Streymoy (, ) is the largest and most populated island of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

. The capital,

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; ; Danish language, Danish: ''Thorshavn''), 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 th ...

, is located on its southeast coast. The name means "island of currents". It also refers to the largest

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of the country that also includes the islands of Hestur, Koltur and Nólsoy.

Geography

The island is oblong in shape and stretches roughly in northwest–southeast direction with a length of and a width of around . There are two deeply-indented

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

s in the southeast: Kollafjørður and Kaldbaksfjørður. The island is mountainous (average height is 337 meter ), especially in the northwest, with the highest peak being Kopsenni (). That area is dominated by over cliffs. The area is known as Vestmannabjørgini, which means Cliffs of Vestmanna. The beaches of Tórshavn, Vestmanna, Leynar, Kollafjørður, Hvalvík (meaning Whale Bay) and Tjørnuvík are officially approved ''grind'' beaches for whaling. Like the rest of the

there are numerous short streams and minor lakes. The main vegetation is grass, with no trees. Some of the villages have planted trees inside or just outside the village. These parks need to have fences around them in order to keep sheep out. Streymoy is separated from the nearby Eysturoy, the second-largest island of the

, by the sounds of Sundini and Tangafjørður. To the west lies the island of

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 ...

, and to the south the island of Sandoy, separated by the Vestmannasund and Skopunarfjørður respectively. Three additional smaller islands are situated around the southern tip of Streymoy and belong to the Streymoy sýsla: Koltur, Hestur and Nólsoy; all of which are incorporated into Tórshavn Municipality.

Important bird area

The north-east coastline of the island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because of its significance as a breeding site for

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

s, especially northern fulmars (75,000 pairs), European storm petrels (2500 pairs), European shags (150 pairs), great skuas (120 pairs), black-legged kittiwakes (9000 pairs),

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family (biology), family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found ...

s (20,000 pairs) and black guillemots (300 pairs).

Population

There are about 24,682 inhabitants on the island (January 2020), which represents more than 45% of the whole population of the

. The majority of them reside in the capital

, which has a population of about 21,000 in the municipality, of whom 13,089 live in Tórshavn, 3,956 in Hoyvík, and 2,110 in Argir. Hoyvík and Argir are suburbs of Tórshavn, but they have grown together. Around 1,202 people live in Vestmanna, and 789 in Kollafjørður. Besides being the seat of the government,

is also the chief port, the seat of the university and the commercial centre of the islands.

Towns and villages

The other important towns include: Vestmanna, the former ferry port in the west, Kollafjørður at the centre and the picturesque villages of Saksun and Tjørnuvík in the north. From a historic point of view the village of Kirkjubøur near the southern tip of the island is very important as it was an episcopal center during the Middle Ages. List of villages * Tjørnuvík * Haldarsvík * Langasandur * Nesvík * Streymnes * Hvalvík * Saksun * Hósvík * Kollafjørður * Signabøur * Leynar * Kvívík * Vestmanna * Kaldbaksbotnur * Kaldbak * Sund * Norðradalur * Hvítanes * Hoyvík *

* Argir * Syðradalur * Velbastaður * Kirkjubøur

Transportation

All the settlements are connected by surfaced roads. The main entry road to

passes through a long tunnel. The connection to the island of Eysturoy is via Streymin Bridge over the Sundini sound. Since 2002, the almost long Vágar Tunnel has connected Streymoy to

, thereby completing the road connections of the three "mainland" islands. Since December 2020, the Eysturoyartunnilin has connected southern Streymoy to Eysturoy. Sandoyartunnilin connecting Streymoy to Sandoy opened to the public in December 2023. Streymoy is connected by regular ferry service to the island of Sandoy from the ferry port of Gamlarætt near Kirkjubøur, and to the islands of Suðuroy and Nólsoy from the ferry port in

. A scheduled ferry connects

with Hirtshals in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and Seyðisfjörður in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. The closest airport is Vágar Airport on

island (35 minutes by car); it is the only airport in the Faroe Islands.

Gallery

Sundini at Norðskáli, Faroe Islands.JPG, The Streymin Bridge over Sundini Sound connects Eysturoy to Streymoy. Faroe Islands, Streymoy, Tórshavn (1).jpg, The capital

is on Streymoy. Skælingur and the West Coast of Streymoy Faroe Islands.JPG, West coast of Streymoy. Saksun, Faroe Islands (5).JPG, Mountain scenery near Saksun. Faroe Islands, Streymoy, Oyggjarvegur (road No.10) north of Tórshavn.jpg, The central highlands of Streymoy in winter.

References

External links

* *
Tórshavn and Streymoy
Tourist Information {{Authority control Islands of the Faroe Islands Important Bird Areas of the Faroe Islands