faroe islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group and archipelago under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark, situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland, at about 200 miles (320 km) north-north-west of mainland Scotland. The total area is approximately 1,400 km2 (540 sq mi) with a 2010 population of almost 50,000 people.

The Faroe Islands have been a self-governing country within the Danish Realm since 1948. Over the years, the Faroese have taken control of most domestic matters. Areas that remain the responsibility of Denmark include military defence, police, justice, currency and foreign affairs. The Faroe Islands also have representatives in the Nordic Council as members of the Danish delegation.

The islands were associated with and taxed by Norway, then the Union of Kalmar, and then Denmark-Norway until 1814, when Norway was united with Sweden. Scandinavia was in political turmoil following the Sixth Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars, when the Treaty of Kiel granted Denmark control over the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland in 1814. The Danish trade monopoly ended in 1856.

Distances to nearest countries and islands

North Rona, Scotland (uninhabited): 260 kilometres (160 mi)

Shetland (Foula) (Scotland): 285 kilometres (177 mi)

Orkney (Westray) (Scotland): 300 kilometres (190 mi)

Mainland Scotland: 320 kilometres (200 mi)

Iceland: 450 kilometres (280 mi)

Ireland: 670 kilometres (420 mi)

Norway: 670 kilometres (420 mi)

Denmark: 990 kilometres (620 mi)

The climate is classed as Maritime Subarctic according to the Köppen climate classification: Cfc. The overall character of the islands' climate is influenced by the strong warming influence of the Atlantic Ocean, which produces the North Atlantic Current. This, together with the remoteness of any source of warm airflows, ensures that winters are mild (mean temperature 3.0 to 4.0 °C or 37 to 39 °F) while summers are cool (mean temperature 9.5 to 10.5 °C or 49 to 51 °F).

The islands are windy, cloudy and cool throughout the year with over 260 annual rainy days. The islands lie in the path of depressions moving northeast and this means that strong winds and heavy rain are possible at all times of the year. Sunny days are rare and overcast days are common. Hurricane Faith struck the Faroe Islands on 5 September 1966 with sustained winds over 100 mph (160 km/h) and only then did the storm cease to be a tropical system.

The registration of meteorologic data on the Faroe Islands started in 1867.

Vágar Airport has scheduled services from Vágar Island. The largest Faroese airline is Atlantic Airways.

Due to the rocky terrain and relatively small size of the Faroe Islands, its transport system was not as extensive as in other places of the world. This situation has now changed, and the infrastructure has been developed extensively. Some 80% of the population of the islands is connected by tunnels through the mountains and between the islands, bridges and causeways that link the three largest islands and three other large islands to the northeast together, while the other two large islands to the south of the main area are connected to the main area with new fast ferries. There are good roads to every village in the islands, except for seven of the smaller islands, six of which only have one village.

The culture of the Faroe Islands has its roots in the Nordic culture. The Faroe Islands were long isolated from the main cultural phases and movements that swept across parts of Europe. This means that they have maintained a great part of their traditional culture. The language spoken is Faroese and it is one of three insular Scandinavian languages descended from the Old Norse language spoken in Scandinavia in the Viking Age, the others being Icelandic and the extinct Norn, which is thought to have been mutually intelligible with Faroese. Until the 15th century, Faroese had a similar orthography to Icelandic and Norwegian, but after the Reformation in 1538, the ruling Danes outlawed its use in schools, churches and official documents. Although a rich spoken tradition survived, for 300 years the language was not written down. This means that all poems and stories were handed down orally. These works were split into the following divisions: sagnir (historical), ævintýr (stories) and kvæði (ballads), often set to music and the mediaeval chain dance. These were eventually written down in the 19th century.

Faroese handicrafts are mainly based around materials available within local villages which is mainly wool. Products include jumpers, scarves and gloves. Faroese jumpers have distinct Nordic patterns with each village having some regional variations handed down from mother to daughter. There has recently been a strong revival and interest in Faroese knitting with young people knitting and wearing updated versions of old patterns emphasized by strong colours and bold patterns. This appears to be a reaction to the loss of traditional lifestyles and as a way to maintain and assert cultural tradition in a rapidly changing society. Many young people study and move abroad and this allows them to maintain cultural links which identifies their specific Faroese heritage.

There has also been a great interest in Faroese jumpers from the TV series The Killing, where the popular main actress wears a different Faroese jumper for each series (two so far). This has greatly increased the profile of the Faroe Islands, particularly within the fashion industry as jumpers are now sold in places such as Harrods.

Lace knitting is a traditional handicraft. The most distinctive trait of Faroese lace shawls is the center back gusset shaping. Each shawl consists of two triangular side panels, a trapezoid-shaped back gusset, an edge treatment, and usually shoulder shaping. These are worn by all generations of women particularly in relation to the Traditional faroese costume as an over garment.

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