Sandavágur
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|---|---|
village
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Sandavágur
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| Motto:
kom!
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  Sandavágur Location in the Faroe Islands | |
| Coordinates: 62°03′24″N 7°9′15″W / 62.05667°N 7.15417°W / 62.05667; -7.15417 | |
| State |  Kingdom of Denmark |
| Constituent country |  Faroe Islands |
| Island | Vágar |
| Municipality | Vágar Municipality |
| Population
(January 2024)[1]
| |
| • Total | 1,026 |
| Time zone | GMT |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (EST) |
| Postal code |
FO 360
|
| Climate | Cfc |
Sandavágur (Danish: Sandevåg) is a city on the south coast of the Faroese islandofVágar. The name Sandavágur means sandy bay and refers to the sandy beach which used to be much larger than present. From one point in Sandavágur you can get a view of all the southern islands in the Faroes. Sandavágur used to be a municipality until 1 January 2009, when it fused together with the neighbour village Miðvágur into the new Vágar municipality.
Data:[2]
The town has an ancient history. A 13th century runestone, discovered in 1917, bears an inscription stating that the Norwegian Viking Torkil Onundarson from Rogaland was the first settler in this area. The stone can be seen in Sandavágur Church. Excavations in the town have also uncovered ruins from the Middle Ages.
Á Steig in Sandavágur was the residence of the Lagman, the lawspeaker and leader of the Faroese parliament, until 1816, when the office was abolished and the islands became a Danish administrative district. The clergyman V. U. Hammershaimb, who was born in Sandavágur in 1819 and became the father of the Faroese written language, was the son of the last law speaker.
There is a freestanding rock to the east of the town called Trøllkonufingur, which means Witch’s finger. It is said to have been climbed only once, and the story goes like this:
The distinctive red-roofed Church was built in 1917. A memorial was erected outside the church to one of the many ships that were sunk during the Second World War.
Sandavagur takes turns in hosting a civic festival called Vestanstevna which takes place annually at the beginning of July. The other participating villages are, Miðvágur and Sørvágur. The festival is similar to OlavsøkainTórshavn but smaller.
Kovin, the canning factory in Sandavágur produces canned fish products: primarily shrimp, but also roe and normal fish meat. It also produces various kinds of pâté, for example from salmon, shrimps and tuna.[3]
The local football team was SÍF Sandavágur until they merged with MB Miðvágur to form FS Vágar in 1993. The merger collapsed in 2004 and the clubs separated again only for SÍF to become part of a newly formed club, 07 Vestur.
The scorer of the only goal in the Faroe Islands national football teams first ever competitive match, a shock win over Austria in 1990, Torkil Nielsen, was born in Sandavágur.
