Toftir ( da, Tofte) is a village in

Nes Municipality Nes is a municipality in Akershus in Viken 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 nam ...

on the island of

Eysturoy Eysturoy (pronounced estroimeaning '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 ...

, in 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 ...

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

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...

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

is the only area in the Faroes which has no mountains above 200 metres. 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, or features of geological or ...

in the 1980s, and in 2006 Nes Municipality, in cooperation with neighbouring Runavík Municipality, joined a network of local authorities in the Nordic countries working to halt the

loss of biodiversity Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, de ...

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 (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 primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

''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 The Inner Mission (german: Innere Mission, also translated as Home Mission) was and is a movement of German evangelists, set up by Johann Hinrich Wichern in Wittenberg in 1848 based on a model of Theodor Fliedner. It quickly spread from Germany ...

which is a revivalist movement of the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and non-conformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where they originated from Anglicanism. The group emphasize ...

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 mat ...

, 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 at ...

sport of the Faroe Islands, but ceased participating in this sport in the 1980s. The village's football team, B68 Toftir, 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, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

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, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

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, footballer * Jóan Símun Edmundsson, footballer * Øssur Hansen, footballer *

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

(1904–1992), composer * Heri Joensen, musician in heavy metal band TÝR *

Jógvan Martin Olsen Jógvan Martin Olsen (born 10 July 1961 in Toftir, Faroe Islands) is a retired football player and football manager. He is the manager of ÍF Fuglafjørður since October 2015. He was the head coach of the Faroe Islands national football team. ...

, footballer * Johan Poulsen (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