Hoyvík

Hoyvík
Village

View north from the Eystari Ringvegur over the Hoydalar area towards the Ovastu Hoydalar neighbourhood
Hoyvík

Location within the Faroe Islands

Coordinates: 62°01′32″N 6°45′32″W / 62.02556°N 6.75889°W / 62.02556; -6.75889Coordinates: 62°01′32″N 6°45′32″W / 62.02556°N 6.75889°W / 62.02556; -6.75889
State  Kingdom of Denmark
Country  Faroe Islands
Island Streymoy
Municipality Tórshavn Municipality
Population (January 1, 2015)
 • Total 3,805
ZIP code FO 188
Climate Cfc

Hoyvík (Danish: Højvig) is the third largest town in the Faroe Islands.

It has grown in size for many years and is now merged with Tórshavn becoming a northern suburb of the Faroese capital. A person from Hoyvík is known as a hoyvíkingur.

Overview

Hoyvík is believed to be a very old settlement. An early source is Færeyinga saga, written after 1200 about affairs taking place among Vikings centuries earlier. There is an old farmhouse in Hoyvík which dates back until the 17th century. Today it functions as an open-air museum.

Important institutions in Hoyvík are the gymnasium and the Faroese Historical Museum. The first church in Hoyvík was finished in 2007.

In 2005 a free trade agreement between the Faroe Islands and Iceland was signed in Hoyvík at the Historical Museum. It is consequently known as the Hoyvík Agreement.

Before the late 20th century the population was very low. Until the mid 19th century the entire population comprised one farm. A few more houses were built close to the farmland after the second world war. A real development boom has been in Hoyvík since about the early 1980s. The new houses have been built on land that was formerly considered the farmers outfield. The architecture of some of these newer houses include detached and terraced housing. The purchaser of one of these terraced houses, buys the two outer walls, but then builds the house itself in colours and design of their own choice. The result is an unusual effect of combing terraced housing with the idiosyncratic personal ‘touch’ of the family living in it.

Jógvan Waagstein: Kýrdalur í Hoyvík 1930 (Village of Hoyvík)
Stamp FO 532 of Postverk Føroya
Date of issue: 19 September 2005

See also

References

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