sweden became independant, but Denmark/Norway with territories continued until 1814. When Denmark and Norway split up in 1814, the Faroe Island, Iceland and Greenland became Danish territories.

Anyway, that explains why the Faroese national holiday is named after a Norwegian saint. Many of the Faroese folk songs are about historical events in Norway.

by adena