Skansin is a historic fortress in

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 ...

, the capital of the

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

. Skansin is located on a hill beside the port of Tórshavn. The fort was built in 1580 by Magnus Heinason to protect against pirate raids of the town, after he himself was nearly caught up in one such raid. The fort was expanded considerably in 1780 and went through a series of rebuilds for many years afterwards. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the fort served Britain as a military base. Two 5.5 inch guns date from the British occupation, standing along with many older Danish cannons. One of the Faroese lighthouses, the Skansin Lighthouse (Skansin international lighthouse), towers over the fortress, pointing the way to the capital. The strategic location of the fort offers views of Tórshavn port, surrounding landscape and views out towards Nólsoy island.

Gallery

File:Skansin lighthouse.jpg, Skansin lighthouse File:Skansin cannons.jpg, Old cannons at Skansin

External links

(Source) - Forts of the Faroe Islands

Faroeislands.dk - Foto
{{coord, 62, 00, 29, N, 6, 45, 47, W, region:FO_type:landmark_source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title Tórshavn History of the Faroe Islands Military installations of Denmark Military installations closed in the 1940s

Gallery

See also

External links