Miðvágur (), is a village in the Faroe Islands on

Vágar Vágar (; ) is one of the 18 islands in the archipelago of the Faroe Islands and the most westerly of the ''large islands''. With a size of , it ranks third in size, behind Streymoy and Eysturoy. Vágar Regions of the Faroe Islands, region also ...

. It has been a municipality until 1 January 2009 when it fused with

Sandavágur Sandavágur () is a town on the south coast of the Faroese island of Vágar. 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 ...

into Vága kommuna. Located on the south coast of the island of

, Miðvágur is the largest town on this Faroese island. For years, Miðvágur has been known as a good location for

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

and traditionally, bells would ring with the cry "''Grindaboð''!" - "Pilot whale ahoy!"

History

Miðvágur has been inhabited since at least the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

—as excavations have demonstrated. Since these early times, there has been a local "Thingstätte" (local community council), or " Várting". The most interesting building of the village is ''Kálvalíð'', a house which was probably built at the end of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. It is the oldest building of the village and possibly of the whole Faroe Islands. Kálvalíð consists of two rooms with a turf roof, built in the traditional faroese style. Today it houses a museum.

Sports

The local football team is MB (Miðvágs Bóltfelag), founded in January 1905. The rowing club from Miðvágur is Miðvágs Róðrarfelag.

People of note from Miðvágur

Greta Svabo Bech Greta Svabo Bech (born 1987 in Tórshavn) is a Faroese singer-songwriter. She first became known for her work with Canadian producer deadmau5, when " Raise Your Weapon" was nominated for Best Dance Record at the 2011 Grammy Awards54th Annual Gra ...

, Faroese singer *

Beinta Broberg Bente Christine Broberg, known as Beinta Broberg, (1667 – 15 February 1752), is perhaps the best-known woman from the history of the Faroe Islands. She has been the inspiration for novels and a film. Biography Beinta was born in Tórshavn, t ...

(1667–1752), a pastor's wife, and believed to be the model for the main character of ''Barbara'', the best-known Faroese novel (written in Danish). *

Pauli Ellefsen Joen Pauli Højgaard Ellefsen (20 April 1936 – 24 August 2012) was a Faroese politician and member of the Union Party. He was Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands from 1981 to 1985. Pauli Ellefsen was the eldest of eight children born to Sof ...

(1936-2012), Former Prime Minister (1981-1985) *

Sverri Sandberg Nielsen Sverri Sandberg Nielsen (born 14 October 1993) is a Faroese rower who competes for Danske Studenters Roklub and Denmark in the heavyweight single sculls. He also competes in indoor rowing and has set a new Danish record three years in a row, 201 ...

, (born 1993) a Faroese rower * Rasmus Rasmussen (1871–1962), writer * Jens Christian Svabo (1746–1824), a pastor's son, who contributed greatly to the modern concept of a Faroese written language, working to standardize grammar and spelling and created a Faroese dictionary. Svabo also collected a variety of folk-tales and historical examples of the spoken dialect of Faroese on Miðvágur.

References

External links

Faroeislands.dk: MidvágurThe Tourist Information Centre in VágarMunicipality of Vágar
(In Faroese only) {{DEFAULTSORT:Midvagur Vágar Populated places in the Faroe Islands Populated coastal places in the Faroe Islands

History

Sports

People of note from Miðvágur

See also

References

External links