20 interesting facts about the Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are one of a kind, and even though it’s been six months since our trip to the Faroe Islands we keep going back there with our thoughts. This archipelago is not only a beautiful landscape, but also a society and customs that may surprise and amaze.

That’s why this entry was created, it’s a shame that it’s only now, although we’ve been planning it for a long time. In paragraphs we present you with some interesting facts about the Faroe Islands, which you probably did not know (although if you scrupulously read our blog, you may already know some of them ;-)). We hope this will further encourage you to visit this wonderful place :)

In addition, at the very end you will also find links to other interesting sites that we ourselves used before the trip or where you can find more details about the following highlights.

Table of contents

Interesting facts about the Faroe Islands

1 There are almost twice as many sheep as people in the Faroe Islands (about 75-78,000 sheep and 49,000 inhabitants) and they strongly help promote the archipelago, because…

2. sheep take 360 degree pictures! Well, maybe they don’t do it on their own and not all of them, but thanks to the installed hardware, pictures have been taken, which can now be viewed on Google Maps. You can find an example here:)

3 And while we’re at Google, you won’t find Faroese in Google translator, but you can use a special dictionary, where volunteers will translate specific phrases for you.

4 The number of sheep in the archipelago is strictly regulated by records from the 13th century and must be between 75,000 and 78,000. Surprisingly, this is still too little…! Not enough to feed the Faroese community, but on the other hand, increasing this number could have a dire effect on the local ecosystem, so….

5. lamb to the Faroe Islands is imported from… New Zealand and Iceland!

6 There is the highest fertility rate in Europe here – 2.4 children per woman! Yes, in Europe, but not in the European Union bo….

7 The Faroe Islands are neither part of the European Union nor the Schengen area, so you can expect passport control (we write deliberately can, because during our trip no one once checked our passport – we flew via Denmark, of course).

8. In many towns (even smaller ones) you can find a free public toilet.

9 In the archipelago, the only trees we’ll see are artificially planted, and it’s hard for them to survive the battle against the climatic conditions here.

10. farers love soccer – there are stadiums in the “bigger” towns (read: around 1,000 inhabitants), with their own soccer teams. At the same time, it should be remembered that the teams are played by people who are fishermen, bakers, drivers, etc. in their daily lives and treat soccer as a hobby, a pastime.

11 In the Faroe Islands, it’s the sheep that take precedence on the road and you have to beware of them. There is a special police unit set up to deal only with car accidents involving sheep, and there is even special car insurance for accidents involving sheep. You can read about the “sheep slalom giant” here:)

12 – And while we’re on the subject of driving…. There are only 4 traffic lights in the Faroe Islands – 3 of them in the capital(Thorshavn).

13 The Faroe Islands has its own airline, Atlantic Airways, with 4 planes and 2 helicopters.

14 The Farers have their own unique measure of area – 1 mørk, which means an area that can feed 32 sheep. This is not a fixed value and depends on the terrain and fertility of the soil.

15. the island with the fewest people is Koltur, inhabited by only 2 people. A completely uninhabited island is Lítla Dímun.

16 It is one of the rainiest places in the world, and it rains here 280 days a year! But don’t be discouraged, these are often short rainfalls and do not affect the entire archipelago. The weather here changes like a kaleidoscope, and a popular saying in the Faroe Islands is “If the weather doesn’t suit you, just wait another five minutes.” How to dress for the occasion? You can read here:)

17. the Faroese language allows you to name rain with 250 words, and wind with as many as 350!

18. in the Faroe Islands is very, very safe! Like nowhere we were afraid to leave things in the car, we didn’t keep our documents and equipment very safe. Besides, Farerians do not lock their houses and the concept of a judas at the door is unknown to them. No one steals, because they won’t get far anyway, and in this regard, let’s not be surprised…..

19 There is no prison in the Faroe Islands – criminals are sent to serve their sentences in Denmark.

20. and finally something for the appetite :) Coke is the name of the restaurant, the only one in the Faroe Islands, which was awarded a Michelin star! A tasting dish there costs 1,400 kroner (!!!), or almost 800 zlotys ;) Anyway, all prices in the Faroe Islands are mega :)

Below you will find other interesting sources (websites and books) about the Faroe Islands:

Websites: Visit Faroe Islands, Agnieszka Szwed’s Blog, Faroe Islands – the forgotten corner of Europe, Onet.pl, Owczy pęd, national-geographic.pl, Faroe Islands – I live there, Bankier.pl Cz. 1, cz. 2, 10 Things You Don’t Know About The Far oe Islands (TheRichest), Nordic Wiki, Wikipedia1 and Wikipedia2 ( howdy!).

And books:

81:1 Tales from the Faroe Islands, M. Michalski, M. Wasielewski (reportage from the Faroe Islands, read by us recently, and we very much regret not earlier)
Trilogy: Enclave, Catch, Ferry, Ove Løgmansbø (Remigiusz Frost) (although fictional and with accusations that the author did not do a good enough job of portraying the Faroe Islands and society in particular, in our opinion he did a great job of advertising the archipelago. Especially since many of the errors were corrected in the next part).