All About the Faroe Islands

Situated in the unforgiving North Atlantic Ocean, the Faroe Islands are a small archipelago located about halfway between Iceland and The United Kingdom.  This small nation is an autonomous territory of Denmark, with its own Prime Minister, and is home to about 55,000 people.  While the temperatures of the Faroe Islands range between 35 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit on average (milder winters and cool summers), the hardy people of these islands endure more than 210 days of rainy or snowy weather a year.

Formally settled by Norwegians in the early 9^th century, there is also archaeological evidence that (like in Iceland) Scottish monks might have made their mark in these remote islands hundreds of years before the Norwegian settlers arrived.  According to the Faereyinga Saga, the 13^th century Saga of the Faroe Islands, it is anecdotally documented that Norwegians left their homeland in the 9^th century and settled in Iceland and on the Faroe Islands in response to their dissatisfaction with then king, Harald Fairhair.  Unsurprisingly, the Faroese language, which is also descended from Old Norse, is mutually intelligible with Icelandic. 

Being so remote has allowed this small nation to create a unique culture that has sustained itself for more than 1,000 years.  The rugged landscape of these islands have concentrated the populations on the coast and created a cuisine that relies on fishing, seabirds, and sheep for food, with very little land allocated to farming.  Even today, most of the food found in grocery stores is imported, from eggs, cheese, and beef, to fresh fruits and vegetables. 

The Norwegians that settled these islands did bring horses with them, and the Faroe Pony does share similarities with its cousin the Icelandic Horse.  However, there are only a few hundred total horses on these islands today, with fewer than 100 of them being the native Faroe pony breed – the breed population was reduced dramatically in the late 19^th and early 20^th century as these small, hardy ponies were shipped to the UK to be pit ponies in the mines.

If you’ve been lucky enough to travel to this remote series of islands, let us know in the comments!  What was it like?  We will be traveling to our final destination on Thursday!