Bøur ( da, Bø) is a village in the Sørvágur Municipality of the

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 west of

Sørvágur :''There is also a town called Vágur on Suðuroy.'' Sørvágur ( da, Sørvåg) is a village on the island of Vágar in the Faroe Islands. It is located at the landward end of Sørvágsfjørður. Sørvágur is the largest village in Sørvágur ...

, with a population of 75 (2012).Fólkatal
- Municipality website Its location is and its postal code is FO 386. It is linked to the village of

Gásadalur Gásadalur ( da, Gåsedal) is a village located on the west side of Vágar, Faroe Islands, and enjoys a panoramic view over to the island of Mykines. Gásadalur is located on the edge of Mykinesfjørður, surrounded by the highest mountains on V ...

by the Gásadalstunnilin tunnel. Bøur is a small village on the west-side of Vágar on the north side of

Sørvágsfjørður Sørvágsfjørður is a fjord on the west side of the island of Vágoy in the Faroe Islands which is approximately long. At the end of the fjord lies the village of Sørvágur. On the northside of the fjord lies the small village of Bøur. On ...

. It has views over the sea and the rocky islet

Tindhólmur Tindhólmur is an islet on the southside of Sørvágsfjørður, west of Vágar in the Faroe Islands. It has its name from the five peaks, which are named ''Ytsti, Arni, Lítli, Breiði, Bogni'' (Farthest, Eagle, Small, Broad, Bent). The islet is ...

with its many peaks,

Gáshólmur Gáshólmur is a small islet on the southside of Sørvágsfjørður in the Faroe Islands. To the east of the islet lies another islet, Tindhólmur. The islet is uninhabited, and the only living creatures are seabirds and sheep rams, which are p ...

and the two "drangar", (tall, pointed clifftops sticking up from the sea). This motif is known on many paintings and photographs. The old houses in the village are bunched together with narrow lanes between them, and at the western end stands the cosy church, which was built in 1865. Bøur is an ancient settlement and is mentioned in the so-called Dog Letter dating from 1350 AD, but it is probably older. The village is also mentioned as having a church in a document dated 1710, but it is not known when the first village church was built.

Eiriksboði

The best-known story from Bøur tells of a dispute about succession to property. Two brothers, Simun and Eirikur, owned all the village property jointly, but Eirikur was keen to have it divided. In the end Eirikur killed his brother, and then travelled over to

Kirkjubøur Kirkjubøur ( da, Kirkebø) is the southernmost village on Streymoy, Faroe Islands. The village is located on the south-west coast of Streymoy and has a view towards the islands of Hestur and Koltur towards the west, and to Sandoy towards the sout ...

to beg the bishop for mercy. The bishop was inclined to grant him absolution if he paid a large penalty to the bishop and to the church. Eirikur agreed, and the contract was carved out on a wooden beam. Eirikur sailed back to Bøur, but when he reached the still waters and thought he was out of danger, a great wave rose up, the boat capsized, and he was drowned. The hidden reef has been known ever since as Eiriksboði in memory of the event, and is situated on the inner side of Tindhólmur.

To Steal Fire

The village land consists of eighteen fields of enclosed and open land, most of it being owned by the king (and is now national property). Another old story tells how ownership passed to the king. The settlement was very tiny at the time, perhaps only a single household, and one day the fire in the hearth went out. This meant an ignominious journey to the next settlement to ask for fire, and a young girl was sent off to

. She was lucky and found nobody at home, so she took some burning wood from the fire and hurried back home. Unfortunately the smoke from the fire had been seen, and the farmer from Sørvágur accused her of stealing the fire. As a penalty, most of Bøur became royal estate property.

Gallery

Image:Faroe stamp 507 vagar - bour.jpg, FO 507 of

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 ...

Issued: 7 February 2005
Artist:

Eli Smith Eli Smith (born September 13, 1801, in Northford, Connecticut, to Eli and Polly (Whitney) Smith, and died January 11, 1857, in Beirut, Lebanon) was an American Protestant missionary and scholar. He graduated from Yale College in 1821 and from And ...

File:Bøur.Vágar.3.jpg, Bøur Kirkja File:Bøur 29-05 2010 (2).jpg, Bøur Kirkja File:Bour, Faroe Islands (10).JPG, Village idyll in Bøur File:Bøur.Vágar.1.jpg, Bøur File:Bøur.Vágar.4.jpg, Seen from Bøur

References

External links

Faroestamps.fo
(Public domain and source for this article)

Images and description of all cities on the Faroe Islands. Populated places in the Faroe Islands Vágar {{DEFAULTSORT:Bour

Eiriksboði

To Steal Fire

Gallery

See also

References

External links