Mikladalur Church

Located between Iceland and Scotland, the Faroe Islands are an archipelago of eighteen mountainous isles, with a collective population of 52,000 humans and 70,000 sheep.

Residents—at least the humans—have a profound history with the surrounding waters…a rather inevitable relationship, given no piece of land is farther than three miles from the vast North Atlantic. Also indelible to the culture of the Faroes are its myths and legends, many of which weave in tales of sea creatures.

One such legend, seeking to explain why violent storms often cause trouble for local fishermen, is rooted in the lore that the seals surrounding the islands are actually “selkies,” or seals that shed their skin once a year to become human.

The story goes that one night, selkies emerged from the waters and took advantage of their legs to dance in human female form on the beach. A young fisherman, enchanted by their beauty, stole one of the selkies’ seal skins and locked it in a box, forcing her to remain human and become his wife. Though she had never wanted to play the role of selkie-Ariel, she and the man lived together for many years on the island of Kalsoy.

One day, the man returned home to find the box open, the skin gone, and signs that the selkie woman had returned to the sea. Enraged, he and his friends went hunting. Ignoring the selkie’s warning not to harm her family, they destroyed every seal in sight. In revenge, the selkie placed a curse on the fishermen of Kalsoy.

In the town of Mikladalur, on Kalsoy, artist Hans Pauli Olsen created Kópakonan, a large statue named for the selkie woman. Surrounded by the roaring coast and jagged cliffs, the impressive piece captures the moment the woman slowly shed her seal skin as she stepped upon the green island. The statue and the town’s charming church—with an altarpiece depicting a boat caught in the type of storm a vengeful selkie would create—are the most significant structures in a town of less than one hundred full-time residents.

The celebrated legend is as strange as it is tragic, but the island of Kalsoy is a gentle, tranquil place—as long as you don’t mess with the seals.

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