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The Danish Islands Above the World
Exploration of the Faroe Islands and its history.
High above the British Isles where the North Sea joins the Norwegian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, lies a magical archipelago. Belonging to the Danish Kingdom, the Faroe Islands remain an autonomous territory with a population of 52,000. Føroyar means “sheep islands” in Danish.
Back in the Fall of 2019, I took a trip to Europe. On my way back to the U.S. the flight path took the aircraft over the group of Islands. Looking down over the patches of land and sea, my mind began to wonder about a pure and primitive life in the Faroe Islands.
Vikings
The ancient history of the Archipelago is even more of a wonder. There is evidence of at least five Viking settlements on the Islands. Although it is uncertain when the first people arrived in the Faroes, but they probably were Irish monks who came in around the 6th century seeking solitude. The first Norsemen “Vikings” arrived around the year 825 either from southern Norway or from the nearby Orkney Islands north of Scotland.
