- Kirkjubøur
Kirkjubøur is the southernmost village on
Streymoy ,Faroe Islands and the country's most important historical site.*Population: 80
*Postal code (Zip): FO 175
*Location: coord|61|57|22|N|6|47|37|W|
*Municipality: TorshavnarIt is located on the west coast and has a view towards the islands
Hestur andKoltur .History
The village was important in the Middle Ages. At that time it was the episcopal residence for the
Diocese of the Faroe Islands and as such the spiritual centre of the society. In those days the village is said to have had around 50 houses. The majority of these houses were washed away by a fierce storm in the16th century .There are three main attractions from this time:
*The ruins of theMagnus Cathedral (appointed asWorld Heritage Site ) from about1300 .
*The oldest still used church of the Faroes,Saint Olav's Church from12th century .
*The oldest still inhabited wooden house of the world,Kirkjubøargarður from11th century .People
Many prominent people come from Kirkjubøur or have been living here:
*Sverre I of Norway (1151-1202), grew up here.
*Bishop Erlendur (?-1308), who build the Magnus Cathedral and wrote theSheep letter , the oldest document of the country.
*Súsanna Helena Patursson (1864-1916), first feminist of the Faroes.
*Jóannes Patursson (1866-1946), nationalist leader and writer.
*Sverre Patursson (1871-1960), writer, journalist and environmentalist.
*Erlendur Patursson (1913-1986), writer and nationalist politician.
*Tróndur Patursson (b. 1944), artist and adventurer.The Cathedral Ruins
Pictures of the ruins of the Magnus Cathedral featured on a series of Faroese stamps in 1988:
Kirkjubøur pew ends
The mediaeval carved pew ends from Saint Olav's church are now to be found in the
National Museum of the Faroe Islands . These featured in three series of Faroese stamps, engraved byCzeslaw Slania .1980 series:
1984 series:
2001 series:
ee also
*
List of towns in the Faroe Islands External links
* [http://www.faroeislands.dk/pages/KirkjubourIndex.htm Faroeislands.dk: Kirkjubøur] Images and description of all cities on the Faroe Islands.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
