Vestmanna is a town in 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 ...

on the west of the island of

Streymoy Streymoy ( da, Strømø) is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The capital, Tórshavn, is located on its southeast coast. The name means "island of currents". It also refers to the largest region of the country that also i ...

. It was formerly a ferry port, until an undersea tunnel, the Vágatunnilin, was built from Vágar to Kvívík and Stykkið further south on Streymoy. The cliffs west of Vestmanna, Vestmannabjørgini, are very popular for excursions by boat. A 'Vestmann' was a " Westman", or

Gael The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

. The original name was ''Vestmannahavn'', i.e. "Westmen's/Irishmen's harbour".

History

In December 1759, during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

, François Thurot's squadron sheltered from stormy conditions at Vestmanna. The lack of supplies available from the islanders motivated the subsequent raids by the squadron on the north Irish coast.

Geography

It is surrounded by the mountains of Hægstafjall (), Økslin (), Loysingafjall (), and Moskurfjall (). Vestmanna, Faroe Islands (9)

Tourism

Vestmanna is often called the tourist village of the Faroe Islands. The main tourist attraction is Vestmannabjørgini. In 2012, a camping site was established at Inni á Fjørð with a capacity of 120 caravans in addition to tents.

Photos from Vestmannabjørgini and Vestmanna

Image:Vestmannabjørgini, Faroe Islands (7).JPG, Boat trip to Vestmannabjørgini (Cliffs of Vestmanna). Image:Vestmannabjørgini, Faroe Islands (5).JPG, Vestmannabjørgini (Cliffs of Vestmanna). Image:Saksunadrangur, Vestmannabjørgini, Faroe Islands (9).jpg, A Sea Stack West of Vestmanna. Image:Wiking.voxmuseum.1.jpg, The Viking Wax-museum in Vestmanna. Image:10mannafør masters kappróður á Fjarðastevnu 2012.JPG, Fjarðastevna Cup 2012 in Vestmanna (''kappróður'') Image:VB-VIF Faroese Handball Match November 2011.JPG, VÍF is the sports club from Vestmanna. Here they play

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...

in yellow and blue.

References

External links