Toftir () is a village in

Nes Municipality Nes is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Årnes. Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the o ...

on the island of

Eysturoy Eysturoy (, meaning 'East Island') is a region and the second-largest of the Faroe Islands, both in size and population. Description Eysturoy is separated by a narrow sound from the main island of Streymoy. Eysturoy is extremely rugged, with som ...

, in 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 ...

. It is part of a chain of villages stretching over a distance of 10 kilometers on the east side of

Skálafjørður Skálafjørður () is a fjord in Eysturoy and the longest in the Faroe Islands. Name Skála is a town situated on the western shore of the fjord. Its name (''Skáli'', genitive case ''skála'') means 'hall', 'assembly hall' or 'isolated hut' i ...

(

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 ...

) on Eysturoy island. The highest hill in Toftir, called ''Húkslond'', is 129 meters high, and

is the only area in the Faroes which has no mountains above 200 meters. The Lake Toftir area was the first area in the Faroe Islands to become a

Nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

in the 1980s, and in 2006 Nes Municipality, in cooperation with neighbouring

Runavík Runavík is a comparatively urbanised village in Runavík Municipality, Faroe Islands. It lies on the south half of the isle of Eysturoy. Port Founded in 1916, Runavík has an important port, originally used predominantly by fishing boats but n ...

Municipality, joined a network of local authorities in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

working to halt the

loss of biodiversity Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in biological dive ...

in their local areas.

History

The settlement of Toftir dates back to the ''landnám'' (settlement) period. According to local lore, only one woman survived the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

(1348–1350), which left the village in ruins; hence the name Toftir, meaning "ruins". The village name prior to the Black Death is said to have been Hella, meaning "slope", which refers to the gradual sloping hillside on which the village is built.

Local economy

Toftir has one major retail store with late opening hours, one

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

''Í Hópinum'', which serves liquor, and a shop, ''Navia'' which sells woollens and also souvenirs. Toftir has a relatively large harbour with a filleting plant that opened in 1969, and hosts the headquarters of Faroe Fish Market.

Fredericks Church

Fredericks Church (''Fríðrikskirkjan'') ( CotFI) in Nes was completed in 1994 and was named in honor of Fríðrikur Petersen (1853-1917) who served as

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

on Nes from 1900 to 1917. Other local religious communities include the Inner mission which is a revivalist movement of the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...

and the Baháʼí Community.

Sport

The major sports venue in Toftir is the

Svangaskarð Svangaskarð (pronounced ), also referred to as Tofta Leikvøllur, is a multi-purpose stadium in Toftir, Faroe Islands with two football fields and a sports arena for athletics around the lower field. It is currently used mostly for football matc ...

, the first of its kind in the Faroe Islands. Like most Faroese settlements, Toftir used to participate in the National

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

sport of the Faroe Islands, but ceased participating in this sport in the 1980s. The village's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team,

B68 Toftir B68 Toftir is a Faroe Islands, Faroese football Football team, club based in the village of Toftir in Betri deildin. History After being promoted to the Faroe Islands Premier League Football, 1. deild (now called Effodeildin) in 1980, they won t ...

, was established in 1962 and has won the Faroese league 3 times, in 1984, 1985 and 1992. The local

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

club ''Flot'' was established in 1984; it participates in the national swimming competitions in the islands. In 2009 a

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

team was established in Toftir; in 2010 the name ''Ternan'' was chosen for the team. Toftir is also home to one of the pioneering

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

clubs in the islands, ''Tofta Talvfelag'' which has won the Islands' Chess Championships once. The Toftir Boat Association (''Bátafelagið'') was established on 13 March 2005, and two months later the first Boat Festival was held in Toftir; it is now held every year on the first weekend of May.

People from Toftir

Fróði Benjaminsen Fróði Benjaminsen (born 14 December 1977) is a Faroese former footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. Benjaminsen previously played for HB Tórshavn, B68 Toftir, Fram Reykjavík, B36 Tórshavn and Skála ÍF. He made a record 96 ap ...

, footballer *

Jóan Símun Edmundsson Jóan Símun Edmundsson (born 26 July 1991) is a Faroese professional footballer who plays for Icelandic club KA Akureyri and the Faroe Islands national team. Club career B68 Toftir Edmundsson started his career with B68 Toftir. Newcastle U ...

, footballer *

Øssur Hansen Øssur Hansen (born 7 January 1971) is a Faroe Islands, Faroese football midfielder/defender who currently played for B68 Toftir in the 2010 Faroe Islands Premier League Football, Faroese Premier League. Hansen is amongst the 10 most capped playe ...

, footballer *

Hans Jacob Højgaard Hans Jacob Højgaard (11 September 1904 – 10 June 1992) was a composer from the Faroe Islands in the 20th century. He was born in Toftir. When he was 15 years old, he went to sea and sailed with fishing boats for four years. He took a compulsor ...

(1904–1992),

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Heri Joensen Heri Joensen (; born 21 February 1973) is a Faroese musician, notable for being the vocalist for the folk metal band Týr. Heri was born in the Faroe Islands capital of Tórshavn which has had an influence on his song writing. As well as Týr, ...

, musician in heavy metal band TÝR *

Jógvan Martin Olsen Jógvan Martin Olsen (born 10 July 1961) is a Faroese football manager and former player who is the manager of ÍF Fuglafjørður since October 2015. He was the head coach of the Faroe Islands national team. Playing career Olsen was born in T ...

, footballer *

Johan Poulsen Johan Martin Fredrik Poulsen (September 26, 1890 – June 24, 1980) was a Faroese teacher and politician for the Union Party. Poulsen was born in Toftir. He represented the Union Party in the Faroese Parliament for a full 50 years, from the 1 ...

(1890–1980), teacher and politician

References

External links

{{commons, Toftir, Toftir
Faroeislands.dk: Toftir
Images and description of all cities on the Faroe Islands.
Nes MunicipalityB68 FC-ToftirFramtak
Populated places in the Faroe Islands

History

Local economy

Fredericks Church

Sport

People from Toftir

See also

References

External links