Culture and Society
The Faroe Islands are a modern society with a high standard of living and the Faroese have a strong sense of local identity and social cohesion.
The culture of the Faroe Islands has its roots in the Nordic culture. The islands were long isolated from the main cultural movements in Europe and have maintained a large part of their traditional culture. At the same time the Faroese live a modern European life with cultural events, new technology and a well developed infrastructure.
The Faroese are well-educated. Many Faroese study and work abroad in a wide range of fields. The mobility and flexibility of the Faroese people maintains a broad international perspective.
The Faroe Islands are located half way between Scotland and Iceland in the North East Atlantic ocean. The country is a self-governing nation under the external sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is not a member of the European Union but has agreements on fisheries, trade in goods, and research cooperation with the EU.
The language of the Faroe Islands is Faroese which is a Nordic language deriving from the Norsemen who settled the islands 1200 years ago.
There are about 120 towns and villages scattered over 17 islands.Out of a total population of around 54,000, more than 22,000 live in the capital, Tórshavn.
Fishing and fish farming are the most important industries in the Faroe Islands. In recent years tourism has also become increasingly important.
The Faroese weather is moist, changeable and at times windy. Due to the influence of the Gulf Stream encircling the islands, there is little variation between winter and summer temperatures. The average temperature ranges from 3°C in winter to 12°C in the summer.
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Read more: The Official Site of the Faroe Islands
Visit Faroe Islands
The Faroese political system is a parliamentary democracy, with a democratically elected legislative assembly, Løgtingið, and an executive government, Landsstýrið, headed by the Prime Minister, løgmaður.
Early history
The Faroe Islands are believed to have been discovered and inhabited in the 8th century or earlier by Irish settlers. The Norwegian colonization began about a hundred years later and developed throughout the Viking Age.
Norway and Denmark joined in a double monarchy in the late 14th century. When Norway was seperated from Denmark in 1814, the Faroe Islands remained under the sovereignty of Denmark.
Due to the large geographical distance to Norway and Denmark the Faroe Islands have always maintained a special jurisdiction.
Constitutional status
The Faroe Islands are a self-governing nation within the Kingdom of Denmark with extensive autonomous powers and responsibilites.
The status of the Faroe Islands within the Kingdom of Denmark was defined in the Home Rule Act of 1948. Amendments were made in 2005.
The Home Rule Act defines the political competence and responsibility transfered from Danish political authorities to Faroese political authorities. The Faroese authorities enact legislation and have the economic responsibility for the areas taken over from Danish authorities.
The Faroe Islands have taken over the exclusive competence to legislate and govern independently in a wide range of areas. These include taxation and customs, management of fisheries and other natural resources within the 200-mile economic zone, social security, education and research.
Matters regarding Danish citizenship, defence and foreign policy as well as monetary policy cannot be transfered to Faroese jurisdiction according to current legislation.
Faroese autonomy in foreign relations is provided by a treaty between the Faroe Islands and Denmark. This treaty allows the Faroe Islands to represent themselves and negotiate treaties under international law with other states and international organisations concerning all matters administered by the Faroese authorities.
Although Denmark is a member state of the European Union, the Faroe Islands have chosen to remain outside the Union. Trade with the European Union is governed by a special trade agreement between the Faroe Islands and the EU.
The Parliament
The Løgting is the legislative assembly for Faroese affairs.
The Løgting is believed to be one of the oldest parliaments in Europe. Its origin can be traced as far back as shortly after the first Norse settlement of the Faroe Islands in the early 9th century. The settlers established their own parliament in Tórshavn where all major decisions affecting the whole country were taken.
In 1816 the Faroe Islands became a Danish administrative district and the Løgting was abolished. In 1852 the Løgting was reestablished as a consultative body for Danish authorities concerning the governing of the Faroe Islands.
In 1948 the Home Rule Act invested all legislative power within branches taken over from the Danish Parliament in the Løgting.
The Løgting has 33 members who are elected for a period of four years. Election of the Løgting can take place before the end of an election period if the Løgting agrees on dissolving itself or the Prime Minister decides to call an election. All Faroese and Danish nationals over 18 years residing in the Faroe Islands have the right to vote and to stand for election for the Løgting.
At present six political parties are represented in the Løgting.
The session of the Løgting begins on 29 July (Saint Olaf´s day) with a procession from the parliament building to the Cathedral where a service is held. After the service the procession returns to the parliament, and the Prime Minister delivers his Saint Olaf’s address, in which he gives a general description of the state of the nation.
The sittings of the Løgting are public.The Løgting debates between 150 and 200 various items in one session.
Political parties The Social Democartic Party - Javnaðarflokkurin |
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The Faroese Parliament
The Government
The Faroese Government – Landsstýrið - has the executive power in all areas for which the Faroe Islands have assumed responsibility.
Landsstýrið consists of the Prime Minister - løgmaður - and a number of ministers - landsstýrismenn. The Parliament appoints the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister appoints the ministers.
The Government elected in September 2022 consists of the Social Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and the Progress Party. The Government is headed by Aksel V. Johannesen and has eigth ministers.
Read more:
The Government of the Faroe Islands
Municipalities
The Faroe Islands are administratively divided in 29 municipalities - kommunur - with about 120 towns and villages. The municipalities vary in size from around 23,000 inhabitants in Tórshavn Municipality to around 40 inhabitants in Skúvoy Municipality.
The municipal councils are elected for a period of four years. All Faroese/Danish nationals over 18 years registered in the Faroe Islands and citizens of other countries who have been residing in the Faroe Islands for three years prior to an election have the right to vote and stand for election in municipal elections.
The Danish Parliament
Two Faroese representatives are elected for the Danish Parliament - Folketinget. All Faroese and Danish nationals over 18 years residing in the Faroe Islands have the right to vote and stand for elections for the Danish Parliament.
The official language in the Faroe Islands is Faroese. Faroese is a Germanic language deriving from Old Norse and is closely related to Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish.
Danish is the second language in the Faroe Islands and practically everyone can speak and write Danish. Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish are understood and spoken by many Faroese, and most people are capable of communicating in English too.
The Faroe Islands have a modern infrastructure with roads, tunnels, bridges and subsea tunnels connecting most of the islands.
Regular flights and car and cargo ferries are available all year round for transport of people and goods to and from the Faroe Islands.
Domestic transport
The roads are the main transport artery of Faroese society. The public transport system is well established but the preferred means of transportation is still the car.
Buses and ferries
The public transport system consists of an extensive network of buses and ferries connecting towns, villages and islands throughout the country. The public transport company, Strandfaraskip Landsins, operates the bus and ferry service.
Read more:
Strandfaraskip Landsins
Helicopters
Regular helicopter service to the outer islands is operated by the Faroese airline company, Atlantic Airways.
Read more:
Atlantic Airways
Urban buses
In Tórshavn and Klaksvík there are urban busservices free of charge.
Read more:
Bussleiðin - Tórshavn Municipality (in Faroese)
Bussleiðin - Klaksvík Municipalty (in Faroese)
International transport
Flights
There are several daily flights to the Faroe Islands from Copenhagen, and regular flights to other destinations in Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Scotland, Spain and France.
Read more:
Atlantic Airways
SAS
Widerøe
Ferries
There is a direct ferry link to Denmark (Hirtshals) and Iceland (Seyðisfjørður).
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Smyril Line
The Faroe Islands have a highly developed communication network – from telecommunication and mobile phones to the internet and media.
Media
The National Faroese Broadcasting Company - Kringvarp Føroya - transmits Faroese radio and TV programmes as well as Danish and Norwegian TV programmes and other TV programmes with Danish subtitles.
The National Faroese Broadcasting Company also has a news portal in English.
Read more:
The National Faroese Broadcasting Company
Televarpið offers a wide range of Nordic and international TV channels broadcasted via digital terrestrial network and via internet.
Read more:
Televarpið (in Faroese)
The Faroese media landscape also includes a number of private radio stations, news portals, and newspapers.
Telecommunication
The telecommunication networks are of a high standard offering services at competitive prices.
Subscriptions for fixed line and mobile telephones as well as prepaid SIM cards are available from Faroese telecommunication companies.
Broadband subscriptions are also offered by the Faroese telecommunication companies. All the islands have an excellent broadband connection, with 3G and 4G networks fully functioning.
Telecommunication companies:
Faroese Telecom
Nema (in Faroese)
Postal service
The postal service is operated by the national postal company, Posta.
There is daily postal transport to and from the Faroe Islands, and domestic post is delivered twice a week.
Post offices are in larger towns and villages around the islands.
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Posta
Religion plays an important role in Faroese culture. According to the constitution, everyone is entitled to associate in communities to worship according to his or her convictions.
The Lutheran Evangelical Church
The majority of the Faroese population, about 85 percent, belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church which is the official church of the Faroe Islands.
There are several organisations and associations attached to the Faroese Lutheran Evangelical Church, among them KFUK and KFUM which correspond to YWCA and YMCA, Inner Mission and Evangelical Mission.
Read more:
The Faroese Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren are the second largest religious community in the Faroe Islands. About 13 percent of the population belong to this community. The community has houses of worship in towns and villages around the islands.
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Ebenezer Evangelical Church
Other religious communities
Other religious communities in the Faroe Islands include Pentecostals, Catholics, Salvation Army, Seventh Day Adventists and Jehova Witnesses.
The Faroe Islands have a rich and thriving contemporary culture. Traditional culture lives along with modern cultural events, and all kinds of sports and music activities are very popular.
Music
The pleasure derived from music is immense in the Faroe Islands. Almost every occasion is an opportunity to sing and play.
Choirs
Singing in choir is very popular. There are several excellent choirs around the islands for male, female and mixed voices.
Chain dance
The Faroese chain dance with epic ballads about heroes and legends was popular in many European countries in the Middle Ages but has survived only in the Faroe Islands. Here it is still a prominent part of the Faroese cultural and musical life and is refered to as Faroese dance.
Music schools
Music schools are very popular, and many children are learning to play a variety of musical instruments. There are 13 music schools located around the islands.
Read more:
Faroese music schools (in Faroese)
Visual art
The Faroese art history is comparatively young but the quality of Faroese art is remarkably high, and the Faroe Islands have fostered several great painters.
The National Gallery of the Faroe Islands - Listasavnið - features a permanent exhibition of older and modern Faroese artists as well as traveling exhibitions of foreign artists and special showcase exhibitions of Faroese artists.
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The National Gallery of the Faroe Islands
Performing art
Professional and amateur actors perform Faroese and international theatre plays at a high standard.
The National Theatre of the Faroe Islands - Tjóðpallur Føroya - performs Faroese drama and the best of modern and classic drama from abroad. It stages an average of 4 productions a year, and has managed to stage new Faroese plays on a regular basis.
Read more:
The National Theatre of the Faroe Islands (in Faroese)
The Playhouse Theatre in Tórshavn - Sjónleikarhúsið - hosts a wide variety of plays and cultural performances.
Read more:
The Playhouse Theatre (in Faroese)
Sports
The people of the Faroe Islands are very fond of sports, both as a way of exercising and for leisure.
Football, handball and gymnastics are amongst the most popular sports activities.
Boat racing - kappróður - is the national sport of the Faroe Islands. Rowing competitions are held in different towns and villages at festivals in June and July, and the final competition is held in Tórshavn on St Olaf´s Wake.
Sports organisations:
Handball Federation of the Faroe Islands (in Faroese)
The Faroe Islands Football Association
Tórshavn Gymnastics Association (in Faroese)
Faroese Rowing Association (in Faroese)
Faroe Islands Swimming Association (in Faroese)
Tórshavn Badminton Association (in Faroese)
Faroese Horse Riding Association (in Faroese)
Faroese Judo Association (in Faroese)
Fleyr Volleyball Association (in Faroese)
Faroese Table Tennis Association (in Faroese)
Bragdið - Athletics Association (in Faroese)
Events
There are several recurring cultural events that are very popular amongst the people of the Faroe Islands.
Music festivals
Several music festivals and concerts are held in the summer with a variety of local music in all genres and internationally acclaimed artists.
G! Festival is a large festival with international and local musicians held in Gøta in mid July.
Summer Festival (in Faroese)is a large festival with local musicians and international bands held in Klakvík in early August.
Summartónar is a classical and contemporary music festival with a programme of concerts in churches, museums and other public venues around the islands in June and July.
Voxbotn (in Faroese) is a one-day festival held in Tórshavn in late June.
Local festivals
Local festivals - stevnur - with sports, concerts, and various other activities for all ages are held around the country during the summer. These festivals take place annually starting in Klaksvík, Runavík, Sundalagið and Suðuroy in June and in Fuglafjørður, Vágar, Skálafjørður and Vestmanna in July. The traditional rowing competition is a main attraction at these festivals.
St Olaf´s Wake
The national holiday of the Faroe Islands, St Olaf´s Wake - ólavsøka - is held in Tórshavn on July 28th and 29th. People from all over the islands gather in the capital to celebrate the national holiday which is also a cultural and sports festival with rowing, football matches, art exhibitions, concerts, and chain dance.
St Olaf´s Wake starts on July 28th with a procession of sports people and horse riders and an opening ceremony in front of the parliament building. On July 29th the Løgting opens it session after the summer holiday with a procession and a service at the Cathedral in Tórshavn.
Evening schools
Evening schools under the administration of the municipalities around the country offer a wide variety of courses, such as cookery, photography, sewing, arts and crafts, creative writing, acting and genealogy studies. Some schools also offer courses designed especially for people with various disabilities.
Read more:
Tórshavn Evening School
Cultural institutions
The Nordic House - Norðurlandahúsið - is a cultural organisation under the Nordic Council of Ministers with the objective of supporting and promoting Nordic and Faroese culture. It offers a wide range of events all year round, including concerts, exhibitions, and theatre performances.
The National Museum - Tjóðsavnið - is a cultural and natural history museum. It offers displays on geology, archeology, folk life and history. The museum has an open air branch located close to the permanent exhibition.
The National Gallery - Listasavnið - features a permanent exhibition of older and modern Faroese artists as well as traveling exhibitions of foreign artists and special showcase exhibitions of Faroese artists.
The National Theatre - Tjóðpallur Føroya - performs Faroese plays, as well as classic and modern plays from other countries.
The National Library - Landsbókasavnið - is the national depository and library of the Faroe Islands. It collects, registers and preserves examples of Faroese literature, as well as books and articles discussing the Faroe Islands.
Cuisine
Important elements of the Faroese cuisine are lamb, fish, whale meat and seabirds.
The taste of the traditional food is primarily determined by the preservation methods used, which especially include the maturing and drying of meat and fish. The most popular treat is well-aged wind-dried mutton - skerpikjøt. Other traditional foods are semi-dried mutton - ræst kjøt, and matured fish - ræstur fiskur.
Dried lamb and fish and other traditional products are still very popular in the Faroe Islands. At the same time popular taste has developed to become closer to the European norm.
The Faroese restaurant culture has changed drastically within the last decade and new restaurants are consistently emerging.
Restaurants reflect different styles offer a variety of local food as well as cuisine from around the world.
Read more:
Visit Faroe Islands - dining
Nature
Visitors to the Faroe Islands are generally impressed by the beauty of the nature.
The landscape is characterized by green valleys engulfed by steep dramatic mountains. The ocean is never far away as no place in the Faroe Islands has a distance of more than five kilometres to the coast.
Hiking
Hiking in the mountains has become an increasingly popular activity in the Faroe Islands. Even a short hike offers numerous vantage points overlooking magnificent and untouched nature.
There are only few restrictions as to access to the mountains, the shoreline and the beaches. It is prohibited to trespass through fields as the grass is intended for winter fodder.
It is also possible to join hiking clubs.
Read more:
Visit Faroe Islands - hiking
Hiking.fo
Fishing
Saltwater fishing at the pier or the coast is generally free for everyone.
Fishing wild salmon and trout in rivers and inland lakes can require a permit and is not always free.
Fishing in lakes and streams is permitted from May 1st until August 31st. Fishing permits are required and can be purchased in most tourist information offices.
Read more:
The Faroe Islands Fishing Association