Nólsoy (previously also ''Nölsoy''; da, Nolsø; non, Norsey) is an island and village in central

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, 4 km east of the capital

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

in Streymoy.

Description

Nólsoy is the lowest of the Faroes; the highest point is Eggjarklettur (372 m) on the mountain ''Høgoyggj''. The southern coast contains two capes, each with a lighthouse (Øknastangi on the south-east, Borðan on the south). The lighthouses were built in the late 18th century to aid smugglers working against the unpopular trading monopoly imposed by Denmark. In 2005, the

National Bank of Denmark Danmarks Nationalbank (in Danish often simply ''Nationalbanken'') is the central bank of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is a non-eurozone member of the European System of Central Banks ( ESCB). Since its establishment in 1818, the objective of the ...

issued a 20 DKK

commemorative coin Commemorative coins are coins issued to commemorate some particular event or issue with a distinct design with reference to the occasion on which they were issued. Many coins of this category serve as collectors items only, although some countries ...

for the lighthouse. There is only one settlement on the island, also called Nólsoy, on the north-west coast on the Stongin peninsula which is attached to the rest of the island by a metres-wide

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...

. The small coastal village is made up of colourful homes and buildings, placed extremely close to each other to help shelter each other from storms. The island is accessible by a 20-minute ferry journey from Tórshavn. As many as 40 people that live in Nólsoy go to work in Tórshavn each morning. In recent years many young families have moved from Tórshavn to Nólsoy where the houses are cheaper than in Tórshavn. This way it is possible to live "in the country" and still be only 20 minutes from the capital. Nólsoy is the most populous of the Faroe islands not to have an existing or planned road connection to the rest of the archipelago. Ruins in Korndalur (Corn Valley) are associated with the legendary Princess of Nólsoy.

People from Nólsoy

Nólsoy has an annual civic festival called Ovastevna, held at the beginning of August. Ovastevna is similar to Ólavsøka in Tórshavn only smaller. Ovastevna is held to commemorate Ove Joensen from Nólsoy. He rowed from the Faroe Islands to Denmark in a traditional Faeroese boat in 1986. In 1987 Ove drowned in Skálafjørður-inlet where he fell overboard. The profit from the festival is used to build a swimming pool for the children in Nólsoy. Ove originally started this project after his row to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. Nólsoyar Páll came from Nólsoy. He is recognized as a kind of freedom fighter and national hero. He fought to end the Royal Trade Monopoly in the beginning of 19th century. The Royal Trade Monopoly was exhausting and impoverishing the people of the Faroe Islands from 1271 to 1856. Nólsoyar Páll carried trade between Denmark and Faroe Islands in his ship ‘Royndin Frida’. His ship was the first Faeroese ocean-going vessel since the early Middle Ages.

Climate

Wildlife

Nólsoy has one of the world's largest colonies of

European storm petrel The European storm petrel, British storm petrel, or just storm petrel (''Hydrobates pelagicus'') is a seabird in the northern storm petrel family, Hydrobatidae. The small, square-tailed bird is entirely black except for a broad, white rump and ...

s (50,000 pairs). Mountain hares and

house mice The house mouse (''Mus musculus'') is a small mammal of the order Rodentia, characteristically having a pointed snout, large rounded ears, and a long and almost hairless tail. It is one of the most abundant species of the genus ''Mus''. Although ...

were introduced by humans, and Nólsoy has its own subspecies of house mouse ''Mus m. domesticus faroeensis'', one of the largest in the world. Nólsoy is also home to the first known wild population of common frogs in the Faroe Islands.

Important Bird Area

The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of its significance as a breeding site for

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

s, especially European storm petrels, Atlantic puffins (30,000 pairs) and black guillemots (100 pairs).BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Nólsoy. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-02-23.

Nólsoy on Faroese stamps

Nólsoy has featured on a number of stamps from

Postverk Føroya Posta is the postal service of the Faroe Islands and was founded on 1 April 1976 under the Home Rule of the Faroe Islands. On 16 December 2005, it became a public joint stock company under the name P/F Postverk Føroya (retroactive from 1 Januar ...

: File:Faroe stamp 114 steffan danielsen.jpg, ''Winter day''
Artist: Steffan Danielsen
Issued: 3 June 1985
Engraving: Czeslaw Slania File:Faroe stamp 115 lighthouse bordan.jpg, ''Lighthouse of Borðan, Nólsoy'' 1893
Issued: 23 Sept 1985 File:Faroe stamp 201 steffan danielsen - nolsoy.jpg, ''Nólsoy, Faroe Islands''
Artist: Steffan Danielsen
Issued: 8 Oct 1990 File:Faroe stamp 202 steffan danielsen - nolsoy.jpg, ''Nólsoy, Faroe Islands''
Artist: Steffan Danielsen File:Nólsoy.3.jpg, Nólsoy village File:Nólsoy.8.jpg, Nólsoy's whale-bone arch File:Nólsoy.6.jpg, Seafront at Nólsoy File:Nólsoy.7.jpg, Faroese flag flying in Nólsoy village

Gallery

File:Nolsoy village on Faroe map.png, Position of Nólsoy village File:Nolsoy map.jpg, Nólsoy File:Faroe stamp 375 nolsoy.jpg, Nólsoy File:Pumice from Nólsoy, Faroe Islands, by Omar Hoftun.jpg,

Pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular v ...

from Nólsoy

References

External links

faroeisland.dk

tourist info website">http://visitnolsoy.fo/ "official" tourist info website

with 6 aerial photos of Nólsoy
personal website of Jens-Kjeld Jensen
- mainly about nature and wildlife on the Faroe Islands; also contains information about Nólsoy. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nolsoy Islands of the Faroe Islands Important Bird Areas of the Faroe Islands Populated places in the Faroe Islands